is enjoying a new career in health care
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Nate... I couldn't agree with you more at this point - I'm liquid and will be looking for a few bargains tomorrow...
In my opinion WM is a better choice. However, all financial sector trades are at the mercy of this "toxic debt" plan and whatever media sensationalism they decide to hype.... as always do your DD, watch the news, charts and L2
I wish those in the best of luck.... tomorrows headlines could change the course of any sector impacted....
Releasing news to inflate SP? -lol- we all know that is a standard corporate tactic to increase market value...not normally done by the big boards and normally reserved for the OTCs but in this market I think they're all doing "whatever it takes".... In this time and place I would proceed cautiously no matter WHAT the stock was!
Regardless of the AIG chart you need to understand the provisions outlined within the "Fed bailout package"
The Fed loan is collateralized by all the assets of AIG, and of its primary non-regulated subsidiaries. These assets include the stock of substantially all of the regulated subsidiaries. The Fed bailout loan is expected to be repaid from the proceeds of the sale of the firm’s assets.
I.E. The sale of AIG assets inherently decreases the intrinsic value of AIG.
The U.S. government received a 79.9 percent equity interest in AIG and has the right to veto the payment of dividends to common and preferred shareholders.
This leaves the previous common shares valued at 20% of what they were prior to the bailout.
I would NOT even contemplate buying AIG stock as IMO they are nearly worthless now and will only be worth 20% of the previous SP after the sale of the AIG assets...
WM has no such obligation nor has received any such Fed bailout provisions...thus their SP is still based upon their full asset values and future earnings
Be careful with ABK as the following news could have a dramatic negative impact on the current and future SP
ABK 3.87, -2.80, -42.0%) said a downgrade by ratings agency Moody's Investors Service would leave its guaranteed investment contract business short of collateral to meet liabilities. The company also postponed plans to pump $850 million into a new municipal bond insurance business called Connie Lee and canceled a $50 million share buyback plan that was announced earlier this year.
WM Short interest stats
Short Interest (Shares Short) 382,360,300
Days To Cover (Short Interest Ratio) 7.4
Short Percent of Float 26.10 %
Short Interest - Prior 338,580,400
Short % Increase / Decrease 12.93 %
Short Squeeze Ranking™ -178
Nate you are correct I missed this information.... Thanks for your info and perspective!
ABK 3.87, -2.80, -42.0%) said a downgrade by ratings agency Moody's Investors Service would leave its guaranteed investment contract business short of collateral to meet liabilities. The company also postponed plans to pump $850 million into a new municipal bond insurance business called Connie Lee and canceled a $50 million share buyback plan that was announced earlier this year.
Once WM hits 5$ and opens up for margin buying it could explode to the upside....will be watching tomorrow morning closely
ABK for the short squeeze 2.6 days to cover 31% of the float!?!
Link back for chart
Short Interest (Shares Short) 90,962,200
Days To Cover (Short Interest Ratio) 2.6
Short Percent of Float 31.80 %
Short Interest - Prior 83,467,800
Short % Increase / Decrease 8.98 %
ATTENTION all mods and board members
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080918/sec_short_selling.html
SEC weighs broad move on short-selling
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080918/sec_short_selling.html
Source: AP
Thursday September 18, 10:31 pm ET
By Marcy Gordon, AP Business Writer
Source: SEC considering taking dramatic move to ban ordinary short-selling of stocks
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Amid the spiraling market crisis and mounting pressure from lawmakers, the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering taking the dramatic step of temporarily banning the routine practice of betting against company stocks.
The move, if taken by the SEC, may well be unprecedented and a reflection of regulators' concern about the widening scope of the financial crisis as entreaties come from all quarters to stem a swarm of short-selling. A recent wave of the market maneuvers -- profiting by selling unowned shares of companies in the anticipation their prices will drop -- has been blamed in part for the demise of venerable investment firm Lehman Brothers and other big companies.
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke held a closed-door meeting Thursday night with members of Congress. Cox told the lawmakers the SEC may put in a temporary emergency ban on all short-selling -- not just the aggressive forms it already has targeted, according to a person familiar with the matter. The ban might apply to stocks of selected financial companies, to all financial companies or even possibly to all public companies.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the possible action by the SEC hasn't been publicly announced. Cox and the other four SEC commissioners were meeting Thursday night to consider the plan and it wasn't immediately clear if and when it might be approved.
