Menachem Ben Yakov

Gilat Take Two: Anteing Up Again

Sorry for delay arbtrader.

www.google.com/search?...=

Lloyds TSB: Is a Class Action Lawsuit Shareholders' Only Remedy?

I should disclose that I recently purchased shares in Lloyds TSB as traded as an ADR on the NYSE. I did so before the HBOS take over had been presented. I also took management at its word when it issued its Interim Report. For the record should the shares rebound because the merger is cancelled I will sell at the first opportunity. Lloyds TSB IR has not responded to several eMail requests made over the last week. When I have eMailed HSBC ( which I own and think is an excellent investment ) its IR department always responded with 24 hours. The two banks are obviously night and day.

Lloyds Buys HBOS: Good Deal or Bad?

We now know the truth about the merger. And that management was not honest when it reported results only six weeks ago. Lloyds common shareholders will receive NO DIVIDENDS FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS!!!
Maybe longer. The UK government however gets a 12% p.a. dividend on its " preference " shares.
THE MERGER IS A DISASTER. SHAREHOLDERS MUST VOTE NO!!!!!

Five Best and Worst Global Financial Stocks, YTD

It looks like a case of fraud to me when six weeks ago Lloyds TSB management could issue the following statement- " Against this backdrop, Lloyds TSB continued to deliver good growth momentum in all its core businesses and is well positioned for a lower growth environment.
Given this strong performance and our confidence in the Group's future earnings performance, the board has decided to increase the 2008 interim dividend by 2 per cent to 11.4 pence per share. This increase demonstrates the strength of the Group's business model, balanced with a level of caution on the outlook for the UK economy.'"
Now holders of common shares are in jeopardy. Lloyds it seems needs a government bailout that will suspend dividend payments to holders of its common stock for a minimum of five years. However the government, for its largess, will realize a 12% p.a. return on its investment.
Shareholders of Lloyds would be INSANE to vote yes on the proposed merger and I, for one, am looking for a good lawyer!

Gilat Take Two: Anteing Up Again

Thank you for your comments arbtrader. The VC company I mentioned is Mivtach Shamir. A quick search will provide numerous articles on the deal , the fallout and Lehmans' involvement.
MBY

Gilat Take Two: Anteing Up Again

ManAboutDallas, You are 100% correct! I should have labeled my figure as the " adjusted price ". I appreciate your taking the time to set the record straight and I am heartened that an investor as astute as yourself shares my enthusiasm for Gilat Satellite.
Menachem Ben Yakov

Witnessing History

A history lesson....
" On November 12, 1999, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. One of the effects of the repeal was to allow commercial and investment banks to consolidate. Some economists have criticized the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act as contributing to the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis.[7][8]
The repeal enabled commercial lenders such as Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank by assets, to underwrite and trade instruments such as mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations and establish so-called structured investment vehicles, or SIVs, that bought those securities. Citigroup played a major part in the repeal. Then called Citicorp, the company merged with Travelers Insurance company the year before using loopholes in Glass-Steagall that allowed for temporary exemptions. With lobbying led by Roger Levy, the "finance, insurance and real estate industries together are regularly the largest campaign contributors and biggest spenders on lobbying of all business sectors [in 1999]. They laid out more than $200 million for lobbying in 1998, according to the Center for Responsive Politics..." These industries succeeded in their two decades long effort to repeal the act.[9]
The banking industry had been seeking the repeal of Glass-Steagall since at least the 1980's. In 1987 the Congressional Research Service prepared a report which explored the case for preserving Glass-Steagall and the case against preserving the act.
The argument for preserving Glass-Steagall (as written in 1987):
1. Conflicts of interest characterize the granting of credit – lending – and the use of credit – investing – by the same entity, which led to abuses that originally produced the Act
2. Depository institutions possess enormous financial power, by virtue of their control of other people’s money; its extent must be limited to ensure soundness and competition in the market for funds, whether loans or investments.
3. Securities activities can be risky, leading to enormous losses. Such losses could threaten the integrity of deposits. In turn, the Government insures deposits and could be required to pay large sums if depository institutions were to collapse as the result of securities losses.
4. Depository institutions are supposed to be managed to limit risk. Their managers thus may not be conditioned to operate prudently in more speculative securities businesses. An example is the crash of real estate investment trusts sponsored by bank holding companies (in the 1970s and 1980s)."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/......

Top Foreign Dividend Stocks Traded in New York

Mr.Hunkar, Your comment speaks volumes. Nothing is as impressive as a person who admits an error and thanks the person who corrects them. I will read your posts with a new enthusiasm.
I would also suggest that, in my opinion, buying both HSBC and Lloyds TSB , at current levels, represents an outstanding opportunity. I have held HSBC for ten years and have not sold a share. I recently established a position in Lloyds( $22.05 ) after waiting and watching , quite literally, for the last seven years. These are two companies an investor cannot own enough of.
Respectfully yours , Menachem Ben Yakov



On Sep 08 11:47 PM David Hunkar wrote:

