Under The Radar News - Thursday

Credit Suisse bad news may be contagious. Zuercher Kantonalbank says it expects Credit Suisse's (CS) warning of a Q1 net loss to be followed by more bad news in the sector. Analyst Andreas Venditti notes that while the CDO mispricings which led to the expected loss weren't as bad as expected, the fact that March "looks weak" bodes ill for the sector.

iPhone may block third-party music apps. There is speculation Apple (AAPL) will ban third-party iPhone applications that feature music-playing capabilities which compete with its iTunes music store. In June, Apple will launch AppStore -- through which users can buy and download third-party apps. Will they allow rivals such as Amazon (AMZN) and Last.fm to write widgets that allow iPhone users to access its content? Maybe not. One hint: the new iPhone SDK beta does not allow developers access to any iTunes functionality. Meanwhile, Gartner Research, who had concerns over iPhone security issues, says recent announcements have it convinced iPhone will contend with RIM's (RIMM) BlackBerry for enterprise superiority.

JPMorgan seduces Bear employees. JPMorgan (JPM) CEO James Dimon is offering Bear Stearns (BSC) executives cash and stock incentives to stay with the company, a move he hopes will boost employee support for his $2/share takeover. 8.4% stake owner Joseph Lewis filed with the SEC yesterday, saying he would take whatever action necessary to protect his stake, including looking for other suitors. In what increasingly looks like a savage battle, Bear Stearns' (BSC) bondholders are pushing for the Fed/JPMorgan (JPM) deal, which will safeguard their investments, while shareholder think they can get a higher prices for their stakes by holding out. Meanwhile, inside Bear, JPM is already running the show, including taking over desks within the firm, and calling most of the shots on Bear's trading floor.

Is Bear a bargain? Den of Thieves author James Stewart says he's mystified by billionaire investor Joe Lewis' buying more Bear Stearns (BSC) shares last Thursday at $55. He says he wouldn't go near the shares, and that the $2/share JPMorgan (JPM) plans to pay is far from a bargain basement price. NY Times author Andrew Sorkin notes that the Fed is likely to block any potential rival bids; he says that JPM can pull the plug on the firm any time it wants to, and send it right back to where it was before it stepped in.

Profiting from Bear's collapse. Big hedge funds -- - including Harbinger Capital Partners, Greenlight Capital, Tremblant Capital Group and Paulson & Co. -- cashed in on massive bets against Bear Stearns (BSC) when the company crumbled last week. The SEC is investigating a spike in Bear put options.

Throwing the book at Bear. Bertelsmann's Doubleday has already signed up a new book about Bear Stearns' (BSC) collapse and the ensuing Wall Street reaction. The book (tentatively titled "Meltdown") is expected to be published in spring 2009, and written by William D. Cohan, who wrote a proposal for the book over the weekend. "He will tell the story of the financial crisis in all its manifest glory through a narrative whose center is Bear Stearns," Doubleday editor-in-chief Bill Thomas says.

Dire 2008 for autos. Car industry forecasters sharply cut projections for new-vehicle sales to 14.95M this year, down from 15.5-15.7M, news that will likely see further production cuts from car makers. "The auto market is entering into a true recessionary phase," J.D. Power's chief economist Bob Schnorbus says. Cash-strapped consumers are finding it difficult to finance new car purchases, and cautious auto lenders are scared of falling into the same trap that killed the housing industry.

Bove gets bullish. Punk Ziegel analyst Richard Bove says the financial crisis is over. "What you're looking for going into this is a monumental event so frightening that you get a monumental response," he says, referring to the failure of Bear Stearns (BSC) last week. Yesterday's unprecedented move to loosen lending restrictions on Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) is part of that response, as is the move by central bankers to support the dollar. Can the Fed back its guarantees? Recent market action suggests the market for subprime loans and distressed debt has not dried up. "All the signs you want to see that this is over are there -- and this is over," Bove says.

Palm worth owning. JPMorgan analysts think it's worth owning Palm (PALM) shares into tonight's earnings. The firm says negative expectations are already priced into the stock.

Traders spread rumors, cash in. Yesterday's plunge in number-one UK mortgage lender HBOS (HBOOF.PK) was induced by traders who spread false rumors that it approached the Bank of England for a multi-billion pound emergency loan. Authorities think unscrupulous traders are trying to profit by rumormongering. The U.K.'s Financial Services Authority says it will crack down on such abuses.

Stormy year for Meriwether bond fund. Former Long-Term Capital Management founder John Meriwether has seen his new Relative Value Opportunity bond fund drop 28% YTD. Going into March, the fund was down 9%.

Nasdaq to launch European exchange. Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ) is planning to take on Europe's established exchanges by launching a marketplace for about 300 of the region's most actively traded blue chips. The move, Nasdaq's first since acquiring OMX in February, will put it in competition with the LSE, Deutsche Boerse, NYSE Euronext (NYX), and Project Turquoise -- backed by Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), Credit Suisse (CS), UBS (UBS), Merrill Lynch (MER), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Deutsche Bank (DB) -- which is slated to launch in September.

Lehman looks good overseas. Even as U.S. investors fret its future, Lehman Brothers (LEH) is making waves by boosting its M&A advisory business in China, where companies are flush with cash and eager to take advantage of global acquisition opportunities. Spreading its wings sounds like a good idea: M&A activity is at four-year lows.

Goldman Sachs' Abby Joseph Cohen: Ignore the noise -- think long-term.

Cardiome in play. Cardiome Pharma (CRME) says it has received "several detailed expressions of interest from global and regional pharmaceutical companies in pursuit of partnership opportunities," and has hired Merrill Lynch (MER) as financial adviser as it reviews its alternatives, including a sale of the entire company or its assets. Cardiome said Tuesday vernakalant, its treatment for rapid, irregular heartbeat had shown positive results in interim clinical trials.

Comments

[GiorgioFerrero]

I always enjoy reading articles from Seeking Alpha.

Thank you for this timely information Mr. Hoffman