BUSINESS BRIEFS
American Express reports 10 percent decline in profit
Associated Press
NEW YORK — American Express Co. said yesterday its profit slumped nearly 10 percent in the fourth quarter after it set aside more money to prepare for cardholder defaults.
The credit-card issuer posted net income of $831 million, or 71 cents a share, down 9.9 percent from $922 million, or 75 cents a share, in the previous year's fourth quarter.
Total revenue rose 10 percent to $6.42 billion from $5.84 billion in the prior fourth quarter. Excluding interest expense, revenue came to $7.36 billion, up from $6.68 billion a year ago.
CHARGES FILED AGAINST TRADER
PARIS — Investigating judges filed preliminary charges yesterday against a trader accused of causing billions of dollars in losses for France's second-largest bank. He was released from custody while the thorny investigation continues.
Preliminary charges of "breach of trust" and unauthorized computer activity were filed against Jerome Kerviel, his lawyer, Christian Charriere-Bournazel, told reporters.
The judges did not pursue a fraud charge sought by the prosecutor's office or even continue to hold him as the prosecutor wanted for fear he might flee. It was not immediately clear whether the judges were pursuing charges of forgery, also requested by the prosecutor.
N.Y. TIMES PROXY FIGHT SHAPING UP
NEW YORK — Two investors disclosed plans yesterday to name their own slate of four directors at The New York Times Co., saying the board hasn't acted aggressively enough to meet the demands of the rapidly changing media industry.
The investors, Firebrand Partners and Harbinger Capital Partners, laid out their position in a letter to Times' Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and CEO Janet Robinson. The letter, dated Sunday, was disclosed in a regulatory filing yesterday.
The Times said Friday that Harbinger had notified the company of its intention to name four directors for election at its next annual meeting on April 22. Firebrand indicated that it was working together with Harbinger and that together the two companies owned 4.9 percent of Times stock.
HOTELIERS UNVEIL EDITION BRAND
Bill Marriott and Ian Schra-ger, two of the unlikeliest business partners in lodging history, finally have a name for their new boutique hotel chain: Edition.
The announcement of the name, scheduled for today in Los Angeles, comes seven months after the pair revealed their partnership on the roof club of Schrager's eclectic Gramercy Park Hotel in New York, and nearly 10 years after Marriott International rival Starwood launched its boutique W Hotel concept to much fanfare.
Marriott said the name took several months to work out and ultimately emerged from Schrager's team, which is not surprising given that the 75-year-old chief executive has said his Bethesda, Md.-based company didn't have the creative chops to enter the boutique space on its own.
MALONE MOVES AGAINST DILLER
NEW YORK — Liberty Media Corp.'s John Malone, a longtime business partner of Barry Diller, took action yesterday to oust Diller from the board of the IAC/InterActiveCorp Internet conglomerate.
The move is the latest in dueling lawsuits the two sides have filed in Delaware courts, following IAC's announcement that it would break into five separate publicly traded companies. Liberty says that would rob the media holding company of its shareholder voting power.
Malone's lawyers sought the removal of seven IAC board members in all, including Diller; his wife, the designer Dianne Von Furstenberg; Edgar Bronfman Jr.; and Steven Rattner. Three other current IAC board members were not named as targets, including a former Coca-Cola Co. executive, Donald Keough, and retired Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf.
