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  • 06:50 PM Sad but true. 2 Comments
  • 06:00 PM Meanwhile Elliot Spitzer says we should forget the bonuses and address the real scandal: "Why are AIG's counterparties getting paid back in full, to the tune of tens of billions of taxpayer dollars?" 18 Comments
  • 05:49 PM As much as we might want to void AIG's (AIG) bonuses, doing so could put American business on a worse slippery slope than it already is. (NY Times) 6 Comments
  • 05:41 PM Caterpillar (CAT) is laying off another 2,500 U.S. employees due to slumping demand for its construction equipment, most of them in addition to the 22,100 cuts CAT announced in January. Comment!
  • 05:41 PM NJ State AG sues 18 Lehman executives, saying the firm's misrepresentations caused $118M in losses. CEO Dick Fuld, former CFO Christopher M. O'Meara and former president Joseph M. Gregory are named. Comment!
  • 05:37 PM MGM Mirage (MGM): Q4 EPS of $0.10 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $1.62B (-15.8%) vs. $1.71B. Shares -1% AH. (PR) 1 Comment
  • 05:22 PM Credit card users payed back 17.15% of their outstanding balances in February, down from 20.46% a year ago - setting the stage for deeper pain for issuers. As one analyst explains: "Payment rates are a forecasting tool for delinquencies and charge-offs. Lower payment rates signal consumer distress." 1 Comment
  • 05:03 PM Darden Restaurants (DRI): FQ3 EPS of $0.80 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $1.8B (-0.7%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $2.66-$2.74 vs. $2.52. Shares +6% AH. (PR) Comment!
  • 04:52 PM NY State AG Cuomo's letter (.pdf) to Senator Barney Frank. "AIG (AIG) now claims that it had no choice but to pay these sums because of the unalterable terms of the plan. However, had the federal government not bailed out AIG with billions in taxpayer funds, the firm likely would have gone bankrupt, and surely no payments would have been made out of the plan." 3 Comments
  • 04:41 PM There's no shortage of cash for student loans, thanks to Congress. The question facing student lenders like SLM Corp. (SLM), though, is just how reticent borrowers will get - considering the frustrations of finding work after leaving college. 1 Comment
  • 04:25 PM Sources say Lehman Brothers is in the early stages of auctioning off a thrift and an industrial bank it owns as part of its bankruptcy wind-down. Says a Lehman spokesman: "We're looking to realize value whenever we can get it." Comment!
  • 04:12 PM Adobe (ADBE): FQ1 EPS of $0.45 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $786M (-11.7%) vs. $784M. "We believe the major market trends driving our business remain intact, and we will continue to focus on innovation and investing in new growth businesses to increase the strategic value we provide our customers." Shares +3.4% AH. (PR) Comment!
  • 04:11 PM Guess? (GES): Q4 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.16. Revenue of $561M (+9%) vs. $529M. Sees Q1 EPS of $0.26-0.30 vs. $0.34 and revenue of $425-445M vs. $481M. Shares -1.4% AH. (PR) 1 Comment
  • 04:03 PM Another day of impressive gains for U.S. stocks, with indexes striking new highs at the bell to surpass Monday's highs - which disappeared in a late-day selloff. DJIA +2.49% (+179.53) to 7,396.50. S&P +3.21% (+24.20) to 778.08. Nasdaq +4.14% (+58.09) to 1,462.11. Comment!
  • 03:57 PM Between calls to out U.S. customers with foreign bank accounts and demands for salaries and bonus figures from financial firms, Dealbreaker says "it is quickly looking like there might not be a private transaction left in the country after July 2010." 1 Comment
  • 03:48 PM Hard to believe at first glance, but Ford (F) CEO Alan Mulally would like to see a gas tax that guarantees a price floor of $4/gallon - which he figures will prod small-car sales. Welcome to government-run energy policy. 6 Comments
  • 03:36 PM The timing of its Adamo luxury computer launch shows just how out of touch with consumer trends Dell (DELL) has become. Douglas McIntyre says the poorly-run PC company faces the serious risk of "playing the fool in front of its investors again." 2 Comments
  • 03:25 PM A foreign solution: Grant resident status to immigrants who buy surplus U.S. houses. "This makes more sense than the president's $275B housing bailout plan, which Americans greeted with a Bronx cheer." 9 Comments
  • 03:19 PM Small business are feeling the credit squeeze: nearly 75% of small businesses are experiencing a deterioration of credit or credit-card terms, while almost half depend on credit cards as a primary source of financing. 3 Comments
  • 03:10 PM Notable earnings after Tuesday's close: ADBE, DRI, GES Comment!
