News Flash 

Prudential offers tote bags; rule change could crimp retail participation

But end of Saturday delivery could slow retail remittances

Budget woes prompt rate changes and more are on the way

Philip Anderson; Mike Yates; Ronald Vargo; Jeffrey Wahba; Adrian Dillon; Anne Brennan

Approva; Bank of America Merrill Lynch and IdenTrust; U.S. Bank; Concur; Heartland Payment Systems

Smaller companies find borrowing harder, survey says

Scott Huckins; Gregory Hunt; Barry Rowan; Frank Elsenbast; William Arnold; Mark Kochvar

New tools help plan sponsors meet first ERISA e-filing deadline

SEC sticks to 2011 vote, compliance not expected until 2015

Other issues loom, including say on corporate political contributions

Unemployment, COBRA extensions also dropped from jobs bill

Risk articles earn finalist spot in business media awards

Michael Schmidtlein; Janice Smith; Abbe Goldstein; Mark Koors; Wayne Pastore; Scott Maw

SunGard; Chatham; Incisive; Compliance 360; TradeWeb; Investment Governance

In a significant turnaround, finance chiefs plan to increase inventories this year

Aon downgrades 18 countries, citing increased political instability

Michael Gordon; James Garanich; Theresa Messina; Irene Oh; Ita Brennan; Robert Rout

Ecofinance; Northern Trust; CIMCON Software

Proposed new rules would require companies to provide details on such positions with their tax returns

Companies struggle to promote balance sheet awareness

Tom Casey; Kelly Curry; Norman Clubb; Richard Meier; John Ebner; Diana Moy Kelly; Dale Parker

Hook-up helps finance teams keep up to date on data on demand, supply

New accounts payable platform offers quick ROI, says JP Morgan Treasury

Both healthcare bills would repeal employer tax break; ERISA status also a worry

M&A expected to pick up this year after ’09 slowdown