There would appear to be no end to the extent to which banks which received TARP funds will go to make Congress and the public unhappy with the program and its results. Executive pay…
The market capitalization of some big banks has doubled in a month. All of them will have “stress test” results from the government within a few weeks. Those that get fairly high marks will…
The Federal Reserve keeps saying that many of its dealings with the financial industry must remain secret. Congress keeps insisting that no such secrets should be kept from the taxpayers who are funding the massive bank bailout. …
Investors find it disconcerting to see the stocks in the huge financial institutions that are at the foundation of the global capital system trading up and down 25% a day, and, in some cases…
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is going to be taking the bank stocks significantly higher, particularly the Direxion Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: FAS). The company is releasing earnings on April 22, but…
The Wall Street Journal reports that Morgan Stanley (MS) lost money in the first quarter. The reason appears to be a perverse accounting rule, not unlike those that have plagued bank financial reporting for several quarters. According…
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) and its subsidiaries had already been on credit watch elsewhere, but there is a very interesting credit ratings downgrade that just took place. Moody’s has stripped Warren Buffett’s Berkshire…
Bank of America (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis has based what is left of his reputation on the fact that the firm does not need another dime in government money. As a matter of fact,…
There is no end to it, this process of bailing out financial institutions. Once the banks were stable, the rest of the sector was supposed to become more solid. That has not worked. Banks…
There is a reading of the economy which we used to see only go up and up, and that is the monthly consumer credit. In the month of February, consumers cut their borrowings and…
Several prominent bank analysts came out with statements yesterday saying that the largest US financial firms would post more heavy losses and that their accounting methods would obscure the worst of it. George Soros,…
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) is trading up marginally this morning on word that its subsidiary, Level 3 Financing, Inc., has received additional financing commitments. The additional financing is from lenders to increase…
Maybe the market’s perception that bank stocks are out of the woods is premature. Many of the stocks in the sector have more than doubled from their early March lows. According to CNBC, “Michael…
The rights offering made by HSBC (HBC) raised over $18 billion and the participation rate was over 96%. That should give banks which may need to raise capital in the near future some hope…
There are more rumors that Goldman Sachs (GS) will pay back its TARP funds. The latest comes from the London Telegraph which says that Goldman may announce that it is raising money when it releases…