Home » Archive for November, 2009
Warren Buffett Increases Stake in Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Via Berkshire Hathaway (BRK:A) – Is it Ethical?
In its most recent regulatory filing, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK:A) increased its stake in Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) by over 10 million shares in the third quarter. To me, this does raise ethical questions on the part of the actions and... More of this article »
Federal Reserve Report Asserts Inflation Less Than Expected
In an excuse to keep interest rates low and allow the U.S. dollar to fall in value, the Federal Reserve issued its latest report saying, among other things, that wholesale prices rose far less than expected, supposedly reinforcing... More of this article »
How Many Rules Does it Take to Regulate Overdraft Fees?
When the Federal Reserve introduced new rules last week which would ban banks and credit unions from charging overdraft fees to consumers at ATMs or debit cards unless they’re giving option of accepting or declining the service,... More of this article »
Citigroup (NYSE:C) Bumps Base Salary Of Key Execs, Pays Stock Bonus
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) reported Tuesday that it increased the base salary of its Chief Financial Officer and head of trading, according to regulatory filings. Those executives, along with the bank’s vice chairman also received... More of this article »
Lazar Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) Appoints New CEO, Stays In-house
The transition from a known CEO to a new CEO can always be a harrowing experience for a firm. When that transition happens unexpectedly, it is even more challenging. When Bruce Wasserstein passed away unexpectedly in October of 2009,... More of this article »
P2P Lending Coming Soon to Local Banks Thanks to New Fiserv (NYSE: FISV) Product
Peer-to-Peer lending has grown in popularity significantly over the last two years because of the pioneering work done by Prosper.com, Lending Club, and a few other entrants into the market place. One company, Fiserv (NYSE: FISV),... More of this article »
Prosper.com Begins Offering Hardship Arrangements to Delinquent Borrowers
Prosper.com has been able to get passed its legal trouble with the SEC, but there’s still one looming problem that the peer-to-peer lending industry has yet to find an answer for—extremely high rates of delinquency amongst its... More of this article »
Maybe Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and CEO Lloyd Blankfein Should Become More Boring
Like it or not, the current economic crisis and outrageous bailouts offered by the U.S. government on behalf of taxpayers have put Americans in a sour mood, and for better or worse, those bankers and businesses putting themselves out... More of this article »
Federal Reserve or Super Regulatory Agency? … Neither
For those who understand what has happened in reference to regulators before and during the current economic crisis, the idea of taking authority and responsibility away from the Federal Reserve and placing it within a new super regulatory... More of this article »
Obama’s ‘Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009’ Provides Tax Breaks Worth Billions to Big Business
Nowhere has the bailout funds been seen as useless than the billions thrown around by the Obama administration in the name of creating more jobs. Now that it has been exposed as either a hoax, or at minimum – incompetence, the... More of this article »
On Deck: Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) House Oversight Committee Hearings
Timothy Mayopoulos was fired as general counsel by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) in December 2008, but his insight did not end there. Mayopoulos is scheduled to testify before Congress for the first time on Tuesday as a House oversight... More of this article »
Virgin Money Winds Down U.S. Business Operations
Virgin Money has recently redesigned their U.S. website and has dropped the majority of their service offerings. If you navigate over to Virgin Money’s website, you’ll see the phrase “Everyone’s better off with simplicity in... More of this article »
Credit Card Defaults Fall At Capital One (NYSE: COF), BofA (NYSE: BAC) And JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), But Delinquencies Rise
Several large financial institutions, such as Capital One (NYSE: COF), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) reported Monday that credit card defaults fell in October. However, a rise in delinquencies was reported... More of this article »
Prosper.com Receives $1 Million Bridge-Funding Investment
Peer-to-Peer lending company, Prosper, announced last week that they have received a $1 million investment from the founder of Capital One, Nigel Moris, who now leads and investment group called QED Investors. The terms of the loan... More of this article »
$300 Million Hedge Fund Shift Good News for Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bad News for Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)
A hedge fund with over $29 billion in assets has made a play to take a significant ownership share in Citigroup (NYSE: C), while selling its entire stake in Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and selling shares in JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM)... More of this article »
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Citibank (NYSE:C) Checking Account Fees Reveal Folly of Government Interference
There are always unintended consequences to government interference in the marketplace, and that’s no exception with the banking industry, as recent fees were added to checking accounts at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Citibank... More of this article »
FDIC Shutters Three More Banks on Friday the 13th
With the three banks closed on Friday the 13th, the total for the year has now reached 123. The banks taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation included unsurprisingly, two in Florida and one in California. The Florida... More of this article »
China Criticizes U.S. Monetary Policy, Says Could Risk Global Recovery
Liu Mingkang, China’s top banking regulator, speaking at the International Finance Forum in Beijing on November 15, said that U.S. monetary policy is generating a tremendous amount of speculation in global asset markets, and... More of this article »
Analysts: Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Should Keep Ken Lewis as CEO … For Now
There is a potential disaster looming at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) concerning its CEO situation, where nobody with any brains would want to accept the position, as government attacks on Ken Lewis would assuredly continue on with his... More of this article »
Hedge Fund Billionaire Paulson Takes Citigroup (NYSE: C) Stake, Reduces JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM)
Billionaire investor John Paulson disclosed in a regulatory filing his Paulson & Co. hedge fund took a large stake in Citigroup (NYSE: C), while reducing its holdings in JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSES: GS). According... More of this article »
Citigroup (NYSE: C) To Sell Stake In Japanese Call Center
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) announced Sunday it has agreed to sell its majority stake in Japanese call center Bellesystem24. The move is just the latest in assets sales by the bank as it aims to raise capital and shore up its balance... More of this article »
Bank of America’s (NYSE:BAC) CEO Search Hits Another Hurdle: Compensation
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) continues to seek a new chief executive, but troubles appear at each turn. Now, it seems that a major hurdle in the search will be the ability to offer pay commensurate with the position. While the Bank... More of this article »
Is Investing in Peer-to-Peer Loans Through Prosper.com a Good Investment?
Prosper.com has been around for several years now and has recently began a significant advertising campaign, which includes running ads on CNBC and many are wondering if Prosper.com is a viable alternative investment for some of their... More of this article »