State treasurers and pension fund leaders urged the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday to make sweeping changes in governance following a pay scandal that forced the resignation of chairman Dick Grasso last week. At the top of the list was the overhaul of the NYSE’s 27-member board to eliminate potential conflicts of interest and better represent the 85 million investors who hold stocks listed with the exchange, the world’s richest market.
After going up for a year, late credit card payments edged down in the last quarter. Delinquency rates for some other types of consumer loans moved higher, however, offering a mixed picture of how Americans are handling their debt obligations. The seasonally adjusted percentage of credit card accounts 30 or more days past due dropped in the April-to-June quarter to 4.04 percent, down from a record high of 4.07 percent during the previous three months.
United Airlines narrowed its net loss in August and posted a $105 million operating profit in what its chief financial officer called a “very encouraging month” as the company continues to try to emerge from bankruptcy. Despite the progress, the $46 million net loss put the carrier on track for a 13th consecutive quarterly deficit – including three since it filed for Chapter 11 late last year.
The automobile industry is the nation’s largest manufacturing employer, responsible for one in 10 U.S. jobs, according to an industry-funded report released Wednesday. But that finding does not necessarily translate into political clout. Most recently, auto suppliers have been unable to get President Bush to remove tariffs on steel, despite complaints the tariffs are costing them millions in lost revenue. Last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission said the tariffs have not significantly hurt small steel-consuming businesses.
From Herald news services
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