That ubiquitous phrase has captured the attention of Wall Street, Main Street and Washington, but what exactly does it mean?
Clearly, the market is grappling with that question, and therein lies a very big problem for investors. The lack of clarity on this issue has been stunning. As a result, volatility is off the charts and stock values are plummeting.
This week has been bizarre, to say the least. Early in the week, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson let the markets and everyone else know tha
The following includes a growing list of companies whose stock are trading in single digits despite a market cap exceeding $5B as investors no longer need to venture into the minefield of micro-cap stocks for tremendous volatility and trading opportunities. It is not meant to be a complete list, but represents well-known companies across a variety of sectors which offer the potential for high returns once the current market pessimism passes and economic growth returns.
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says you can use the bounce today to sell names with earnings troubles.
A suggestion: If you know that your company has earnings problems, you are going to get a lift today that will allow you to get out at a better price. What do I mean about earnings problems? Let's consider Alcoa (NYSE: AA) (Cramer's Take). That was a dismal quarter. The stock would not be up if it weren't for the rate cuts.
The accompanying table presents the 25 lowest-rated stocks in my US-based Regional Banking Index. The index contains a total of 99 companies with market caps between $500 million to $20 billion which are classified as either regional banks or savings and loan companies. The ratings for each company are calculated quarterly based on a formula which considers the price-to-book ratio, the trailing 52-week stock price performance, and the percentage of total market caps represented by each company.
CNBC is reporting that merger talks between Citigroup (C) and Wachovia (WB) have advanced, with a meeting scheduled today for Citi executives. The major deciding factor is the status of $120B in bad debts for Wachovia, with Citi looking for help from the Fed as part of the bailout plan to sell the troubled assets. Wachovia has $400B in deposits, making it the sixth largest bank in the U.S. by assets with a strong presence in the East and Southeast regions.
Thinking of investing in finacial stocks. Consider Bil Gross's comments first.
Bond manager Bill Gross wants to spread the bailout wealth. Gross says in a commentary posted on the Pimco Web site Thursday that the government must “open up the balance sheet of the U.S. Treasury” to support Fannie Mae ( FNM ), Freddie Mac ( FRE ) and, in a new twist, “Mom and Pop on Main Street U.S.A.” as well.
Gross has previously said he believes the Treasury will have to assist Fannie and Freddie in any efforts to raise new capital. His Pimco Total Return bond fund has major p
Well better late than never I guess. Citibank has been on my stocks to short list for a while but I kept hoping for a better point to add it to my track record. What can I say but I think I missed selling it at a fancy price but I think it will soon be in single digits. Yes that is right I am saying I think C will trade below $10. Although they have taken most of the pain they are likely to take in sub prime I don't think they have done much if anything to limit their exposure to credit default swaps or CDS. I think CDS is the looming disaster next to hit the media spot light. The exp...
It is what said Brian Yelvington, an analyst at CreditSights Inc in New York.
Citigroup Inc agreed to buy back more than $7 billion of illiquid auction-rate securities and pay a $100 million civil fine to settle charges it fraudulently misled investors about the debt's risk.
The agreement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could pave the way for other settlements stemming from February's meltdown of the $330 billion auction-rate market.
It will also hinder efforts by Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit to slash cos
"One group of stocks that has always intrigued us are those whose symbols have one letter," notes George Putnam. who offers a fascinating review of 9 such single letter stocks.
In his The Turnaround Letter he says, "These stocks have been beaten down pretty badly and now look particularly appealing." Here's a look at 5; the rest are featured in our following post.
"Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A), which makes electronic and bio-analytic measuring devices, was spun out of Hewlett-Packard in 1999. Revenues surged in 2000 as did the stock price, reaching a lofty 162.
Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back from yesterday's poor showing. It ended the trading day at 11,397.56, that's plus 266.48(+2.39%) returning more than it had lost only 24 hours ago.
There are plenty of prognosticators explaining why this happened and so I am not going to join the crowd this afternoon with my own version. Leave it to say we are i
Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back from yesterday's poor showing. It ended the trading day at 11,397.56, that's plus 266.48(+2.39%) returning more than it had lost only 24 hours ago.
There are plenty of prognosticators explaining why this happened and so I am not going to join the crowd this afternoon with my own version. Leave it to say we are i
If it has leverage....Sell it
- The melt down seems to have begun. The Commercial paper market has totally frozen up. The freezing of the CP market has major ramifications. Only the...
Citi reworks mortgages
- Citi held off 20 billion in foreclosures recently to rework mortgages, I think we will be seeing a lot more of this in the future
2008 will be the year of "too big to fail."
C
C
"One group of stocks that has always intrigued us are those whose symbols have one letter," notes 
After the market closed last night, with the 
Today the 