After the meeting at the Capitol, Cox told reporters "a great deal of regulatory change is in the works to address these problems." He declined to discuss specific possible steps on short-selling.
"We are likely to take additional steps in the days ahead that are more particularly addressed to this urgent situation," Cox said.
Short-selling, which has been practiced on Wall Street for decades, is not illegal per se.
On Wednesday, New York Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, both Democrats, appealed to the SEC for such a temporary ban, saying the watchdog agency "has the power to take a temporary but important step to help restore a measure of stability to our financial markets."
The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest pension fund, said that starting Thursday it is no longer lending out shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, joining a growing number of public pension funds that are attempting to curb short-selling of two investment banks' stocks.
The SEC on Wednesday adopted rules it said would provide permanent protections against abusive instances of "naked" short-selling, where sellers don't even borrow the shares before selling them, and then look to cover positions immediately after the sale. The new rules took effect Thursday. They restrict, but do not ban, short-selling by for example, reducing the required time for short sellers to deliver the stocks underlying the sale transactions.
Some critics assailed the new measures as inadequate to stem the tide of short-selling. They asked for a prohibition on all naked short-selling similar to the SEC's 30-day emergency ban this summer covering the stocks of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and 17 large investment banks.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called the measures a positive step but said more must be done, calling on the SEC on Thursday to "immediately freeze short-selling of financial sector stocks on a temporary basis."
Market regulators in Britain did just that, citing "current extreme circumstances" in announcing a temporary ban on Thursday.
Cuomo also said his office is launching an investigation into whether some short sellers engaged in conspiracy or spread rumors and negative information to drive down the share prices of Lehman, American International Group Inc., Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and other firms.
Some investors contend that naked short-selling, if left unchecked, would have given hedge funds and other aggressive short sellers an unfair advantage to attack other victims after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which made the biggest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history on Monday.
Merrill Lynch & Co. -- being bought by Bank of America Corp. in a $50 billion shotgun deal -- or giant insurer AIG, rescued with an $85 billion cash injection from the Federal Reserve, were said to be among the likely targets.
Shares of regional banks and investment firms nationwide continued to be targeted by aggressive short sellers after the SEC's emergency ban took effect in mid-July, according to banking industry representatives.
Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.
SEC weighs broad move on short-selling
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080918/sec_short_selling.html
Source: AP
Thursday September 18, 10:31 pm ET
By Marcy Gordon, AP Business Writer
Source: SEC considering taking dramatic move to ban ordinary short-selling of stocks
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Amid the spiraling market crisis and mounting pressure from lawmakers, the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering taking the dramatic step of temporarily banning the routine practice of betting against company stocks.
ADVERTISEMENT
The move, if taken by the SEC, may well be unprecedented and a reflection of regulators' concern about the widening scope of the financial crisis as entreaties come from all quarters to stem a swarm of short-selling. A recent wave of the market maneuvers -- profiting by selling unowned shares of companies in the anticipation their prices will drop -- has been blamed in part for the demise of venerable investment firm Lehman Brothers and other big companies.
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke held a closed-door meeting Thursday night with members of Congress. Cox told the lawmakers the SEC may put in a temporary emergency ban on all short-selling -- not just the aggressive forms it already has targeted, according to a person familiar with the matter. The ban might apply to stocks of selected financial companies, to all financial companies or even possibly to all public companies.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the possible action by the SEC hasn't been publicly announced. Cox and the other four SEC commissioners were meeting Thursday night to consider the plan and it wasn't immediately clear if and when it might be approved.
After the meeting at the Capitol, Cox told reporters "a great deal of regulatory change is in the works to address these problems." He declined to discuss specific possible steps on short-selling.
"We are likely to take additional steps in the days ahead that are more particularly addressed to this urgent situation," Cox said.
Short-selling, which has been practiced on Wall Street for decades, is not illegal per se.
On Wednesday, New York Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, both Democrats, appealed to the SEC for such a temporary ban, saying the watchdog agency "has the power to take a temporary but important step to help restore a measure of stability to our financial markets."
The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest pension fund, said that starting Thursday it is no longer lending out shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, joining a growing number of public pension funds that are attempting to curb short-selling of two investment banks' stocks.
The SEC on Wednesday adopted rules it said would provide permanent protections against abusive instances of "naked" short-selling, where sellers don't even borrow the shares before selling them, and then look to cover positions immediately after the sale. The new rules took effect Thursday. They restrict, but do not ban, short-selling by for example, reducing the required time for short sellers to deliver the stocks underlying the sale transactions.
