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Simmons Bedding Co. secured more wriggle room from its senior lenders by getting more time to repay its senior debt, undoubtedly easing the concerns of its Boston private equity owner, Thomas H. Lee Partners. The Atlanta mattress manufacturer,...

In early #### word started getting around that the Blackstone Group could seek as much as $## billion for its fifth fund. Then that number grew to $## billion, then $## billion, until the idea of a cap became irrelevant. The collective...

WASHINGTON - Congress should only require mandatory clearing of standardized interdealer over-the-counter derivatives transactions in which at least one of the dealers is systemically significant, the chief executive officer of the...

SAN FRANCISCO - California Attorney General Jerry Brownyesterday said he has issued subpoenas to the three major rating agencies as part of an investigation into whether they violated state law by giving high ratings to subprime mortgage-backed...

CARLSBAD, Calif. - As economists debate whether the federal stimulus package has created the jobs and economic growth promised, municipal bond market professionals have little doubt that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has...

BRADENTON, Fla. - The $# billion Port of Miami Tunnel project inched forward Tuesday when Miami-Dade County commissioners approved an irrevocable $## million letter of credit provided by Wachovia Bank NA to be used in helping to fund...

After slight inflows last week, tax-exempt money market funds fell by $#.## billion and settled at $###.## billion for the week ending Sept. ##, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com. The drop coincided with...

MIDDLE MARKET IS TOPS Middle-market valuation multiples remained strong in the second quarter in spite of tough credit market conditions, according to a report from GF Data Resources. A survey of ### private-equity firms involved in...

Next Week's Big Deal: FOMC Meeting Despite the unprecedented level of stimulus offered up by the Fed, there is scant evidence that inflation is rearing its head. Indeed, for many observers the bigger concern remains the devastating...

The municipal market was slightly firmer yesterday while the Municipal Market Data triple-A yield curve scale reached historic lows in both ## and ## years. Traders said tax-exempt yields were lower by two or three basis points overall....

Jobless Claims Fall ##,### To ###,### in Week WASHINGTON - Initial jobless claims decreased by ##,### to ###,### for the week ending Sept. ##, falling to the lowest level since July, the Labor Department reported yesterday. Continuing...

The Bond Buyer's weekly yield indexes declined this week, as tax-exempts showed gains in nearly all the week's sessions. "It was another real solid week. Munis feel pretty darn good," said Evan Rourke, portfolio manager at Eaton Vance....

Now that hedge fund performance appears to have stabilized, portfolio managers are upping the ante in client relationships - in some cases ushering in new talent to relieve general partners from having to field heightened investor concerns....

JEFFREY LACKER PRESIDENT, RICHMOND FEDERAL RESERVE "Before we get to thinking about exit, we may need to consider whether to continue adding more stimulus up to the fully authorized amount of our purchases." GARY COHN PRESIDENT, GOLDMAN...

Add one more catchphrase to the litany of those that have been used ad nauseum during the life of the financial crisis: "the new normal." It's a sentiment poised to take its position alongside "thawed credit markets" (on the heels of...

Americans spend so much on health care that it accounts for between ##% to ##% of the nation's gross domestic product. By some estimates, that number could balloon to ##% within two decades, so it's not surprising Wall Street wants...

Charles "Chip" McClure has served as chief steward of ArvinMeritor Inc. for the last five years, where he's overseen the company's retooling from an automobile-focused parts supplier to a global manufacturer of commercial truck and...

As Washington legislators grow accustomed to their soapboxes, one sometimes gets the sense that they relish the job of castigating the corporate and finance crowd. The Wall Street and business elite have been trotted out to hearings,...

Initial public offerings in India are attracting foreign institutional investors and private equity firms, although Indian investors are wary of putting their capital in domestic IPOs. Last month, NHPC Ltd., a large electric utility...

European Union regulators said last week setting a deadline for banks to complete the switch to a Single Euro Payments Area could "significantly boost" the project, reports Bloomberg News. Banks have been hesitant to introduce and promote...

Ceridian UK, a division of Minneapolis-based provider of human resource services Ceridian Corp., has selected While Eagle PLC to provide a payroll card program. Newcastle Building Society, a United Kingdom-based financial services provider,...

Discover and Diners Club cardholders will be able to access at least ##,### ATMs in Europe under the latest deal designed to increase the global reach of those brands. Belgium-based Trionis, which provides processing and switching services,...

While American Express Co.'s new advertising campaign takes on payment products such as debit, one analyst say promoting charge cards over credit and debit cards may be a new trend. "This is an international phenomenon, not just AmEx...

Some ##% of consumers plan to hold steady on spending during the next month compared with the previous ## days, while the rest plan to spend less, the results of an American Express Co. survey released this week suggest. For its inaugural...

