If you want to know who is ultimately on the hook for the biggest part of catastrophic losses from natural (and man-made) disasters, look no further than reinsurers. They are on the hook for…
Calling for a stock to double has its risks. That is especially the case when the heady market has turned into a cautious one. Worse still, we have already seen many key companies double,…
The initial public offering for the CBOE is coming closer. CBOE Holdings, Inc. had an amended filing today. While some of the terms are still outstanding, we now know how much is being sold…
The head of sovereign debt rating is leaving Moody’s (NYSE: MCO). The company has been under withering criticism for its evaluations of mortgage-backed debt and paper issued by the treasuries of independent country’s. Moody’s…
Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) is reminding investors what the real prospects of the company are today. The earnings were pretty much what anyone should have known, and they were not pretty. The…
The Treasury Department released its April report on the progress of HAMP, a program to modify mortgages so that people can stay in their homes. The first reaction by the media and most analysts is that…
George Washington, the nation’s first president, was also one of the wealthiest men to hold the office. His Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon, consisted of five separate farms on 8,000 acres of prime farmland. As…
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said his country would investigate what role American investment banks played in damaging his nation’s ability to raise money. His theory appears to be that the banks did something wrong.…
Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE: LUK) is generally touted as one of the baby Berkshires…. meaning it is treated along the same lines as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) and Warren Buffett. The problem is…
The Wall Street Journal reports that J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) and UBS AG are under investigation for allegedly having “misled investors about their roles in mortgage-bond…
Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) has had the benefit of having Warren Buffett behind the company as the largest shareholder via Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B). What is interesting is how the bond ratings agencies…
The government may have filed civil actions against The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) and criminal charges may be coming. The bank also disclosed in its 10-Q that the feds could force it to suspend…
It the filing of its 10-Q, The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) said its was cooperating with federal authorities on charges that include SEC allegations of fraud and possible criminal charges from the Justice Department. The financial…
Another week, more bank closers. The FDIC and state authorities shuttered four more banks. Those closed along with details of the FDIC costs and sales of assets: 1st Pacific Bank of California, San Diego,…
Acknowledging that there may have been human error in the very sharp but temporary drop in stock prices yesterday, the NASDAQ has canceled trades on dozens of stocks that were made between 2:40 pm and…