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S&P Cuts Bank Of Ireland's Rating While Goldman Says Buy

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:22:19 GMT

After going bullish on bank stocks in April, two months ago I said most of the upside in bank shares was priced in. Since that time, shares have traded sideways to down. I expect this trend to continue as headwinds like another wave of writedowns in the housing sector is felt. Credit Suisse came to similar conclusions at just the same time, cutting estimates for the sector across the board.[More...]

Aflac (NYSE:AFL): Upgraded To Outperform At Credit Suisse; Target Raised To $60

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:07:34 GMT

Credit Suisse is out with an interestingly timed upgrade on Aflac (NYSE:AFL) raising their rating to Outperform from Neutral with a $60 price target (prev. $52). Action: After sizing up potential losses and recent actions to restructure European banks’ capital positions, the firm upgrades Aflac to Outperform and raise their target price to $60. According to the firm their upgrade also considers the following: 1) Improved recent fundamental trends, including an up-tick in persistency and a wider gap between incurred claims and benefits paid,[More...]

The Great Unravelling (Dubai Edition)

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:37:55 GMT

Although I certainly would not rank it alongside Macro Man's dreaded vacation indicator or the incipient increase in the USD if and when the Economist finally decides to slot its decline on the front page, I still have the nagging feeling that whenever yours truly sit down at either a dull and difficult econometrics lecture or, as today, camps at school for a lab session in connection with a paper due next month, some event is bound to wreck havoc on markets while your author is busy estimating regressions. I would assume that some US market participants feel the same today as they give thanks before hauling in the Turkey.[More...]

Winners And Losers Among International Banks

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:12:58 GMT

We think the significant divergence among international banks during the last two years will extend into the recovery.[More...]

Sprint Wins Over An Analyst

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:39:35 GMT

“Look at Sprint Nextel. Up more than 10% today, its the hottest stock in the S&P 500, raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse. On its way to six bucks a share, they like the progress of the turn around.” — CNBC’s Squawk on the Street 11/16/2009[More...]

What Investors Should Look for In Today’s Fed Statement

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:04:24 GMT

In its continuing efforts to nurture the fragile economic recovery, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates at record lows when it concludes its meeting today (Wednesday).[More...]

Credit Suisse Pay Plan Altered

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:21:10 GMT

A: Good thing we covered this topic yesterday! People hear numbers like $140Bln and they immediately think of all the cold, hard cash that will pour into our markets - so bid up. What gets overlooked is the structure of these handouts and the fact that the cash portion is likely to shrink and be deferred. How does this affect the existing homeowner that is counting on a huge cash bonus to settle rising debts or continue to fund their lifestyle? There are two sides to the bonus coin: the affect on buyers and the affect on sellers.[More...]

Hedge Funds Take Direct Stakes In Commodities … Should We Be Wary?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:06:43 GMT

ScotiaMocatta, the Canadian commodities trader and subsidiary of the Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS), has asked regulators to approve plans for a fund that would take physical positions in copper.[More...]

How Sustainable Is The Kindle's Early Success?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:31:18 GMT

Nearly two years after Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) released its Kindle e-book reader, it appears that digital books will finally be embraced by consumers previously reluctant to buy a pricey e-reader device.[More...]

JPMorgan (JPM) To Pay Settlement

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:39:04 GMT

JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM) decided to pay $55 million to settle a lawsuit related to the losses of investors with the collapse of American Business Financial Services Inc.[More...]

Kraft rounds up banks to help Cadbury bid

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:46:00 GMT

Nov. 24--(Dow Jones)--As rivals weigh whether to top Kraft Food Inc.'s GBP9.9 billion ($16.5 billion) offer for Cadbury PLC, they are confronting an unusual situation: Kraft has extracted exclusivity agreements from the banks it is using to finance its bid, leaving contenders with few other banks to choose from.
Northfield-based Kraft, which made a hostile offer for Cadbury on Nov. 9, is being advised by Lazard and has secured a GBP5.5 billion bridge loan from a group of nine banks lead by Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and HSBC Holdings PLC and including BNP Paribas SA, Barclays Capital, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC as well as Credit Suisse, Societe Generale SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA.
The lead banks have cast the net even further and the number of banks financing Kraft's bid could grow to 18, a person familiar with the matter said earlier this month.

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Shell expects the Americas to have big role

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:57:00 GMT

Nov. 13--Royal Dutch Shell sees a bigger role for North and South America as it seeks to boost global output of oil and natural gas in coming years, said Marvin Odum, president of the company's U.S. division.
Going forward, the region should be a "disproportionately growing part of Shell" as new projects come online in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, the Canadian oil sands and natural gas fields in the U.S. and Canada, Odum said in an interview with the Chronicle this week.
"There is a real focus on this part of the world inside of Shell," Odum said, adding that while North and South America account for about a quarter of the company's production today, investment will be "much higher than that" in the future.

