Business Credit articles from May 2003

Business Credit archives from May 2003

International Credit and Risk Management. (The Scoop).
May 1, 2003... A new FCIB Online Course in International Credit and Risk Management, created by FCIB in partnership with the US Department of Commerce and Michigan State University, has been designed with you--the practitioner--in mind. FCIB's comprehensive,...

Antitrust and internet issues for the credit executive. (The Scoop).
May 1, 2003... Credit executives often utilize several means to obtain and transmit credit information. Not only is there a swap of trade references, but more and more credit groups are conducting their trade meetings electronically. Credit executives,...

Save your bottom line by not letting it walk away. (The Scoop).
May 1, 2003... ... or by not letting someone else get away with a chunk of it! Fraud awareness in America has improved noticeably in the wake of Enron, WorldCom, etc. And Americans are becoming more aware of the more dangerous side of fraud in the aftermath of...

Hiring to increase slightly in second quarter, according to CFOs. (The Scoop).
May 1, 2003... The hiring of accounting and finance professionals is expected to increase modestly in the second quarter of 2003, according to the Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index. Nine percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) surveyed plan...

Participation is the key to our success. (Credit Column).
May 1, 2003... I've always placed a lot of emphasis on participation--whether it's been as an active participant in my company or with this Association, it's been my personal choice to actively participate. At every opportunity, I've jumped in to lend a hand,...

Facts about business bankruptcy. (Selected Topic).
May 1, 2003... If you thought 2002 was a bad year for bankruptcy filings, you were right. Five of the ten largest bankruptcy filings in U.S. history occurred in 2002. More than 180 publicly traded companies filed for Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy in...

Interested in notices, mechanic's liens, bond claims, UCC's... call us, we wrote the books!
May 1, 2003... Our direction is determined by you, the credit professional. That premise was established by our founder, a former credit manager, over 30 years ago and is, and will continue to be, the driving force of our business. He envisioned an agency...

Hidden treasures: peripheral products and services--gizmos, little-known features, obscure reports and the ingenuity to find and apply them--boost credit managers' performance. (Feature Article).
May 1, 2003... Commercial trade credit is a thriving field that has spawned plenty of vendors who make good money building and selling tools that are designed specifically for the trade credit manager. That's the tip of the iceberg. A much larger, less...

NACM's annual legislative conference.
May 1, 2003... March 16-18, Arlington, Virginia Jim Wise, NACM's Washington Representative, opened the General Session with a summary of current bankruptcy legislation status. Jim believed that the bill will pass through the House (on March 20, 2003, the...

The ordinary course of business defense to preferences: the case of the earlier payments. (Credit Column).
May 1, 2003... Introduction Back to the strange and melodramatic place known as the PREFERENCE ZONE. It is a most frustrating place for credit grantors, who first spend a great deal of time and resources collecting their claims from financially troubled...

Bankruptcy "proofing" litigation settlements: can it be done? (Selected Topic).
May 1, 2003... After trying everything at your disposal to collect a large sum owed by one of your customers, you ultimately file a lawsuit in which you seek to collect the outstanding debt. Your former customer/now adversary raises a host of defenses and...

Critical vendor update: making the critical vendor list and the trade claims cap. (Credit Column).
May 1, 2003... The credit professional knows all too well that a customer's Chapter 11 means long delays before receiving any payment on the pre-petition account, which payment is usually but a fraction of the claim. Indeed, it is not uncommon for the vendor...

Appellate Court reverses Kmart order approving favorable treatment of critical vendors' pre-petition unsecured claims. (Credit Column).
May 1, 2003... Introduction The pre-bankruptcy claims of "critical vendors" (eliciting support from the "haves" and frustration and a sense of unfairness from the "havenots") has just been turned on its head! In recent years, the trend in court...

The fundamentals of business bankruptcy (reorganization and liquidation). (Selected Topic).
May 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION Contracts govern countless commercial transactions entered each day by businesses throughout the United States. In connection with the need to promote and regulate commerce, Congress has exercised its power to establish...

A great reputation speaks for itself. (Robert Half Finance & Accounting Marketplace).
May 1, 2003... For more than 50 years, Robert Half Finance & Accounting has been the world's first and largest recruiting firm specializing in the placement of accounting and finance professionals. Listed below is a sampling of positions available through...

107th Credit Congress & Exposition.
May 1, 2003... * June 1-4 Orlando, Florida Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel. Saturday, May 31 8:00am - 5:00pm Registration/NACM Bookstore 8:30am - 5:30pm Certificate Sessions 11000-11004. Business Credit Principles This is an...

Hot spots: Moldova. (International Section).
May 1, 2003... Moldova, a country barely larger than Maryland (population 4.5 million, capital Chisinau), made its break from the Soviet Union in the 1980s riding a wave of nationalism among ethnic Romanians. The leaders of this constituency, once in power,...

At a glance worldwide credit conditions.
May 1, 2003... At A Glance WORLDWIDE CREDIT CONDITIONS ECONOMIC GROWTH GDP % change from previous quarter Q1 02 Q2 02 Q3 02 Q4 02 U.S. 1.2 0.3 1.0 0.4 Canada 1.5 1.2 0.8 0.4 Mexico 0 0.7...

Japan: economic issues. (International Section).
May 1, 2003... (Continued from April 2003 Issue of Business Credit) Since the Persian Gulf War, the world economic situation has been vulnerable to the possibility of an economic downturn. In the April issue of Business Credit, we reported how this has...

What U.S. creditors should know about Mexico's new bankruptcy law. (International Section).
May 1, 2003... Mexico's new bankruptcy law, codified as the Ley de Concursos Mercantiles (LCM"), became effective on May 13, 2000. It incorporates the best international practices, including the recommendations of the World Bank and draws upon domestic...

China in the WTO: the new powerhouse of the world economy makes steady progress toward WTO compliance. (International Section).
May 1, 2003... General Electric announced in March that it has signed new contracts worth $900 million with Chinese power producers. GE already operates 25 branch offices and 30 joint ventures in China, with 9,000 employees and a total investment of more than...

Brazilian insolvency and bankruptcy law. (Selected Topic).
May 1, 2003... In January 2003, Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, the candidate of the populist Worker's Party, became president of Brazil, South America's largest nation. His election caused widespread speculation of what measures the da Silva government would...

Licensing issues can be the death sentence for lien and contract claims. (Credit Column).
May 1, 2003... The legal profession has a view of the construction industry that tends to identify trends in the types of problems encountered on jobs, in contract construction and the enforcement of mechanic's liens. When those trends present themselves,...