With many large corporations losing millions of dollars each month, one popular reaction has been to cut down on the money earmarked for marketing. However, many experts are wondering how smart that move is when considering its long-term effects.
Sure, spending more on money can help you save money today. But down the line, a company could hurt its potential growth (or re-growth). If you think about it, there is a reason why companies have been spending billions of dollars in marketing.
Another example of this practice can be found by looking at American Express. Due to being in the struggling financial …read more

Credit card giant American Express has reported a $337 million profit in its second quarter, which marks a 48 percent decrease in profits from the same time last year, when the company earned $660 million in profits. American Express has blamed its relative underperformance on its move to pay off some of the money that it received from the government bailout.
 
According to American Express, the company’s profits, excluding the costs involved in paying back at least some of the money the company received as part of the TARP program, are actually three times higher than what they reported. Analyst predictions, …read more

American Express on Tuesday says they have reached a settlement with the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Those two agencies were upset with American Express regarding the company’s stance on convenience checks.
Numerous consumers reported that they were sent convenience checks but that the checks were ultimately declined. American Express says the checks were declined due to changes in the consumers’ credit limits or ratings.
In the settlement with the OTS and the FDIC, American Express has agreed to cover the fees caused by the declined checks in addition to the civil penalty. All told, the bill …read more

For the fourth straight day, the stock market finished the day in the positive. However, compared to the previous three days, Tuesday’s gains were minimal.
While strong news from the national housing industry helped some stocks, a number of financial institutions saw their stock prices drop substantially. For example, Goldman Sachs fell $1.20, American Express dropped nearly $1.30 and JP Morgan was down by more than $1.60.
Overall, the stock indexes showed that the market moved in the right direction. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.2% to finish Tuesday at 8.740.9. The S&P’s 500 was also up 0.2%, while the …read more

In an effort to save money for the rest of the 2009, American Express will cut approximately 4,000 jobs. Prior to the job cuts, the company was said to have a global workforce of more than 65,000 employees.
In addition to cutting jobs, American Express will also institute a freeze on raises and new hirings. When all is said and done American Express hopes to save about $800 million before the start of 2010.
“We believe these efforts will put us in a better position to remain profitable,” said American Express CEO Kenneth I. Chenault, “and free up some additional resources that …read more

If you’ve seen Spinal Tap, you’ll appreciate the humor of this [not humorous] American Express commercial. In this commercial for small business financing, Amex uses “Gimme Some Money” from the 1984 Christopher Guest mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap. But the song was created for the parody film about a make believe rock band. It’s about a guy asking his girlfriend for money.
It makes me wonder if there’s not some guy in the back cube of an advertising company doing the big *wink*. Or was it intentional?
If you haven’t seen Spinal Tap, I’ve included the original clip here after the commercial.
And the original…
Image Credit: …read more

Many experts around the stock market world are talking about how American Express could see its stock value rise throughout the rest of 2009. Currently, American Express stock is just under $19. Not long ago, the stock was sitting at higher than $50.
American Express took a hit when practically every other company in the financial industry saw their stock prices plummet. However, now experts are pointing to the fact that American Express requires its customers to pay off the card each month, which means that the credit risks associated with the company are much less. Additionally, unlike most credit card …read more

One of the more interesting things that people are finding out as credit card issuers start closing accounts of those who are responsible with their credit is that issuers don’t actually want you to pay off your balance every month and use your card only occasionally. I was asked about this recently:
“I don’t understand why credit card companies care,” a friend said. “Don’t they get money on each transaction? Even if I pay off my credit card every month, or use it only occasionally, aren’t they making money even if I don’t pay interest?”
My friend has been caught in the …read more

I love small business owners! Despite the awful economic news of the last few months, and the beating they took over the worst holiday season in many years, they believe the economy has bottomed out and is on the way up.

The source of this news? An American Express OPEN-sponsored poll of small business owners. Here are the changes in attitude by small business owners that they found from last August and October to January:
The negative trends seem to be reversing in several key areas:
Fewer businesses have been affected by the tightening of credit (50% in August 08, 63% …read more

Job Fairs can lead to great job opportunities if you are ready for the opportunities when they show up. Today, I had the privilege to meet some wonderful people at a National Career Fair in Timonium, MD. For three hours I shook hands, reviewed resumes, coached and connected with job seekers. For me as a coach and blogger it was fun. I enjoy meeting people and sharing valuable information that will make the difference between whether someone will get a job in the next 30 to 90 days.

Some of my observations from my power-packed day:
1. Preparation – Many job seekers …read more