active
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.
ECONOMIC CALENDAR tomorrow :
Time (ET) Release For Actual Briefing
Forecast Market
Expects Prior Revised
From
8:30 AM CPI Dec -- -1.0% -1.0% -1.7%
8:30 AM Core CPI Dec -- 0.0% 0.1% 0.0%
9:15 AM Industrial Production Dec -- -1.0% -0.8% -0.6%
9:15 AM Capacity Utilization Dec -- 74.6% 74.7% 75.4%
9:55 AM Mich Sentiment-Prel Jan -- 61.0 60.0 60.1
News Highlights: Top Equities Stories Of The DayLast update: 1/15/2009 1:00:00 PM
TOP STORIES
US STOCKS LOWER AGAIN; FINANCIALS LEAD DECLINES
U.S. stocks fall as a surprising profit at JPMorgan Chase isn't enough to quell investors' renewed skittishness about the overall health of Wall Street and the possibility of a recession that will grind through the end of the year, at the very least. Nasdaq is hurt by a decline in Apple due to concerns about the health of CEO Steve Jobs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about 170 points.
JPMORGAN SQUEAKS OUT PROFIT
Bank's net falls 76% to $702 million, or 7c a share, due to surging credit-loss provisions and $2.9 billion of leverage-loan markdowns, but firm avoids an overall loss thanks to commercial banking operations and its acquisition of Washington Mutual. Moody's, meanwhile, cuts JPMorgan's debt ratings.
US PPI DROP, JOBLESS RISE SIGNAL DEFLATION RISKS
U.S. producer prices fell last year for the first time since 2001, while the number of idled workers filing new claims for jobless benefits in the last week resumes an upward trend. One piece of news not as bad as feared, the Philly Fed's index rose to -24.3 in January from -36.1 last month.
APPLE SHARES DOWN AS JOBS TAKES LEAVE
Shares fall 5% as investors re-value the consumer electronics giant without Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who is taking a six-month leave of absence because his medical condition has gotten "more complex."
YAHOO'S BARTZ SAYS GUT INSTINCT NOT TO SELL BUSINESS
New Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz has told employees that she needs to better understand the pros and cons of selling the struggling Internet giant's search business, but her gut instinct was not to.
BOFA FALLS ON REPORT OF MORE FEDERAL AID
Shares slide 16% as The Wall Street Journal reports the U.S. government is close to finalizing a deal that would give the bank billions in additional aid to help close its takeover of Merrill Lynch.
MADOFF MAY NOT HAVE MADE ANY TRADES
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says there is no record that Bernard Madoff's investment funds made any trades through his brokerage operation -- leaving open the possibility that no trades were ever executed, the Boston Globe reports.
CRUDE FALLS BELOW $34/BBL ON RISING INVENTORIES
Crude futures fell $2.88, or 7.7% lower as weak demand continues to force oil into storage, pushing up against capacity in some areas. Futures are at their lowest point since Dec. 19, when the front-month contract reached $32.40 a barrel.
HOUSE RELEASES $825B STIMULUS BILL
House lawmakers reveal spending details of the $825 billion stimulus bill, which includes funding for infrastructure, investments in clean energy, aid to state governments and $275 billion in tax cuts. It also includes $6 billion to promote the Internet.
VOLCKER SAYS FINANCIAL SYSTEM FAILED TEST
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker says the financial system as it currently stands has failed the test of the marketplace, and the largest institutions in particular must accept sharper scrutiny of their practices.
NY AG SUBPOENAS MERKIN, OTHERS IN MADOFF PROBE
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issues subpoenas to former GMAC Financial Services Chairman J. Ezra Merkin, three of his funds and 15 nonprofits in his probe of alleged frauds on charities in the Bernard Madoff scandal.
SENATE PANEL APPROVES CLINTON FOR SECRETARY OF STATE
U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has passed her first major test in becoming the next Secretary of State, winning overwhelming approval for her confirmation in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
SEC DIDN'T SHARE MADOFF TIPS WITH FINRA
SEC nominee Mary Schapiro says the SEC didn't pass along tips it received about Bernard Madoff's firm because it's only responsible for examining brokerages, and the alleged fraud occurred in the investment advisor arm. She also expressed reservations about scrapping U.S. accounting standards.
