Daily Archives: November 11, 2008

The Mortgage Salvation Plan Spreads (JPM)(C)(WFC)(BAC)

DataBen Bernanke and Henry Paulson may be holding guns to the heads of major banks to get them to "reset" the mortgages of troubled homeowners, or the generous spirit of the holidays may have reached the corner offices at the big financial firms.

Yesterday, Citigroup (C) followed the road taken by JP Morgan (JPM) and offered to modify the terms of as much as $20 billion in mortgages for borrowers that are current on their loan payments but at risk of falling behind. Added to the $75 billion of home loans which are candidates for alteration by JPM and the swell is turning into a wave.

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Posted on: November 11, 2008 – 5:57 am in Housing, , , ,

The End Of Dividends (BAC)(WFC)(NYT)(GCI)(CBS)(GE)

95129cThe big dividend was a hallmark of the big bull market. It was accompanied by a small yield. Even generous payouts were only a little fraction of the share prices at most companies. Their stocks had gone that high. With share prices down, yields have gone mad.

Deep in the basements of most companies, the accounting staffs are working under orders from the CFO and board of directors to protect the balance sheet at any cost. Preparing for the economic siege of the next several quarters, many firms will send costs, necessary to run the company or not, to the guillotine in increasing numbers.

Now, the dividend is going the way of extinction. Yields  are up, for now, but so is debt taken on in the salad days. Cash flow is down. KKR Financial (KFN), which is doing remarkably well, eliminated it dividend yesterday.

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Posted on: November 11, 2008 – 5:42 am in Dividend, , , , , , ,

Media Digest 11/11/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

NewspaperAccording to Reuters, a weakening economy in China and poor US earnings are causing concern that the recession will be deep and long.

Reuters writes that Vodafone (VOD) cuts its full-year revenue forecast.

Reuters writes that the Fed approved American Express’s (AXP) application to become a commercial bank.

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Posted on: November 11, 2008 – 3:56 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Asia Markets And Europe Open 11/11/2008

JapMarkets in Asia were lower.

The Nikkei fell 3% to 8,809. Canon fell on bad economic news from the US.

The Hang Seng fell 4.8% to 14,042. HSBC (HBC) dropped almost 4%.

The Shanghai Composite fell 1.7% to 1,844.

In Europe, the FTSE opened down 1.4% to 4,344, The Dax was off .9% to 4,978. The CAC 40 fell 1.8% to 3,443.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: November 11, 2008 – 3:21 am in International Markets,