General Growth Properties Inc. may have to file for bankruptcy if it cannot refinance more than $4 billion in debt due by the end of 2009, Crain’s reported. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the Chicago-based owner of Jordan Creek Town Center said, “In the event we are unable to extend or refinance our debt or obtain additional capital on a timely basis and on acceptable terms, we will be required to take further steps to acquire the funds necessary to satisfy our short term cash needs, including seeking legal protection from our creditors.” The real estate investment trust has been hit hard by the financial slump after relying on short-term debt to finance acquisitions earlier in the decade, including its $7.2 billion purchase of Rouse Co. in 2004. Shares of the mall owner slumped even further yesterday to a new low of $1.37, down 97 percent from the beginning of the year.

Cedar Rapids-based Rockwell Collins Inc. said it will lay off 300 workers, or 1.5 percent of its work force, to help it weather tough economic conditions, the Associated Press reported. The maker of electronics and aviation systems for the aeronautics industry and the military said it would implement other operational efficiencies, including eliminating 100 contract workers, primarily in engineering functions, deferring or eliminating some open positions, reducing discretionary spending and delaying 2009 merit raises for management and most other employees for three months. “Like many other companies, we’re dealing with significant challenges in meeting our business objectives,” said CEO Clay Jones. “These challenges include air travel declines resulting from the weaker global economy, delays and cancellations in several government programs and the prolonged Boeing strike.”

The Federal Reserve has waived a 30-day waiting period and approved a plan for American Express Co. to convert into a commercial bank, Bloomberg reported. The move will allow the largest U.S. credit-card company by purchases to access government funds as credit card defaults climb. American Express said last month that credit card holders failed to repay loans in the third quarter at nearly twice the rate of the year-ago period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley converted to banks earlier this year, giving them access to the $700 billion bailout of the banking system. American Express said its conversion wouldn’t require “significant divestitures.”

Wells Fargo & Co. will host a small-business webcast tomorrow at 1 p.m. Iowa time. A panel discussion will cover “Retirement and Transition Strategies for Your Business.” Register for the free event at www.wellsfargo.com/biz/webcast.

Carly Fiorina, former chair and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co., will speak on Monday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall at Iowa State University’s Memorial Union as the Fall 2008 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. Her presentation, “Tough Choices: Women, Leadership and Power,” will discuss her personal story in rising to power as a young woman in a male-dominated profession. The event is free and open to the public.