COURT THROWS OUT BOSTON SCI COATED STENT CASE
Appeals court rules Boston Scientific's patent on coated stents was 'obvious' and invalid, removing one more plank from the company's efforts to avoid a $700 million payment it was ordered to pay Johnson & Johnson in September.
AUTODESK LOWERS VIEW; TO CUT JOBS
Shares slide 11% as software maker reduces its fiscal 4Q estimates again and will cut 750 jobs, or about 10% of its work force as it continues to cut costs. Autodesk also will spin out its location services unit to private-equity firm Hale Capital Partners.
EMPIRE STATE MANUFACTURING REMAINS WEAK
New York manufacturing conditions continue to deteriorate in January, according to the New York Fed's Empire Manufacturing Survey. Business conditions index rises several points to -22.20 from December's -27.88, which was a record low.
CAPITAL BUFFERS SEEN IMPORTANT FOR BANKS
Daniel Tarullo, President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for the Federal Reserve, says banks need to maintain adequate capital buffers in order to ensure their safety and soundness, along with robust enforcement by U.S. regulators.
US MODIFIES DUTIES ON E.U. IMPORTS IN BEEF DISPUTE
The U.S. modifies a list of duties imposed on imports from the E.U. in retaliation for the ongoing ban on U.S. beef, in an attempt to put heat on the E.U. to resolve the long-running dispute.
WACHOVIA EMPLOYEES REQUEST REVIEW OF STATUS AT WELLS FARGO
Wells Fargo agreed to acquire Wachovia last October, and the deal closed this month. According to the spokeswoman, 175 of the more than 2,000 Wachovia employees who had at some point worked for Wells Fargo "do not meet Wells Fargo's employment eligibility requirements." Wells shares up 11%.
ELI LILLY TO PAY $1.42B TO SETTLE ZYPREXA SUIT
The drug maker was accused of improperly marketing its antipsychotic Zyprexa. As part of a deal, Lilly pleads guilty to promoting the drug as a treatment for dementia, including Alzheimer's, unapproved "off-label" uses.
HAMAS INTERIOR MINISTER KILLED IN GAZA BY ISRAEL
Israel killed one of Hamas's top leaders in Gaza, interior minister Said Siam, the most senior Islamist to have been killed in the 20-day-old war in Gaza, Hamas television reports.
======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES =======
AL'S EMPORIUM
Homes A Giveaway In Detroit's Urban Prairie The median price of a home sold in Detroit last month was $7,500, but real state agent Ian Mason has sold some homes for $1, Al Lewis writes, in an area where almost every dwelling is in shambles as residents have abandoned the city in droves.
TAKING STOCK
Bank Stocks To Remain Arrested For A While On top of expectations of dreary quarterly results and broadening credit issues, the sector's progress is being arrested not in spite of, but partly because of the government money, writes Tomi Kilgore.
============ U.S. MARKETS ACTION ===========
DJIA down 185.50 points to 8014.64
NASDAQ down 28.95 points to 1460.69
S&P 500 down 23.48 points to 819.14
10-year T-note 113 25/32 at 2.182 yield up .060
NYMEX Crude down $3.18 at $ 34.10/bbl
Euro/Dollar down 0.0114 at 1.3077
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
No, this is usually the loading zone.
Trading below book value as well.
NCEN 1.40 +.25
ABK 1.08, the low 1's look attractive down here, even more so if it pulls back a little further.
Is the chair steel or aluminum?
