American Express may hurt itself by cutting business

American Express (NYSE: AXP) is heading back to being a charge card company for people with good credit. In a recession, this move may be the right one to help its earnings today, but as the economy recovers, it may be leaving some very valuable business to Visa (NYSE: V) and large banks.

According toThe Wall Street Journal, "In an attempt to mitigate the damage, AmEx is retreating from an ill-timed expansion of its credit-card business."