Q3 GDP Revisions Final Failure
The final revision for Q3 GDP is still indicative of a recession. The NBER already declared a recession was in effect since last December, but this was the first quarter to actually show negative…
Archive
Year: 2008
All Year: 2008 Articles
Newest first · Page 8Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ACM, AXYS, CTAS, CVD, GILD, PPDI, VISN, EPG, VTIV)
It is getting pretty thin in major analyst coverage as firms are encouraged to go easy on major year-end calls barring anything unexpected. These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and new coverage calls…
Madoff’s Holiday Gift
It is easy to see the Madoff affair as all bad. Regulators missed critical warnings. How many other cases like this are still hiding under rocks? Foundations and personal fortunes were wiped out. A…
Consumer Despair Now Spans The Globe
Every economist worth his salt assumes that consumer confidence and consumer spending are hitting multi-decade lows in Japan, the EU, and the US. There has been some hope that the disease had not spread…
M&A, One Of The Last Hopes Of Banks, Gives Up The Ghost
The profitable businesses of granting mortgages and investing in related derivatives is gone now. So are the large, profitable loans given to major corporations and the equity and debt underwriting that was part of…
Does Surge In Mortgage Activity Mean More Defaults Down The Road?
Lower interest rates on home loans are causing people to run to the banks. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages are as low as 5.2%. According to several media accounts, banks cannot handle the influx of new…
What Are The US Operations Of The Big Three Worth? Over $100 Billion
The easy answer to the question of what US operations of The Big Three are worth is that they are worth nothing. That assessment is entirely accurate based on the current encumbrances of union…
Media Digest 12/23/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, a survey of 22 countries show three-quarters of households cutting spending and a sharp drop of confidence in emerging economies. Reuters writes that the US sold record debt and there was…
Asia Markets And Europe Open 12/23/2008
Markets in Asis were mostly off with Japan closed. The Hang Seng fell 3% to 14,183. The Shanghai Composite was down 4.6% to 1,897. In Europe at the open, the FTSE was flat at…
The 52-Week Low Club (MNI)(MWE)(ARTC)(TXCC)
McClatchy (MNI) Another big newspaper company headed toward liquidation. Drops to $.83 from 52-week high of $13.31. Markwest Energy (MWE) Downgraded by Morgan Keegan. Drops to $7.36 from 52-week high of $38.50. ArthroCare (ARTC)…
Market Gives New AllianceBernstein (AB) CEO The Back Of Its Hand
The board of AllianceBernstein (AB), controlled by majority shareholder AXA, dumped longtime CEO Lew Sanders. The stock has been way down recently. Over the last year it is off over 70%, but so are…
Sprint (S) Collapses Again As WiMax Patents Challenged
Sprint (S) is down sharply today, heading toward penny-stock land. Shares are at $1.70, off their 52-week high of $13.90. Much of the drop is due to its falling cellular subscriber base which contrasts…
Federal Mortgage Assistance: It May Not Help
Henry Paulson has taken a lot of heat for putting TARP funds into big banks and ignoring the needs of homeowners struggle to pay their mortgages. Sheila Bair, head of the FDIC, says that…
J.P. Morgan Dabbles in Agriculture (JPM, UBS)
J.P. Morgan, the investment banking arm of JPMorgan Chase & Company (NYSE:JPM), plans to acquire the Canadian energy operations and global agricultural business of UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) for an undisclosed amount. The Canadian firm…
The French Will Be Allowed to Invade Britain (BRK-A, CEG)
Platts is reporting this morning that the European Commission released its decision this morning regarding the buyout offer from Electricite de France (EDF) for British Energy Group plc, the UK’s largest nuclear generator of…