According to a recent international study, the top three business challenges facing companies today are financial pressure to cut costs, competitive threats and rapid growth. In the U.S., 54 percent of participants feel that their greatest business challenge is financial pressure to cut costs due to current U.S. economic conditions. European and Asian companies see challenges in the fiercely competitive job market (43 percent) and high rates of growth (39 percent), respectively.

Fitch Ratings says EMEA corporates generally have comfortable liquidity profiles, aided by undrawn committed bank funding, compared with some Asia-Pacific corporates that rely on short-dated uncommitted bank funding.

U.S. CMBS delinquencies increased two basis points in July to end the month at 0.43%, according to the latest Fitch Ratings Loan Delinquency Index.

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday announced the distribution of nearly $40 million to more than 600,000 investors who were harmed by undisclosed market timing and excessive short-term trading in certain mutual funds managed by Putnam Investment Management, LLC. This is the first in a series of Fair Fund distributions that will ultimately return a total of more than $150 million to more than 1.5 million affected Putnam mutual fund investors.

A major transmission proposal has traversed some rough terrain. The $1.1 billion line that is to stretch 240 miles through the states of Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia has overcome attacks and won over a key regulatory body.