BUSINESS BRIEFS
OPEC to comply with production levels set earlier
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SAN FRANCISCO — The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said yesterday it will leave oil-output levels unchanged and will fully comply with production targets the group agreed to late last year.
OPEC, which controls about a third of the world's oil production, met in Vienna, Austria, yesterday to mull possible moves as oil prices trade below their July high of $147 a barrel despite recent cuts to output. Crude finished down nearly 2 percent to $46.25 a barrel on Friday, but despite the losses, closed the week with a 1.6 percent gain.
OPEC has agreed to three production cuts since September, totaling 4.2 million barrels a day. The International Energy Group, an energy adviser, said Friday OPEC has shown an 80 percent compliance with its earlier production cuts.
The oil cartel said it will meet again on May 28 and Sept. 9 in Vienna to reassess output. OPEC President and Angolan oil minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos hinted that more tightening may be considered at the group's meeting in May, according to reports.
AID TARGETED FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
WASHINGTON — Amid misgivings over his spending blueprint, President Obama has decided to provide billions of dollars in federal lending aid aimed at struggling small-business owners.
The broad package of measures to be announced today includes portions of the $730 million from the stimulus plan that will be used to immediately reduce small-business lending fees and increase the government guarantee on some Small Business Administration loans to 90 percent. The government also will take aggressive steps to boost bank liquidity with more than $10 billion aimed at unfreezing the secondary credit market, according to officials briefed on the plan who demanded anonymity to avoid pre-empting the president's announcement.
In the coming weeks, the SBA will unveil additional initiatives as part of the stimulus plan to help a small-business community that is seen as critical to staving off job losses and promoting economic growth, officials said.
BANKS RAISING CREDIT CARD FEES
A growing number of banks are raising credit card fees or rolling out new fees to offset record delinquencies and rising charge-offs.
Wells Fargo has increased late fees and cash-advance fees. Chase has put a $120 yearly fee on some cards with low interest rates. And American Express raised its late fee for some business cards.
Higher fees "are a recognition of risk going up," says Robert Hammer, chairman of industry consultant R.K. Hammer. Banks "are not going to watch their costs go up and take no action," he says.
Overall, issuers will reap a record $20.5 billion in penalty fees in 2009, Hammer estimates. Last year, penalty fee income, including late and over-limit fees, rose 5 percent to $19 billion.
