Stories related to: MBIA

The markets tumbled today to lows not seen since the Bear Stearns fiasco in March, MarketWatch reports. Oil surged back over $135 a barrel, erasing yesterday’s meager gains, and bad news continued to depress financials. The Dow fell 220.40 to 11,842.69, the Nasdaq 55.87 to 2,406.09, and the S&P 500 24.90 to 1,317.93. More »

The markets finished mixed today as fears over the financial sector clashed with positive economic reports. Moody’s said it may downgrade ratings for Ambac Financial and MBIA because of continued mortgage-related losses, MarketWatch reports, helping the Dow down 12.37 to 12,390.48. The Nasdaq gained 22.66, closing at 2,503.14, while the S&P 500 lost 0.45 to settle at 1,377.20. More »

Stocks jumped today on an unusual pullback of crude prices, overcoming weak quarterly reports from bond insurer MBIA and other financials. The price drop cheered investors worried about oil's effect on consumer spending, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow ended up 130.43 to 12,876.31, the Nasdaq up 42.97 to 2,488.49, and the S&P up 15.30 to 1,403.58. More »

Citing a decline in gains from insurance underwriting and sluggish investment returns, holding company Berkshire Hathaway said today that fourth-quarter income was off 18%—to $2.95 billion, from $3.58 billion—from a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal reports. Billionaire chairman Warren Buffett snuck in digs at Wall Street and the federal government while effectively promising declining profit margins for years to come. More »

Warren Buffett rode to the rescue today, though the color of his horse is in question. The Sage of Omaha offered to reinsure $800 billion worth of municipal bonds, resolving “in one stroke of a pen” the jitters plaguing the municipal debt market. But his plan is also a bid to gain one-third of the debt-insurance market, and one insurer has already rejected him, Bloomberg reports. More »

Markets were up sharply today on calming words from bond insurer MBIA, with the Dow closing at 12,650.36, up 207.53. The company said its triple-A rating was not vulnerable and that it was solvent enough to weather the mortgage crisis, MarketWatch reports. The Nasdaq gained 40.86 to 2,389.86; the S&P 500 moved up 22.74 to 1,378.55. More »

Billionaire Warren Buffett is riding to the rescue of the municipal bond market—and taking advantage of an opportunity afforded by the credit crunch—by launching a municipal bond insurer, reports the Wall Street Journal . Berkshire Hathaway Assurance, which opens today in New York state, should make it cheaper for local governments to borrow, since it will be all-but-guaranteed to have a triple-A rating at a time other insurers are at risk of being downgraded. More »

The market ended slightly lower after another rollercoaster day, as S&P’s downgrade of major bond insurers took a toll on stocks otherwise buoyed by reports of a positive auction by the Fed. The Dow was off 25.20 to 13,207.27 on news Ambac Financial and MBIA would earn downgraded ratings. The Nasdaq climbed 4.98 points to 2,601.01, while the S&P slipped 1.98 to 1,453, MarketWatch reports. More »

The tech sector boomed early today, but couldn’t save the market from bank and energy woes at day’s end. Declines in MBIA, Exxon and Home Depot shares helped to erase early gains on the Nasdaq and S&P, and the bankruptcy of Aegis Mortgage Corp. renewed financing worries, Bloomberg reports. More »