NCEN 1.30 + .23 now
NCEN 1.25 + .10 now
NCEN 1.20 + .05, chart :
NCEN 1.20 + .05, chart :
Obama Stimulus Package to Include $25 Billion for Renewable EnergyLast update: 1/15/2009 7:30:00 AMWASHINGTON, Jan 15, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Congressional leaders together with Barack Obama's new Cabinet are planning a $25 Billion stimulus package in order to meet the President-elect's goal of doubling renewable energy production in the next three years, according to a report in Sunday's Washington Post. President-elect Obama's Cabinet favors an $8.6 billion extension of the Federal Production Tax Credit, a program that speeds-up the building of new wind power generation projects. In addition, a bi-partisan initiative first backed by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) for a National Clean Energy Lending Authority, is likely to be approved by the Obama team. The new agency could receive as much as $10 billion to extend low-interest loans, grants or guarantees to wind, solar and other renewable energy projects. In the wind sector, most turbine manufacturers are foreign owned and not likely to qualify for stimulus dollars. Analysts expect U.S. based wind power project builders, to be big winners. New Jersey's NRG Energy (NRG) which just completed its second wind project in the Texas Panhandle, has received a buy recommendation from UBS. Another wind power company with two projects underway in the Texas Panhandle is Denver based Nacel Energy (NCEN). CNBC guest analyst Francis Gaskins has a $4 price target on the company. Nacel Energy closed yesterday at $1.15. There are even more U.S. companies to like in the solar sector. Analysts at Stanford Capital have issued a buy on Evergreen Solar (ESLR) with a $3.70 target. Evergreen is based in Marlboro, MA, and is a leading manufacturer of integrated solar modules. Needham and Co. has a buy on New Mexico's Emcore (EMKR) and a $2 price target. Both Emcore's semiconductors and Evergreen's solar modules expected to benefit from increasing demand as the Obama stimulus plan is implemented over the coming months. A Before the Bell(TM) renewable energy update.
Before the Bell Publishing LLC 1-888-249-3011Before the Bell is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, CRD number 2382884 SOURCE Before the Bell
Copyright (C) 2009 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
Obama Stimulus Package to Include $25 Billion for Renewable EnergyLast update: 1/15/2009 7:30:00 AMWASHINGTON, Jan 15, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Congressional leaders together with Barack Obama's new Cabinet are planning a $25 Billion stimulus package in order to meet the President-elect's goal of doubling renewable energy production in the next three years, according to a report in Sunday's Washington Post. President-elect Obama's Cabinet favors an $8.6 billion extension of the Federal Production Tax Credit, a program that speeds-up the building of new wind power generation projects. In addition, a bi-partisan initiative first backed by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) for a National Clean Energy Lending Authority, is likely to be approved by the Obama team. The new agency could receive as much as $10 billion to extend low-interest loans, grants or guarantees to wind, solar and other renewable energy projects. In the wind sector, most turbine manufacturers are foreign owned and not likely to qualify for stimulus dollars. Analysts expect U.S. based wind power project builders, to be big winners. New Jersey's NRG Energy (NRG) which just completed its second wind project in the Texas Panhandle, has received a buy recommendation from UBS. Another wind power company with two projects underway in the Texas Panhandle is Denver based Nacel Energy (NCEN). CNBC guest analyst Francis Gaskins has a $4 price target on the company. Nacel Energy closed yesterday at $1.15. There are even more U.S. companies to like in the solar sector. Analysts at Stanford Capital have issued a buy on Evergreen Solar (ESLR) with a $3.70 target. Evergreen is based in Marlboro, MA, and is a leading manufacturer of integrated solar modules. Needham and Co. has a buy on New Mexico's Emcore (EMKR) and a $2 price target. Both Emcore's semiconductors and Evergreen's solar modules expected to benefit from increasing demand as the Obama stimulus plan is implemented over the coming months. A Before the Bell(TM) renewable energy update.
Before the Bell Publishing LLC 1-888-249-3011Before the Bell is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, CRD number 2382884 SOURCE Before the Bell
Copyright (C) 2009 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
Best of luck.
There's nothing EVER wrong with taking profits.
Bargain shopping is fun.
8000 is lingering upon us.
PRESS RELEASE: US Department Of Health And Human -2-Last update: 1/15/2009 10:01:07 AM
= -
Corporate news announcement processed and transmitted by Hugin AS.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this
announcement.