Some critics assailed the new measures as inadequate to stem the tide of short-selling. They asked for a prohibition on all naked short-selling similar to the SEC's 30-day emergency ban this summer covering the stocks of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and 17 large investment banks.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called the measures a positive step but said more must be done, calling on the SEC on Thursday to "immediately freeze short-selling of financial sector stocks on a temporary basis."
Market regulators in Britain did just that, citing "current extreme circumstances" in announcing a temporary ban on Thursday.
Cuomo also said his office is launching an investigation into whether some short sellers engaged in conspiracy or spread rumors and negative information to drive down the share prices of Lehman, American International Group Inc., Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and other firms.
Some investors contend that naked short-selling, if left unchecked, would have given hedge funds and other aggressive short sellers an unfair advantage to attack other victims after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which made the biggest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history on Monday.
Merrill Lynch & Co. -- being bought by Bank of America Corp. in a $50 billion shotgun deal -- or giant insurer AIG, rescued with an $85 billion cash injection from the Federal Reserve, were said to be among the likely targets.
Shares of regional banks and investment firms nationwide continued to be targeted by aggressive short sellers after the SEC's emergency ban took effect in mid-July, according to banking industry representatives.
Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.
WM already breaking through the 3$ range in A/H
How Ironic... I was just looking at it about 30 minutes ago... I'll be buying tomorrow...big
NEXM - just found this news
NexMed Aims to Have Drug Approved by FDA, Chief Says
2008-09-12 16:43:38.720 GMT
By Kelly Riddell
Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- NexMed Inc., whose topical treatment for erectile dysfunction was rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July, aims to have the drug approved in 13 months, Chief Executive Officer Vivian Liu said.
NexMed feels ``very strongly' that the results of additional studies can clear up safety questions raised when high doses of the drug caused cancer in mice, Liu said in an interview from the company's headquarters in East Windsor, New Jersey. Two subsequent two-year studies in mice and rats and more than 100 other animal studies found no cancer, the company said.
``We will be able to present them with the facts on Oct. 15 and hopefully reach consensus on what remaining work needs to be done in order for us to resubmit the filing,' Liu said.
``Assuming we can submit the amendment in the next six months, you're looking at starting a six-month review clock, so possibly we could be one year from approval.'
The outcome of the FDA meeting could trigger as much as $10 million in milestone payments in the next 13 months from Warner Chilcott Ltd., which has licensed the drug known as Vitaros, Liu said. The company agreed to pay NexMed up to $12.5 million in addition to their $500,000 upfront payment for the drug, Rochelle Fuhrmann, a spokeswoman for the Warner Chilcott said. No specific timeline or milestones for the payments has been publicly disclosed, she added.
Approval in Canada?
NexMed also expects approval for the drug in Canada at the end of this year or early in 2009, and is in talks with a potential partner there, Liu said, without giving details.
Sales of erectile dysfunction treatments are estimated at more than $3 billion a year worldwide, according to Denise Resnik, an analyst at JM Dutton & Associates.
NexMed has no products on the market and recently lost 86 percent of its value from Aug. 26 to Aug. 29 after another partner, Switzerland's Novartis AG, decided not to seek U.S. approval of NexMed's antifungal drug in August.
``It's been a rough market for us in the last few months,' Liu said. ``However, if you look at our cash on hand, potential milestone payments and our existing partnerships, we are undervalued. The potential for us is still there.'
Novartis's decision didn't affect other parts of its collaboration agreement with NexMed, including a $3.5 million milestone payment for obtaining a U.S. patent for the medicine, Liu said. The patent may be issued within 30 days, she said. Novartis spokeswoman Anna Frable had no immediate comment.
The milestone payment would provide NexMed with enough cash to finance operations for a year, Liu said. As of June 30, NexMed had $3.4 million in cash with monthly costs including fixed overhead of $525,000.
Another $3 million could come from Novartis if the company seeks approval for the antifungal medicine in Europe, where it is undergoing a separate study, Liu said.
NexMed fell 2 percent to 12 cents at 12:30 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The stock has plunged 92 percent this year.