  • 03:04 PM Treasury futures have turned red, with speculation around FOMC meetings today and tomorrow that the Fed isn't ready to start buying long-term bonds. 30-year -0.56%. 10-year -0.45%. 5-year -0.24%. 2-year -0.06%. Comment!
  • 03:01 PM With one hour to go stocks have firmed up and are striking new highs. Consumer stocks are leading the way, along with energy and financials. Basic materials stocks are lower. DJIA +1.3% at 7308. S&P +1.8% to 767. Nasdaq +2.4% at 1405. Crude +3.6% to $49.04. Gold -0.6% to $917. Comment!
  • 02:52 PM Stop Saving Now! Or not. 4 Comments
  • 02:43 PM AOL's new CEO Tim Armstrong "would not have taken the job if the plans for a spin out of AOL were not in place," a source tells Kara Swisher. "The only catch is the poor economy, but even that should not prevent Time Warner (TWX) from doing what's right to finally fix AOL." Comment!
  • 02:32 PM Discovery Communications (DISCA) says Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle book reader violates a patent it registered in 2007, and is suing for damages and future royalties - but will not seek an injuction to halt Kindle sales. AMZN +4.7%. DISCA -0.5%. Comment!
  • 02:22 PM Madoff victims, who theortically paid captial gains taxes on non-existent profits, will be allowed to deduct up to 95% of the amount they invested, plus unrealized gains, minus any FDIC money they receive - much more generous than the normal "capital loss" deduction of $3,000. 2 Comments
  • 02:14 PM In January, Massachusetts issued just one building permit for a residential complex with five or more units. On the bright side, Clusterstock points out it can't get much worse. Comment!
  • 02:02 PM U.S. bailouts add to the risk of a depression, says investor Jim Rogers, and AIG (AIG) should be allowed to go bankrupt. "The U.S. is taking assets from competent people and giving them to incompetent people. That’s bad economics." 7 Comments
  • 01:50 PM As it turns out, shovel-readiness is in the eye of the beholder. Comment!
  • 01:39 PM Welcome to the Age of Austerity, where corporate clients tell hotels they won't even consider a location whose name contains "spa" or "resort" - and one customer asks upscale retreat Amelia Island Plantation to drop "Island" from its moniker. 2 Comments
  • 01:27 PM 24/7 Wall Street picks ten stocks that could double off of their lows by the end of 2010. Winners: Citigroup (C), Macy's (M), Sonic (SONC), CBS (CBS), TheStreet.com (TSCM), ConocoPhillips (COP), Yahoo (YHOO), Apple (AAPL), Gannett (GCI), GE (GE). 3 Comments
  • 01:15 PM Gizmodo is liveblogging Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 3.0 rollout. There have been more than 800M downloads from the App Store since it launched eight months ago. AAPL +2.4% to $97.67. Comment!
  • 01:01 PM In a news conference, Rep. Frank says he's "very skeptical" that retaining the (AIG) people who made these mistakes is a good idea. "We're the owner," of AIG, he says, "and it's time for us to exercise our ownership rights." 9 Comments
  • 01:00 PM Twenty-two AIG (AIG) employees got bonuses of $2M each, CNBC says citing a letter from NY State AG Cuomo to Rep. Barney Frank. The bonuses made 73 employees - many of whom are no longer with the company - millionaires. 3 Comments
  • 12:56 PM Seeing as how housing starts hit record low levels (the worst since since 1960) just last month, today's 'rebound' is hardly a sign that a turnaround has begun, Barry Ritholtz says. He notes the gains were mainly in multi-family units; single-family starts were little changed. Comment!
  • 12:46 PM After trading in a tight range for much of the morning, stocks are making a lunch-time break-out to the upside. DJIA now +1.2% to 7302. S&P +1.7% to 767. Nasdaq +2.1% to 1433. Crude +3.1% to $48.80. Gold -0.9% to $914. Comment!
  • 12:43 PM With the demise of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer print edition, where do the print ad dollars go? Comment!