=---------------------------------------------------------------------
=-------------
* Holly Springs, North Carolina site will have capacity to provide
150 million doses of pandemic vaccine within six months of
declaration of influenza pandemic
* Novartis novel cell-based manufacturing technology vital
alternative to traditional egg-based vaccines production
* Commercial production of pre-pandemic and seasonal flu vaccines
planned after completion in 2012
* Plant to provide 300 highly skilled jobs at opening
Basel, January 15, 2009 -- Novartis announced today that the US
Department of Health and Human Services, Biomedical Advanced Research
and Development Authority (HHS, BARDA) has awarded Novartis Vaccines
a contract for up to USD 486 million over eight years to support the
design, construction, validation, and licensing of U.S. cell-based
influenza vaccine manufacturing facilities in Holly Springs, North
Carolina, to provide a pre-pandemic supply of influenza vaccine and
to provide the capacity to manufacture 150 million doses of pandemic
vaccine within six months of declaration of an influenza pandemic.
"I am delighted that Novartis Vaccines' facilities in Holly Springs
will be able to support the US Government's ability to respond
quickly to a potential pandemic, as well as contribute to America's
vaccine infrastructure for seasonal flu," said Dr. Joerg Reinhardt,
Chief Operating Officer of Novartis. "We believe that this contract
award underscores the US Government's commitment to ensure pandemic
vaccine supply, and reflects their confidence in Novartis."
A major advantage of Holly Springs' future influenza cell culture
production is that it will not rely on the availability of eggs.
Avian influenza virus is currently considered the most likely source
of the next pandemic - and it is lethal to both chickens and their
eggs. Without eggs, traditional influenza manufacturing techniques
cannot produce vaccines, so the Holly Springs flu cell culture
production capabilities would be a vital alternative.
"This HHS contract builds on the strategic investment made by
Novartis in vaccines innovation, and reinforces the significant
financial and technology investments we have already committed to
Holly Springs," added Dr. Andrin Oswald, CEO of Novartis Vaccines and
Diagnostics. "We currently anticipate that by 2012 the site will
provide jobs for more than 300 highly skilled people with the
capability to produce cell-based seasonal flu vaccine, pre-pandemic
vaccine and 150 million doses of pandemic vaccine within six months
of the declaration of an influenza pandemic."
Under the contract, Novartis is responsible for, among other things,
pre-construction document development, land use and zoning,
construction, commissioning, validation and licensing of the
facilities (which are already under construction in Holly Springs,
North Carolina), with the goals of regulatory licensure, manufacture
and release of seasonal and pre-pandemic vaccine, as well as
provision for pandemic vaccine supply in the event of a pandemic. The
contract also requires Novartis to provide two commercial-scale
annual lots of pre-pandemic vaccine for a minimum of three years. In
addition, HHS has the right to exercise options to purchase
additional influenza vaccine over 17 years.
About influenza
Influenza is a contagious, potentially serious respiratory illness
caused by influenza viruses that attack the upper respiratory tract.
It can cause mild to severe illness, and can lead to death. Influenza
viruses easily spread from person to person in respiratory droplets
created by coughing and sneezing. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), every year an estimated 3 to 5 million people
worldwide become seriously ill from influenza, and as many as 500,000
- primarily children and the elderly - die from ensuing
complications[1]. A recent study conducted by researchers at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluded that, in
the US alone, the total economic burden (including direct medical
costs, lost wages and impacts on productivity) imposed by such
epidemics averages somewhere in the neighborhood of USD 87 billion
every year[2].
About pandemic influenza
Pandemic influenza occurs when a new influenza virus emerges that
causes serious illness and is easily transmitted among humans. In
this situation, the virus can result in a worldwide outbreak of
disease, or pandemic. Pandemic influenza occurred three times in the
last century. Avian influenza, or "bird flu," does not normally
infect humans, but recent outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza have
resulted in hundreds of human cases, with a mortality rate of more
than 50%. Billions of birds have been destroyed in an effort to
contain the virus, which is now considered endemic in parts of Asia.
