The management at AIG (AIG) is extremely clever. Every time it runs into trouble paying back the $144 billion credit facilities provided by the federal government, it asks for a change in the terms…
The Fed will step into the market next year and buy mortgage-backed securities with a vengeance. It has finally dawned on the agency that cutting rates and providing banks with low-cost emergency funds is…
GMAC finally got its designation as a commercial bank. That allowed the firm to get $6 billion in federal money, $5 billion of which comes from the Treasury Department in exchange for preferred notes.…
At some point all stocks get too cheap. Enron go too cheap. So did Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). The next round of company shares that appear to be bargains is bank…
There has been a great deal of debate about whether a car company lending arm should qualify for federal bailout funds. GMAC is no longer owned exclusively by GM (GM) because hedge fund Cerberus…
It is no secret at all that the bond funds, particularly closed-end funds, have had a hard time in the latest credit mess. Yet today marks perhaps a new change for closed-end funds, and…
Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) is back at the trough to raise more cash. The vulture mortgage investment REIT has filed to sell up to $750 million in common and preferred stock. No underwriters…
Last October, Bank of America (BAC) cuts its dividend in half to $.32. Citigroup (C) has taken its down to a penny a share. There are not may reasons to invest in large money…
Cerberus, the private equity firm which has taken large positions in Chrysler and GMAC, is stopping year-end withdrawals from one of its large funds. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Stephen Feinberg, the head…
American Express (AXP) is still paying its $.18 dividend. The company will fire about 7,000 people and chop other costs to save $1.8 billion next year. Last quarter AXP did relatively well, making $815…
Last summer, Suzlon Energy Limited had a nasty problem with its wind turbine blades. Blades shipped to the US started cracking. Then blades sold in the company’s home country, India, also started cracking. The…
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…
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…
Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE:ETP) has priced an offering of $600 million in 9.7% senior notes due 2019, and the paper has been rated ‘BBB-‘ with a ‘stable’ outlook by Fitch Ratings. Earlier this…
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) is making it easier for the army of relatively new penny stocks to maintain their listings on NASDAQ. The exchange filed with the SEC to extend its suspension…