In the face of moderate economic growth in the United States and overseas, short and long term interest rates remain at historically low levels.  A cancellable interest rate strategy can be used as a hedge against a specific debt facility or as a part of a larger strategy to manage duration of a debt portfolio.

Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act imposes a new regulatory regime on the U.S. swaps market. As a swap dealer, PNC must comply with these requirements and there are a number of regulations that will directly affect you , the swap end-user.

Steps toward better business resiliency

Whether you’re contemplating buying or selling a business in 2013 -- or if you’re just curious about current market conditions -- this webinar will provide valuable, real-time market insights for your company’s key strategic and financial decision makers. Bill Watkins and Greg Creamer will review the drivers and headwinds that affected the M&A market in 2012 and also provide a preview of the climate going into 2013.

If you are doing business in China, the recent liberalization of its currency can have substantial benefits for you. It’s easier to make and receive payments and there are more tools for managing currency risk.

Business resiliency is not disaster recovery, but its plans ensure uninterrupted processing for essential functions. Disaster recovery plans address the restoration of service after a catastrophic event, and most businesses need both.

With a watershed election just around the corner and national and international markets more unpredictable than ever, managing interest rate risk requires both insight and informed strategies. Join us as Tina Hwang, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, and Todd English, Director, with PNC’s Capital Markets Derivative Products group discuss:
• Current market conditions
• How regulatory reform might affect your business
• Managing risk in a low interest rate environment

When you take on the substantial risks and rewards of doing business with China, you need to avoid the wrong strategy, the wrong partner, and poor management. You can accomplish this by focusing on China’s economic structure, business environment and culture.

Just as the financial marketplace is driving to faster and more anonymous transactions, fraudsters are increasingly using old-fashioned methods to collect tid-bits of financial information that can enable them to compromise your accounts. Corporations both large and small as well as government entities, school districts and individuals are vulnerable.

Business resiliency plans ensure uninterrupted processing for essential functions.  Most business interruptions fall into one or more of these 5 categories: hardware, facilities, network/telecom, software and people.  With a strong business resiliency plan, you can be prepared and avoid the difficulties of recovery without one.

As companies increase engagement with international trading partners and markets remain unpredictable, they must develop and adopt effective foreign exchange risk strategies. This webinar will cover why you need an FX policy, elements of an effective policy, forecasting, budgeting and planning and considerations for the period between trade execution and maturity.

With interest rates at all-time lows, some companies may have been lulled into a false sense of security about interest rate risk. However, the intermediate and long end of the yield curve has been trending up dramatically. Companies can utilize financial models to inform their decision around  hedging a portion of their projected debt portfolio for longer durations.

The strength of the current M&A market offers significant opportunities for liquidity and growth. What are the implications for your company? This presentation will include:

•An update on conditions in the M&A market
•How you can prepare for a sale

Join us as Bill Watkins and Greg Creamer, Harris Williams & Co. provide the information you need to plan for success environment and answer your questions.

In an effort to deal with the turmoil of the past few years, many companies invested and deployed excess cash so cautiously that their strategy may be counterproductive as the economy improves. These companies now recognize the importance of having a deliberate and well-thought out investment policy that provides clear direction on how investments will be managed and how much risk is acceptable.

It can be difficult to predict the short- and long-term effects of monetary and fiscal policies on currencies. As a result, more companies are hedging foreign exchange risk and others are improving their strategies. Both can benefit from this overview of the hedging process.

Over the past few years, many companies have minimized or frozen spending and investments. However, the pressure to stay competitive in the global marketplace makes it unrealistic to hold off on technology and operations improvements for the long term. For many, it’s time to determine what initial investments make the most strategic sense and how to finance them. We take a look at some creative approaches.

The many financial regulatory initiatives underway today, including Basel III and the Dodd-Frank Act, have the potential to substantially impact financial services firms, the function of the capital markets, and business activity overall. The fact that these efforts conflict with each other adds to the uncertainty companies are facing. Find out how these new bank regulations could impact your access to capital and liquidity.

Americans’ confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement has plunged to a record low. 401K and other retirement plan participants are looking for online solutions to get their retirement savings back on track. Plan sponsors should be aware that professional participant advice and professional management can help.

In an effort to deal with the turmoil of the past few years, many companies deployed excess cash so cautiously that their strategy may be counterproductive as the economy improves. Michael Houlihan, assistant vice president, corporate deposits and liquidity, discusses the framework for a good investment policy and insight into today’s investment options.

