Will American Express Seek Bailout?
 Monday, November 17th, 2008 by Connie T.
We know, we know: "bailout" is the one of the last words you want to hear (again). Unfortunately
the Wall Street Journal is reporting that American Express
plans to ask the Federal Government for about $3.5 billion dollars, under the Troubled Asset Relief Program
(TARP). The request would follow AmEx's recent announcement that they're becoming a bank holding company. The
TARP application has not yet been made.
However, a feature in Barrons
paints a far more optimistic picture for American Express, stating that the credit company has enough liquidity
even if the credit crisis continues beyond 2009; and that, should there be fail, AmEx's "biggest fan" Warren
Buffet would likely see the company through before Uncle Sam is called in to assist.
Hopefully American
Express can pull it together, because this is going to be hard enough without bailing out more financial services
companies. The City of Detroit has now asked
for a $10 billion bailout to help employment, transit, and foreclosures in their city; and it'd be surprising if
they were the only ones.
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