Posts for Ticker ‘CS’

Did NY Fed Cost Taxpayers Billions?

There are two sides to every story, and sometimes three, four or five. An audit by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program claims that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York allowed banks to get 100% of the value of complicated financial instruments that they had insured with AIG (NYSE:AIG). The transactions involved over $60 billion. The full report was issued today.

The inspector general Neil M. Barofsky claims that the Fed “refused to use its considerable leverage” to force major banks to make concessions on the money they were owed as part of their relationships with AIG. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) was among the firms that benefited from the Fed’s action while Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) actually offered to take less than 100 cents on a dollar for its insurance claims and was turned down.

Read more….

Posted on: November 17, 2009 – 5:36 am in Regulation, , ,

The Twenty Companies That Wall St. Can Trust The Least

Wall St. likes financial statements that give it deep insights into a company’s operations, especially its liabilities. It likes boards that make sure shareholders get as complete a picture as possible of a firm’s balance sheet and details of its P&L, cash-flow, and other critical financial measurements.

bear24/7 Wall St. asked Audit Integrity to put together a list of companies traded on US exchanges with market caps of more than $3 billion that do particularly poorly in the areas  of corporate governance, detailed disclosure of high-risk events including M&A and restructurings, revenue and expense recognition, and asset and liability valuation.

Based on the Audit Integrity model, 24/7 created a list of the twenty companies that Wall St. can trust the least.  Among the companies that the analysis flagged are Altria (NYSE:MO), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS), GE (NYSE:GE), Blackstone (NYSE:BX), Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT),  Wells Fargo (NYSE:WMT), and Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW)

The list:

Read More »

Posted on: October 27, 2009 – 5:31 am in Corporate Governance, Research, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest (10/23/2009) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Japan Airlines faces $8.8 billion in excess debt if liquidated.

Reuters:   Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) beat Wall St. estimates.

Reuters:   GM’s CEO will get a pay raise.

Reuters:   Nokia (NYSE:NOK) sued Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) over patent infringement. Read More »

Posted on: October 23, 2009 – 3:57 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 10/22/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   China’s GDP rose 8.9% and the government said it would stick with its liberal monetary policies.

Reuters:   Larry Summers said the US recovery is on track.

Reuters:   More Americans will delay retirement.

Reuters:   Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOOG) set up real-time search deals with micr- blogging company Twitter. Read More »

Posted on: October 22, 2009 – 3:48 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Unusual Options Activity (ABX, CAT, EXPE, JAVA, CS)

These are today’s unusual options trading patterns seen late in the afternoon.  We have provided links over to VSInvestor.com for more details on each situation:

  • There have been two large options transactions in Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX).
  • Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is seeing some longer-term bullish recovery bets that may have been profit taking on a prior trade.
  • Someone is making a big pre-earnings options trade in Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).
  • Traders are placing bets both for and against a Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) buyout by Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) now that there are 3,000 more layoffs after the company keeps losing more and more money while the kids running the European Commission figure out that a money-losing company should not require a deep review of this sort for anti-competition.
  • OptionsHawk.com notified us of nine-times options volume in Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS).

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 21, 2009

Posted on: October 21, 2009 – 3:06 pm in Options, Trading Alert, , , , ,

Media Digest (10/21/2009) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   China is having trouble managing supply and demand.

Reuters:   Geithner said the core programs of the TARP are ending.

Reuters:   Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) tripled it profits.

Reuters:   Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:JAVA) will cut 3,000 jobs due to delays in the Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) buyout of the company. Read More »

Posted on: October 21, 2009 – 4:08 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The New Lehman Trade: Selling the Bankruptcy Claims (BAC, MS, CS)

Broken Money Merger ImageThere have been many ways which companies exit bankruptcy court.  Historically, many companies have used tax loss carryforward strategies as well.  But selling a claim against assets for recovery in bankruptcy is a strategy that is less well known by the public.  If the Bloomberg reports are correct, then Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) may be selling claims against the Lehman bankruptcy.  Based on what we saw last month, this would be at least the third firm to be selling Lehman claims.

Read More »

Posted on: October 8, 2009 – 4:16 pm in Banking, Brokerage Firms, Financial Stocks, Law, , ,

Media Digest 10/8/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   GM says most of its cost cutting is done and its sales chief left.

Reuters:   Spot gold hit a record above $1,050.

Reuters:   The Senate healthcare bill weighs in at $829 billion.

