Economy Briefs

MF GLOBAL

Liquidation trustee seeks return of up to $2.1 billion

The court-appointed trustee overseeing MF Global Inc.’s liquidation has requested that an additional $2.1 billion be released from frozen customer accounts.

Trustee James Giddens made the request Tuesday. It would be the trustee’s third transfer of funds to MF Global customers since the firm filed for bankruptcy protection Oct. 31. That would bring the total distributed to about $4.1 billion, Mr. Giddens’ office said.

The transfer could take two to four weeks to complete, the office said.

Mr. Giddens has said that up to $1.2 billion is missing from MF Global customer accounts. Regulators are investigating.

RVs

Industry on slow road to recovery in 2011

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The recession-dented RV industry pointed Tuesday to modest gains atop last year’s turnaround performance as another sign that the sector is on a slow road to recovery.

Makers of recreational vehicles, dealers and suppliers attending an annual industry trade show were told that 2011 shipments from manufacturers to dealers are expected to be up 2 percent from last year’s 242,300 shipped units. The 2010 total amounted to a 46 percent gain from 2009 as the economy improved.

In 2007, shipments of RV units totaled 353,400, the fourth-highest figure in a quarter century. By 2009, shipments had slumped to 165,700 units as older RVs parked on dealers’ lots drew scant interest from cash-conscious consumers.

CREDIT CARDS

MasterCard, Western Union team up on prepaid cards

NEW YORK — MasterCard Inc. is teaming up with the Western Union Co. in the fast-growing market for prepaid cards, seeking to make it easier and more convenient to use the reloadable cards globally.

A year after Western Union began issuing prepaid cards bearing the MasterCard logo in the U.S., the companies say they will begin offering the cards in other countries, with the goal to make it possible for consumers worldwide to use prepaid cards to transfer and spend money.

As of Sept. 30, Western Union, based in Englewood, Colo., had more than 1.2 million prepaid cards activated in the U.S., nearly double the number from a year earlier. Customers loaded roughly $120 million on those cards during the third quarter.

From wire dispatches and staff reports