Archive for November, 2010
Is Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Next on WikiLeaks Target List?
Earlier this week, WikiLeaks published thousands of cables of previously confidential government cables, leading to a broad market decline. Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks has become known for blockbuster data dumps that have humiliated top diplomats and put lives in danger. Now, he may be turning his attention to specific companies as well. On [...]
Former Citigroup (NYSE: C) Exec Starting Real Estate Investment Fund In India
Anyone that read Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat” has heard the case for India being the next mega market. Banks have noticed this too of course, by beginning to invest in the developing region, and trying to attract new wealthy clients. Some bankers in particular have interest and growth prospects in the region, as [...]
Citigroup (NYSE: C) Sold Reverse-Convertible Notes
According to regulatory filings, Citigroup (NYSE: C) has sold $104.2 million of reverse-convertible notes in two offerings. The securities pay set interest rates that are generally higher than those of corporate bonds. The risk lies in an embedded option that gives the issuer the right to repay investors with shares if the underlying stock plummets. [...]
HSBC (NYSE: HBC) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) Turning Attention to Asia
Amidst a deep and severe recession in the US and Europe, banks have shifted their focus to grow onto the Asian market. Nowhere is this more evident than with HSBC (NYSE: HBC), the European banking leader who is moving their headquarters, and focus to Asia. Along these lines, HSBC has announced plans to move a [...]
Put Options Gaining Momentum on UBS (NYSE: UBS)
Stock in Swiss bank UBS (NYSE: UBS) has been plummeting since Oct. 26, when it reported a stunning drop in investment-banking business. It rebounded briefly from that decline, made a lower high, and then collapsed. Now, it seems options traders are taking notice, and their actions show how nervous they may be. OptionMonster’s tracking systems [...]
Stable Commodity Markets to Negatively Impact Traders at Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Barclays Capital (NYSE: BCS)?
The commodity market is continuing it’s boom, which is somewhat of a surprise in light of global recessionary pressures. Prices remain high for most raw materials, while volatility stays low even amidst falling inventory levels. However, these factors have actually harmed the banks that trade commodities. Bankers believe the sector will make just $7bn-$8bn in [...]
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) Seeking to Increase Hotel Financing
Bank profitability was battered throughout 2008 and 2009 by loan loss reserves. As clients endured difficulty paying their debt obligations, the banks were left to write off many of these loans, and realize the losses in their P&L. During 2010 we have seen a strong turnaround, with loan loss reserves down many large banks posted [...]
Unlocked Potential in Citigroup’s (NYSE: C) GTS Business
Citigroup (NYSE: C) has been trading at a discount to book value for quite a while, and has seen it’s stock price battered during and since the financial crisis of 2008. In the supermarket model that is Citigroup, disseminating which business units are valuable and which are sagging are quite difficult – but, insight into [...]
Lending Club Default Rate: How to Reduce Lending Club Defaults
If you’re an investor on Lending Club, you know that the number one thing that can negatively impact your rate of return is borrower defaults. Lending Club gives each borrower a credit rating, but by taking advantage of some other factors, you can find “C” and “D” borrowers that you might want to lend money [...]
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) Retires More Debt
It seems that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is aggressively looking at their capital structure, as they have announced multiple plans this month to retire debt. A call provision allows a borrower to retire a bond before it’s maturity date. Strong companies tend to attach these to bond issuances, so that if interest rates fall they [...]
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) Donates to Bay Area Food Banks
As the holiday season quickly launches into full swing, firms sometimes take notice of those less fortunate, and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) has decided to do something about it. The Bay area megabank has donated more than $250,000 to food banks in the area, ensuring more people will have food on their Thanksgiving tables. The [...]
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Suspends Foreclosures In Maine
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) has been embroiled in a foreclosure mess for nearly two months. Multiple State Attorney Generals have filed suits or are currently preparing legislative action aimed at the foreclosure process and question their tactics. Today, the latest state to jump on the band wagon became Maine. Maine Attorney General Janet T. [...]
SEC Still At Odds With Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and “Fabulous Fab”
The Securities and Exchange Commission has expanded its complaint against Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) trader Fabrice Tourre. The new allegations accuse Tourre of giving the company “substantial assistance” as it misled investors in a product linked to subprime mortgages. Although the SEC reached a $550 million settlement with Goldman Sachs in July, the new claim [...]
Banking Profits Rise in Q3 for JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), KeyBank (NYSE: KEY), and Others
Perhaps the tale of their demise has been greatly exaggerated. After all, can a ‘struggling’ industry really earn billions of dollars? The U.S. banking industry earned $14.5 billion during the third quarter, albeit declining from $21.6 billion the previous quarter but up from $2 billion the previous year, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance [...]
Banks Eager To Issue Dividends, Including Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM)
The large banks suspended dividends during the financial crisis, stemming cash outflows and shoring up their financial positions. Now that it seems the worst has passed, the banks are eager to declare dividends once again and hopefully appease their investors. As such, most of the 19 large bank holding companies that will submit their capital [...]
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