AB - News and Analysis from Seeking Alpha 'AB' Tag RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ab AllianceBernstein: Still Worth Buying http://seekingalpha.com/article/171627-alliancebernstein-still-worth-buying?source=feed 171627 AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) is a limited partnership company. It provides research, diversified investment management and related services globally to a range of clients. Its principal services include Institutional Investment Services, Retail Services, Private Client Services and Institutional Research Services. Clients include institutions such as corporate and public employee pensions, endowments and governments. AB also serves various retail clients; private clients, trusts, estates, partnerships, and other entities. It also provides distribution, shareholder servicing, etc. to its sponsored mutual funds.
Both the profits and unit price of AB went way down last fall and winter along with the general market. Fundamentals dictated a drop but the extent appears to have grossly overshot to the downside. AllianceBernstein units peaked at $94.90 in early 2007 and fell as low as $10.10 at the nadir last March.
Earnings troughed in the March quarter but have recovered steadily since then. Q1 came in at $0.07, Q2 at $0.41 and the recently reported Q3 picked up to $0.67. Full year 2009 estimates have risen over the past month from $1.38 to $1.70, while analysts are now at $2.05 for 2010 versus a month-ago expectation of just $1.71.
The units have surged along with the earnings upgrades. AB has climbed back to $26.02 after going ex-dividend for a $0.67 quarterly distribution Thursday.
Here are the per unit figures for AB as reported by Value Line:
Year
Sales
C/F
EPS
Distrib.
Dist/C-F
Avg. P/E
Range
2000
10.21
4.10
3.12
3.18
89%
14.4x
29.30-56.70
2001
12.03
4.96
2.77
2.84
89%
17.8x
37.40-59.30
2002
10.96
3.72
2.19
2.30
104%
16.9x
23.20-50.80
2003
10.87
4.04
2.12
1.97
92%
15.6x
25.80-39.30
2004
11.92
4.17
2.43
1.19
54%
14.9x
31.50-42.30
2005
12.72
4.51
3.02
2.80
92%
15.7x
40.20-58.50
2006
15.25
5.24
3.82
3.56
93%
17.7x
55.40-82.90
2007
17.38
5.79
4.33
4.75
108%
19.8x
71.30-94.90
2008
13.33
4.10
2.79
3.45
122%
17.6x
11.50-78.00
As a master limited partnership, AllianceBernstein must pay out the bulk of its profits to its unit holders as cash distributions. Over the past decade, AB has paid out $27.48 per unit (including 2009’s declared $1.44) for an average annual distribution of $2.745 /unit.
That period from 2000 through 2009 includes the NASDAQ bust of 2000, the extreme bear market of 2002 as well as the 2008-2009 melt down. It includes the boom years of 2003 and 2005-2007. As such, I feel it represents a pretty good indication of what investors can expect over a full cycle or two of ‘normalized’ market action.
At the current price of $26.02 that average annual $2.74 distribution would equal about a 9.5% yield. That’s quite attractive in today’s low interest rate world.
The chart above shows that the average annual P/E for AB was 16.7x over the 9-year period 2000-2008. A return to even a 16 multiple on year-ahead estimates of $2.05 would bring AB units back to $32.80 or up 26% from the current quote. Add in the nice quarterly distributions and you have the recipe for a very nice total return play.
Is $32.80 a rational target? I’d say it’s probably too conservative based on the past trading history for AB. Take a peek at the high end pricing from the ’52-week range’ box on the table above to see where AB has typical gone during boom times.
The balance sheet is in good shape with total debt about half of net cash on hand and no maturities coming due anytime soon. Long-term debt equals less than 10% of capital.
Summary: AllianceBernstein units are good-yielding and moderately priced. Total annual returns could easily exceed 30% based on today’s estimates and could easily be better than that if markets continue to improve over time.
Disclosure: Author is long AB units and short AB puts.
]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:18:25 -0500 Paul Price Paul Price submits:
AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) is a limited partnership company. It provides research, diversified investment management and related services globally to a range of clients. Its principal services include Institutional Investment Services, Retail Services, Private Client Services and Institutional Research Services. Clients include institutions such as corporate and public employee pensions, endowments and governments. AB also serves various retail clients; private clients, trusts, estates, partnerships, and other entities. It also provides distribution, shareholder servicing, etc. to its sponsored mutual funds.
