Related News: Economy · Real Estate · U.S.
U.S. New-Home Sales Unexpectedly Fall to Lowest on Record
By Alex Kowalski - Mar 24, 2011 5:20 AM GMT+0900
Purchases of new U.S. homes unexpectedly declined in February to the slowest pace on record and prices dropped to the lowest level since December 2003, adding to evidence the industry is floundering.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
WSJ: Political Risk Rising in Europe
HEARD ON THE STREET|MARCH 23, 2011, 9:05 A.M. ET
Political Risk Rising in Europe
By RICHARD BARLEY
The euro-zone crisis may be back. The Portuguese minority government faces a key vote on austerity measures Wednesday, and Prime Minister José Sócrates has said he will resign if the opposition doesn't support them. The chance Lisbon will have to ask for aid from the euro zone is rising. But this is just the most imminent political risk; national and European interests are colliding from Helsinki to Dublin.
Political Risk Rising in Europe
By RICHARD BARLEY
The euro-zone crisis may be back. The Portuguese minority government faces a key vote on austerity measures Wednesday, and Prime Minister José Sócrates has said he will resign if the opposition doesn't support them. The chance Lisbon will have to ask for aid from the euro zone is rising. But this is just the most imminent political risk; national and European interests are colliding from Helsinki to Dublin.
WSJ: Fed to BofA: No Dividend for You
MARCH 23, 2011, 8:14 AM ET
Fed to Bank of America: No Dividend for You
Bank of America is being left in the dividend cold.
The banking giant said in a regulatory filing that the Federal Reserve rejected BofA’s proposed plan for a “modest” bump to its dividend in the second half of the year — a move BofA has been signaling to investors for months. BofA said it can “resubmit a revised comprehensive capital plan” to the Fed.
Fed to Bank of America: No Dividend for You
Bank of America is being left in the dividend cold.
The banking giant said in a regulatory filing that the Federal Reserve rejected BofA’s proposed plan for a “modest” bump to its dividend in the second half of the year — a move BofA has been signaling to investors for months. BofA said it can “resubmit a revised comprehensive capital plan” to the Fed.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
S&P: Covered Bonds: A Primer On The Underlying Risks
Covered Bonds: A Primer On The Underlying Risks (00:07:28 min)
The covered bond asset class enjoys significant interest from both investors and issuers around the globe, with €80 billion issued in the first 10 weeks of 2011 and new legislation being contemplated in the U.S. In this podcast, Standard & Poor's Associate Director Sabine Daehn, of Structured Finance Research, discusses recent developments in the sector and highlights the diverse risk dynamics underlying different covered bond programs.
Listen
The covered bond asset class enjoys significant interest from both investors and issuers around the globe, with €80 billion issued in the first 10 weeks of 2011 and new legislation being contemplated in the U.S. In this podcast, Standard & Poor's Associate Director Sabine Daehn, of Structured Finance Research, discusses recent developments in the sector and highlights the diverse risk dynamics underlying different covered bond programs.
Listen
S&P: A Sluggish Economy And Weak Housing Market Keep The Outlook Negative For U.S. Mortgage Insurers
A Sluggish Economy And Weak Housing Market Keep The Outlook Negative For U.S. Mortgage Insurers (00:11:54 min)
A sluggish economic recovery continues to hinder the prospects of U.S. mortgage insurers. Moreover, our outlook on the sector remains negative because its fortunes are closely tied to higher employment and home sale rates. In this CreditMatters TV segment, Director Ronald Joas provides an overview on why sector recovery remains elusive, despite lower delinquency rates, higher-quality business, and pending regulatory reform.
Watch | Download
A sluggish economic recovery continues to hinder the prospects of U.S. mortgage insurers. Moreover, our outlook on the sector remains negative because its fortunes are closely tied to higher employment and home sale rates. In this CreditMatters TV segment, Director Ronald Joas provides an overview on why sector recovery remains elusive, despite lower delinquency rates, higher-quality business, and pending regulatory reform.