  • 12:30 PM Three great reads for lunchtime:
    1) AIG and the greed of America
    2) Getting Lehman wrong a second time
    3) David Swensen's Guide to Sleeping Soundly 1 Comment
  • 12:21 PM While it's unlikely Bernie Madoff's $50B fraud will supplant Charles Ponzi's "copyright" on pyramid schemes, he may yet stake his claim to fame - with the IRS. Introducing, The Madoff Deduction. Comment!
  • 12:10 PM UAW's recent deal with Ford (F) "does not meet our needs at all," GM (GM) CEO Rick Wagoner tells reporters. Aside from billions more in financing, he'd love to see the government launch a subsidized "cash for clunkers" program to kickstart demand for new cars. 3 Comments
  • 11:57 AM Epcot's (DIS, TROW) newest exhibit: The Great Piggy Bank Adventure. Comment!
  • 11:45 AM More trouble on the horizon for life insurers - and angst for their policyholders - after ratings downgrades have dropped several into categories that signal weakening financial health. Analysts say their ability to pay claims could be affected by continuing investment losses. 1 Comment
  • 11:33 AM Tough talk from Sen. Charles Grassley on AIG (AIG) execs. He says he'll feel 'a little better' if they "come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide." 7 Comments
  • 11:22 AM A group representing GM (GM) bondholders says it's willing to cut a deal to help the struggling automaker avoid bankruptcy, this after an advisor to the automaker task force said the committee was being quite difficult. GM -4.4% to $2.41. 3 Comments
  • 11:11 AM Doug Kass's audacious forecast: In the months ahead, the fear of being in will be replaced by the fear of being out. 5 Comments
  • 11:09 AM Sector ETF weakness: Steel– SLX -4.7%. Solar– KWT -4.7%. Solar– TAN -3.6%. Gold Miners– GDX -2.9%. Clean Energy– PBW -2.7%. Comment!
  • 11:09 AM Sector ETF strength: Heating Oil– UHN +4.6%. Homebuilders– XHB +3.7%. Insurance– KIE +3.5%. Retailers– RTH +3.3%. Oil– USO +3.3%. Comment!
  • 11:04 AM Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) -26% after the maker of solar laminate products says it will slow production and expansion due to credit pressures. ENER also revokes its guidance, citing lack of visibility. (PR) Comment!
  • 11:03 AM Dow laggards: AA -9.1%. GM -4.8%. AXP -1.7%. JNJ -1.4%. UTX -1.2%. Comment!
  • 11:02 AM Dow leaders: C +7.7%. HD +6.1%. INTC +2.5%. VZ +2.1%. T +2.0%. Comment!
  • 10:55 AM Stocks making a move off early lows, with Nasdaq out in the lead. DJIA +0.4% to 7247. S&P +0.9% to 760. Nasdaq +1.3% to 1422. Crude pushing $49, +2.7% to $48.65. Comment!
  • 10:46 AM Jos. A. Bank (JOSB) may be hoping job losses level off. The clothier, which targets male professionals, says it will refund the price of a suit (up to $199) if its wearer loses his job. "We want to help the customer look good at work, and if he loses his job, to be dressed appropriately as he meets with his next employer." 4 Comments
  • 10:36 AM Good explanation of the uptick rule - and what its reinstatment could mean for investors. (Marketplace Whiteboard) 4 Comments
  • 10:32 AM Hard to believe, but it's a great time to start a bank. 2 Comments
  • 10:21 AM GM CEO says bankruptcy 'could work' but would be too risky. (WSJ) 3 Comments
  • 10:14 AM Nucor (NUE) says it expects a Q1 loss of up to $0.65, vs. consensus of +$0.44, on slackening demand. "The economy has fallen off a cliff, and there is no visibility as to the timing of the recovery." NUE -11.5%. (PR) 1 Comment
  • 10:01 AM Nasdaq has broken out to the upside, but other indexes remain flat. DJIA -0.1% at 7121. S&P +0.2% to 755. Nasdaq +0.9% to 1417. Crude +1.4% to $48. Gold -0.4% to $918. 30-year bond +0.58% to 125-22. Comment!
  • 09:59 AM Apple (AAPL) will unveil the third generation of its iPhone mobile OS today. Anticipated features include multitasking and the much-awaited copy-and-paste. AAPL +2.25% to $97.60. Comment!
