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Best Performing Stocks - Third Quarter 2009

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:27:51 GMT

Here is a look at the top scorchers of the third quarter; a period where the S&P 500 gained 15% - it's best return since we were building the last stock market bubble in 2008. Who says history does not repeat itself?[More...]

Weekly Credit Summary: August 21

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:22:27 GMT

Spreads ended this tempestuous week mixed with breadth generally weak (wideners outpacing tighteners by over two-to-one) and curves flattening more than steepening in single-names. HY outperformed IG as both IG and HY managed gains on the week (Friday-to-Friday close) and even more so from Monday's gap wider openings as the intraday ranges increased as the week progressed. IG and HY closed today within a few bps of their opening (low/tight) levels of last Thursday as HY reached back above $89 by the end of the week. Interestingly, given the headlines, we saw CMBS prices drop and ABX (RMBS) prices rise on the week as CRE losses are on the tip of everyone's tongues as is a residential housing bottom (not!). IG and HY intrinsics both underperformed as the indices saw tecahnicals at play as well as equities weighing positively and negatively on them every day. HVOL was a smidge wider as was[More...]

Indices Snap Back, Though Resistance Repels Rally

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:43:30 GMT

The markets snapped back today and failed to follow-through to the downside, but at the end of the day, despite the rally, the indices did nothing more than retest the resistance zones and breakdown points. The day started out with a gap up. The indices then backed and filled for the first hour and appeared to be consolidating bullishly. That resulted in a strong upside surge into the early afternoon. The indices backed off to retest and when they failed to follow through to the downside, moved back up and made new session highs near 1589 NDX and 991 SPX. Both of those levels are at or very near key resistance points. In the last 10 minutes they backed off those levels. Net on the day the Dow was up 82.60 at 9217.94, the S&P 500 up 9.94 at 989.67, and the Nasdaq 100 up 21.61 to 1586.50. The technicals were positive by 4 to 1 on advance-declines on New York and by 2 ½ to 1 on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was 5 ½ to 1[More...]

Indices Finally Give A Little Back

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:49:47 GMT

The indices finally suffered a down day, but even with that they rallied back late in the afternoon to pare the losses. The day started out with a slight move higher and then a sharp move lower that took out initial support and moving averages on the hourly charts on the Nasdaq 100, but held them on the S&P 500. By mid-morning when they failed to extend lower and held the support for the last several sessions, they rallied back in a 3-wave move that severely tested resistance and the morning highs on the SPX. In the last half hour or so, they backed off into the close. Net on the day the Dow was down 39.22 at 9280.97, the S&P 500 off 2.93 at 1002.72, and the Nasdaq 100 down 14.05 at 1614.44. Advance-declines were negative by 260 issues on New York, but 2 to 1 negative on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was 13 to 5 positive on New York and 2 to 1 negative on[More...]

Fannie, Freddie Considering Waiving Appraisals for Refinancings

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:16:00 GMT

I used to use words like "unbelievable" as I read proposal after proposal brought forward in late 2007 and 2008 to save us, but nothing in this hoax of a market is anymore. I wrote that 2009 will bring us "innovations" and "interventions" like nothing before (with Fannie and Freddie as the centerpiece of the toolbox) so I guess I should not be surprised by this proposal. That said, my jaw hit the floor when I read it. I hit refresh a few times - checked the calendar (nope, not April 1st) - certainly this must be a hoax. So get ready for this; no matter what your home appraises for - if it falls 10%, 20%, or 30% below purchase price, and you are underwater - you can STILL refinance under the latest proposal being floated at the full original[More...]

Earnings Preview For Nov 3 - 7 - Earnings Preview

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 01:58:00 GMT

Companies that could issue positive surprises include Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX), SucessFactors (SFSF) and Sunoco (SUN). Penn Virginia Corporation (PVA) could potentially disappoint investors. The Week's Events November has historically been one of the best months for the major markets, according to the[More...]

Analyst Comments: U.S. Steel, Ciena, MTG Investment, CVS Caremark, I-Flow, CastlePoint, Banco Itau, Cameron, Ericsson, National Semi, Affirmative Insurance

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:10:00 GMT

United States Steel Corp.?s (X) near-term profitability is expected to be strong due to higher flat-rolled contract prices and relatively low costs due to backward integration. The company also has strong cash flow, enabling increased dividend payments, s[More...]

Eleven Stocks to Consider for Short Selling

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:22:00 GMT

One day before my awesome Japan trip (detailed itinerary post coming later today…brutal honesty baby!), gotta get everything in order cuz when I’m there I’m not gonna be able to read shit! Some decent plays nonetheless:FOUR I thought would be good for a bounce yesterday, was dead wrong, even though I said it was “risky, risky, risky, risky” and it still went up 10% from my TIMalert, many got in too late and lost…I took a $300ish loss…detailed post coming, no way in hell should anybody be buying this thing, it’s for the vultures now.RDN keeps going, bouncy 25-50 cents/share here and there, still not a suitable pattern for meSTAA I mentioned several days ago, but before it really started spiking…gradual mover turning volatile, watch out, let’s see how far it goesBHBC is a spiking bank with the chart of a pump and[More...]

Nine Stocks Eventually to Short Sell

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:36:00 GMT

Weird weekend—no video shoot on Saturday due to family emergency, guess this video is just cursed…nah we’ll do it when I get back from Japan…speaking of, it’s consuming all my time as I leave this Wednesday…don’t worry, got my entire trip planned around internet cafes, girlfriend not gonna be happy, but TIMalert subscribers will be!ZYXI just keeps going higher and now it’s an earnings play. God love em…longs beware, I think this runup is being constructed, no different than APII, FEED, all the little crap companies that wanna raise $/use their stock for acquisitions…its magnificient artwork…their latest earnings report hints: … (visit site to read[More...]

To Short Sell These 10 Stocks…Or Not?

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:35:00 GMT

Yes, some old guy opened his mouth yesterday and the business world shook. I don’t care about the Fed, nor the overall markets, I search for individual pump and dumps. I am glad the markets rebounded, but only because that gets our favorite spammers/pumpers in a better mood to do the only thing they’re good at…and that’s when PennyStocking is so awesome…so if this rally continues, expect some solid plays to open up…as it is, I don’t see anything worth anyone’s time, other than if you’re a scalper and if you are, I pity you, it’s no way to live.PGTI is now up 50% in 4 days, earnings play, inverse head and shoulders, looks great, but still a ton of bitter shareholders, I’d love for it to keep going, if it can break $6…convincingly, no real resistance til the high $7s, which would be a great entry point to try to go for a $1-2 reversal…oh, this short seller is probly just[More...]

PHH's Outlook Dismal in Short Term: The CEO Blamed Higher Mortgage Interest Rates, Tighter Credit Standards: "Volume is Very, Very Slow."

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 10:01:00 GMT

Aug. 9--The chief executive of mortgage lender PHH Corp. in Mount Laurel yesterday gave a dismal outlook for the remainder of the year.
"We feel great long term, but we don't feel good about what the next six months might bring," Terence W. Edwards, president and CEO of PHH, said during a conference call with investors.
"While I don't want to make a trend out of a week-and-a-half of August activity, volume is very, very slow," Edwards said.

[More...]

BenchmarkJournal.Com Free Analyst Review for MTG, NOK, TMX, XTO, NM and RDN

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:05:00 GMT

Benchmark Journal brings independent company and sector research together, utilizing top financial advisors and investment tactics to provide you with a clear picture of investment opportunities.
Today we began research on MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), Telefonos de Mexico S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: TMX), XTO Energy Inc. (NYSE: XTO), Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NYSE: NM) and Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN).
To view our research, sign up now and get started with your complimentary subscription.

[More...]

Radian Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend on Common Stock

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:55:00 GMT

Radian Group Inc. announced today that the company's Board of Directors approved a regular quarterly dividend on its common stock in the amount of $0.0025 per share, payable on September 24, 2009, to stockholders of record as of August 24, 2009.[More...]

Radian Reports Second Quarter Financial Results

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:56:00 GMT

Radian Group Inc. today reported net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, of $231.9 million, or $2.82 per diluted share. This compares to a net loss of $392.5 million, or $4.91 per diluted share, for the prior-year quarter. Book value per share at June 30, 2009, was $25.12.[More...]

Radian to Webcast Second Quarter Conference Call on August 5, 2009

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:56:00 GMT

Radian Group Inc. today announced that it will hold a conference call on Wednesday, August 5, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the company's second quarter 2009 results, which will be announced prior to the market open on the same day. The conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet at http://www.ir.radian.biz/phoenix.zhtml?c=112301&p=irol-audioarchives or at www.radian.biz. The call may also be accessed by dialing 800-553-0288 inside the U.S., or 612-332-0530 for international callers, using passcode 108853 or by referencing Radian.A replay of the webcast will be available on the Radian Web site approximately two hours after the live broadcast ends for a period of one year. A replay of the conference call will be available two and a half hours after the call ends for one week, using the following dial-in numbers and passcode: 800-475-6701 inside the U.S., or 320-365-3844 for international callers, passcode 108853.In addition to the information provided in the company's earnings news release, other statistical and financial information, which is expected to be referred to during the conference call, will be available on Radian's Web site under Investors >Quarterly Results, or by clicking on http://www.ir.radian.biz/phoenix.zhtml?c=112301&p=irol-earnings.About RadianRadian Group Inc. , headquartered in Philadelphia, provides private mortgage insurance and related risk management products and services to mortgage lenders nationwide through its principal operating subsidiary, Radian Guaranty Inc. These services help promote and preserve homeownership opportunities for homebuyers, while protecting lenders from default-related losses on residential first mortgages and facilitating the sale of low-down payment mortgages in the secondary market. Additional information may be found at www.radian.biz. Contact:[More...]

Radian Announces Commutation of $9.8 Billion Ambac Portfolio

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:56:00 GMT

Radian Group Inc. today reported that, on July 20, 2009, its financial guaranty insurance subsidiary, Radian Asset Assurance Inc. , entered into a Commutation and Release Agreement, effective as of July 1, 2009, with Ambac Assurance Corporation and Ambac Assurance UK Limited , to commute $9.8 billion of Radian Asset's reinsurance portfolio assumed from Ambac. 'A key component of our capital plan is to provide capital support and cash infusions over time to our core mortgage insurance business,' noted Chief Executive Officer S.A. Ibrahim. 'We continue to utilize Radian Asset as an important source of capital support for Radian Guaranty, our principal mortgage insurance subsidiary, and, by reducing our overall financial guaranty risk through this commutation, we have increased our ability to access that capital.'The Commutation Agreement provides, among other things, for Radian Asset to make a $100 million settlement payment to Ambac, including a refund of unearned premium reserves and payment of statutory loss reserves. The commutation, which represents 99.7 percent of the insured portfolio previously assumed from Ambac, decreases Radian Asset's total insured portfolio by 10 percent, including a decrease of 42 percent in Radian Asset's exposure to mortgage-backed securities. The statutory surplus of Radian Asset will be positively impacted in the third quarter 2009 by approximately $40 million as a result of the Ambac commutation.About RadianRadian Group Inc. , headquartered in Philadelphia, provides private mortgage insurance and related risk management products and services to mortgage lenders nationwide through its principal operating subsidiary, Radian Guaranty Inc. These services help promote and preserve homeownership opportunities for homebuyers, while protecting lenders from default-related losses on residential first mortgages and facilitating the sale of low-downpayment mortgages in the secondary market. Additional information may be found at www.radian.biz.Forward-Looking StatementsSome of the statements in this release constitute 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, words such as 'may,' 'will,' 'should,' 'could,' 'would,' 'anticipate,' 'expect,' 'intend,' 'estimate,' 'plan,' 'project,' 'continue,' 'goal' and 'believe,' or other variations on these and other similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and, as such, are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions as to future events or our future financial performance that may not prove to be accurate. These statements speak only as of the date they were made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those projected in such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the following:changes in general financial and political conditions, such as a deepening of the existing national economic recession, further decreases in housing demand, mortgage originations or housing values , a further reduction in the liquidity in the capital markets and further contraction of credit markets, further increases in unemployment rates, changes or volatility in interest rates or consumer confidence, changes in credit spreads, changes in the way investors perceive the strength of private mortgage insurers or financial guaranty providers, investor concern over the credit quality and specific risks faced by the particular businesses, municipalities or pools of assets covered by our insurance;catastrophic events or further economic changes in geographic regions where our mortgage insurance or financial guaranty insurance in force is more concentrated;our ability to successfully execute upon our internally sourced capital plan , and if necessary, to obtain additional capital to support new business writings in our mortgage insurance business and the long-term liquidity needs of our holding company ; and to protect our credit ratings and the financial strength ratings of Radian Guaranty Inc., our principal mortgage insurance subsidiary, from further downgrades;a further decrease in the volume of home mortgage originations due to reduced liquidity in the lending market, tighter underwriting standards and the ongoing deterioration in housing markets throughout the U.S.;our ability to maintain adequate risk-to-capital ratios and surplus requirements in our mortgage insurance business in light of on-going losses in this business and in our financial guaranty portfolio;our ability to continue to mitigate losses through increased levels of rescissions and denials, which have positively impacted our provision for losses;the concentration of our mortgage insurance business among a relatively small number of large customers;disruption in the servicing of mortgages covered by our insurance policies;the aging of our mortgage insurance portfolio and changes in severity or frequency of losses associated with certain of our products that are riskier than traditional mortgage insurance or financial guaranty insurance policies;the performance of our insured portfolio of higher risk loans, such as Alternative-A and subprime loans, and of adjustable rate products, such as adjustable rate mortgages and interest-only mortgages, which have resulted in increased losses and are expected to result in further losses;reduced opportunities for loss mitigation in markets where housing values fail to appreciate or continue to decline;changes in persistency rates of our mortgage insurance policies; an increase in the risk profile of our existing mortgage insurance portfolio due to mortgage refinancing in the current housing market;further downgrades or threatened downgrades of, or other ratings actions with respect to, our credit ratings or the ratings assigned by the major rating agencies to any of our rated insurance subsidiaries at any time ;heightened competition for our mortgage insurance business from others such as the Federal Housing Administration and the Veterans' Administration or other private mortgage insurers ;changes in the charters or business practices of Federal National Mortgage Association and Freddie Mac, the largest purchasers of mortgage loans that we insure, and our ability to remain an eligible provider to both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae;the application of existing federal or state consumer, lending, insurance, securities and other applicable laws and regulations, or changes in these laws and regulations or the way they are interpreted; including, without limitation: the outcome of existing investigations or the possibility of private lawsuits or other formal investigations by state insurance departments and state attorneys general alleging that services offered by the mortgage insurance industry, such as captive reinsurance, pool insurance and contract underwriting, are violative of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and/or similar state regulations, legislative and regulatory changes affecting demand for private mortgage insurance, or legislation and regulatory changes limiting or restricting our use of additional capital, the products we may offer, the form in which we may execute the credit protection we provide or the aggregate notional amount of any product we may offer for any one transaction or in the aggregate;the possibility that we may fail to estimate accurately the likelihood, magnitude and timing of losses in connection with establishing loss reserves for our mortgage insurance or financial guaranty businesses or premium deficiencies for our mortgage insurance businesses, or to estimate accurately the fair value amounts of derivative contracts in our mortgage insurance and financial guaranty businesses in determining gains and losses on these contracts;the ability of our primary insurance customers in our financial guaranty reinsurance business to provide appropriate surveillance and to mitigate losses adequately with respect to our assumed insurance portfolio;volatility in our earnings caused by changes in the fair value of our derivative instruments and our need to reevaluate the premium deficiency in our mortgage insurance business on a quarterly basis;changes in accounting guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Financial Accounting Standards Board;legal and other limitations on amounts we may receive from our subsidiaries as dividends or through our tax -- and expense-sharing arrangements with our subsidiaries; andour investment in Sherman Financial Group LLC, which could be negatively affected in the current credit environment if Sherman is unable to maintain sufficient sources of funding for its business activities or remain in compliance with its credit facilities.For more information regarding these risks and uncertainties as well as certain additional risks that we face, you should review the risks described under Item 1A, 'Risk Factors' under our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 and subsequent reports and registration statements filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.[More...]

Radian Supports New HARP Loan-to-Value Ceiling

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:07:00 GMT

Radian Guaranty Inc., the mortgage insurance subsidiary of Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN), today stated its full support of the new, higher loan-to-value (LTV) ceiling for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), which is part of the government’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP). Previously, the LTV ceiling was 105 percent. The new limit of 125 percent LTV means more borrowers will be eligible to refinance despite falling home prices, even in areas hit hardest by home value depreciation.[More...]

Radian Guaranty Implements Program to Assist Homeowners Refinance to Lower Interest Rates

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:11:00 GMT

Radian Guaranty Inc., the mortgage insurance subsidiary of Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN), announced today the launch of a program which helps qualify borrowers for traditional refinances on loans not currently serviced by their present lender – even with today’s declining home process and tighter lending standards. The program is aligned with the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, launched earlier this year by the government to support mortgage holders who have consistently made their payments on time, but have been unable to refinance at lower mortgage rates due to falling home prices.[More...]

Radian Guaranty Expands Local Market Sales Force

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:31:00 GMT

Radian Guaranty Inc., the mortgage insurance subsidiary of Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN), announced today that it has completed the expansion of its sales force with the addition of 13 local account managers. The new hires are based in strategically located regions throughout the United States – including Alaska – making Radian the only mortgage insurer with a local sales presence in that state.[More...]

Radian Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend on Common Stock

Wed, 13 May 2009 18:26:00 GMT

Radian Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend on Common Stock[More...]

Radian Reports First Quarter Financial Results

Tue, 05 May 2009 11:56:00 GMT

Radian Group Inc. today reported a net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, of $217.4 million, or $2.69 per diluted share. This compares to net income of $195.6 million, or $2.44 per diluted share, for the prior year quarter. Book value per share at March 31, 2009, was $22.12.[More...]