Watch | Download
S&P: February 2011 Credit Card Quality Index: What’s Behind The Mixed Performance
Standard & Poor’s February 2011 Credit Card Quality Index: What’s Behind The Mixed Performance (00:08:24 min)
Standard & Poor’s monthly credit card quality index (CCQI) aggregates pools of credit card receivables since 1992. For February, the CCQI reported an increase in credit card defaults and a continued decline in receivables balance. In this podcast, Standard & Poor’s Director Ildiko Szilank discusses what’s behind the credit card loss rate, stronger credit quality, the decline in credit card receivables, credit card lending practices, and Americans’ spending patterns observed during the month.
Listen
Standard & Poor’s monthly credit card quality index (CCQI) aggregates pools of credit card receivables since 1992. For February, the CCQI reported an increase in credit card defaults and a continued decline in receivables balance. In this podcast, Standard & Poor’s Director Ildiko Szilank discusses what’s behind the credit card loss rate, stronger credit quality, the decline in credit card receivables, credit card lending practices, and Americans’ spending patterns observed during the month.
Listen
Sunday, March 20, 2011
emii.com: Paulson Losing Money Through Mid-March
Paulson Losing Money Through Mid-March
03-18-2011 | Source: Institutional Investor Magazine
John Paulson continues to struggle this year. The gold bug’s Paulson Advantage Plus fund lost 4.42 percent in the first two weeks of March alone, through last Friday. As a result, the Event Driven hedge fund was down 1.76 percent for the year through March 11, according to an investor.
03-18-2011 | Source: Institutional Investor Magazine
John Paulson continues to struggle this year. The gold bug’s Paulson Advantage Plus fund lost 4.42 percent in the first two weeks of March alone, through last Friday. As a result, the Event Driven hedge fund was down 1.76 percent for the year through March 11, according to an investor.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
MSN: Is the Nonperforming Loan Market Now a Bust?
Is the Nonperforming Loan Market Now a Bust?
Friday, March 18, 2011
By Paul Muolo
Depending on who you talk to, the 'current' nonperforming loan market is either a bust or a great opportunity – or perhaps something in between. That covers all the scenarios, really, but I know of at least two firms that have exited the business over the past six months, with one more on the way. Then there are the recent layoffs at Kondaur Capital. Kondaur chief Jon Daurio recently told us that after the staff cuts his business was once again cash flow positive. That's good news, but the 'troubles' I've been hearing about of late center on mostly smaller players. One investor told me that certain private equity and hedge funds are beginning to turn up their noses on the NPL space – but not because the profits are poor. "You can get an IRR [internal rate of return] of 13% on this business still, but some of these funds are saying that's not good enough anymore – they can make 20% by trading currency," an NPL player told me. In other words, it's all about "the trade"…
Friday, March 18, 2011
By Paul Muolo
Depending on who you talk to, the 'current' nonperforming loan market is either a bust or a great opportunity – or perhaps something in between. That covers all the scenarios, really, but I know of at least two firms that have exited the business over the past six months, with one more on the way. Then there are the recent layoffs at Kondaur Capital. Kondaur chief Jon Daurio recently told us that after the staff cuts his business was once again cash flow positive. That's good news, but the 'troubles' I've been hearing about of late center on mostly smaller players. One investor told me that certain private equity and hedge funds are beginning to turn up their noses on the NPL space – but not because the profits are poor. "You can get an IRR [internal rate of return] of 13% on this business still, but some of these funds are saying that's not good enough anymore – they can make 20% by trading currency," an NPL player told me. In other words, it's all about "the trade"…
Friday, March 18, 2011
WSJ: U.S. Libor Probe Includes BofA, Citi, UBS
BUSINESS|MARCH 18, 2011
U.S. Libor Probe Includes BofA, Citi, UBS
By DAVID ENRICH, CARRICK MOLLENKAMP And JEAN EAGLESHAM
As U.S. regulators home in on at least three banks in a probe of manipulation of a key benchmark rate, investigators face challenges proving wrongdoing because banks report and obtain borrowing costs in an opaque process that leaves a scant evidence trail, according to people familiar with the situation.
U.S. Libor Probe Includes BofA, Citi, UBS
By DAVID ENRICH, CARRICK MOLLENKAMP And JEAN EAGLESHAM
As U.S. regulators home in on at least three banks in a probe of manipulation of a key benchmark rate, investigators face challenges proving wrongdoing because banks report and obtain borrowing costs in an opaque process that leaves a scant evidence trail, according to people familiar with the situation.
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