  • 09:49 AM Merrill Lynch downgrades Morgan Stanley (MS) to Underperform from Buy, and lowers its price target to $21 from $25, on concerns real estate losses and tightening credit spreads will drag down Q1 results. Shares -3.9% to $22.17. 2 Comments
  • 09:46 AM Nokia (NOK) says it's initiating talks with 1,700 workers about possible job cuts to reduce costs as demand continues to slow. A spokesman says it's still to early to tell how much of NOK's planned €700M in cost savings has been achieved. NOK -2.5% to $11.07. Comment!
  • 09:36 AM EU's unemployement rate is on a collision course with 10%, EC president Manuel Barroso says this morning, calling labor his "main concern." Barroso says flow of credit and a stable euro are key to recovery. 1 Comment
  • 09:32 AM Dow opens flat at 7215. S&P +0.1% at 755. Nasdaq +0.3% at 1409. Treasurys have recovered from weakness after strong housing starts data, with the 30-year bond +0.44%. Comment!
  • 09:25 AM "The AIG bonuses are [a] rounding error, and a done deal," Yves Smith writes. What should really upset taxpayers is the proposed public/private partnership, which will grossly overpay to take distressed assets off banks' books. "This is billions to avoid price discovery, which is what is needed to assess the magnitude of the problem, attract private capital and do triage on sick financial firms." 7 Comments
  • 09:16 AM Stocks futures turned positive after suprisingly strong housing starts, but have moved back toward overnight lows. After yesterday afternoon's selloff, traders will be on alert for any sign of weakness. Dow -0.2% at 7169. S&P -0.2% to 752. Nasdaq -0.1%. Crude -0.4% to $47.16. Gold -0.6% to $917. Comment!
  • 09:05 AM In a strategy update, Shell (RDS.A) says it replaced only 95% of its depleted reserves in 2008, falling below the 100% rate needed to maintain production and below that of rivals ExxonMobil (XOM) and BP (BP). Firm also increases dividend by 5%. Shares -2.15% premarket. Comment!
  • 09:03 AM Premarket losers: ENER -25%. AA -12%. FSLR -5%. WYNN -4%. Comment!
  • 09:03 AM Premarket gainers: FRE +12%. IVAN +11%. SIRI +11%. CLNE +9%. AIG +7%. GGP +8%. FNM +7%. C +6%. LEN +5%. HIG +5%. DRYS +4%. NU +4%. CEPH +4%. UBS +4%. Comment!
  • 08:59 AM National chain store sales were flat in the first two weeks of March, Redbook says, and fell 1.1% Y/Y. "Sales picked up modestly in the second week, but remained below plan for the week and month to date." (previously: ICSC retail sales) 1 Comment
  • 08:57 AM Goldman Sachs (GS) offers to lend money to more than 1,000 employees who have been hit hard by the financial crisis. 2 Comments
  • 08:53 AM Doug Kass tells newsletter subscribers it's widely expected that Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) will announce equity offerings shortly ($$). Comment!
  • 08:51 AM Looking to jazz up its image and compete more in the retail market, Dell (DELL) releases the Adamo line of 'luxury' notebook PCs. Starting at $1,999, the Adamo comes in colors 'pearl' or 'onyx' and is billed as the thinnest notebook on the market. 2 Comments
  • 08:40 AM Producer Price Index +0.1% in Feb. M/M vs. consensus of +0.4%. Core PPI +0.2% vs. +0.1%. Year-over-year PPI -1.3% vs. +0.1%, and core +4.0% vs. +3.8%. Led by higher energy prices, this is the second month in a row of inflation at the wholesale level. Comment!
  • 08:35 AM Housing Starts climbed 22.2% in February to 583K from January's 477K (revised) vs. 450K consensus. Building permits +3% to 547K vs. 500K consensus. Completions +2.3% to 767K. Unclear whether the jump is a sign of healing, or a troublesome indication of the failure to prune inventories. 3 Comments
  • 08:32 AM An Australian senator takes out a TV ad against Chinalco's (ACH) planned investment in Rio Tinto (RTP), warning viewers to "stop the Rudd government from selling Australia." (previously) RTP -3.3%. Comment!
  • 08:25 AM Big bank stocks will retreat, Whitney says, due to lack of earnings power - because they're not generating enough capital to grow their loan base. She repeats her call to "supercharge" healthier local banks so they can start lending. 2 Comments
  • 08:12 AM Meredith Whitney on CNBC says consumer credit is shrinking faster than expected, and she now believes credit lines will shrink by about $2.7T. Expect more financial sector turmoil this year, she says - just that different assets will be purged. 2 Comments
  • 08:12 AM More bad news for Madoff victims seeking restitution. At the end of December, Madoff valued his ownership in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC as worth $700M. Analysts say the business may fetch as little as $10M today. Comment!
