Anyone curious about the health of the financial services industry got a look this afternoon.
Bank of America (BAC) will cut 35,000 jobs over the next three years.
According to the company,"The reductions are coming from both companies and affect all lines of business and staff units."
Gildan Activewear (GIL) Warns next quarter will be weak. Drops to $7.76 from 52-week high of $42.74.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) Airline traffic dropping, oil prices going up. Falls off to $7.13 from 52-week high $16.77
Pain Therapeutics (PTIE) FDA gives bad news on drug. Sells down to $5.50 from 52-week high of $10.99.
Cirrus Logic (CRUS) Profits concerns. Plunges to $2.34 from 52-week high of $7.63.
Douglas A. McIntyre
According to several sources, the Republican members of the Senate have effectively killed the Detroit bailout bill
The New York Times reports that "The prospects of a $14 billion government rescue of the American auto industry seemed to vaporize as the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, spoke out forcefully against the bill, effectively dooming its chances despite the urgings of the White House."
Douglas A. McIntyre
Jamie Dimon, CEO & Chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), gave an exclusive interview today to Erin Burnett on CNBC He gave some interesting data on his outlook for what lies ahead in the banking sector and for his bank.
Nortel Networks Corporation (NYSE: NT) is going to be back at the stock game again. The troubled Canadian telecom equipment provider announced today that it was notified today by New York Stock Exchange that its stock is below the $1.00 price criteria listing standard on the NYSE. If you have been following this, you will see below how this situation seems to just get worse and worse.
UBS has a research report out for the banking sector, and the report may take away some thunder from those who are hoping that banks will return to profits sooner rather than later. This estimates that large banks are likely to report losses in the fourth quarter and next year. It also notes that many banks need to cut their sacred dividends even further. Most of these banking stocks are trading lower today.
Based on GM’s last quarterly financial statement, the car company had $28 billion in payables. Most of those were to suppliers. If the firm is trying to hold onto its cash, that figure could be higher by $10 billion. There are rumors that GM is paying some of its parts companies six months after billing.
Bloomberg mentions today that certainly suppliers, worried about a Chapter 11 filing, are asking for cash on receipt.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (NASDAQ: AMLN) has been a battered biotech lately. But shares have just now gotten back above the single-digit threshold and are up more than 80% from recent lows. This morning Amylin and partner Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) announced that the US FDA feedback on the DURATION-1 study is appropriate to use as the basis for demonstrating comparability between intermediate-scale clinical trial material made in Alkermes’ (NASDAQ: ALKS) manufacturing facility, and commercial-scale drug product made at Amylin’s manufacturing facility.
Energy company asset sales have become just about the only news in the energy business. No mergers, no acquisitions, no bankruptcies, just sales. Companies are trying to position themselves and their portfolio of assets for an upturn in the economy, whenever that might happen. Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) announced yesterday that it had sold its 50% interest in a field offshore of Brazil to Norway’s StatoilHydro (NYSE:STO).
In an announcement late yesterday, JA Solar Holdings (NASDAQ:JASO) cut its revenue estimate for the fourth quarter to $124 million, down from a range of $191.5-$220.9 billion. The company did not change its guidance on expected gross margin (5%-7%) and break-even non-GAAP earnings.
The new data for weekly jobless claims is still showing many pink slips are coming. The Labor Department said that new claims reached a 26-year high of 573,000. That is 58,000 above the revised 515,000 of last week. Expectations were somewhere in the vicinity of 525,000.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) managed to beat earnings estimates this morning, but the guidance leaves little to be desired. The yoga-wear company reported profit of $0.13 per share and posted a 34% annual gain in revenues of $87 million. First Call had estimates of $0.12 for profit and $86.5 million in sales.
by John Tamny RealClearMarkets
Back in the early days of this decade when executive malfeasance was the scandal du jour, there was a rush among many CEOs to support Sarbanes-Oxley, a bill that would allegedly make them more honest. Sarbox on its own would have and did spook the markets, but unspoken of at the time was the oily eagerness among top CEOs to endorse a law’s passage that would to some degree treat them like criminals.
To some, the way in which executives prostrated themselves before Congress was the biggest scandal of all. More soothing to an investor would have been mass protest on the part of company chiefs offended that their integrity was being questioned by a political class famous for lacking anything of the kind. We’ll never know, but it’s fair to wonder if part of the reason stocks sold off before and after Sarbox’s passage had to do with investors wondering if CEOs were in fact corrupt; their lack of protest a suspicious signal.
Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) was supposed to be about as immune to a recession as any company could be. It is in the category behind food and water and a few others. Everyone knows there is no such thing as "truly recession proof" and the company fessed up this morning that its is not immune to the current economy.
According to Reuters, The "nasty" U.S. recession will tighten its grip next year as unemployment rises and weak home and stock prices imperil consumers, finance firms and debt-laden businesses, a UCLA Anderson Forecast report released on Thursday said.
"Additionally, a sustained retreat in prices for goods and services is a very real possibility that would further drag on the economy, according to the forecasting unit’s report."
"Where only last quarter we were worried about inflation, we are now worried about its very rare opposite: deflation," the report said. Falling prices would cut demand and discourage employers from hiring.
Douglas A. McIntyre
These are some of the early bird analyst calls we are seeing from Wall Street analysts this Thursday morning:
Jon C. Ogg
December 11, 2008
Wal-Mart (WMT) reported strong same-store numbers for its most recently reported period. New data from MasterCard (MA) indicates that almost every other retailer in the country was bloodied during the early part of November.
One more retailer did well, even against the resistance of a deep recession. Costco (COST) reported that in its fiscal first quarter, same-store sales inched higher by 1% and total sales were up 3.6%.
With ‘the Governator’ saying California is on the verge of financial Armageddon, there is concern about billions of investor dollars in municipal bond funds. This raises many questions about that sustainability of municipal bonds that are issued specifically in California, which are widely held by closed-end funds (and open-end mutual funds). There are many California-only closed-end funds that trade actively. Keep in mind that some funds have seen dividend interruptions and others may based upon discount to net asset values and an inability from some funds to pay dividend series.
We have outlined some of the many California funds and sorted the screened funds by name and ticker, with prices, 52-week trading ranges, indicated dividend yield (some suspended), and by market cap.
China used to be heated by wood and coal fires. It looks like those days are coming back
Reuters says that China oil imports hit their lowest level this year.
The news is more confirmation that the 10%-a-year GDP growing country is in real economic trouble. The frenzy of business activity which would never falter is slowing to a crawl.
China’s export engine is losing steam because the suddenly impoverished world does not need its goods. Perhaps worse, the Chinese middle class is so pinched that the nation’s imports from around the world are about to drive off a cliff.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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