Disclaimer
The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be
identified by terminology such as "will," "planned, "potential,"
"believe," "commitment," "strategic," "anticipate," "would," "can,"
or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions
regarding the potential completion of construction of the production
facility at Holly Springs, the potential commencement of and
continued successful production of vaccines at Holly Springs,
regarding the amounts to be paid by the government under the
agreement described in this release, or regarding potential future
revenues from vaccines produced at Holly Springs. You should not
place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking
statements reflect the current views of the Company regarding future
events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause actual results at the Holly Springs facility
to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no
guarantee that we will complete construction at Holly Springs,
commence production there, or successfully continue production of
vaccines there. Nor can there be any guarantee that we will be paid
the full amount referred to in this release. Neither can there be
any guarantee that vaccines produced at Holly Springs will achieve
any particular levels of revenue in the future. In particular,
management's expectations regarding the Holly Springs production
facility and vaccines produced there could be affected by, among
other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government
regulation generally; unexpected construction difficulties or delays;
unexpected production difficulties or delays, including difficulties
or delays relating to the novel cell-culture production technique to
be employed there; unexpected clinical trial results, including
unexpected new clinical data and unexpected additional analysis of
existing clinical data; the company's ability to obtain or maintain
patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection;
competition in general; government, industry and general public
pricing pressures; the impact that the foregoing factors could have
on the values attributed to the Novartis Group's assets and
liabilities as recorded in the Group's consolidated balance sheet,
and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form
20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should
one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.
Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of
this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About Novartis
Novartis AG provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving
needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare,
Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs:
innovative medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive
vaccines, diagnostic tools and consumer health products. Novartis is
the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2007, the
Group's continuing operations (excluding divestments in 2007)
achieved net sales of USD 38.1 billion and net income of USD 6.5
billion. Approximately USD 6.4 billion was invested in R&D activities
throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis
Group companies employ approximately 97,000 full-time associates and
operate in over 140 countries around the world. For more information,
please visit http://www.novartis.com.
References
[1] WHO Fact Sheet No. 211. March 2003
[2] Molinari, A., et al. Vaccine. 28 June 2007; 25 (27): 5086-5096
# # #
Novartis Media Relations
Central media line : +41 61 324 2200
Eric Althoff Paul Newman
Novartis Global Media Novartis Vaccines and
Relations Diagnostics
+41 61 324 7999 (direct) +1 617 871 7931 (direct)
+41 79 593 4202 (mobile) +1 617 710 8953(mobile)
eric.althoff@novartis.com paulc.newman@novartis.com
Novartis Investor Relations
Central phone: +41 61 324 7944 Ruth +41 61 324 9980 North America:
Metzler-Arnold
Pierre-Michel +41 61 324 1065 Richard Jarvis +1 212 830
Bringer 2433
John Gilardi +41 61 324 Jill Pozarek +1 212 830
3018 2445
Thomas +41 61 324 8425 Edwin Valeriano +1 212 830
Hungerbuehler 2456
Isabella Zinck +41 61 324 7188
e-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com e-mail:
investor.relations@novartis.com
=-- End of Message ---
Novartis International AG
Posfach Basel
WKN: 904278; ISIN:
CH0012005267; Index: SLCI, SMI, SPI, SLIFE;
Listed: Main Market in SIX Swiss Exchange, ZLS in BX Berne eXchange;
http://hugin.info/134323/R/1282432/286951.pdf
http://www.novartis.com
Copyright © Hugin AS 2009. All rights reserved.
(END) Dow Jones NewswiresJanuary 15, 2009 10:01 ET (15:01 GMT)
What is the exact date on that WSJ issue with DKAM ? tia
CPHD ( getting oversold ) watching for a bottom reversal.
FCNR ( approx. 22 million float ) watching for a break of .007
Courtesy disclosure :
CPHD currently no position but watching very closely.
FCNR currently have a small position with intention to add.