Both the profits and unit price of AB went way down last fall and winter along with the general market. Fundamentals dictated a drop but the extent appears to have grossly overshot to the downside. AllianceBernstein units peaked at $94.90 in early 2007 and fell as low as $10.10 at the nadir last March.
Earnings troughed in the March quarter but have recovered steadily since then. Q1 came in at $0.07, Q2 at $0.41 and the recently reported Q3 picked up to $0.67. Full year 2009 estimates have risen over the past month from $1.38 to $1.70, while analysts are now at $2.05 for 2010 versus a month-ago expectation of just $1.71.
The units have surged along with the earnings upgrades. AB has climbed back to $26.02 after going ex-dividend for a $0.67 quarterly distribution Thursday.
Here are the per unit figures for AB as reported by Value Line:
Year
Sales
C/F
EPS
Distrib.
Dist/C-F
Avg. P/E
Range
2000
10.21
4.10
3.12
3.18
89%
14.4x
29.30-56.70
2001
12.03
4.96
2.77
2.84
89%
17.8x
37.40-59.30
2002
10.96
3.72
2.19
2.30
104%
16.9x
23.20-50.80
2003
10.87
4.04
2.12
1.97
92%
15.6x
25.80-39.30
2004
11.92
4.17
2.43
1.19
54%
14.9x
31.50-42.30
2005
12.72
4.51
3.02
2.80
92%
15.7x
40.20-58.50
2006
15.25
5.24
3.82
3.56
93%
17.7x
55.40-82.90
2007
17.38
5.79
4.33
4.75
108%
19.8x
71.30-94.90
2008
13.33
4.10
2.79
3.45
122%
17.6x
11.50-78.00
As a master limited partnership, AllianceBernstein must pay out the bulk of its profits to its unit holders as cash distributions. Over the past decade, AB has paid out $27.48 per unit (including 2009’s declared $1.44) for an average annual distribution of $2.745 /unit.
That period from 2000 through 2009 includes the NASDAQ bust of 2000, the extreme bear market of 2002 as well as the 2008-2009 melt down. It includes the boom years of 2003 and 2005-2007. As such, I feel it represents a pretty good indication of what investors can expect over a full cycle or two of ‘normalized’ market action.
At the current price of $26.02 that average annual $2.74 distribution would equal about a 9.5% yield. That’s quite attractive in today’s low interest rate world.
The chart above shows that the average annual P/E for AB was 16.7x over the 9-year period 2000-2008. A return to even a 16 multiple on year-ahead estimates of $2.05 would bring AB units back to $32.80 or up 26% from the current quote. Add in the nice quarterly distributions and you have the recipe for a very nice total return play.
Is $32.80 a rational target? I’d say it’s probably too conservative based on the past trading history for AB. Take a peek at the high end pricing from the ’52-week range’ box on the table above to see where AB has typical gone during boom times.
The balance sheet is in good shape with total debt about half of net cash on hand and no maturities coming due anytime soon. Long-term debt equals less than 10% of capital.
Summary: AllianceBernstein units are good-yielding and moderately priced. Total annual returns could easily exceed 30% based on today’s estimates and could easily be better than that if markets continue to improve over time.
Disclosure: Author is long AB units and short AB puts.

Complete Story »]]> AB Paul Price Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News http://seekingalpha.com/article/170128-wall-street-breakfast-must-know-news?source=feed 170128

  • Economy surges back to growth. Stocks logged their best one-day gain in three months on Thursday after the U.S. economy returned to growth in Q3. The government's first estimate of GDP showed the economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.5%, the first growth quarter in more than a year, and well ahead of Street estimates of 3%, sending Treasury prices and the dollar lower as traders exited safe havens. As recently as last week economists had called for a 3.3% gain, but they pared their estimates in the past couple days after week durable goods sales data came up short. "The economy has emerged with gusto from the deepest recession since WWII," one economist said. "The short-term prospects for the economy remain good."
  • Private sector must lead the way - Geithner. The return to GDP growth is encouraging but the recovery is still fragile, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at a Q&A session Thursday evening following yesterday's Q3 GDP announcement. "The number today was really encouraging... it was broad and strong and it wasn't just cash-for-clunkers and it wasn't just economic stimulus... but it's important to remember that it's very early," he said. Geithner stressed that a robust recovery would have to be led by the private sector, saying the U.S. can't borrow-and-spend its way to health.