  • 08:05 AM Rio Tinto (RTP) names board member Jan du Plessis as chairman-designate, a move that may underwhelm shareholders, Evolution Securities analyst Charles Kernot says. Management should have tried harder to source an external candidate to better deal with shareholder opposition to a proposed deal with Chinalco (ACH), he says. RTP -3.9%. Comment!
  • 07:51 AM Retail chain store sales decreased 0.1% from a week ago, ICSC says, and declined 1.4% Y/Y. "The sales pace weakened over the last week as colder temperatures and wetter conditions around the nation slowed customer traffic." 1 Comment
  • 07:49 AM The Bank of Japan may purchase up to ¥1T ($10B) of debt from banks in an 'exceptional' step to revive lending and replenish depleted capital. Comment!
  • 07:45 AM German investor confidence rose unexpectedly in March to the highest level in almost two years. (ETF: EWG) Comment!
  • 07:40 AM Mexico places a tariff on $2.4B of U.S. goods after the U.S. restricts Mexican trucking. Mexican officials say it's "for the incompliance of the country in its agreements regarding transport under [NAFTA]. That is what is commonly known as measures of retaliation." Comment!
  • 07:32 AM Activist investor Bill Ackman launches a proxy battle to replace five directors at Target (TGT). Ackman will vie for one of the seats up for election at the next annual meeting and push for "directors with relevant expertise." Comment!
  • 07:28 AM Marvel Entertainment (MVL) inks an exclusive ten-year deal to allow Gazillion Entertainment to make multiplayer online games based on Marvel's characters. Gazillion's first Marvel-themed game, Super Hero Squad, will launch in 2010. Comment!
  • 07:24 AM U.S. prosecutors want Madoff to forfeit over $100M worth of homes, cars, boats, etc., much of which is held in the name of his wife Ruth. The Madoffs' lawyer says $69M in assets belong to Ruth Madoff and are not connected to the fraud. Comment!
  • 07:19 AM Seattle Post-Intelligencer, R.I.P. The Hearst Corp. is shutting down the print edition of the 146 year old paper and moving it online with a radically reduced staff. As with other recent newspaper failures, crumbling ad sales were largely to blame. Comment!
  • 07:14 AM U.S. regulators rules shareholders must be allowed to vote on JPMorgan (JPM) measures to tie executive bonuses to the bank's long-term stock performance. 1 Comment
  • 07:11 AM In response to expected restrictions on bonuses and compensation, Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS) and other recipients of government aid are considering an increase in base salaries for some execs and top employees. Comment!
  • 07:07 AM After promising to block AIG (AIG) bonuses, White House officials later said a legal fight would be even more expensive to taxpayers. Instead, the Treasury plans to attach new provisions to $30B of bailout funds to force repayment of the bonuses. 3 Comments
  • 07:03 AM Stock futures are marginally higher. Dow +0.3% to 7203. S&P +0.3% to 756.50. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude +1% to $47.81. Gold -0.05% to $921.90. Comment!
  • 07:01 AM In Europe, markets opened down and have yet to regain breakeven. London -0.3%. Paris -0.8%. Frankfurt -0.2%. Comment!
  • 07:00 AM Asia markets were mostly higher Tuesday, with Tokyo leading the way up for a second day. Nikkei +3.128% to 7,419. Hang Seng -0.76% to 12,878. Shanghai +3.02% to 2,218. BSE -0.89% to 8,864. Comment!
  • 06:59 AM Sina (SINA): Q4 EPS of $0.49 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $101.5M (+43.6%) vs. $99.4M. (PR) (-from Mon. evening)
    Comment!
  • 12:10 AM Notable earnings after Tuesday's close: ADBE, DRI, GES Comment!
  • 12:05 AM Notable earnings before Tuesday's open: none. Comment!
  • 12:00 AM Tuesday's economic calendar:
    FOMC Meeting
    7:45 ICSC Retail Store Sales
    8:30 Housing Starts
    8:30 Producer Price Index
    8:55 Redbook
    5:00 PM ABC Consumer Confidence Index Comment!
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