We also have a Nasdaq play on radar ...
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=34815057
CPHD ( getting oversold ) watching for a bottom reversal.
FCNR ( approx. 22 million float ) watching for a break of .007
Courtesy disclosure :
CPHD currently no position but watching very closely.
FCNR currently have a small position with intention to add.
We also have a Nasdaq play on radar ...
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=34815057
CPHD watching for bottom
FCNR ( approx. 22 million float ) watching for a break of .007
Courtesy disclosure :
CPHD currently no position but watching very closely.
FCNR currently have a small position with intention to add.
He's nuts. CARACAS (AFP) – The Venezuelan National Assembly passed a constitutional amendment allowing unlimited re-election of the president and all other elected officials that must now be submitted to referendum within 30 days.
The measure is President Hugo Chavez's second attempt at seeking unlimited reelection. The constitution was amended one year after he was elected in 1998 to allow him to run for a second term in 2006.
A similar referendum was defeated in late 2007.
Chavez has already stated he intends running for a third six-year term in 2012 if he is allowed to legally.
Recently Chavez asked the no-term-limits measure be also extended to all other elected officials in Venezuela.
The amendment was passed after eight hours of debate by a show of hands in the National Assembly, which is stacked with members of Chavez' National Socialist Union Party (PSUV).
Only seven opposition members voted against the measure.
The constitutional amendment will now be presented to the National Election Board, which will convene a referendum likely for February 15.
That's another famous quote .
lol Have a great evening.
Yeah, pretty bad. I'm sure he is eating all the lobster that he can. lol
“Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.”
-Henry Youngman
“I've got all the money I'll ever need ..
.. if I die by four O'clock”
-Henry Youngman
Weekend at Bernie Madoff's ...
Agreed. Into the last 30 min of trading now, good luck to all.
Nice. There's always a play :)
Bloomberg / JPM :
JPMorgan May Post Smallest Net Since Dimon Took Helm (Update1)
By Elizabeth Hester
Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second- largest U.S. bank by assets, may report its smallest profit since Jamie Dimon was named chief executive officer as credit quality and loan values declined.
Fourth-quarter earnings probably will decline to $519.3 million, or 83 percent less than the same period in 2007, based on the average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Per-share earnings may be close to zero at the New York-based company, which moved up the earnings announcement to Jan. 15 from next week.
The year-old U.S. recession, falling prices for loans and an unemployment rate at a 15-year high are reducing earnings at U.S. banks, which were already struggling to cope with the global credit contraction that began in 2007. JPMorgan will probably report rising defaults on consumer loans such as credit cards and mortgages, and declining revenue from investment banking.
“Our earnings have been terrible,” Dimon, who was named CEO in 2005, said in a speech to a health-care conference in San Francisco yesterday. He said the financial system went into “cardiac arrest” in September, and predicted the U.S. recession would continue for at least two more quarters.
JPMorgan has taken $20.5 billion in writedowns, losses and credit provisions since the start of the financial crisis, compared with about $67 billion at Citigroup Inc., data compiled by Bloomberg show. Its shares lost 36 percent in the past 12 months, versus Citigroup’s 80 percent tumble. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. bank, has declined 72 percent.
Possible Loss
John McDonald, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein & Co., expects the bank to report its first quarterly loss since 2004, “driven by a brutal capital-markets environment, substantially higher credit costs and additional mark-to-market writedowns on its risky assets,” he wrote in a research note.
Retail banking may post a loss of $210 million, McDonald said, as the company sets aside more money to cover home loans that are going bad. Losses on home-equity and subprime loans may force the bank to set aside $1 billion, according to McDonald.
JPMorgan will stop making home loans through independent mortgage brokers as of Jan. 16, spokeswoman Christine Holevas said today. Last year, the bank stopped using brokers for loans to those with weaker credit, she said.
Home Equity
Delinquencies on home-equity lines of credit rose to 1.15 percent from July through September from 1.08 percent in the preceding quarter, the American Bankers Association said Jan. 7. Home-equity loan delinquencies rose to 2.63 percent, the group said, based on surveys of more than 300 banks to monitor reported payments of consumer loans falling more than 30 days past due.
