2:18pm ET
Banking, finance, and taxes
Consumer Credit Keeps Dropping (V, MA)
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…
MA Coverage Page 29
12:45pm ET
Investing
Merchants Going After Credit Card Processing Fees (V, MA)
Credit card processing fee legislation appears to be coming back. Whether it becomes law is another matter, but merchants are going after credit card processing fees via a fight in Washington D.C. …
3:03am ET
Media
Media Digest 3/18/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, AIG (AIG) will have to pay taxpayers back for bonuses it paid out before it can get its next $30 billion in loans. Reuters reports that Coke (KO) is…
5:06am ET
Economy
Credit Cards: Weighing Bad Debt Against Any Debt At All
Bank uber-analyst Meredith Whitney wrote in The Wall Street Journal that the economy will have more problems as banks take credit cards away from people to prevent bad debt write-offs. She says…
4:01am ET
Media
Media Digest 2/3/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, Obama spoke about the economy with optimism as his aides defended the budget. Reuters reports that a Senate panel will question Swiss banking’s secrecy policy. Reuters reports that foreclosures…
8:18am ET
Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADPT, CBST, FLIR, MA, TEX, LXK, MCXH, V, XRX, ZRAN)
These are the top pre-market analyst upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street this Friday morning: Adaptec (ADPT) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan. Cubist Pharamceuticals (CBST) Started as Accumulate…
4:51am ET
Media
Media Digest 2/16/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, Obama has dropped the idea of appointing a “car czar”. Reuters reports that Japan’s GDP is dropping at an annual rate of over 13%. Reuters reports that the Administration…
6:57pm ET
Investing
Visa, Safe Harbor For Financial Tsunami (V, MA)
Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) has posted very pleasing earnings, one of the few bits of good news in the financial sector. The credit card processing giant earned $0.78 EPS on an adjusted…
3:04pm ET
Banking, finance, and taxes
Julian Robertson Stays Very Bearish, With Picks (GS, V, MA, PTY, PCN)
If you hadn’t gotten your full round of pre-weekend economic gloom, famed investor Julian Robertson of Tiger Management just gave an interview with CNBC’s Erin Burnett. He is cautious about what lies…
7:52am ET
Investing
Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (ABH, AMFI, CME, LPX, MA, MSCC, NOK, V)
These are some of the top downgrades and negative research calls we have seen from Wall Street analysts this Friday morning: AbitibiBowater (ABH) Cut to Underperform at Raymond James. Amcore Financial (AMFI)…
9:16am ET
Investing
KeyBanc Lowers Estimates and Price Targets On Payment Processors MasterCard (MA) and Visa (V)
KeyBanc is lowering estimates and price targets for payment processors, including MasterCard (NYSE: MA) and Visa (NYSE: V). The firm said they are taking a far more cautious approach than the Street…
6:11am ET
Retail
For Retailers, The Worst Holiday Gets Worse
How can the worst retail holiday season in years get worse? It can become the worst holiday season since anyone kept accurate records. There have been signs for several weeks that e-commerce…
3:49am ET
Media
Media Digest 12/26/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, as investors moved to cash, oil has come down, but that is not likely to last. Reuters writes that data from MasterCard (MA) shows holiday spending may have dropped…
5:33am ET
Banking, finance, and taxes
Just When They Need The Money, The Government Hacks Credit Card Firms (MA)(C)
Just when credit card issuers from Mastercard (MA) to Citigroup (C) need the extra money due to deadbeats, the federal government is going to make it hard for them to get it.…
3:52am ET
Media
Media Digest 12/11/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, the House passed a $14 billion bailout bill. Reuters reports that according to Mastercard (MA) retail sales fell sharply in November. Reuters writes that Congress criticized Treasury over its…