No one has really worked out how to wall-off significant risk in one division of a financial services giant from divisions which are "safe" and operating smoothly. UBS (UBS) skinned its investors…
Morgan Stanley (MS) thought it could pull a "monkey see, monkey do" act with NY State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The investment house offered to buy back $4.5 billion in auction-rate securities…
There has been a great deal of talk about how the New York State Attorney General and the SEC has done companies and individual investors a service by getting Merrill Lynch (MER),…
The safe-house for money center banks closed and locked its doors long ago. The mortgage-related paper crisis rolls on like a mighty river and its latest victim is RBS (RBS). But, victim…
According to Reuters, RBS (RBS) had $1.35 billion loss due to write-downs. Reuters reports that Google (GOOG) says its investment in AOL may be impaired. Reuters writes that Citigroup (C) and Merrill…
Now that Citigroup (C) and Merrill Lynch (MER) have announced that they will buy back auction-rate securities sold to their private clients, the question arises about how financial companies with weaker balance…
Merrill Lynch (MER), pole-axed by the Citigroup (C) decision to buy back all of the auction-rate securities it has sold to individual investors, buckled and said it will purchase up to $12…
Douglas A. McIntyre In an announcement that shows how remarkable flawed the marketing and risk management at Citigroup (C) have been, the bank agreed to buy-back $7.5 billion in auction rate securities. It will also…
Douglas A. McIntyre AIG (AIG) has made the assumption that other firms like Merrill Lynch (MER) and Citigroup (C) did. Changing CEOs will somehow alter the course of a systemic problem which curses the financial…
According to Reuters, Freddie Mac (FRE) now has a negative net worth which means some investors think it should trade close to zero. Reuters writes that AIG (AIG) posted a huge loss…
Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.—Shakespeare, “The Tempest” Auction-rate securities were one of the great inventions of modern banking. By taking long-term bonds and putting them together into a stew, the…
Douglas A. McIntyre According to Reuters, a new tally of votes for the Yahoo! (YHOO) board election shows a high percentage of protest votes. Reuters reports that the Fed held rates steady and indicated it…
HSBC (HBC) is the latest money center bank to be clobbered by more write-downs. For the most recently reported quarter net profit fell to $7.72 billion from $10.9 billion a year earlier…
Douglas A. McIntyre According to Reuters, the Fed will sit tight on rates as oil prices moderate. Reuters writes that Verizon (VZ) labor talks have continued past their dealine. Reuters reports that Chrysler renewed its…
According to Reuters, oil is nearing a 20% drop from its peak, moving into bear market range. Reuters writes that HP (HPQ), Yahoo! (YHOO), and Intel (INTC) are looking at ways to…