Yesterday, American Express held an update for the financial community. Text and slides from the presentations are available online. Amex's emphasis during senior management presentations yesterday was on the regulatory and legal aspects of card payments and on its merchant relationships and strategies related to its "closed loop" process.

HSBC Finance Corp. announced this morning the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Metris in an all-cash transaction for $1.594 billion.

Mitchell Pacelle writes for the Wall St. Journal on the challenges facing online retailers in dealing with card fraud.

When a crook uses a stolen credit card in a traditional store, and the store follows proper procedures, the card-issuing bank usually swallows the loss. For online retailers, the tables are turned. Credit-card association rules dictate that merchants who accept charges from cyberspace, a riskier endeavor, must also shoulder the risk of fraud.

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