| Citibank Expects Good Response For New Shell Citibank Card
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- Citibank Bhd expects to draw 100,000 new customers in the next 12 months through its newly launched Shell Citibank Credit Card. The card, aimed at helping consumers cut down on fuel costs will offer rebate up to five percent on fuel purchases at Shell stations and up to 1.5 percent for other purchases at Shell and Visa outlets. "In 2006, there were over 400,000 new cars registered in Malaysia and the price of fuel has increased over the last two years. "To help lessen the burden of Malaysian motorists, Citibank and Shell have came up with a real way to save on fuel costs in the form of the Shell Citibank credit card," said its country business manager, Michellina Triwardhany at the launch of the card here Wednesday. Customers will be entitled to double rebates during the 60-day promotional period which started Wednesday.
BEA Reports Third Quarter Results; Achieves Net Income of $56 Million, 59% Year-over-Year Growth
BEA Systems, Inc., a world leader in enterprise infrastructure software, today announced financial results for the fiscal third quarter ended October 31, 2007. BEA reported third quarter total revenues of $384.4 million, up 11% from last year's third quarter. BEA reported third quarter license fees of $134.8 million, down 1% from a year ago, and services revenue of $249.6 million, up 18% from a year ago. BEA reported third quarter cash flow from operating activities of $87.5 million, up 62% from a year ago. BEA reported a balance of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash of $1.2 billion. BEA also reported deferred revenues of $388.6 million, up 15% from a year ago. .
S&P Raises SSCC’s Corporate Credit Rating
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.’s (SSCC) corporate credit rating was recently raised by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services from B to B+. S&P called the company’s outlook stable, and raised the senior secured ratings of Smurfit-Stone’s subsidiaries from BB- to BB and senior unsecured debt ratings from CCC+ to B-. S&P said the upgrade reflects the combination of SSCC’s continued solid operating performance and meaningful debt reduction as a result of improved containerboard market conditions. SSCC reduced its debt by $328 million in the third quarter, largely as a result of the sale of its Brewton, Ala., boxboard mill, and nearly $1.2 billion from year-end 2005. According to S&P, balanced supply and demand fundamentals should continue to support favorable pricing, and the company’s strategic initiatives are improving profitability.
Sale of Target's credit unit called unlikely
It's going to take more than a lone hedge fund activist to persuade Target Corp. to unload its highly profitable credit-card unit.Indeed, two months after the discount retailer hired Goldman Sachs to "review ownership alternatives" for its $7.4 billion in credit-card receivables -- a decision interpreted by many as a reaction to activist hedge fund manager and acquiring Target investor William Ackman -- a growing number of financial experts say Target probably won't sell the portfolio after all.On Wednesday, a Merrill Lynch analyst said in a research note that a sale is unlikely because prospective buyers may have difficulty finding cash to buy the portfolio. The analyst, Virginia Genereux, gave a credit-card sale a less-than-even chance.Genereux is not alone. With the credit markets taking a further hit in recent weeks from large losses in mortgage-backed securities, Target may have difficulty finding a financial institution willing to pay a large enough premium to make a sale worthwhile for the retailer, a growing number of analysts say.
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