Triton Systems of Delaware Inc. has launched ATMGurus, a business that will train technicians employed by ATM independent sales organizations to repair low-cost machines manufactured by Nautilus Hyosung Inc., Tranax Technologies Inc....

Payment security is the sole focus of a new business unit at VeriFone Holdings Inc., the San Jose, Calif.-based point-of-sale terminal market announced today. The Global Security Solutions unit will be responsible for sales, consulting...

Capital One Financial Corp. today said in a U.S. Securities Exchange Commission filing that its charge-off rate on outstanding credit card receivables fell to #.##% in August from #.##% in July. But delinquency rates of accounts at...

Mobile banking is moving into mainstream use and is changing the way consumers manage their finances, according to a Javelin Strategy & Research report released last week. Mobile banking also likely eventually will change how consumers...

Students in China are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain credit cards in the wake of a new government regulation, according to issuers and press reports. The China Banking Regulatory Commission earlier this year notified banks...

U.S. consumers were a greater credit risk across all types of loans during the second quarter than they were during the same period a year ago, according to TransUnion's Credit Risk Index, a statistic developed to measure changes in...

Barwood Taxi, a Kensington, Md.-based cab company, has installed about ### VeriFone devices that include video monitors and payment card readers in its taxis, VeriFone Holdings Inc. announced today. By year end, all ### Barwood vehicles...

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s acquisition last year of Washington Mutual Inc. nearly helped it knock off Wells Fargo & Co. as the second largest debit card issuer behind Bank of America Corp., according to the #### edition of the ATM&Debit...

MasterCard Worldwide has appointed two executives to its European prepaid team, the card brand announced Monday. The card brand named Phil Davies to the product management team for the Prepaid Europe unit. MasterCard also named Claire...

As companies push various strategies for the complete encryption of payment card data, the Smart Card Alliance weighed in Monday with what it considers a simpler alternative: wider use of contactless cards, CardLine sister publication...

Banks are stepping up efforts to increase their share of the global remittance market, either alone or by partnering with other companies, reports CardLine sister publication American Banker. The financial cooperative Swift has opened...

Jack Henry Associates Inc. processed more than ## million remote deposit-capture transactions in July and August, a record for the Monett, Mo.-based core banking services company, says Bill Phillips, group president for ProfitStars...

Buoyed by a hefty lawsuit-settlement payment and a sharp decline in expenses, Discover Financial Services today reported net income of $###.# million for its fiscal third quarter ended Aug. ##, up ###% from $###.# million during the...

JPMorgan Chase Co.'s Chase Card Services this week launched ChaseBlueprint, a set of features that helps cardholders better manage their spending and payments on major Chase credit cards, including Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire and...

Most consumers believe the benefits retailers receive from card payments outweigh the costs, according to survey results Visa Inc. released today. The findings represent the latest jab in the ongoing sparring match over payment card...

Banking-technology executives have been promoting for years an advanced systems-design format they say offers a wide range of advantages but has been used mainly for small, discrete projects, reports American Banker, a CardLine sister...

New England Federal Credit Union Wednesday announced it will offer its ##,### members mobile-banking services from PSCU Financial Services and mFoundry. The services enable the Vermont-based credit union's members to transfer funds...

BBVA Bancomer has begun deploying MX ATM kiosks, a spokesperson for VeriFone Holdings Inc., the United States-based vendor supplying the equipment, tells CardLine sister publication CardLine Global. The Mexico-based bank initially is...

In ####, foreign travelers to South Africa initiated more than ## million transactions with their Visa cards, up ##% from the previous year and accounting for $#.# billion in tourism revenue, according to Visa Inc., a sponsor of the...

* CardParnter Inc. and Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. have teamed to launch the Elvis Presley Visa affinity platinum rewards credit card, which will feature five card photos, one of which a focus group of Elvis fans chose during Elvis...

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act is about to give millions of college students greater difficulty securing credit cards. A part of the law that goes into effect in February requires anyone younger than...

The eBillme payment service is enabling consumers to pay for online purchases at walk-in locations, inviting the unbanked to use a system that until now has targeted online-banking customers, reports American Banker, a CardLine sister...

Credit card issuers are increasing their number of mailings offering premium cards to wealthy consumers, according to new research from Mintel Comperemedia, a Chicago-based firm that tracks direct marketing activity. During the second...

Downloadable card-acceptance applications for such handheld mobile devices as Apple Inc.'s iPhone are unlikely to take business away from point-of-sale equipment manufacturers that sell wireless-enabled point-of-sale terminals, observers...

Trustwave, a Chicago-based payment-security company, announced this week it has acquired Vericept Corp., a firm that specializes in data loss prevention. Terms were not disclosed. Vericept's technology enables a client to designate...

Brinkman Financial Co. this week introduced a new version of its virtual point-of-sale terminal that independent sales organizations can rebrand, the Carrollton, Texas-based software-development firm says. ISOs can customize the log-on...