Reuters:   Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) plans its first smartphone to be launched with AT&T (NYSE:T) using the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android OS Read More »

Posted on: October 8, 2009 – 3:59 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Best Market Rumors (10/7/2009) (NOK)(AAPL)(JPM)(GE)(WYNN)

newspaperUpdated throughout the day.

Updated 2:44 Dell Inc. (NYSE: DELL) will launch a branded Android smartphone thru AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and possibly other carriers next year.  Source today is from WSJ, but ask this… How many phone and consumer electronics announcements have been rumored on Dell?

Updated 1.36 PM EST:  Pimco left the bondholders steering committee at CIT (NYSE:CIT) last month  (CNBC)

Updated 12.45 PM:  Polycom (NSADAQ:PLCM) could be taken over by Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) or Dell (NASDAQ:DELL). Interdigital (NASDAQ: IDCC) could be bought by Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and ValueClick (NASDAQ:VCLK) could be taken over by any one of a number of companies.  (Barron’s)

Updated 12.41 PM:   GM head of American sales leaves amid talk that car company CFO may be next  (CNNMoney)

Update 10.50 AM EST:  Congress may pass a bill which will require that public companies split the roles of chairman and CEO.  (MarketWatch)

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) may be involved in the bidding for McGraw-Hill’s (NYSE:MHP) BusinessWeek working jointly with Zelnick Media. Strauss Zelnick is on the boards of Blockbuster (NYSE:BBI) and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO)  (PaidContent).

Citigroup (NYSE:C) may sell it Philbro unit which is paying its chief $100 million  this year.  (CNBC)

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) has narrowed its list of CEOs to two people  (WSJ).

Foxconn has a deal to make 300,000 to 400,000 Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) tablet PCs to ship in Q1  (DigiTimes)

Collins Stewart believes that Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) are on the lookout for acquisitions. (The Deal).

Share sales by Steve Wynn, head of Wynn (NASDAQ:WYNN), and his COO may be” a canary in the coal mine to other investors to take some profits on the gains in this sector since the March lows.” That would include MGM (NYSE:MGM) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)  (TheStreet.com)

Private equity firms Bain Capital and THL Partners are asking banks that supported their buy-out of Clear Channel Communications to help restructure the firm’s debt. Those banks include Citigroup (NYSE:C), Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).  (NYPost)

News Corp (NYSE:NWS) CEO Rupert Murdoch is in Japan and South Korea and may be discussing partnerships to build a rival product to the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle.  (Reuters)

Vivendi will discuss selling its 20% stake in GE’s (NYSE:GE) NBCU at its October 19 board meeting to allow a transaction with Comcast (NADSAQ:CMCSA) which would involve the cable company getting control of media firm.  (BusinessWeek)

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) executive  Heidi Miller could be in the running for the CEO job at Bank of America. (The Big Money)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 7, 2009 – 9:22 am in Rumors, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

52-Week High Club

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS)  hits a yearly high of $22.54.  Fellow retailers Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL),  American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) and J. Crew Group (NYSE: JCG) also hit yearly highs.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) hits a yearly high of $184.30 on analyst enthusiasm for underwriting and mergers and acquisitions businesses.  Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) also hit yearly highs.

Google (NYSE: GOOG) hits a yearly high of $501.13 after a wave of price target increases on optimistic outlook for web advertising, including today’s increase by the brokerage Canaccord Adams.

Palm Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) rallies to a yearly high of $17.12 on rumors that Nokia (NYSE: NOK) may be looking to bid on the handset maker. 

24/7 Wall St.

Posted on: September 22, 2009 – 4:32 pm in Financial Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, Retail, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 8/31/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   The best investment for Chinese companies may be the nation’s own 1.3 billion person home market.

Reuters:   Japan’s Democrats took power.

Reuters:   Economists say there is no need for a second stimulus package.

Reuters:   The Fed made $14 billion on loans made during the credit crisis. Read More »

Posted on: August 31, 2009 – 4:03 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 8/7/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NY Times, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   A college education no longer means easy employment in China.

Reuters:   Fannie Mae (FNM) lost $14.8 billion.

Reuters:   The auto “clunkers” legislation passed the Senate.

Reuters:   Obama is in no rush to decide Bernanke’s appointment to a new term. Read More »

Posted on: August 7, 2009 – 4:05 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Asia Markets And Europe Open 7/23/2009

chinaMarkets in Asia were higher.

The Nikkei rose .7% to 9,793. Sony (SNE) jumped higher.

