For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 20, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple Inc. (AAPL), KT Corp. (KTC), SK Telecom (SKM), China Unicom (CHU) and American Express Company (AXP).

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Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

South Korea Welcomes iPhone

Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone is finally reaching the hands of South Korean mobile users. The country’s telecom regulator Korea Communications Commission (“KCC") has granted Apple the license to sell the iconic handset in the domestic cell phone market. KCC has also lifted

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American Express Company (AXP) said on Wednesday that it will acquire Internet payment platform Revolution Money for about $300 million.  The deal is expected to close in early 2010. Following the closure of the deal, Revolution Money would operate as a subsidiary of AmEx. The founder and chief executive of Revolution Money, Jason Hogg, will continue as president and chief executive.  St. Petersburg-based Revolution Money was founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case’s Revolution LLC in 2007. Revolution Money provides payments through an internet-based platform and issues prepaid cards that can be used for offline payments or to withdraw cash from ATMs in the U.S. Additionally, Revolution Money offers MoneyExchange, a service to remit money by people using social and instant messaging networks.  According to AmEx management, this acquisition would keep AmEx at the cutting edge in terms of new payments products and platforms. The company ...

The U.S. Treasury's pay czar, who oversees compensation for the highest-paid employees at the firms that received U.S. taxpayer assistance, said on Thursday that he is concerned that pay cuts could obstruct the ability of these firms to retain and attract top talent. However, the pay czar would be open to requests to hire new executives at competitive industry rates. The pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, decides compensation packages for the highest-paid employees at the seven firms that have received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The pay restrictions were imposed on these firms to enable them to repay government money by controlling excessive pay. The seven firms, whose top 25 earners received an average 50% lower pay last month by the order of the pay czar, are American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Chrysler Financial, Chrysler Group ...

Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday that it expects U.S. credit card issuers to remain challenged with respect to their earnings over the near term as a result of soaring unemployment, bankruptcies and losses. Major credit card issuers continue to face severe losses as the U.S. unemployment rate jumped over 10%. In Oct 2009, the unemployment rate increased 40 basis points (bps) to touch 10.2%. Also, as it is expected that the rate will remain above 10% through 2010, consumers will increasingly fall behind on payments. As a result, the losses of the credit card issuers could worsen further. Fitch’s rating outlooks remain negative on some of the less diversified credit card companies which are at risk of a downgrade over the next one to two years. These companies are Capital One Financial Corporation (COF), American Express Company (AXP) and Discover Financial Services (DFS)....

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AXP, American Express Company

AXP, a payments and travel company, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide.

AXP’s division American Express Business Travel announced today the findings of two surveys which offered separate yet similar predictions on the health and future of business travel heading into 2010. The company surveyed its Global Business Partnership (GBP) clients, its largest global clients, as well as 180 client organizations based across Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou in China through its annual China Business Travel Survey (The

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The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform panel said on Wednesday that Congress will soon investigate executive compensation at companies that received significant amount of taxpayer funds. The U.S. Treasury's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg is in charge of deciding compensation packages for the highest-paid employees at all the firms that received bailout money. For seven firms, the situation is critical as these firms received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The seven firms whose compensation plans will be scrutinized are American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Chrysler Financial, Chrysler Group LLC, General Motors and GMAC Inc (GJM). The U.S. Treasury Department is pressing bailed out insurer AIG to reduce $198 million in scheduled retention payments after the government missed the opportunity to defend against controversial bonuses to AIG employees last year. However, AIG ...

In the course of the review of the aptness of the richest pay packages proposed by seven financial firms that received $200 billion in government aid, the U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg is planning to cut the annual cash salaries for many of the top executives whose firms accepted bailout funds. As an alternative to paying large cash salaries, the pay czar is planning to shift a large portion of an employee's annual salary to stock that cannot be accessed for several years. The percentage of salary to be diverted to stock is not yet clear, but it could be above 50% in some cases. The stock compensation would be in addition to salaries and cash bonuses. This will be an incentive for the executive to make good long-term decisions about the company. By mid-October this year, Feinberg expects to issue his judgment on compensation packages ...

American Express Company (AXP) yesterday announced leadership and organizational changes to position itself for growth during a time of change in the payments industry, and to take advantage of the recovery in the world economy. Most importantly, the company said that President Alfred F. Kelly Jr. will step down early next year, as he wants to run a company as a chief executive -- a position that is unlikely anytime soon at American Express. However, Kelly will continue to lead the card issuer's transition to a bank holding company until his departure. As part of its organizational restructuring, the company is now grouping its global consumer, small business and network businesses and appointing Vice Chairman Edward P. Gilligan to head the group. According to the new arrangement, Anre Williams, President of Global Commercial Card, and Charles Petruccelli, President of Global Business Travel and Foreign Exchange, ...

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Bank of America Corporation (BAC) said Tuesday that the bank is expected to repay the bailout money it has received from the government in relation to its participation in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in installments. The government is also pushing the bank to pay at least $500 million to conclude a tentative pact in which the government agreed to share losses on certain BofA assets. The installment payments would enable BofA to gradually reduce government involvement in its affairs. However, unlike the other banks, BofA does not intend to repay its entire $45 billion support from the TARP in lump sum, as it has faced mounting loan losses as more customers default. But it may start with the repayment of $20 billion, which it received as part of the total aid to absorb loss-making investment bank Merrill ...

On Sept. 8, Standard & Poor's (S&P) announced that U.S. credit card losses declined in July 2009. However, at the same time it anticipates that the forecasted bad loans would soon resume their upward trend as unemployment continues to escalate. The ratings agency's credit card quality index, which measures credit card loans that banks expect would default, fell to 9.8% in July from a record high of 10.4% in June, aided by cautious spending by consumers. Furthermore, loan losses also decreased as consumers used more tax refunds to pay down debts. However, the S&P warns that credit card losses will escalate again as the economy continues to shed thousands of jobs every month with unemployment rate at a 26-year high of 9.7% in August, 2009. S&P expects credit card loss rates to rise to a range of 10.5% to 13% based on its assumption that unemployment ...