  • Repsol strikes again. Repsol (REP), long derided as the oil company with no oil, will today announce a "fairly sizeable" discovery in the Gulf of Mexico's Shenzi field that it says will help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Today's discovery comes on top of big finds in Brazil and West Africa, and leaves Repsol with the unexpected challenge of developing a sudden surge in oil and gas resources. "We've had some success in exploration," CEO Antonio Brufau said.
  • CIT, Goldman adjust $3B credit line. CIT Group (CIT) reached an agreement with Goldman Sachs (GS) to amend a $3B loan facility, ending their dispute over a $1B "make whole" payment CIT would have owed Goldman if it files for bankruptcy. Goldman will reduce the loan size to $2.13B, wiping out the unused portion of the facility, for which CIT will pay Goldman a $285M penalty, and post an additional $250M of collateral. The announcement, made in an 8-K filing, comes two days after CIT raised an additional $4.5B to bolster its restructuring.
  • Rio Tinto doubles capex. A confident Rio Tinto (RTP) doubled its planned 2010 capital spend to at least $5B after it cut debt and saw signs of economic recovery. Rio had planned to cut capex to $2.5B - just enough to sustain current mines. "We will continue our program of cost reduction and debt repayments, but our renewed strength enables us to focus on disciplined capital expenditure on premier growth options," CEO Tom Albanese said. Rio, the world's #3 mining group, said it had cut its debt by 42% so far this year to $22.3B. (statement)
  • EDF/Constellation deal at risk. State-owned nuclear power operator EDF is facing pressure from the French government to abandon its $4.5B deal to buy 49.9% of Constellation Energy Group's (CEG) nuclear assets and build four reactors with the U.S. company. "For us, the priority strategy for EDF is indeed in Europe, notably the U.K. and Italy, and everything outside Europe is less essential to EDF's expansion," an unnamed government official said.
  • Credit crunch continues. Loan defaults by small and medium-sized U.S. businesses rose in September to 0.85% from 0.81% in August, according to risk management firm PayNet, but accounts in moderate (30 days plus) and severe (90 days plus) delinquency decreased to 4.22% (from 4.35%) and 1.4% (from 1.48%) respectively, the lowest since January. PayNet's Small Business Lending Index, which measures the volume of financing, is down 22% from a year ago, a sign lenders remain reluctant to extend credit to small and medium-sized businesses. "It's hard to imagine a robust recovery when you see numbers like this," PayNet founder Bill Phelan said.
  • BoJ holds steady. The Bank of Japan left its key rate unchanged at 0.1%, but said it would discontinue its corporate bond and commercial paper purchase program at the end of December, as scheduled - "given that issuing conditions in the CP and corporate bond markets have been improving markedly, and thus the purpose of the purchases to restore market functioning has been achieved." Still, the BoJ stressed that this doesn't signal the beginning of its exit strategy, and extended its special lending facility to provide three-month funds at 0.1% until the end of March. Remarking on the decision to scrap its corporate funding support, Japan's PM Yukio Hatoyama remarked that it's hard to be as optimistic as the BoJ. (statement)
  • House Energy and Commerce Committee OKs consumer agency. A second House panel voted Thursday to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to oversee mortgages, credit cards and other financial products, with a full House vote expected in November. The House bill falls short of the administration's original proposal, exempting auto dealers, credit, mortgage and title insurers and banks with less than $10B in assets, among others - exceptions some worry will weaken the agency's power.
  • Sands gets OK for $2-3B IPO. Sources say Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has received approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange for a $2-3B IPO of its Macau unit. Sands will kick off pre-marketing next week, and launch its roadshow on Nov. 9, with a trading debut set for the end of November. Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C) and UBS (UBS) are coordinating. LVS rose 12% Thursday after posting a surprise Q3 profit; shares are up another 12% premarket.
  • Junk bond rally becomes self-fulfilling. Demand for junk bonds hit record highs last week, with investors pouring another $207M into junk bond funds, pushing YTD inflows to a record $27.8B. Junk bond indexes are up more than 50% YTD, as investors become more comfortable with risk. The growing cash flow enables shaky companies to head off default - adding more fuel to the rally.
  • AIG won't sell Japan units. AIG (AIG) says it will not sell its two Japanese insurers, AIG Edison Life Insurance and AIG Star Life Insurance, reversing its decision from a year ago at the height of the crisis. AIG said in a statement it now believes it would improve its corporate value to keep the two Japanese units, which have a very firm financial base and strong sales network.