JPMorgan also faces rising losses in its credit-card division as the higher unemployment prevents some borrowers from paying off debt. The unit could lose $70 million in the fourth quarter, with charge-off rates climbing to 5.25 percent from 5 percent in the third quarter, McDonald said.
Income from Washington Mutual Inc., which JPMorgan purchased in September, may add 10 cents a share to earnings, Sandler O’Neill & Partners LP analyst Jeffery Harte said in a Jan. 7 research note. The acquisition may also push JPMorgan to set aside $900 million to cover bad loans from WaMu, Guy Moszkowski, an analyst at Banc of America Securities/Merrill Lynch, said.
Fourth-quarter writedowns in JPMorgan’s investment bank, which includes leveraged loans and mortgage-related holdings, may total $2.8 billion, Moszkowski estimated in a Dec. 15 research note. JPMorgan took a $1 billion writedown in the third-quarter on deals completed in 2007, before the credit markets seized up.
Leveraged Loans
The average actively traded leveraged loan fell from 94.9 cents on the dollar at the end of 2007 to about 89 cents on the dollar by September, according to Standard & Poor’s LCD. That month, prices tumbled around 9 cents and by the end of 2008 loan values had fallen to 66.63 cents. They have rebounded since the end of the year to 71.3 cents, the data show.
JPMorgan is the biggest holder of Tribune Co. debt, with $1 billion, according to court documents. Tribune, the media company that filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 8, saw the value of its bank loans tumble to less than 30 cents on the dollar from 70 cents in September, according to London-based pricing service Markit.
Chrysler LLC debt may also crimp results. JPMorgan and Bear Stearns Cos., which the bank agreed to buy in March, underwrote debt that financed the $7.4 billion takeover of Chrysler by private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP. The car company’s bank loans were quoted as low as 22 cents on the dollar in December, as Congress loaned $17.4 billion to automakers. They were worth more than double that in September, according to LCD.
Joint Venture
The bank is also expected to post a $600 million gain on the ending of its Paymentech joint venture with First Data Corp. announced in May, Sandler’s Harte said.
“We have little doubt JPMorgan will emerge from the current crisis as a dominant global financial-services presence, and remain confident management can execute, but it is increasingly clear that credit costs in the U.S. will get much worse,” Moszkowski at Banc of America said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Hester in New York at ehester@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: January 13, 2009 15:15 EST
Jamie D.
Volume while trading in the red is showing some profit taking.
EARNINGS for tomorrow :
BEFORE THE OPEN
Company Actual Estimate Year Ago
Earnings Yr/Yr Rev
JP Morgan Chase JPM -- -0.01 0.86 --
CRA Intl CRAI -- 0.46 0.71 --
Charles Schwab SCHW -- 0.26 0.26 --
Briggs & Stratton BGG -- 0.03 0.11 --
Astoria Fincl AF -- -- -- --
ASML Holding ASML -- 0.02 0.37 --
Amphenol APH -- 0.5 0.55 --
DURING MARKET HOURS
Company Actual Estimate Year Ago
Earnings Yr/Yr Rev
AFTER THE CLOSE
Company Actual Estimate Year Ago
Earnings Yr/Yr Rev
Teekay Shipping TK -- 1.02 0.31 --
Skyworks SWKS -- 0.16 0.17 --
Shuffle Master SHFL -- 0.08 0.10 --
Sealy ZZ -- 0.03 0.18 --
Intel INTC -- 0.04 0.38 --
Genentech DNA -- 0.96 0.69 --
ECONOMIC CALENDAR for tomorrow :
Time (ET) Release For Actual Briefing
Forecast Market
Expects Prior Revised
From
8:30 AM PPI Dec -- -1.7% -1.9% -2.2%
8:30 AM Initial Claims 01/10 -- -- 501K 467K
8:30 AM Empire Manufacturing Index Jan -- -- -25.00 -25.76
8:30 AM Core PPI Dec -- 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%
10:00 AM Philadelphia Fed Jan -- -35.0 -35.0 -32.9
Approximately 93% of the companies trading within the S&P 500 are in the red
CLNH .45 + .14
Yep. ECONOMIC REPORT: U.S. Retail Sales Plunge 2.7% In December
January 14, 2009: 02:16 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) -- Stung by weak demand and falling prices, U.S. retail sales plunged a seasonally adjusted 2.7% in December from November, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday.
