Business Credit articles from July 2008

Business Credit archives from July 2008

Freedoms.(commentary)(Viewpoint essay)
July 1, 2008... Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to read a speech that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered to the United States Congress on January 6, 1941. In that speech, often described as the Four Freedoms Address, FDR outlined his vision...

Do you have a bench?(extra credit)
July 1, 2008... What are you doing to identify and retain top performers to ensure that your credit department is staffed for success? The statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau are frightening: every 10 minutes, a Baby Boomer turns 60; and by...

Prepackaged and pre-arranged bankruptcies.(credit column)(Column)
July 1, 2008... As economic conditions weaken, most commentators Predict that there will be a general increase in the level of bankruptcy filings over the coming months. Indeed, bankruptcy filings to date for 2008 exceed the levels experienced in 2007 and the...

My department's productivity always sinks in the summer.(credit @ work)(Column)
July 1, 2008... Dear Andy, My department's productivity always sinks in the summer. Part of this is because staff members take more time off, but there's also a noticeable drop in motivation levels at this time of year. Unfortunately, we have a busy few...

CMI for June reflects torpid times.(credit @ work)(Credit Manager's Index)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... "The seasonally adjusted Combined Credit Manager's Index fell 0.9% in June, setting or tying a number of unpleasant records in the process," said Daniel North, chief economist with credit insurer Euler Hermes, ACI, who evaluates and issues the...

Like a sore thumb: standing out in the labor market is key to filling and finding a credit position.
July 1, 2008... It's been said that the difference between a recession and a depression is that, in a recession, someone you know is out of a job, whereas in a depression, you, yourself are out of a job. While it remains to be seen whether or not the U.S....

Honors & awards program: NACM and the National Honors and Awards Committee congratulate our 2008 national award recipients.(National Association of Credit Management)
July 1, 2008... NATIONAL CREDIT EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR The National Credit Executive of the Year Award seeks to single out an individual who has made significant contributions to the credit profession at the national level. Volunteer leadership is an...

Overseas Bear Stearns hedge funds denied Chapter 15 relief.(credit column)(Bear Stearns Companies Inc.)
July 1, 2008... The problems afflicting the venerated investment banking firm Bear Stearns first became apparent when two of its overseas Cayman Islands hedge funds had collapsed in 2007 under the weight of the increased delinquencies of their subprime...

Hot spots: China.(international)
July 1, 2008... Few doubt that the exchange rate of the yuan will remain pointed upward, in the future not only against the U.S. dollar, vis-a-vis it has just completed its 12th quarterly gain and has advanced by 6.6% so far this year, but also, increasingly,...

NACM Western Michigan honors GAY Meekhof as its 2008 credit executive of the year.(members news)(National Association of Credit Management)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Gay Meekhof attended Grand Rapids Junior College and Davenport College with emphasis in business. She has worked in the credit/credit management field steadily for the past 23 years. Typically, she did not choose the...

Message from Paul Beretz, CMA Credit Executive of the Year.(member news)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... "What an honor to receive the Credit Executive of the Year Award for 2008 from CMA! I am really humbled by the recognition and am now able to join the ranks of past CMA credit execs of the year, some of whom were in attendance at the membership...

Letter to Tom Sauer from the Baxter County Library in Mountain Home, Arkansas.(member news)
July 1, 2008... April 7, 2008 Dear Mr. Sauer: Where would libraries be without authors? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thank you for supporting our local authors event and for donating copies of your books, which will be cataloged and added to the...

FACT act compliance deadline looming.(TRADELINE)(Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act)
July 1, 2008... Identity theft and the protection of customer information has become an increasingly vital issue for businesses in recent years. The U.S. government has acted swiftly in the face of massive private information heists perpetrated by hackers that...

Why can't we be friends? The joys and heartaches of global shared services.(international feature)
July 1, 2008... Domestically, the U.S. economy has been a roller coaster ride, spurred on by a weak dollar and volatility in the energy and other commodity markets. The impacts have weighed heavily on almost every aspect of American life. Commercial and...

High fuel prices change the trucking landscape.(selected topic)
July 1, 2008... Rising fuel costs over the past year have been a true game-changer for many companies and individuals in the trucking industry and it has become a game many are losing. The trucking industry learned that painful lesson after crude oil passed...

Understanding the trend toward e-invoicing networks.(selected topic)
July 1, 2008... As electronic invoicing grows both in sophistication and customer adoption, credit managers need to be aware of the technological advancements taking place and better understand what e-invoicing is becoming, compared to what it has been in the...

The URDG revision and Islamic banking.(international)(Uniform Rules on Demand Guarantees)
July 1, 2008... On October 25, 2006, over 250 members of the ICC Banking Commission representing more than 50 countries assembled in Paris. In the meeting, more than three-and-a-half years of intensive effort to revise UCP 500 resulted in approval of UCP 600,...

NACM new designees.
July 1, 2008... CBA KAREN BENNETT Grant Prideco, Inc. Houston, TX CONNIE BENTLEY The Loxcreen Co., Inc. West Columbia, SC MICHAEL KUEHL Generac Power Systems, Inc. Waukesha, WI NITI MALHOTRA D&B Short Hills, NJ JAMES THOMAS MCKENZIE TXI...

NACM's 112th Credit Congress exposition May 18-21, 2008 Louiseville Kentucky.(National Association of Credit Management)(Conference news)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Everyone comes out a winner in Louiseville No betting was necessary... it was a guaranteed success. Attendees loved the Intimate Louisville venue; rose bushes and geraniums lined the streets and enclosed...