Archive for May, 2010
Mortgage Rates Hit Yearly Low, Says Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE)
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to its lowest level all year during this week, according to Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE). The average rate on the fixed rate home loan was 4.93 percent, down from 5 percent a week ago. That marks the lowest level since December of 2009 when the 30-year [...]
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) Concerned Over EU Inflation
As investors have digested the implications of the bailout package of close to $1 trillion for the irresponsible spending by the countries in southern Europe, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) have rightly noted the strong risk of inflation that accompanies the rescue package. Fears are coming from what appears to be an increasingly [...]
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Says April Best Month for Permanent Mortgage Modifications
The original HAMP mortgage modification program was a disaster, as the required paperwork demanded by the government completely hindered the purpose of HAMP. After changes though, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) says things are improving in that area, and April was their most successful month in helping convert the temporary mortgage modifications into permanent ones. Jack [...]
Andrew Cuomo Investigating Citigroup (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), others, Over “Misleading” Ratings Agencies
Andrew Cuomo has initiated another investigation, this time into eight banks, which include Citigroup (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), UBS, Deutsche Bank, Credit Agricole and Credit Suisse. This is one of the more stupid things I’ve seen a politician do in the banking crisis, and it’s so obvious that [...]
AIG (NYSE:AIG) Putting Microscope on Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) Over CDOs During Financial Crisis
At its annual meeting, AIG (NYSE:AIG) Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche said they have their legal team going over the dealings the company had with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and others with CDOs during the financial crisis, which led to AIG being taken over by the Government, which resulted in them holding an 80 percent stake [...]
Citigroup (NYSE:C) Nabs Executive from Bank of America’s (NYSE:BAC) US Trust for New York Regional Head
U.S. Trust, a wealth management division of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), lost another key executive, this time to Citigroup (NYSE:C), which had been looking for a permanent head of their New York region. Charles Merrill will head up the New York regional office for Citigroup once he’s put in place by the company. Merrill headed [...]
Report: Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Probed By Regulators Over Derivatives
Federal regulators are investigating Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to figure out whether the bank holding company misled investors in regard to mortgage backed investments it was involved in creating, according to recent reports. The Wall Street Journal broke the story, citing people familiar with the situation. However, Morgan Stanley has already refuted the story. “We [...]
Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) Launches New Peer to Peer Payments Service, Hopes to Steal Thunder from PayPal (NASDAQ: EBAY)
Fiserv, Inc (NASDAQ: FISV) has announced a new peer to peer payments service which will be available to banks and credit unions, called ZashPay, which will allow users to send each other electronic payments without the use of an intermediary such as Ebay’s PayPal (NASDAQ: EBAY). The service will likely not compete with peer to [...]
Lending Club Now Offering 5-Year Peer to Peer Loans
Lending Club, a company which offers a peer to peer lending marketplace, has now begun offering 5 year unsecured loans to borrowers in addition to the 3 year loans which are standard among the industry. Lending Club Director of Product Development Rob Garcia wrote on the company’s blog on May 11th that “As of this [...]
AIG (NYSE: AIG) Green Lights $380 Million Compensation Plan For 2010
American International Group (NYSE: AIG) has approved a compensation plan that will payout $380 million to executives based on their performance, according to recent reports. The plan comes as the insurer works to find a balance between responsible pay on performance, while still offering enough compensation to retain top talent. The plan will payout roughly [...]
JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) Ups Bet On Gannett Co.
JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) has become the largest investor in newspaper publisher, Gannett Co. after acquiring more shares of the firm, giving it a total of 24.3 million, according to a regulatory filing. The additional purchase gives the bank about a 10 percent stake in the company. The move makes it clear that JP [...]
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Joins Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), J.P. Morgan (NYSE:JPM) with No Trading Losses in First Quarter
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is the latest giant financial institution to announce it experienced no trading losses in the first quarter, making it three banks now claiming that distinction, including Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and J.P. Morgan (NYSE:JPM). Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) stole everyone else’s thunder by making the announcement first, getting the lion’s share of the [...]
Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) Reiterates “Buy” Rating on Citigroup (NYSE:C)
Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O’Connor reiterated a “Buy” rating on Citigroup (NYSE:C), along with his price target of $505, after meeting with Citigroup CFO John Gerspach on Monday. Much of O’Connor’s rating is based on what he considers a reduction in risk in Citigroup’s trading book of business, and even with the extreme amount of [...]
Citigroup (NYSE:C) Likes DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH), Maintains Buy Rating
Citigroup (NYSE:C) likes what it sees with DISH Network (NASDAQ:DISH), and maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on the company as a result. Quarterly earnings for the company exceeded analysts’ expectations, as they generated $0.52 a share, while the street was looking for $0.50 a share. Revenue for DISH beat what Citigroup had been looking for by [...]
Citigroup (NYSE:C) Sees Aluminum Prices Rising, Alcoa (NYSE:AA), Century Aluminum (Nasdaq:CENX) Would Benefit
Citigroup (NYSE:C) estimates the price of aluminum could rise almost 25 percent, benefiting aluminum giants like Alcoa (NYSE:AA) and Century Aluminum (Nasdaq:CENX). The projected price from Citigroup is predicated on what is called inventory-to-consumption rate of 10 weeks. Citigroup analyst David Thurtell said the combination of ports, producers and exchanges have stockpiles of about 7.66 [...]
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