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Rise in hiring temps may signal a rebound in Toledo-area job market

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:51:00 GMT

Nov. 12--For measuring the job market, temporary employment agencies are the proverbial canary in the coal mine: the first to know when economic dangers loom, and the first to know when that danger has passed.
Now, job placement agencies say they are starting to smell the first whiffs of fresh air returning to the local employment market after years of stagnation, but they point out there are still lots of applicants for every open job available.
Lucas County's unemployment rate was 11.3 percent, with 24,400 people looking for work.

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Home prices fall nearly 9 percent: Slow job market taking its toll

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:49:00 GMT

Nov. 10--Prices of existing homes in the region fell 8.9 percent during the third quarter, a Realtors' group reported Tuesday, in a sign that the housing market has yet to emerge from its three-year-old slump.
But experts said the slow job market is taking a toll.
The National Association of Realtors reported that the median price of a home in Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex and Somerset counties was $343,800 during the third quarter, down from $377,300 the same quarter a year ago.

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Federal law gives rights to renters: Banks hide details during foreclosures

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:47:00 GMT

Nov. 8--WEST HAVEN -- Robert Boyd has had a lot of bad news this year.
His landlord, the owner of the multifamily house at 9 Abner St., had defaulted on the mortgage and the bank had begun foreclosure proceedings, unbeknownst to the tenants.
"The tenants are the innocent victims in the foreclosure crisis," said Amy Marx, a New Haven Legal Assistance Association housing lawyer who contacted the three families at 9 Abner St. after she found the property listed in foreclosure filings in New Haven housing court.

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UBS reports 3Q net loss of $542 million

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:46:00 GMT

ZURICH - Swiss bank UBS AG reported a third-quarter net loss of 564 million Swiss francs ($542 million) Tuesday, blaming accounting charges of 2.15 billion francs for keeping it in the red.
Discounting one-time charges, UBS would have made a third-quarter pretax profit of 1.56 billion francs, it said.
UBS also took a hit from currency exchange in the sale of its Brazilian unit UBS Pactual, and from the conversion of mandatory convertible notes issued to the Swiss government as part of a bailout last year when the bank suffered a record 21-billion-franc annual loss.

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Krungthai-AXA Upbeat on Healthy Profits

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:50:00 GMT

Oct. 29--Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance forecasts continued improvements in performance after having cleared accumulated losses and earned a healthy profit in the first nine months of this year.
"We expect higher profit this year and sales despite the world financial crisis and domestic economic constraints," said Michael Plaxton, the CEO of the French-Thai joint venture.
Krungthai-AXA posted statutory profits of 691 million baht the first nine months, 62 percent higher than the 426 million baht it earned in the same period last year.

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ConocoPhillips Not Considering Selling Oil Refineries

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:49:00 GMT

Oct. 29--ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Jim Mulva said Wednesday that the company has no immediate plans to unload any of its oil refineries as part of a pared down capital spending plan for 2010.
"I don't see it at this point," Mulva said in response to an analyst's question during a conference call that followed the release of the company's third-quarter earnings.
ConocoPhillips, which has a refinery in Billings, is the nation's third-largest oil company.

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TSYS Stock Recovers After Nearly 11% Drop in Heavy Trading

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:49:00 GMT

Oct. 29--Heavy trading a day after company reports 14 percent drop in 3rd quarter earnings
TSYS shares (Ticker: TSS) closed down $1.10, or 6.65 percent, at $15.45.
Trading was heavy, with 4 million shares changing hands, nearly four times normal volume.

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Credit Suisse has $2.4 billion gain in 3Q

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:53:00 GMT

ZURICH, Switzerland - Credit Suisse Group reported a 2.4 billion Swiss franc ($2.4 billion) net income during the third quarter Thursday as it continued strengthening its position following losses caused by the economic crisis.
The profit exceeds analysts' predictions and compares with a 1.26 billion franc ($1.08 billion) loss during the same period a year ago.
"Our third-quarter performance, including our strong return on equity of 25.1 percent, shows that our approach continues to work well and is providing the foundation for sustainable, high-quality, lower volatility earnings," said Chief Executive Brady W. Dougan.

