57% quarterly drop, gloomy outlook drive bank's stock down
Wall Street Journal Oct 15, 07 12:57 PM CDT
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Citigroup reported a 57% drop in third-quarter profits today, anticipated news that nevertheless sent the bank's shares down by 3.6% to $46.17. The news helped drive nervous market downward as well. "This is the beginning of earnings season, and the market is skittish because analysts are looking for a weak quarter, particularly from the financials," a strategist told the Journal.
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Non-customers will have to pay $3;
other banks are likely to follow
USA Today Sep 13, 07 1:07 PM CDT
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Bank of America has raised its ATM surcharge to $3 for non-customers—and other banks' are likely to follow. That's the highest surcharge in America, and it affects millions, because BoA has the largest ATM network in the country, USA Today reports. Expect the hike to be contageous: "Banks often move like a school of fish on punitive charges such as ATM surcharge," says an analyst.
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Stocks calm down as bankers, investors bail for the beach
Financial Times (UK) Aug 25, 07 6:19 AM CDT
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The FT leads with a prediction that market volatility will decrease over the next week for a simple reason: everyone's going on vacation. Major decisions by banks, hedge funds and mortgage lenders will be on hold as the financial world bails New York, London and Frankfurt for the end of the summer season.
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Bid to encourage other banks to borrow to shore up credit markets
Wall Street Journal Aug 23, 07 5:12 AM CDT
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America's biggest banks—Citigroup, Bank of America, J.P.Morgan Chase and Wachovia— have borrowed a total of $2 billion from the Federal Reserve at the government's so-called discount window. It's an attempt to shore up the faltering credit markets by encouraging smaller banks to borrow from the Fed without stigma, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Teen bank robber enters weepy
guilty plea
Associated Press Aug 22, 07 5:25 PM CDT
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Saying she wants to take responsibility for her actions, one of the so-called Barbie Bandits entered a tearful guilty plea today despite not having worked out a deal with prosecutors. In February, 19-year-old Heather Johnston and a fellow stripper robbed a Georgia bank of $11,000, using only sunglasses as disguises. They were arrested 2 days later.
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Bank looks to strengthen presence
in Korean economy
Financial Times (UK) Aug 20, 07 3:29 PM CDT
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HSBC is in talks to buy a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank from the U.S. private equity group Lone Star. A local newspaper has reported that the deal would be worth $4.5 billion. HSBC wants to strengthen its presence in the Korean economy, and Lone Star has been looking to unload its share for years.
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Surprise cut boosts futures trading and Euro markets
Associated Press Aug 17, 07 8:14 AM CDT
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In a surprise move, the Fed cut its discount rate, which it charges on direct loans to banks, from 6.25% to 5.75% this morning. The central bank acted to calm fears about uncertainty in the global markets surrounding the worsening credit crunch and underlying subprime-loan crisis. The federal funds rate, which banks charge each other, was unchanged at 5.25%.
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Candidates in both parties could see big donations dry up
TheStreet Aug 16, 07 7:23 PM CDT
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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has a substantial investment in a teetering Goldman Sachs hedge fund that was propped up with a $3 billion cash infusion after it lost a third of its value. Romney, who won a symbolic victory in Iowa's GOP straw poll last weekend, is thought to have least $1M in the Global Equity Opportunities Fund, reports thestreet.com.
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$750K losses in Second Life prompt calls for federal regulation
Wired Aug 15, 07 2:19 PM CDT
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Ginko Financial, an unregulated investment bank that promised returns of up to 60%, collapsed recently, costing its customers 200 million Lindens—the currency of online virtual universe Second Life, where the bank existed. While the bank, managed by a mysterious, anonymous owner, catered only to computer-generated avatars in its 3 1/2 years existence, the money it lost—about $750,000—was very real.
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Boutique banks on the edge as liquidity crisis wears on
Wall Street Journal Aug 15, 07 11:03 AM CDT
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As the subprime fallout continues and the credit squeeze tightens, thousands of smaller-scale mortgage banks find themselves in dire straits. The Wall Street Journal reports that small- and medium-sized lenders, even those with excellent credit quality, are suspending funding and laying off employees, which leaves giant corporations to grab more of the (shaky) market.
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Will add $19B in temporary funds
to bolster credit markets
Bloomberg Aug 10, 07 8:39 AM CDT
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The Federal Reserve pumped $19 billion in temporary funds into the banking system today by buying up mortgage-backed securities. The move is aimed to insure that there is enough cash available in the credit markets and keep the interest rate close to the Fed's target of 5.25%. It also makes it clear that the Fed does not yet plan to cut that interest rate, Bloomberg reports.
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France’s biggest bank can’t value holdings after credit collapse
Bloomberg Aug 9, 07 12:35 PM CDT
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France's largest bank today froze three investment funds threatened by the subprime mortagage collapse, claiming it can’t “fairly” place a value on their rapidly declining assets. Citing the “complete evaporation of liquidity” in the US securities market, BNP Paribas halted withdrawals from the funds, which were worth $2.2 billion, down 20% in less than 2 weeks, Bloomberg reports.
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Next-gen tech gives cash-free shoppers more options
San Jose Mercury News Aug 7, 07 4:41 PM CDT
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Shoppers in the not-too-distant future may have a new option when they get to the checkout line: their cell phones. Many retailers are warming up to the idea of consumers using "contactless" payment methods—cellphones or cards with a built-in wireless chips that can process transactions with a simple tap, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
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Other bankers
unmoved to defend their tax advantages
Financial Times (UK) Jul 30, 07 11:51 AM CDT
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Two big business lobbying groups are sitting out the fight in Congress over increasing taxes on private-equity earnings—in part, the Financial Times reports, because many of their members are threatened by the rise of private equity. Big firms like Blackstone pay traditional banks hefty fees for the underwriting their IPOs, but they also take business away from them.
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