WM- CNBC ( retracted their statement) talking out both sides of their mouth
WaMu Is Being Eyed by JP Morgan, Other Banks
Posted By:Charlie Gasparino
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26679728
WaMu Is Being Eyed by JP Morgan, Other Banks
By Charlie Gasparino On-Air Editor | 12 Sep 2008 | 05:44 PM ET
JP Morgan Chase is interested in buying at least piece of Washington Mutual, but the two firms are not in advanced talks on a deal, CNBC has learned.
TheTruthAboutMortgage
JP Morgan [JPM 41.17 -0.48 (-1.15%) ] is waiting for WaMu's stock [WM 2.73 -0.10 (-3.53%) ] to stop falling or for a government takeover of the bank before making a bid, people close to the firm say.
Other banks are interested in Washington Mutual as well, these people add,
The Seattle-based thrift, whose stock is down over 90% this year because of bad real-estate loans, said Thursday it expects to set aside $4.5 billion in this quarter for credit losses, down from the second quarter's $5.9 billion, and write off $2.7 billion for bad loans.
Moody's Investors Service [MCO 38.62 -0.60 (-1.53%) ] cut WaMu's credit rating to "junk' status.
Washington Mutual made its unusual disclosure six weeks before it planned to report earnings to calm investor fears after its shares had plunged 34 percent this week and 92 percent in the last year. The shares on Thursday fell below $2 for the first time since 1990.
The outlook suggests that new Chief Executive Alan Fishman will on October 22 report the thrift's fourth straight quarterly loss.
Analysts on average expect a loss of $1.16 per share, or roughly $1.2 billion, Reuters Estimates said. The thrift has said home loan losses could reach $19 billion through 2011.
At least four analysts cut their price targets for the thrift's stock.
I've had it on watch all week and witnessed it slide down as if there was no end in sight....chart is finally turning up IMO it should swing next week if volume comes in
PLAB ready to launch yet? (link back for M7 and my charts)
WM raised $7 billion in April from TPG Inc., the Fort Worth, Texas-based private-equity firm run by David Bonderman.
The TPG deal itself may thwart investors. If WaMu is sold for less than $8.75 a share or is forced to raise more than $500 million in equity within 18 months, it must compensate TPG for the difference, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
My bet is on something equal to or greater then what TPG invested ($8.75 a share) otherwise TPG will be upside down on their previous investment
Here are the details from the previous TPG/WAMU financing infusion deal
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The latest reported terms of Washington Mutual Inc.'s (WM) deal to raise $7 billion suggests private-equity cash is getting expensive.
Very expensive.
Of the $7 billion in new securities that WaMu said it will sell to TPG Capital and other unnamed investors, $5.5 billion will take the form of preferred issues that will convert to common shares at $8.75 apiece - a roughly 25% discount to market price - assuming shareholders approve the deal in coming weeks.
But here's the catch: According to CNBC's David Faber, if shareholders don't approve that conversion, the preferred shares could get even more expensive for the company to issue.
If stockholders were to vote against the deal's conversion, says Faber, those preferred shares will begin carrying a "very high yield.
"High enough...to make it quite hard for shareholders not to vote in favor," Faber says.
Faber also reports that TPG has promised to lock up its $2 billion investment for 18 months and, in exchange for that guarantee, will receive warrants to buy 57 million shares, after five years, at $10.06 per share - a discount of roughly 17% off current market prices.
WaMu shares were recently trading at $11.83, down roughly 10% from Monday's close price of $13.15.
A Washington Mutual spokesman didn't immediately return calls for comment.
-By Marshall Eckblad, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-4306; marshall.eckblad@dowjones.com
> Dow Jones Newswires
04-08-08 1539ET
NP- glad to help
Here's your WM PR
WaMu Responds to Moody's Downgrades
SEATTLE, Sep 11, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- In response to today's ratings action
by Moody's Investor Service, Washington Mutual, Inc. (NYSE:WM) had the following
statement:
"We believe that Moody's decision to reduce the ratings of Washington Mutual,
Inc. to below investment grade is inconsistent with the company's current
financial condition, as outlined in the press release we issued earlier this
afternoon. The action by Moody's appears to reflect the current uncertainty in
the markets, rather than a thorough evaluation of Washington Mutual's business,
the strength of its national franchise and the steps it is taking to return to
profitability. Moody's rating for Washington Mutual Bank remains investment
grade, and Washington Mutual, Inc.'s and Washington Mutual Bank's ratings remain
"investment grade" at other rating agencies. None of Washington Mutual, Inc.'s
or Washington Mutual Bank's unsecured debt is subject to ratings-based financial
covenants that would result in acceleration or early maturity events or
defaults. The company does not expect the impact of Moody's actions on
borrowings, collateral or margin requirements to be material. The company has no
intention to suspend dividends on its preferred stock as a result of Moody's
action."