> Guys - Sorry for the delayed replies.
>
> ignorant - Thanks for the note.Will be more specific and clear next
> time.
>
> User 138602 - RBS had a write-down of £5.9B due to exposure to the
> sub-prime credit
> crisis.In order to shore up its capital base the bank had a right
> issue for raising
> £12.0 B in JUne of this year.In addition the board had agreed to
> raise the Tier 1
> Capital ratio to 8%. The stock has fallen so much due to this nearly
> £6.0B loss and
> the ABN Amro purchase/integration expenses.
>
> In UK, the rights issue was made on the basis of 11 new shares for
> every 18 shares
> held at an issue of price just 200 pence which was about 46.3% discount
> to
> the closing price of 372.5 pence on Apil 21, 2008.As of June 9th,
> about 95.11%
> of the shares in the rights issue totaling about 5.8B shares were
> subscribed
> by investors.
>
> RBS has a dividend payout ratio of 45% in 2007.As per the board,
> after the rights
> issue the 2008 may be reduced.
>
> As the second largest lender in the UK after HSBC, RBS had to writedown
> this huge
> £6.0B loss. So when compared to LYG, HBC or Standard Chartered this
> writedown was high.
> Hence the stock is down a lot compared to peers.
>
> Hope the above helps.
>
>
> CARMEL - I included only the commons in this study.I should have
> mentioned this
> in the post.Preferreds are a different story. I will include then
> in future articles.
>
> Menachem Ben Yakov - Thanks for the info.I stand corrected.
>
> goatfarmer- Thanks for the suggestion. You idea will be implemented
> in the
> next similar article.Yes yields net of tax would be good to know
> but it
> gets complicated due to many issues.I can include any time of tax
> info.
> know for the mentioned countries though.
>
> Thanks everyone for your comments. It helps me serve you better.:)

By How Much Have Foreign Bank Stocks Fallen?

This news item, just reported , is exactly the type of growth I was talking about in my last post...

www.guardian.co.uk/bus...


On Sep 02 11:13 AM Menachem Ben Yakov wrote:

> HSBC hit a low on Feb.11th and I doubled my position on that date
> at $69.50/ADR. The low on that day was $69.25/ADR. Those shares have
> subsequently paid dividends totaling $3.75/ADR. I do not expect the
> share price to return to those levels ever.
> In my opinion the ADR share price will close the year at or about
> $120/ADR. That price may seem overly optimistic to some but the fundamentals
> support my analysis. I also expect new revenue streams out of Korea
> and China as ventures in those areas begin to show results. It is
> also quite possible that there will be an announcement in the second
> quarter of 2009 that no further provisions for write downs will need
> to be made as they have been fully accounted for.
> Just my opinion of course and folks should do their own homework.
>

By How Much Have Foreign Bank Stocks Fallen?

HSBC hit a low on Feb.11th and I doubled my position on that date at $69.50/ADR. The low on that day was $69.25/ADR. Those shares have subsequently paid dividends totaling $3.75/ADR. I do not expect the share price to return to those levels ever.
In my opinion the ADR share price will close the year at or about $120/ADR. That price may seem overly optimistic to some but the fundamentals support my analysis. I also expect new revenue streams out of Korea and China as ventures in those areas begin to show results. It is also quite possible that there will be an announcement in the second quarter of 2009 that no further provisions for write downs will need to be made as they have been fully accounted for.
Just my opinion of course and folks should do their own homework.


On Sep 02 10:42 AM andyn wrote:

> with Britain weak, HSBC should go down to less than 70

Buying a Bank? My Vote is for JPMorgan Chase

According to Riskmetrics (tm) , as of today, JPM has approximately three times as much risk as HSBC bank. In addition risk for JPM has doubled since January 1, 2008 .
Investors concerned with both safety and yield should take note.

Lloyds TSB: Still a Good Bank but Invest with Caution

Mr.Katsenelson was fortunate to sell at a approx. $45/share. I just loaded up at $22.05 and have been waiting seven years for that opportunity.
I wondered if the author is out buying shares again?

Playing the Market as Delinquencies Continue to Rise

Heres the definition of a derivative from investopedia.com ( a great site by the way )....
" In finance, a security whose price is dependent upon or derived from one or more underlying assets. The derivative itself is merely a contract between two or more parties. Its value is determined by fluctuations in the underlying asset. The most common underlying assets include stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates and market indexes. Most derivatives are characterized by high leverage.
Futures contracts, forward contracts, options and swaps are the most common types of derivatives. Because derivatives are just contracts, just about anything can be used as an underlying asset. There are even derivatives based on weather data, such as the amount of rain or the number of sunny days in a particular region.

Derivatives are generally used to hedge risk, but can also be used for speculative purposes. For example, a European investor purchasing shares of an American company off of an American exchange (using American dollars to do so) would be exposed to exchange-rate risk while holding that stock. To hedge this risk, the investor could purchase currency futures to lock in a specified exchange rate for the future stock sale and currency conversion back into euros. "

When analysis of derivative positions held by institutions is performed one cannot make a judgement on its true value without knowing the underlying article of value. Is it a sub-prime mortgage or ton of gold? Is it based upon bonds from Exxon or Washington Mutual?
The word " derivative " has been used to scare investors like the word " bogeyman " was used to scare children.
I have been buying HSBC and LLoyds TSB. My analysis is correct.
Folks should do their own homework.

Playing the Market as Delinquencies Continue to Rise

Those who fail to discern that not all derivative contracts are created equal are investing with their eyes closed. In fact a short position is also a derivative contract. Interest rate swaps and derivatives based upon AAA rated municipal bonds for instance have risen in value across the broad market. When opinions regarding derivative exposure are offered without detail the reader should beware. Those that suggest a bank is " over exposed " to derivatives ( such as HSBC, which I own ) based simply upon the cumulative value of outstanding contracts have failed to do their homework.

Top Foreign Dividend Stocks Traded in New York

re: Lloyds TSB


www.telegraph.co.uk/mo...