Excluding a 0.7% decline in auto sales, retail sales recorded their biggest drop since record-keeping began in the early 1990s, falling 3.1%.
And with both gasoline and autos excluded, sales fell 1.5%, the largest drop since September 2001.
"The holiday season was truly disastrous," wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics. Poor retail sales point to a "deeper recession than previously anticipated," said Peter Kretzmer, an economist for the Bank of America.
The nation's retail sales have fallen for six months in a row now -- the longest decline on record -- with the declines accelerating as the economy weakened in the final quarter of the year. Sales data were revised lower for both October and November, to declines of 3.4% and 2.1%, respectively.
"Holiday sales posted the biggest decline on record falling around 3.5%," wrote Anika Khan, an economist for Wachovia. "Sales have been primarily driven by extensive discounting which is hurting retail profit margins."
Plummeting sales are hurting the retailers. Department store chain Gottschalks Inc. (GOTT) said Wednesday it filed for bankruptcy. Luxury retailer Tiffany & Co. (TIF) said its holiday sales fell 21%, forcing the company to lower its forecast for earnings. Drug store chain Walgreen (WAG) said it would eliminate 1,000 jobs this year.
Some of the decline in sales can be attributed to falling prices. The figures are not adjusted for price changes, but they are adjusted for seasonal variations. Economists believe consumer prices fell 0.8% in December; U.S. inflation data will be released on Friday.
In a separate report Wednesday, the Labor Department said import prices fell 4.2% in December, on the heels of a 7% drop in November.
Retail sales last month were down a record 9.8% compared with December 2007, the Commerce Department's data showed. Sales excluding autos fell a record 6.7% in the past year.
For all of 2008, sales slipped 0.1% compared with 2007, the first decline in annual sales since the records began in 1967.
December's decline in total sales was much worse than the 1.5% month-to-month drop that economists surveyed by MarketWatch had anticipated. They also had been looking for sales excluding autos to drop 1.6%.
Over the final three months of the year, retail sales were 6.8% lower than in the period from July to September, and chain stores have reported further weakening in their receipts in early January, as the U.S. recession began its second year.
The report implies real consumer spending may have fallen at a 3.4% annual pace in the fourth quarter, nearly matching the 3.8% decline in the third quarter, said David Greenlaw, an economist for Morgan Stanley. He expects gross domestic product to fall 6% in the quarter.
December's dreary details
Sales were weak across the board last month.
"The only category that posted a gain was health and that may have been because people were buying a ton of aspirin to deal with the pain of the recession," wrote Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisers.
Falling gasoline prices pushed sales at gas stations down 15.9%, punctuating November's 18.3% plunge.
Stores selling general merchandise saw their sales fall 1.3% on the month, including a 2.3% decrease at department stores, the biggest drop in nearly five years.
Sales at clothing stores plunged 2.5%. Sales at sporting goods and other stores catering to leisure-time activities fell 0.4%.
Sales at auto dealers fell 0.7%, putting the drop for the past year at fully 22.4%.
Sales at furniture stores dropped 1.8%. Sales at hardware and garden stores fell 2.9%. Sales at electronics and appliance stores fell 1%.
Sales at food and beverage stores fell 1.4%, the biggest drop in nearly eight years. Sales at restaurants and bars skidded 2.2%, the biggest drop since September 2001.
Sales at health and personal care stores rose 0.4%.
Sales at nonstore outlets, such as catalogs and online stores, fell 1.9%.
This time retail is adding problems.