Companies keep cutting dividends. Some are pressed for cash because of operating losses. Others are being constrained by higher debt service. Banks need to preserve capital. The problem is becoming big enough…
By many measures, the economy in the UK may be worse off than the US, at least up until now. The government has dealt with that by becoming more aggressively involved in…
24/7 Wall St. set out to look at whether financial reporting at a number of companies, particularly banks ,is “reliable”? This process took into account the chances that a firm might have…
The raging debate about the largest American banks is whether their stock market values should be zero. Economist Nouriel Roubini, the most highly paid pessimist in the world, recently said that US…
The carnage among financial stocks is so complete, that they are listed here witht thier lows: Bank of America (BAC): $5.17, Citigroup (C): $2.80, Wells Fargo (WFC): $14.02, JP Morgan (JPM): $17.70,…
The federal government really does not want to build a "bad bank" to take toxic assets from America’s largest financial institutions. It has taken a number of measures to avoid it. The…
The conventional wisdom was that 2008 would be the worst year for bank losses in years, but that it would be the bottom. The damage of mortgage-backed securities has moved into the…
For the latest reported period, ending December 31, short sellers did not make any notable moves in or out of tech, financials, or industrial shares. What they did do was take impressively…
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) does not go for short-term gains, and short-term losses are part of the game for investing. Warren Buffett has even told employees to only to…
According to Reuters, Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 7 is "on schedule" and will begin testing with consumers. Reuters reports that Obama will lay out his case for stimulus package in a speech. Reuters…
Oppenheimer’s star banking analyst Meredith Whitney slammed the banking giants yet again this morning. The difference between today’s note and her prior criticisms, is that now she expects that many banks will…
Yesterday, Bank of America (BAC) said it would miss its 2008 numbers. There has been a good deal of talk that Jamie Dimon will be pulled off his thrown at JPMorgan (JPM)…
It really is a wonder how and why the debt ratings agencies still have any merit or use at all, but for now they still have some pull. Moody’s has announced that…
Douglas A. McIntyre According to Reuters, Wall St. closed its worst year since The Depression. Reuters reports that GMAC did not hit its goal of trading debt for equity and cash. Reuters reports that GM…
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…