The Bureau of National Affairs has written off the remaining $6.3 million in good will for the unit that markets the Kennedy Information and IOMA lines after that subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September. Nevertheless, the publisher rebounded to profitability and registered a slight gain in revenue for the 12 weeks ended September 11 and it reported signifcant improvements in operating profit at BNA Software.

With the refund market appearing more and more threatened, H&R Block has sued HSBC Bank claiming that the bank, which fund's the tax preparation companies loan programs, has failed to take steps that would enable Block to provide Refund Anticipation Loans during the upcoming tax season. That comes less than a week after Meta Financial says it has to get regulatory approval for expanding its income tax-based loan programs.

Regulators have ordered MetaBank, a subsidiary of Meta Financial, to get regulatory approval before offering a wide range of credit products, including income tax refund application loans and assisted tax refund transfers. In a statement filed with the SEC, however, the company it expected to continue its relationships with third parties although it cannot ascertain any expected adverse impact on its lending businesses. The bank was also hammered by the Office of Thrift Supervision for engaging in unfair or deceptive practices and ordered to immediately discontinue its iAdvance program.