Important Cautionary Statements
The foregoing statement may contain forward-looking statements and should be
read in conjunction with the press release the company issued earlier this
afternoon.
SOURCE: Washington Mutual, Inc.
CONTACT:
Washington Mutual, Inc.
Media:
Derek Aney, 206-500-6094 (Seattle)
212-326-6075 (New York)
derek.aney@wamu.net
or
Investor Relations:
Alan Magleby, 206-500-4148 (Seattle)
212-702-6955 (New York)
alan.magleby@wamu.net
Copyright Business Wire 2008
-0-
WM is NOT on the FDIC's list of 117 'problem' banks see below
The FDIC won't say which banks are in its problem list. However, based on the total assets of these institutions, we know which banks are NOT on the list. The total assets is $78 billion with $32 billion coming from IndyMac Bank which failed in July. That leaves $46 billion for the other problem banks. Below are banks that can't be on the list since their assets are over $46 billion. However, it should be noted that IndyMac failed and it was not on the problem list at the end of the first quarter.
* Wachovia: $671 billion (FDIC source)
* WaMu: $307 billion (FDIC source)
* National City: $151 billion (FDIC source)
* KeyBank: $98 billion (FDIC source)
The following banks are under $46 billion in assets, however, with a total of 117 banks on the problem list, there are probably not too many banks with assets between $10 to $20 billion on the list.
* Zions: $20.2 billion (FDIC source)
* Flagstar: $14.6 billion (FDIC source)
* BankUnited: $14.2 billion (FDIC source)
* Corus: $9.0 billion (FDIC source)
WM looks like Trading brokers are balancing the "books" A/H
761900 @ $2.91
596500 @ 2.935
1126800 @ 2.9354
I want to know HOW someone can submit BS news like that on Reuters, etc. and not get escorted to jail? I know things like that happen on OTCs but the big boards?!?!
Volatility in the financial markets right now is insane.... almost to the point of unorganized chaos and the media is playing "ring leader" of it all....
WM - Insane swings today- launching back up toward 3$ again.... personally (due to the volatility) I would not want to be short this over the weekend
Weird how there are alerts out on this are from numerous sources including Reuters, etc. but then CNBC contradicts the rumors and news publications... I was basically monitoring the alerts and posts from other traders on alerts they received...
insane contradictions flying who knows what the truth is
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/msgsearch.asp?txt2find=WM
JPMorgan In Advanced Talks To Buy WaMu - Report
(Repost from earlylight)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is in advanced talks to buy Washington Mutual Inc. (WM), American Banker reported Friday, citing sources. Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan, and Alan Fishman, the new chief executive of WaMu, are involved in the discussions. The deal, which reportedly does not involve the government, could be completed this this weekend, although it is still in flux, the sources cautioned.
Full story at http://www.americanbanker.com/
-Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5500
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=7AfD3edTaX7Vrm0cf1aahA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 12, 2008 13:38 ET (17:38 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 01 38 PM EDT 09-12-08
WM news JPMorgan In Talks To Buy WaMu - Report >JPMLast update: 9/12/2008 1:32:58 PM(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones NewswiresSeptember 12, 2008 13:32 ET (17
WM news JPMorgan In Talks To Buy WaMu - Report >JPMLast update: 9/12/2008 1:32:58 PM(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones NewswiresSeptember 12, 2008 13:32 ET (17
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that IF/WHEN LEH gets bailed out/ bought out (today, this weekend, early next week) that the financials will climb hard next week..... IMO
WM breaking through the 3$ barrier again on strong volume
Thanks for the update- The news appears to be all positive and bodes well for the future. I'm a little surprised at the market reaction and PPS considering I don't believe this good news was already figured into the share price.... I guess we'll just have to see how the market absorbs this good news over the next week or so.
Anyone have a summary of the CFW conference call?
I think 3.40/50s are a definite possibility especially if the market decides to trend neutral or even green today
WM launching here in the last 5 minutes about to break $3 again
PLAB...READY? -Charts-
Blue Horseshoe chart
Typical...bash to in order to protect their investor short position and support their long position in other financials - Has Moodys been accurate up to this point?
Hope you were able to partake of the bounce...made quite a few traders 30%+ gains today