AmEx earns

American Express, the best stock in the Dow Jones industrial average this year, said profit fell 48 percent to $342 million, or 9 cents a diluted share, from $660 million, or 56 cents, a year earlier. Shares dropped almost 5 percent in late trading.

GM board

GM announced an ex ecutive shakeup and a new lineup of directors to oversee its turn around. The US and Ca nadian governments, which now control GM, have also brought in pri vate-equity heavy weights from Texas Pa cific Group and Carlyle Group to join the board.

Lampert wins

Edward Lampert, the chairman of Sears Hold ings, won dismissal of a shareholder lawsuit ac cusing him and his com pany of undervaluing real estate assets of Kmart Holding Corp. to suppress the price of Kmart stock.

Naked shorts

“Naked” credit-default swaps may be banned under provisions in the main US House legislation overhauling oversight of the $592 trillion deriva tives industry, House Fin ancial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said. The legislation could ban credit-default swaps where the investor doesn’t own the debt on which the contracts are based.

Bleak forecast

The global economy may fall back into a reces sion by late 2010 or 2011 because of rising govern ment debt, higher oil prices and a lack of job growth, said Nouriel Rou bini, the New York Uni versity economist who predicted the credit crisis.