The Hang Seng moved up 2.7% to 19,783.

The Shanghai Composite was up 1% to 3,328.

At the open in Europe, the FTSE was up .1% to 4,497. The Dax was flat at 5,121. The CAC 40 was flat at 3,306. Credit Suisse (CS) rose sharply.

Data from Reuters and MarketWatch.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: July 23, 2009 – 2:25 am in International Markets, ,

Day Trader Alerts (IMMR, DROOY, GOLD, AU, AUY, SPPI, AMAG, UBS, CS, OSK, FRPT, NAV, MYGN)

We have provided links through on our day trading alerts page this morning.  Each stock is seeing active trading right before the open and brief explanations and analysis are offered at VSInvestor.com:

You can check each morning at VSInvestor.com for earlier pre-market indications in stocks on the move you might not have seen.

Jon C. Ogg

Posted on: July 1, 2009 – 8:35 am in Trading Alert, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Huntsman Thrashes The Banks

bankApollo Management’s Hexion Specialty Chemicals offered $6 billion to buy chemical company Huntsman (HUN) in July 2007, a bid which would have given stockholders $27.25 a share. Over the course of the next year, as fear about the deal not closing grew, Huntsman (HUN) shares fell below $11 last July. Apollo had begun to back out of the contact and the two banks that were planning to finance the buyout, Credit Suisse (CS) and Deutsche Bank (DB), walked away from the transaction. Their reluctance was understandable. The economy had fallen apart and earnings at chemical companies were demolished as demand for their products disappeared. Read More »

Posted on: June 24, 2009 – 3:59 am in Banking, Private Equity, , ,

Media Digest 6/22/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg.

newspaperReuters:   Airlines are cutting back on first class seating.

Reuters:   Xstrata wants merger talks with mining rival Anglo American.

Reuters:   Employers are cutting 401 (K) plans.

Reuters:   Brand loyalty is being hurt by the recession.

Reuters:   The children of baby boomers may help the US housing market. Read More »

Posted on: June 22, 2009 – 2:55 am in Autos, Banking, Conglomerates, Drug companies, Emerging Markets, Housing, Mergers and Buy Outs, Oil & Gas, Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 6/15/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   The heads of the emerging markets, the so-called BRICs, held their first global summit.

Reuters:   Obama will be tested this week on financial reforms.

Reuters:   Rich nations are working on an exit from stimulus packages.

Reuters:   Pfizer (PFE) is trying to do deals to improve its emerging market presence. Read More »

Posted on: June 15, 2009 – 3:01 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMGN, CS, BEAT, DV, MAR, MSFT, RIMM, SPWRA, TOL)

These are among the top research calls and analyst upgrades and downgrades we have seen early this Friday morning with over two hours until the open:

Amgen (AMGN) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Credit Suisse (CS) Raised to Neutral at UBS.
CardioNet (BEAT) Started as Underperform at Jefferies.
Devry (DV) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Marriott (MAR) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Microsoft (MSFT) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Research In Motion (RIMM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Sunpower (SPWRA) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: April 24, 2009 – 6:30 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 4/23/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaper22According to Reuters, a bill to restrict credit card charges cleared a key committee in Congress.

Reuters reports that Ken Lewis of Bank of America (BAC) says his firm what urged by the Treasury to keep quiet about Merrill Lynch’s troubles.

Reuters reports that US existing home sales probably slipped in March.

Reuters writes that the Treasury has made a new offer to Chrysler’s creditors.

Reuters reports that the founder of News Corp’s (NWS) MySpace will step down. Read More »

Posted on: April 23, 2009 – 3:05 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Banks Commit $337 Million To Utah Wind Power Project (RBS, STD, KEY, CS, GE)

wind-energy-picAn independent wind energy developer called First Wind announced today that it has obtained $376 million in financing for its wind generation project in Milford, Utah.  This is for a 203.5 MW project called the Milford Wind Corridor Phase I.

The Royal Bank Scotland plc (NYSE: RBS) was lead arranger for this loan.  Other banks which were listed as joint lead arrangers for the financing were Banco Santander (NYSE: STD), KeyCorp.’s (NYSE: KEY) KeyBank, Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS), Banco Espirito Santo, BNP Paribas, CoBank, HSH Nordbank, and Société Générale.  General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Wind Turbines will be used.
Read More »

Posted on: April 22, 2009 – 1:59 pm in Alternative Energy, Banking, Green Biz, , , , ,