Nissan's recent struggles are no secret. The company teeters on the verge of bankruptcy after a failed merger attempt with fellow Japanese conglomerate Honda. Now, the company has appointed a new CEO in hopes of turning things around.

TOKYO -- Japanese automaker Nissan Motor announced Tuesday that Ivan Espinosa, the company's chief planning officer, will take over as president and chief executive of the company on April 1, with the urgent task of improving its financial performance and negotiating new partnerships.

Ivan Espinosa has spent more than two decades working for Nissan, and is tasked with turning around the imperiled Japanese carmaker.

The S&P 500 dipped into correction territory on Tuesday and Nissan has pushed out chief executive Makoto Uchida in the wake of the collapse of merger talks with Honda. Plus, banks are trying to catch up to one of the hottest trends in consumer finance: interest-free buy now,