The Western Union Co. (WU) said on Thursday that it renewed its agreement with the Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) to provide Western Union Money Transfer services in China.   The renewal will help Western Union to continue its Money Transfer services through more than 20,000 locations of Postal Savings Bank in China.   Postal Savings Bank is a leading bank in China and since 2001 it has been a Western Union Agent. The Western Union management expects the renewal to drive results for Western Union from Postal Savings Bank’s network across urban and rural China.   Along with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta and Pago Facil branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, as well as send payments and purchase money orders.   Western Union’s third-quarter earnings of 33 cents per share were ...

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• Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) reported global case volume increased 4% during the quarter, with earnings coming in at 92 cents a share, ahead of Street estimates of 89 cents a share

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• Merck (NYSE:MRK) reported second quarter earnings of 83 cents a share, beating estimates by 6 cents, as revenues dropped 2.5% to $5.9 billion

• Western Union (NYSE:WU) posted better-than-estimated second quarter earnings of 32 cents a share, 2 pennies ahead of Street projections on in-line revenues, which dropped 6.9% to $1.25

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• General Motors (NASDAQ"GMGMQ) exits bankruptcy today

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• Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) upgraded Western

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On July 6, 2009, Dollar Financial Corp. (DLLR) announced the acquisition of four stores in Northern Ireland for £550,000 including £160,000 for the loan books. Three of the stores reside in central Belfast whereas the fourth store is situated in the town of Lisburn, the third largest city in Northern Ireland.

The acquired stores are multi-product locations offering check cashing, payday lending and pawn broking services. The company plans to expand the stores to include all of its services, including Western Union money transfers, foreign exchange and debit cards and others.

The EBITDA contribution for the acquired stores for the twelve months following the acquisition is expected to be in the range of £0.3 million and £0.4 million.

Acquisitions of similar entities and franchised locations allow Dollar Financial to leverage its corporate infrastructure while acquisitions of complementary businesses have helped leverage the company’s existing store footprint by including supplementary services. We believe

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Back in June I wrote an article entitled Western Union (NYSE:WU) is gaining. The stock, which was trading around $24 at the time, has risen 4 points to $28 for a 15% gain. Not a bad gain for 2 months.

Let’s take a look at the recent news on the stock and see if it’s time to hold, sell, or double down.

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