Under Armour signs N.Y. Mets' Jose Reyes
Baltimore-based sports apparel company Under Armour has signed New York Mets All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes to a multiyear partnership. Reyes will be featured in a new advertising campaign that begins today and introduces a new lightweight baseball cleat. Other baseball players Under Armour has signed include Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Zimmerman, Jeff Francoeur, Nick Markakis and Francisco Liriano.
Andrea K. Walker
PNC puts moratorium on home foreclosures
NEW YORK : Following the lead of other large banks, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. announced a moratorium on new and pending mortgage foreclosures yesterday. The moratorium on mortgage loans owned and serviced by PNC and the recently acquired National City Mortgage is effective immediately through March 13, or upon the start of the government's expected loan modification program, the company said. President Barack Obama is scheduled to outline a plan to help stem mortgage foreclosures today. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. announced last week that they would expand their efforts to halt home foreclosures. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said the New York company plans to suspend new foreclosures on owner-occupied home loans through March 6. Dimon made the pledge in a letter to Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Citigroup's foreclosure moratorium applies to all Citi-owned first-mortgage loans that are for the principal residence of the customer, as well as all loans Citi services, until the administration completes the details of its loan modification program or March 12, whichever is earlier. Shares of Pittsburgh-based PNC fell $1.73, or 6.1 percent, to close at $26.47 amid a broad decline in the market.
Associated Press
Experian limits access to FICO credit scores
As of last week, one of the three major credit reporting bureaus - Experian - will no longer allow consumers direct access to their FICO credit scores, this at a time when money is tight and lenders are putting even more stock in those scores. Experian's move "is a huge problem" for consumers, said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at Credit.com, an education site. "We don't need less access. We need more access." The scores are based on data in consumers' credit reports. The other two major reporting bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax, will still allow consumers to purchase their FICO scores. While consumers are entitled by law to see credit reports for free at least once a year, that is not the case with credit scores. Experian's move was based on a disagreement over terms with Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac, which developed the FICO scoring method, said a spokeswoman.
Newsday