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RidgewaterEquity.Com Free Fundamental Sector &Amp; Market Research on CS, SFD, MAC, BAM, RHI and MDR

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:06:00 GMT

RidgewaterEquity.com inspires to bring the best from the internet under one roof, providing you with a one click option to view what the market, researchers and financial pundits worldwide have to say about any particular large cap stocks in any given financial environment.
Once you sign up as a free member you will have free unlimited access to all our reports, research tools and more.
We have recently begun in-depth analysis of the following equities & their respective sectors:

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Capstone Announces Additional Mineral Claims Acquired Adjacent to Cozamin Copper Mine, Mexico

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:25:00 GMT

Three Claims Encompass potential Down Dip and Strike Extensions of High Grade Mineralization VANCOUVER, Sept. 8 /CNW/ - Capstone Mining Corp. (CS: TSX) today announced that it and its wholly owned subsidiary, Capstone Gold SA de CV, have entered into a definitive agreement with Golden Minerals Company (AUM:TSX) of Golden Colorado whereby Capstone Gold will acquire three mineral claims immediately adjacent to its Cozamin Mine in Zacatecas State, Mexico. These three claims encompass potential down dip and strike extensions of the mineral resources and mineral reserves in the principal San Roberto area of the mine, as well as the down dip extension of the San Rafael area. The ...[More...]

Capstone Reports Additional High Grade Copper-Gold Results at Minto North

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:15:00 GMT

Hole 09SWC508 intercepts 5.9% Cu & 2.6g/t Au over 16.8m (including 8.2% Cu & 2.9g/t Au over 10.2m) VANCOUVER, Sept. 1 /CNW/ - Capstone Mining Corporation (CS: TSX) today announced assay results from eleven additional drillholes completed on the "Minto North" mineral resource infill drill program at its high grade Minto copper-gold mine in the Yukon. These most recent drill intercepts from the Minto North deposit, which is located 600 metres north-northwest of the current open pit mine, are from infill holes designed to better define the mineral resource and returned high grade copper-gold intercepts confirming the results of the initial discovery and delineation program. Highlights of assays ...[More...]

Capstone Mining Corp. - Q2 Financial Results Webcast - August 14, 2009

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:55:00 GMT

VANCOUVER, Aug. 12 /CNW/ - Notification of Capstone Q2 Financial Results Webcast: Capstone Mining Corp. (TSX: CS)[More...]

Weaker Dollar, Global Stimulus and Infrastructure Spending Help Boost Commodity Returns in July

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:03:00 GMT

Commodities markets may continue to fluctuate over the near term, but outlook remains positive on attractive valuations and inflation hedging benefits.[More...]

Capstone Reports Strong Production & Cash Operating Costs for the First Half of 2009

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:11:00 GMT

Capstone Reports Strong Production & Cash Operating Costs for the First Half of 2009[More...]

Capstone Reports Strong Production Cash Operating Costs for the First Half of 2009

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:10:00 GMT

49.2 million pounds of Copper in Concentrates with an Estimated Total Cash Cost of US$0.93 per pound of payable copper[More...]

ProShares Launches First 130/30 ETF

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:52:00 GMT

ProShares, creator and market leader in short and leveraged exchange traded funds, announced the introduction of another innovative exchange traded fund, the nation's first 130/30 ETF.
ProShares Credit Suisse 130/30 (Ticker: CSM) will be listed on NYSE Arca today.
ProShares Credit Suisse 130/30 seeks to track the Credit Suisse 130/30 Large-Cap Index (before fees and expenses).

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Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Announce Settlement With Huntsman Corporation

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:46:00 GMT

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC ("Credit Suisse") and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. ("Deutsche Bank"), today announced that they have entered into an agreement with Huntsman Corporation ("Huntsman") to end all litigation among Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and their affiliates and Huntsman.
Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank have chosen to resolve the matter for USD 316 million each.
In addition, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank will each provide USD 550 million of senior debt financing to Huntsman International LLC, a subsidiary of Huntsman, to be repaid over seven years.

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The Securities Law Firm of Klayman &Amp; Toskes Files Arbitration Claim Against Citigroup on Behalf of Investors Whose Accounts Were Over-Concentrated in Preferred Financial Stocks

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:49:00 GMT

The Securities Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes ("K&T"), www.nasd-law.com, announced today that it filed an arbitration claim against Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (NYSE: C) on behalf of two investors, for losses sustained as a result of unsuitable investment recommendations.
Instead of recommending a conservative investment strategy to reduce the investors' risk, Citigroup recommended a strategy that concentrated the investors' assets in preferred financial stocks, including Citigroup, Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) HSBC (NYSE: HBC), ING Groep (NYSE: ING), Barclays (NYSE: BCS), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER).
The claim filed against Citigroup focuses on the broker's recommendation to purchase numerous preferred banking stocks, representing that they were conservative fixed income products.

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