Consumers globally made ### billion noncash payments in ####, up #.#% from the previous year, according to the "Worlds Payment Report ####." The report, released Wednesday, is from France-based consulting and information-technology...

A one-time government informant believed to be the mastermind behind several of the biggest online credit card thefts pleaded guilty Friday to some of the biggest card breaches in history, including those at retailers TJX Cos., Barnes...

Visa Inc. today said its U.S. payment volume declined #% in August compared with the same period a year ago, while credit volume fell ##% and debit volume increased #%. Cross-border payment volume on a constant dollar basis fell #%...

Commerce, a restaurant in New York's Greenwich Village, last week began accepting only credit and debit cards for payment, a move the owner hopes will get the restaurant lower card-processing rates. "If a merchant like myself is all...

Healy Long & Jevin Inc., a Wilmington, Del.-based concrete construction company, last year begin offering employees debit cards to promote safety in the workplace. Healy Long & Jevin loads $## on their MasterCard-branded prepaid cards...

Triton Systems of Delaware Inc. has launched ATMGurus, a business that will train technicians employed by ATM independent sales organizations to repair low-cost machines manufactured by Nautilus Hyosung Inc., Tranax Technologies Inc....

Commuters who use Metra trains in the Chicago area now are able to use debit and credit cards to buy tickets online for the first time. Metra's Web site will enable riders to use their Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover...

With so many U.S. workers unemployed, a malaise is hovering over the country. But at least one bright sector exists: Debit cards are working. Some ## states issue reloadable debit cards to pay unemployment compensation, according to...

Prepaid debit cards are surfacing in different sectors, from unemployment benefits to payroll. Moreover, debit cards tied to tax-deferred health savings accounts in the U.S. likely will hit record numbers again this year as more consumers...

While reloadable prepaid cards continue to gain popularity with consumers, reload networks are experiencing different rates of growth that typically depend on their alliances. Atlanta-based InComm Inc. leads with ###,### reload locations...

The growing popularity of such smartphones as Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry, combined with the increased use of SMS text-messages, have contributed to the rise of mobile banking and mobile payments, industry...

If a debit card issuer has a small number of ATMs, which forces its business card customers to pay surcharge fees to access their money using out-of-network ATMs while traveling, what is a bank to do? Many are opting to join surcharge-free...

Healy Long & Jevin Inc., a Wilmington, Del.-based concrete construction company, last year begin offering employees debit cards to promote safety in the workplace. Healy Long & Jevin loads $## on their MasterCard-branded prepaid cards...

COINSTAR CFO RESIGNS John Harvey, Coinstar Inc.'s chief financial officer, announced his resignation, three months after the company named him to the post in June. Harvey decided to step down because his duties as CFO at Bellevue, Wash.-based...

Federal Reserve Bank Of Kansas City The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is hosting an international conference on the changing landscape of retail payments Nov. # to ##. The title of the two-day conference is "The Changing Retail...

The U.S. private placement market priced $#.## in traditional private paper in August, according to data from Private Placement Letter. The month's total was pleasantly surprising to some sources in the private market, considering that...

Spain-based healthcare technology company Grifols S.A. is in the private placement market looking for $### million in funds via Nomura Securities and BBVA, sources said. The first-time private placement issuer is seeking seven- and...

Repeat private placement issuer Union Pacific Railroad Co. is back in the market for $## million in lease backed notes, sources said. The company has tapped the private market at least eight times since ####. The company is an existing...

The buyout space likes its buzzwords. The same way every conversation today has to include requisite mentions of "overleverage" or "green shoots," a few years back the talk was all about convergence. What began in #### and #### as an...

Broadpoint Capital, the broker-deal subsidiary of Broadpoint Gleacher Securities Group, the listed investment bank, has added Keith "Lex" Malas, a Deutsche Bank veteran, to its capital markets origination team to work with equity and...

KPS Capital Partners increased its Special Situations Fund III to $# billion, adding another $### million to an already-sizeable fund. The private equity firm has already made distressed plays and strategic moves all year; in August,...

American International Group, Inc. sold a segment of its asset management business to a portfolio company of Hong Kong-based private equity firm Pacific Century Group. The buyer, Bridge Partners, L.P., will pay $### million for the...

Late last year, when activist investor Kirk Kerkorian saw that his #% stake in Ford Motor Company was headed due south, he decided that he had had enough. From October to December ####, the chief executive of Tracinda Corporation sold...

Santa Clara, California-based Atheros Communications, Inc. will acquire Intellon Corporation in a $### million cash and stock transaction. Atheros will pay an estimated $### million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments...

Late last year, when activist investor Kirk Kerkorian saw that his #% stake in Ford Motor Company was headed due south, he decided that he had had enough. From October to December ####, the chief executive of Tracinda Corporation sold...

