Just days after boosting his stake to 10%, Bill Gates’ investment vehicles, Cascade Investment and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, continue to scoop up shares of battered auto retailer AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN).
Gates’ recent buying has sparked a rally in the stock. The stock which started the week at $6.45 are currently trading at $8.53, a gain of 32%.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) will be trading with the "CLWRD" ticker for the first 20 trading days. While many ticker changes are not good, this one is. Clearwire and Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) have completed their long-pending transaction to combine their next-generation wireless Internet businesses. The long and short of it is that this is a huge win for Clearwire, but the details are even better for the company.
Reverse spilts are the tools of companies which cannot keep their share prices up through good management and sound operation. Most firms that resort to them want to keep their stocks above $1 to keep NYSE or Nasdaq listing or to trade above $5 to meet the investment standards of certain institutional investors.
Ford (F) made another perverse move up today rising as much as 22% to $2.64.
At this juncture, even if the federal govenment does extend loans to the US car companies the firms will have to go through some form of bankruptcy, The only interests that may be served in that process will be those of labor and suppliers in a hope of minimizing the effects on the econonomy.
Bailouts, handouts, subsidies, and free money be damned. In times when most large financial institutions are lining up for their share of TARP funds, there are many regional banks out there which have decided to refuse the government’s bailout TARP funds. These banks say the are solid, and many of their share prices have held up much better than many of the troubled banks which are taking TARP monies. Some of these regional banks are BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS), Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR), First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE: FCF), Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCBK), Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRSP), and Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFD). These are the more actively traded stocks and what gets interesting is the explanation for refusing to accept TARP funds and the ratios of some of these banking institutions.
In a time of trouble, crisis, and inability to raise capital, there are many banks out there which have decided to refuse the government’s bailout TARP funds. These banks appear to be more solid than many of the troubled banks, and interestingly enough their stocks have by and large held up better. We compiled a list of smaller community banks which have refused to participate in TARP funds. Some of these banks are Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUBN), Harleysville Savings Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:HARL), United Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: UBCP), American National Bankshares Inc. (Nasdaq: AMNB), and Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY). Below are the ratios and explanations for each.
In the past month, gold mining stocks have hit new 52-week lows. On October 27th, Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) bottomed out at $17.27, Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) hit $13.84 on the same day, and Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) fell to $21.17. AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) waited a month to touch a low of $13.37 on November 20th.
Accoring to Reuters, Japan’s industrial output fell sharply in October.
Reuters reports that stores are courting careful customers this Black Friday.
Reuters report that Panasonic shares fell to a five year low based on its revised forecast.
Reuters reports that hits it profits goals will be a major task.
Reuters reports that ArcelorMittal will cut 9,000 jobs.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Paulson bailout has been hurt by lack of staff.
The Wall Street Journal reports that OPEC is looking at a fresh round of cuts.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the turnaround at Dell (DELL) is in trouble dur to changes in the global "gadget" business.
The Wall Street Journal reports that cities and states are felling the credit sqeeze.
The Wall Street Journal reports that luxury car sales are in deep decline.
The Wall Street Journal reports that markets in Europe opened flat
The Wall Street Journal reports that a shipping slowdown has hit Nordic banks.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty said the use of pension funds by the Big Three to pay for restructuring threatens to drain the funds
The New York Times says RBS (RBS) says the the government will take a 58% stake.
The FT reports that GM is looking at selling European assets for 200 million euros.
The FT reports that OPEC is looking for members who cheat on quotas.
The FT reports that the downturn in the Chinese economy accelerated over the past month and could lead to high unemployment and social unrest.
Bloomberg says that Treasuries are heading for their best month since 1981.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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