  • Energy IPO runs out of steam. Former Enron unit AEI, which operates power and gas distribution lines in Latin America, canceled its IPO Thursday hours after it slashed the size of the deal by two-thirds in the face of weak demand. The IPO, managed by Goldman Sachs (GS), Credit Suisse (CS), Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan (JPM), is the first U.S.-listed IPO this year to be withdrawn after an attempt to price the offering. AEI faulted market conditions for the withdrawal, but analysts say its debt load, risk exposure and expected payout to its private-equity owners also raised concerns.
  • ChiNext soars on debut. China's Nasdaq-lookalike ChiNext stock market launched trading Friday with strong gains. An initial 28 companies listed, and shares gained 46-123% from their IPO prices, in line with expectations. The listees priced their IPOs at a hefty 56x 2008 earnings.

Earnings: Fri. Before Open

  • Alcatel-Lucent (ALU): Q3 net loss of €182M vs. -€174.4M consensus. Sales of €3.69B (-9.3%) vs. €3.88B consensus. Says it has achieved 80% of its goal to reduce annual expenses by €750M. Shares -2.9% premarket. (PR)
  • Ameren (AEE): Q3 EPS of $1.16 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $1.82B (-11.9%) vs. $2.1B. (PR)
  • American Axle & Manufacturing (AXL): Q3 EPS of -$0.18 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $410M (-22.4%) vs. $420M. Shares -1.4% premarket. (PR)
  • Aon (AOC): Q3 EPS of $0.65 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.81B (-2.1%) in-line. (PR)
  • Apartment Investment and Management Company (AIV): Q3 FFO of -$0.35 in-line. Revenue of $319M (-7.3%) vs. $313M. (PR)
  • Arch Coal (ACI): Q3 EPS of $0.16 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $615M (-20.1%) vs. $605M. Shares +3.9% premarket. (PR)
  • Chevron (CVX): Q3 EPS of $1.72 beats by $0.25. Revenue of $46.63B (-40.9%) vs. $47.84B. "In our downstream operations, we continued to experience weak margins on the sale of gasoline and other refined products. Weak demand and plentiful supply affected all our major markets." Shares +0.7% premarket. (PR)
  • CMS Energy (CMS): Q3 EPS of $0.32 misses by $0.02. (PR)
  • Constellation Energy Group (CEG): Q3 EPS of $1.23 beats by $0.16. Revenue of $4.03B vs. $4.48B. Sees full-year EPS of $3.25-3.45 vs. consensus of $3.10. (PR)
  • Coventry Health Care (CVH): Q3 EPS of $0.68 beats by $0.14. Revenue of $3.44B (+17.7%) in-line. Shares +2.4% premarket. (PR)
  • Cummins (CMI): Q3 EPS of $0.56 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $2.53B (-31.5%) in-line. “While we saw improvement in some markets in the third quarter, we expect the economic climate to remain challenging until late 2010 - especially in the U.S. and Europe.” (PR)
  • Dominion Resources (D): Q3 EPS of $0.99 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $3.65B (-16.4%) vs. $3.94B. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.55-0.65 vs. $0.67. (PR)
  • Duke Energy (DUK): Q3 EPS of $0.40 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $3.4B (-3.2%) vs. $3.8B. "Industrial sales volumes continued to show signs of stabilization." (PR)
  • Estee Lauder (EL): FQ1 EPS of $0.85 beats by $0.51. Revenue of $1.83B (-3.7%) in-line. Shares +4.5% premarket. (PR)
  • ITT Industries (ITT): Q3 EPS of $1.03 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $2.7B (-6.3%) in-line. (PR)
  • NYSE Euronext (NYX): Q3 EPS of $0.53 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $1.05B (-9.6%) in-line. Announces equity investment in its U.S. futures exchange by Citadel, GETCO, Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and UBS (UBS), with NYX to remain largest shareholder. (PR I, II)
  • Penske Auto Group (PAG): Q3 EPS of $0.34 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $2.59B (-12.9%) in-line. Shares (PR)
  • Progress Energy (PGN): Q3 EPS of $1.22 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $2.82B (+4.7%) in-line. (PR)
  • Regency Centers (REG): Q3 FFO of $0.69 in-line. (PR)
  • Simon Property Group (SPG): Q3 FFO of $1.38 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $925M (-1.1%) vs. $892M. Shares -0.4% premarket. (PR)
  • Sony (SNE): FQ2 net loss of ¥26.3B ($287.5M) vs. consensus of -¥40.4B. Revenue of ¥1.66T (-20%). Sees full-year net loss of ¥95B, up from a previous forecast of -¥120B and -¥98.9B last year. Sees sales -5.6%, unchanged. (PR)
  • Tim Hortons (THI): Q3 EPS of C$0.34 misses by C$0.12. Revenue of C$564M (+10.7%) vs. C$552M. (PR)