Current events, both seismic and political, have resulted in unprecedented volatility in the interest rate markets. Join PNC's Senior Vice Presidents Hans Hurdle and Howard Sakin as they review long- and short-term interest rate trends and the conditions that drive them as well as successful strategies for dealing with interest rate risk.

If you are involved in international business as an importer, exporter or multinational, your head must be spinning. Paul Toth, Managing Director, PNC’s Foreign Exchange Group, outlines currency issues and suggests ways to mitigate risk.

Even in uncertain times, credit is available with competitive pricing and terms for companies that regard their bank as a vital resource. Here are tips for keeping an open relationship with your banker.

A new window of opportunity has emerged for business owners. Corporations with cash on their balance sheets are hungry for quality acquisitions, private equity groups have come off the sidelines, and debt availability has returned. Find out what made businesses resilient to shifts in the economy, what's ahead for 2011 and what it means for your business.

Just how worried should you be about online fraud? Corporate account takeovers continue to grow as criminals increase the number of attacks and the sophistication of their malicious software. But too many businesses feel that online fraud can’t happen to them. The truth is that cyber criminals increasingly target business computers in order to facilitate theft. Mele gives tips and tactics for protecting your business.

M&A volume has begun to pick up and debt financing markets have rebounded. In this environment, your company may be well-positioned to benefit from M&A activity. Are you ready to participate? Bill Watkins, co-head of business development for Harris Williams, provides checklists for buyers and sellers.

Interest rate derivatives can help you mitigate the risk of unpredictable interest rate swings and ensure that more of each revenue dollar drops to the bottom line. Edwin Martinez, Managing Director in PNC's Derivative Products Group, discusses derivative strategies and how to actively manage risk.

Do you know the safest ways to get paid for an international sale? The U.S. Commercial Service & PNC Bank help with our "Making Exporting Easier" web-based seminar that outlines the common international methods of payment used in global trade and risk mitigation tools.

Rolling FX Hedges can be tailored to match your company's cash flow needs and adjust for risk, enabling your company to compete in a changing business environment.  Garry Duncan, Managing Director in PNC's Foreign Exchange Group, outlines how these can be a viable option.

By fully leveraging their banking relationships, middle market companies can be better prepared to manage risk and take advantage of opportunities.  In this video, we'll explore how.

While it's true that the recession has affected 401(k) plans, they can still be a viable retirement program if plan participants have access to the information they need. Bonnie Fawcett, PNC's Director of the 401(k) Bundled Plan program, offers employers some suggestions on how to engage their employees.

Canada and Mexico provide tremendous business opportunities for U.S. companies that want to grow.  However, there are still some unique challenges that need to be addressed. George Hoffman, Senior Vice President of PNC's Global Treasury Management Group, reviews some of the differences in banking services, regulations and market risks that could affect your bottom line.

Did you know that it's possible to hedge the interest rate risk today for debt that your company plans to issue in the future?  The ability to manage future interest rate risk is particularly important in today's economic environment when rates are near all-time lows and will likely rise in the coming months.

The National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), the organization that governs the ACH network, has developed a new transaction type in order to identify ACH entries that involve foreign financial agencies. If you're an ACH originator, you'll want to familiarize yourself with the rule change and how it may impact your company or organization.

The concept of retirement can seem daunting even in the best of times. Given the current economic turmoil, you may be questioning your ability to retire as planned and wondering if you'll be able to support the lifestyle you've imagined. Responses to PNC's fifth annual Wealth & Values Survey indicate that you're not alone. Tom Crowley of PNC Wealth Management highlights a few of the more surprising survey results and offers some tips on how you can start to plan for retirement.

Historic fluctuations in the value of the US dollar relative to other currencies has caused many companies to be wary of doing business in international markets. For companies with foreign receivables that need to be converted or assets or liabilities that need to be translated into US dollars, the challenge to manage those exposures can be daunting.

While banks are required by federal guidelines to continually enhance online security, there are a number of steps that you can take to help protect your company from fraud.

A staggering number of companies experience attempted or actual payment fraud, with the majority of incidents related to checks. Regardless of your company's size or industry, there are a variety of strategies, services and technologies available today to help reduce your company's risk of check fraud.

Results of PNC Wealth Management’s fourth annual Wealth and Values Survey showed that while 77% of business owners say that they have wills, only 33% indicated they had a business succession plan. The impact of not having a business succession plan could be disastrous to a business owner’s family and to the operation of the business.