Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK), the troubled muni bond insurance and financial guaranty company, was up to $3.39 earlier after opening at $2.95 this morning and after closing at $2.25 on Monday. At about…
It may only be a matter of time before Ernst & Young gets in trouble in its role as auditor regarding the disintegration of Lehman Bros. The New York Times reported today that “In…
This is the official kick-off of earnings season. Many stocks are at 52-week highs and we are coming off a stellar market performance over the last 13 months. There are 5 of the 30…
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) (NYSE: BRK-A) does not usually gets new Wall Street analyst coverage. It seems that keeping up with the inner workings of Warren Buffett and all the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio…
In our daily stock and market rumors wrap up each morning, an interesting issue stood out this morning. Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC) may be in play. This is a continuation of other rumors about…
The newest FOMC Minutes from the March 16 meeting might be dovish compared to what the inflation hawks want to see, but the FOMC is coming to grips with future rate hikes. The bias…
The 10-Year Treasury Note is back at 4.00% for the first time since June 2009. The 30-Year is still under the 5.0% hurdle, but both of these levels may need to be watched here. …
Banks’ repayments of TARP preferred stock and warrants continue to turn a profit for the U.S. Treasury Department, according to analysis by SNL Financial done by By Andrew Schukman and Russ Yates. As of…
Everyone likes to see the Warren Buffett stock holdings, particularly when there are changes. He has a different timeframe than most investors for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) because it’s “forever.” But…
Reis, the commercial real estate survey firm, said that occupancy of office buildings hit its worst rate in the US since 1994. Reis said the rate at which the problem was growing has slowed. It…
Flamboyant and loquacious AIG (AIG) CEO Robert Benmosche forgot the old business rule that it is best to under-promise and over-deliver. He told Reuters that he believes his company will pay back taxpayers before 2013…
It is a good thing for American banks that Berlin and Munich, Paris and Lyon, are not in the U.S. The French and Germans have decided to levy a bank tax. The purpose if…
According to the annual pay survey done by AR: Absolute Return+Alpha magazine and reviewed by The New York Times, the top 25 hedge fund managers made $25.3 billion in 2009. David Tepper was at the…
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) or Primerica Inc. (NYSE: PRI)?… The answer is both or either. The financial supermarket is about to have one less aisle. Citi is spinning off the life-insurance and mutual-fund brokerage…
Ireland decided to create the national “bad bank” after the credit crisis, a move the US government considered but rejected. The fate of that decision has come to haunt the small nation, but the…