  • Ultra Petroleum (UPL): Q3 EPS of $0.57 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $155M (-47.8%) vs. $239M. (PR)
  • Weyerhaeuser (WY): Q3 EPS of -$0.26 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $1.41B (-33.2%) in-line. (PR)

Earnings: Thur. After Close

  • AllianceBernstein (AB): Q3 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.22. Revenue of $806M (-5%) vs. $737M. AUM down 16% Y/Y to $498B. Shares +3.8% AH. (PR)
  • Bally Technologies (BYI): FQ1 EPS of $0.53 in-line. Revenue of $197M (-17%) vs. $206M. Shares +0.6% AH. (PR)
  • BMC Software (BMC): FQ2 EPS of $0.66 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $462M (-1%) vs. $463M. Raises full-year EPS guidance to $2.55-2.65 vs. $2.51. Shares +1.8% AH. (PR)
  • Callaway Golf Company (ELY): Q3 EPS of -$0.25 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $191M (-11%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of -$0.30 to -$0.35, vs. -$0.21. (PR)
  • Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF): Q3 EPS of $0.45 may not compare to estimate of -$0.07. Revenue of $666M (-44%) vs. $535M. Shares +4.5% AH. (PR)
  • DTE Energy Company (DTE): Q3 EPS of $0.96 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $2B (-16%) vs. $2.1B. Sees full-year EPS of $2.75-3.05 vs. $3.19. Shares -7.7% AH. (PR)
  • Eldorado Gold (EGO): Q3 EPS of $0.08 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $82M (-20.3%) vs. $85M. Shares +0.7% AH. (PR)
  • Genworth Financial (GNW): Q3 net income available to common shareholders of $0.04 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $2.4B (+10%) vs. $2.5B. Shares +9.7% AH. (PR)
  • Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ): Q3 EPS of $0.15 misses by $0.09. Revenue of $2B (-16%) in-line. Raises full-year EPS guidance to $0.21-0.23 from $0.12-0.15, vs. $0.20. Shares +2.9% AH. (PR)
  • Human Genome Sciences (HGSI): Q3 EPS of -$0.32 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $19M (+61%) vs. $24M. Shares +0.9% AH. (PR)
  • Ingram Micro (IM): Q3 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $7.4B (-11%) vs. $6.7B. Shares +2.4% AH. (PR)
  • KLA-Tencor (KLAC): FQ1 EPS of $0.15 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $343M (-36%) vs. $332M. Shares +0.8% AH. (PR)
  • Las Vegas Sands (LVS): Q3 EPS of $0.03 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $1.1B (+3%) in-line. Shares +8.4% AH. (PR)
  • Manitowoc (MTW): Q3 EPS of -$0.04 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $882M (-20%) vs. $934M. Shares -7.2% AH. (PR)
  • Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM): FQ1 EPS of $0.13 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $449M (-12%) vs. $438M. Shares -4% AH. (PR)
  • McAfee (MFE): Q3 EPS of $0.62 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $485M (+19%) vs. $487M. Shares -5.8% AH. (PR)
  • MetLife (MET): Q3 EPS of $0.87 in-line. Revenue of $12.4B (-1%) vs. $12.3B. Shares -2.3% AH. (PR)
  • Mohawk Industries (MHK): Q3 EPS of $0.64 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $1.4B (-22%) in-line. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.28-0.38 vs. $0.45. Shares -5.3% AH. (PR)
  • PEPCO Holdings (POM): Q3 EPS of $0.44 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.5B (-17%) vs. $2.9B. (PR)
  • PerkinElmer (PKI): Q3 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $437M (-9%) vs. $430M. Sees full-year EPS of $1.23-1.26 vs. $1.22. (PR)
  • RealNetworks (RNWK): Q3 EPS of $0.00 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $140M (-8%) vs. $141M. (PR)
  • Regal Entertainment Group (RGC): Q3 EPS of $0.05 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $674M (-11%) vs. $702M. Shares +0.3% AH. (PR)
  • SBA Communications (SBAC): Q3 EPS of -$0.43 misses by $0.17. Revenue of $139M (+17%) in-line. Sees 2010 sales of $512M-532M vs. $604M. Shares -1.3% AH. (PR)
  • Southwestern Energy Company (SWN): Q3 EPS of $0.34 in-line. Revenue of $503M (-26%) vs. $387M. Shares +0.2% AH. (PR)
  • Standard Pacific (SPF): Q3 EPS of -$0.01 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $327M (-18%) vs. $285M. Shares +3.4% AH. (PR)
  • Varian Medical Systems (VAR): FQ4 EPS of $0.78 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $642M (+8%) vs. $593M. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.52-0.56 vs. $0.60, and full-year EPS of $2.65-2.75 vs. $2.61. Shares -2.3% AH. (PR)

Today's Markets

Overseas markets were mixed Friday, with strong gains in Japan and China, but some weakness in Europe early on. Futures have moved lower overnight.

]]> Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:19:56 -0400 SA Editor Eli Hoffmann

  • Economy surges back to growth. Stocks logged their best one-day gain in three months on Thursday after the U.S. economy returned to growth in Q3. The government's first estimate of GDP showed the economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.5%, the first growth quarter in more than a year, and well ahead of Street estimates of 3%, sending Treasury prices and the dollar lower as traders exited safe havens. As recently as last week economists had called for a 3.3% gain, but they pared their estimates in the past couple days after week durable goods sales data came up short. "The economy has emerged with gusto from the deepest recession since WWII," one economist said. "The short-term prospects for the economy remain good."
  • Private sector must lead the way - Geithner. The return to GDP growth is encouraging but the recovery is still fragile, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at a Q&A session Thursday evening following yesterday's Q3 GDP announcement. "The number today was really encouraging... it was broad and strong and it wasn't just cash-for-clunkers and it wasn't just economic stimulus... but it's important to remember that it's very early," he said. Geithner stressed that a robust recovery would have to be led by the private sector, saying the U.S. can't borrow-and-spend its way to health.
  • Repsol strikes again. Repsol (REP), long derided as the oil company with no oil, will today announce a "fairly sizeable" discovery in the Gulf of Mexico's Shenzi field that it says will help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Today's discovery comes on top of big finds in Brazil and West Africa, and leaves Repsol with the unexpected challenge of developing a sudden surge in oil and gas resources. "We've had some success in exploration," CEO Antonio Brufau said.
  • CIT, Goldman adjust $3B credit line. CIT Group (CIT) reached an agreement with Goldman Sachs (GS) to amend a $3B loan facility, ending their dispute over a $1B "make whole" payment CIT would have owed Goldman if it files for bankruptcy. Goldman will reduce the loan size to $2.13B, wiping out the unused portion of the facility, for which CIT will pay Goldman a $285M penalty, and post an additional $250M of collateral. The announcement, made in an 8-K filing, comes two days after CIT raised an additional $4.5B to bolster its restructuring.
  • Rio Tinto doubles capex. A confident Rio Tinto (RTP) doubled its planned 2010 capital spend to at least $5B after it cut debt and saw signs of economic recovery. Rio had planned to cut capex to $2.5B - just enough to sustain current mines. "We will continue our program of cost reduction and debt repayments, but our renewed strength enables us to focus on disciplined capital expenditure on premier growth options," CEO Tom Albanese said. Rio, the world's #3 mining group, said it had cut its debt by 42% so far this year to $22.3B. (statement)
  • EDF/Constellation deal at risk. State-owned nuclear power operator EDF is facing pressure from the French government to abandon its $4.5B deal to buy 49.9% of Constellation Energy Group's (CEG) nuclear assets and build four reactors with the U.S. company. "For us, the priority strategy for EDF is indeed in Europe, notably the U.K. and Italy, and everything outside Europe is less essential to EDF's expansion," an unnamed government official said.
  • Credit crunch continues. Loan defaults by small and medium-sized U.S. businesses rose in September to 0.85% from 0.81% in August, according to risk management firm PayNet, but accounts in moderate (30 days plus) and severe (90 days plus) delinquency decreased to 4.22% (from 4.35%) and 1.4% (from 1.48%) respectively, the lowest since January. PayNet's Small Business Lending Index, which measures the volume of financing, is down 22% from a year ago, a sign lenders remain reluctant to extend credit to small and medium-sized businesses. "It's hard to imagine a robust recovery when you see numbers like this," PayNet founder Bill Phelan said.
  • BoJ holds steady. The Bank of Japan left its key rate unchanged at 0.1%, but said it would discontinue its corporate bond and commercial paper purchase program at the end of December, as scheduled - "given that issuing conditions in the CP and corporate bond markets have been improving markedly, and thus the purpose of the purchases to restore market functioning has been achieved." Still, the BoJ stressed that this doesn't signal the beginning of its exit strategy, and extended its special lending facility to provide three-month funds at 0.1% until the end of March. Remarking on the decision to scrap its corporate funding support, Japan's PM Yukio Hatoyama remarked that it's hard to be as optimistic as the BoJ. (statement)
  • House Energy and Commerce Committee OKs consumer agency. A second House panel voted Thursday to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to oversee mortgages, credit cards and other financial products, with a full House vote expected in November. The House bill falls short of the administration's original proposal, exempting auto dealers, credit, mortgage and title insurers and banks with less than $10B in assets, among others - exceptions some worry will weaken the agency's power.
  • Sands gets OK for $2-3B IPO. Sources say Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has received approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange for a $2-3B IPO of its Macau unit. Sands will kick off pre-marketing next week, and launch its roadshow on Nov. 9, with a trading debut set for the end of November. Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C) and UBS (UBS) are coordinating. LVS rose 12% Thursday after posting a surprise Q3 profit; shares are up another 12% premarket.
  • Junk bond rally becomes self-fulfilling. Demand for junk bonds hit record highs last week, with investors pouring another $207M into junk bond funds, pushing YTD inflows to a record $27.8B. Junk bond indexes are up more than 50% YTD, as investors become more comfortable with risk. The growing cash flow enables shaky companies to head off default - adding more fuel to the rally.
  • AIG won't sell Japan units. AIG (AIG) says it will not sell its two Japanese insurers, AIG Edison Life Insurance and AIG Star Life Insurance, reversing its decision from a year ago at the height of the crisis. AIG said in a statement it now believes it would improve its corporate value to keep the two Japanese units, which have a very firm financial base and strong sales network.
  • Energy IPO runs out of steam. Former Enron unit AEI, which operates power and gas distribution lines in Latin America, canceled its IPO Thursday hours after it slashed the size of the deal by two-thirds in the face of weak demand. The IPO, managed by Goldman Sachs (GS), Credit Suisse (CS), Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan (JPM), is the first U.S.-listed IPO this year to be withdrawn after an attempt to price the offering. AEI faulted market conditions for the withdrawal, but analysts say its debt load, risk exposure and expected payout to its private-equity owners also raised concerns.
  • ChiNext soars on debut. China's Nasdaq-lookalike ChiNext stock market launched trading Friday with strong gains. An initial 28 companies listed, and shares gained 46-123% from their IPO prices, in line with expectations. The listees priced their IPOs at a hefty 56x 2008 earnings.

Earnings: Fri. Before Open

  • Alcatel-Lucent (ALU): Q3 net loss of €182M vs. -€174.4M consensus. Sales of €3.69B (-9.3%) vs. €3.88B consensus. Says it has achieved 80% of its goal to reduce annual expenses by €750M. Shares -2.9% premarket. (PR)
  • Ameren (AEE): Q3 EPS of $1.16 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $1.82B (-11.9%) vs. $2.1B. (PR)
  • American Axle & Manufacturing (AXL): Q3 EPS of -$0.18 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $410M (-22.4%) vs. $420M. Shares -1.4% premarket. (PR)
  • Aon (AOC): Q3 EPS of $0.65 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.81B (-2.1%) in-line. (PR)
  • Apartment Investment and Management Company (AIV): Q3 FFO of -$0.35 in-line. Revenue of $319M (-7.3%) vs. $313M. (PR)
  • Arch Coal (ACI): Q3 EPS of $0.16 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $615M (-20.1%) vs. $605M. Shares +3.9% premarket. (PR)
  • Chevron (CVX): Q3 EPS of $1.72 beats by $0.25. Revenue of $46.63B (-40.9%) vs. $47.84B. "In our downstream operations, we continued to experience weak margins on the sale of gasoline and other refined products. Weak demand and plentiful supply affected all our major markets." Shares +0.7% premarket. (PR)
  • CMS Energy (CMS): Q3 EPS of $0.32 misses by $0.02. (PR)
  • Constellation Energy Group (CEG): Q3 EPS of $1.23 beats by $0.16. Revenue of $4.03B vs. $4.48B. Sees full-year EPS of $3.25-3.45 vs. consensus of $3.10. (PR)
  • Coventry Health Care (CVH): Q3 EPS of $0.68 beats by $0.14. Revenue of $3.44B (+17.7%) in-line. Shares +2.4% premarket. (PR)
  • Cummins (CMI): Q3 EPS of $0.56 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $2.53B (-31.5%) in-line. “While we saw improvement in some markets in the third quarter, we expect the economic climate to remain challenging until late 2010 - especially in the U.S. and Europe.” (PR)
  • Dominion Resources (D): Q3 EPS of $0.99 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $3.65B (-16.4%) vs. $3.94B. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.55-0.65 vs. $0.67. (PR)
  • Duke Energy (DUK): Q3 EPS of $0.40 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $3.4B (-3.2%) vs. $3.8B. "Industrial sales volumes continued to show signs of stabilization." (PR)
  • Estee Lauder (EL): FQ1 EPS of $0.85 beats by $0.51. Revenue of $1.83B (-3.7%) in-line. Shares +4.5% premarket. (PR)
  • ITT Industries (ITT): Q3 EPS of $1.03 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $2.7B (-6.3%) in-line. (PR)
  • NYSE Euronext (NYX): Q3 EPS of $0.53 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $1.05B (-9.6%) in-line. Announces equity investment in its U.S. futures exchange by Citadel, GETCO, Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and UBS (UBS), with NYX to remain largest shareholder. (PR I, II)
  • Penske Auto Group (PAG): Q3 EPS of $0.34 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $2.59B (-12.9%) in-line. Shares (PR)
  • Progress Energy (PGN): Q3 EPS of $1.22 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $2.82B (+4.7%) in-line. (PR)
  • Regency Centers (REG): Q3 FFO of $0.69 in-line. (PR)
  • Simon Property Group (SPG): Q3 FFO of $1.38 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $925M (-1.1%) vs. $892M. Shares -0.4% premarket. (PR)
  • Sony (SNE): FQ2 net loss of ¥26.3B ($287.5M) vs. consensus of -¥40.4B. Revenue of ¥1.66T (-20%). Sees full-year net loss of ¥95B, up from a previous forecast of -¥120B and -¥98.9B last year. Sees sales -5.6%, unchanged. (PR)
  • Tim Hortons (THI): Q3 EPS of C$0.34 misses by C$0.12. Revenue of C$564M (+10.7%) vs. C$552M. (PR)
  • Ultra Petroleum (UPL): Q3 EPS of $0.57 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $155M (-47.8%) vs. $239M. (PR)
  • Weyerhaeuser (WY): Q3 EPS of -$0.26 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $1.41B (-33.2%) in-line. (PR)

Earnings: Thur. After Close

  • AllianceBernstein (AB): Q3 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.22. Revenue of $806M (-5%) vs. $737M. AUM down 16% Y/Y to $498B. Shares +3.8% AH. (PR)
  • Bally Technologies (BYI): FQ1 EPS of $0.53 in-line. Revenue of $197M (-17%) vs. $206M. Shares +0.6% AH. (PR)
  • BMC Software (BMC): FQ2 EPS of $0.66 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $462M (-1%) vs. $463M. Raises full-year EPS guidance to $2.55-2.65 vs. $2.51. Shares +1.8% AH. (PR)
  • Callaway Golf Company (ELY): Q3 EPS of -$0.25 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $191M (-11%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of -$0.30 to -$0.35, vs. -$0.21. (PR)
  • Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF): Q3 EPS of $0.45 may not compare to estimate of -$0.07. Revenue of $666M (-44%) vs. $535M. Shares +4.5% AH. (PR)
  • DTE Energy Company (DTE): Q3 EPS of $0.96 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $2B (-16%) vs. $2.1B. Sees full-year EPS of $2.75-3.05 vs. $3.19. Shares -7.7% AH. (PR)
  • Eldorado Gold (EGO): