• Jessica Hagy on the Paulson Plan
    Posted by on September 24th, 2008 at 2:34 pm

    Perfect.
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  • More Market History
    Posted by on September 24th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

    Today is the 139th anniversary of Black Friday. This was when Jay Gould and Jim Fiske tried to corner the gold market. It didn’t work and the bottom fell out of the gold market on September 24, 1869. Fisk was ruined and eventually shot by an angry creditor.
    Forty-three years ago, President Eisenhower had a heart attack and that sent the market down 6.5%. This was a time of very low volatility so that sell-off was one of the biggest in years.
    (Via: Gary Alexander)

  • The Eurozone is Officially in a Recession
    Posted by on September 24th, 2008 at 10:20 am

    There’s been a debate on whether the U.S. economy is in a recession. The pro-recession crowd says that it’s obvious we are. The anti side tells us the numbers keep saying no. Now the Financial Times says the Eurozone is now in a recession:

    The eurozone has fallen into recession, with industry particularly badly hit by the fall-out from global economic turmoil, results of a closely watched survey indicated on Tuesday.
    Private sector output in the 15-country region contracted in September for the fourth consecutive month, according to eurozone purchasing managers’ indices. The pace of decline was the fastest since the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, with manufacturing faring worse than services.
    The latest data indicated that, even if the crisis on Wall Street has yet to have a direct impact on eurozone economies, global economic storms have pushed the region into a technical recession – two quarters of contracting gross domestic product.
    The eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index – covering services as well as manufacturing – fell from 48.2 in August to 47 this month. A figure below 50 is meant to indicate a contraction in activity.

  • FactSet Research Systems’ Earnings
    Posted by on September 23rd, 2008 at 9:37 pm

    FactSet Research Systems (FDS) reported decent earnings today. For its fiscal fourth quarter (ending August 31), the company earned 68 cents a share which was four cents a share better than Street estimates. For last year’s Q4, the company earned 58 cents a share. Sales were up 18.7% to 153.7 million. For Q1, the company sees sales of $154 to $157 million and operating margins between 31.5% and 33%.
    The CEO said, “The macro environment has now been challenging for more than a year, yet it is gratifying that again this quarter FactSet grew both its user base and client count. The results point to significant progress in our efforts to increase the engagement level of users and add incremental value to clients. We were also very pleased that our previously announced acquisition of Thomson Fundamentals closed during the fourth quarter. We believe that the estimated market opportunity for fundamental data just among our existing client base is in excess of $100 million, representing a large new source of potential revenue growth for FactSet.”
    FDS is often seen as a proxy for the health of the financial sector. I don’t think that’s correct. The company has been holding up very well during the recent unpleasantness. Last quarter, the client count increased by 41 to 2,085, and the number of users climbed by 510 to 40,120.
    Year……………..Sales……………….EPS
    1998……………$78.91……………..$0.26
    1999……………$103.83……………$0.37
    2000……………$134.18……………$0.49
    2001……………$167.56……………$0.64
    2002……………$198.29……………$0.78
    2003……………$222.30……………$0.98
    2004……………$251.91……………$1.15
    2005……………$312.64……………$1.43
    2006……………$387.35……………$1.64
    2007……………$475.80……………$2.14
    2008……………$575.52……………$2.50

  • Thanks Hugo
    Posted by on September 23rd, 2008 at 1:46 pm

    From Comrade Chavez:
    “I nationalize strategic companies and get criticized, but when Bush does it, it’s OK,” Chavez said on weekly television program Sept. 21. “Bush is turning socialist. How are you, comrade Bush?”
    (Via: DealBreaker)

  • We’re All Zimbabweans Now
    Posted by on September 22nd, 2008 at 12:23 pm

    The chart says it all.

  • Goldman, Morgan to become holding companies
    Posted by on September 22nd, 2008 at 12:18 pm

    MarketWatch reports:

    In yet another extraordinary development for Wall Street, the Federal Reserve said late Sunday night that venerable investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will become bank holding companies, subjecting themselves to stricter federal oversight.
    The Wall Street titans will be allowed to transition into holding companies following a mandatory five-day waiting period, and will be able to take advantage of credit from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in order to complete the transition.

    So does this mean I’ll soon be seeing Goldman Sachs ATMs around town?

  • The Bailout Plan
    Posted by on September 22nd, 2008 at 11:15 am

    I’m going to be the first to call it, this bailout plan is going down. I don’t know how or when, but I don’t see this thing lasting. At best, it’s going to be dramatically revised.
    The plan has all the hallmarks of something the American public hates. It’s too expensive. It’s secretive…we just woke up one day and were told we needed it. We don’t know if it will work. It seems un-American.

  • More Stocks You Can’t Short
    Posted by on September 22nd, 2008 at 11:06 am

    The SEC allowed the exchanges to add stocks to the No-Short List. Here’s what the NYSE has added:
    1. GLG GLG Partners, Inc.
    2. GE General Electric Co.
    3. OCN Ocwen Financial Corporation
    4. KBW KBW, Inc.
    5. GFG Guaranty Financial Group Inc.
    6. MFG Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
    7. FMR First Mercury Financial Corporation
    8. STC Stewart Information Services Corporation
    9. FCF First Commonwealth Financial Corporation
    10. MTB M&T Bank Corporation
    11. DFS Discover Financial Services
    12. BMO Bank of Montreal
    13. TD Toronto Dominion Bank
    14. CM Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
    15. FMD The First Marblehead Corporation
    16. BBV Banco Bilbao Vizcaya SA
    17. CIB BanColombia SA
    18. LM Legg Mason, Inc.
    19. NFP National Financial Partners Corp.
    20. AXP American Express Company
    21. CIT CIT Group Inc.
    22. GM General Motors Corporation
    23. HIG The Hartford Financial Services Group
    24. ADS Alliance Data Systems Corporation
    25. ALD Allied Capital Corporation
    26. RAS RAIT Financial Trust
    27. DRL Doral Financial Corporation
    28. FSR Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings
    29. MCO Moody’s Corporation
    30. COF Capital One Financial Corporation
    31. CS Credit Suisse Group AG

  • More Fallout from the Credit Crisis
    Posted by on September 22nd, 2008 at 10:35 am

    Well it never end?
    Crain’s:

    New Yorkers hitting the bottle

    The Sun:

    Credit crunch means couples stay at home making babies

    NY Mag:

    Eager Ecdysiasts Dance Through Downturn (“Those girls specialize in taking care of their clients’ emotional needs and ‘wellness’—listening to their problems, conversing,” he says. “Forty percent of the time, they’re not even consummating.”)