The Institutional Limited Partners Association unveiled a set of guidelines for the private equity industry, billing the effort as a drive to better align the interests of LPs, sponsors and portfolio companies. The ILPA, in the ##-page...

At a time when print newspapers have often either failed and gone online-only, or sold at a discount to private equity buyers, the Sun-Times Media Group has a buyer. The company might eventually find multiple buyers; its auction is...

Consumer products and restaurants-focused private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners backed a management buyout of the pipeline infrastructure company Precision Pipeline Solutions, LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed....

Detroit, Michigan-based buyout firm Superior Capital Partners, LLC backed a new platform created to purchase National Archive Publishing Company's remaining assets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The private equity firm...

Huron Capital bought Custom Finishes Inc., to fit into its Quest Specialty Chemicals Inc. platform, specifically, the Quest subsidiary Raabe Company. The target will see operations relocated to Wisconsin; much of Custom Finishes' Web...

In August, the high yield market seemed to enjoy a revival of sorts. The market slowed toward the end of the month, but was able to carry some of its momentum into September, as high yield bond funds set a record for in flows this year....

Boston-based Charlesbank Capital Partners took in $#.# billion for its most recent fund, Charlesbank Equity Fund VII, closing above its $#.## billion target and $### million predecessor fund, raised in ####. The new fund, alongside...

Macquarie Capital Advisers, the US arm of Australian investment bank Macquarie Group, has launched a U.S. leveraged finance team and hired an industry vet to help build out the operation, a Macquarie spokesman confirmed. Steve Mehos,...

Zayo Group, LLC acquired the New York-based telecom company FiberNet Telecom Group, Inc. in a $##.# million all-cash transaction. The Louisville, Colorado buyer will pay FiberNet's stockholders $##.## in cash for each share of the target...

Cotton Creek Capital, the private equity firm founded by the former Trinity Hunt principle Kevin Roberts, made its second buyout in the region. The Dallas, Texas based private equity firm purchased Waste Partners of Texas, a waste services...

BMO Capital Markets has tapped Peter Boukouzis as a director focused on M&A opportunities in the U.S. energy industry. He joins from Rothschild and will be based in Houston. Boukouzis spent eight years at Rothschild, where he concentrated...

Pfingsten Partners' portfolio company Closet Holding Co. expanded its reach, acquiring Montello, Wis.-based Space-Metrics USA, a maker of closet and home organization systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Through the deal,...

Advisers Favor Tactical Allocation Over Traditional Equity Exposure After last year's disastrous decline in all investment sectors, one of the worst years for investing since the ####s, financial advisers are seriously rethinking traditional...

Morningstar Rates ## Largest Target-Date Series Morningstar is offering advisers in-depth research reports for ## of the largest target-date mutual fund series, based on five components making up the "five P's": People, Parent, Performance,...

OppenheimerFunds Hires Sales, Marketing Chiefs OppenheimerFunds has hired William C. Carey as head of distribution and Martha B. Willis as chief marketing officer, to help the firm respond to a rapidly changing industry and to streamline...

Mutual fund advocates are rallying together in preparation for a key Supreme Court battle this fall that could drastically change the way fund companies structure their fees. The Investment Company Institute, the Mutual Fund Directors...

In the eight months since their launch in January, Putnam Investments' new family of absolute-return mutual funds has attracted more than $### million in new investments and, according to the firm, is on track to top $# billion by the...

We just published the results from kasina's #### Sales Compensation study. Compiling the data was a lengthy, arduous and enlightening process. As you would expect, data reveal that quantum changes have taken hold since our last Sales...

President Obama outlined a series of initiatives the federal government would take to help people boost their retirement savings, including allowing them to direct tax refunds, pay raises and unused vacation pay to their nest eggs....

Steven Fradkin, executive VP and CFO of Northern Trust Corporation has been named president of its corporate and institutional services business unit, the firm announced today. He replaces Timothy Theriault who is leaving the firm....

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) has tapped Mark Redman to help oversee its European-based private equity division. He joins the $## billion Canadian fund from U.K.-based private equity firm #i, where he was...

The Town of Greenwich Retirement Board will maintain its real estate investing pace. "The current asset allocation was reviewed and it was believe prudent to push out additional real estate investments to ####," recently released minutes...

The Fresno County Employees' Retirement Association (FCERA) has awarded Mondrian Investment Partners $### million to be invested in international equity, said Roberto Pena, administrator at the plan. The assets will be placed in a small-cap...

The $## billion Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund (PERF) has issued an RFP seeking the services of global equity managers. The fund will consider firms for mandates with expertise in core, growth, and value strategies. "From...

The Contra Costa Employees' Retirement Association (CCERA) has added JPMorgan Asset Management to its roster for global equity. Earlier last month, the plan also interviewed Aberdeen Asset Management and Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo....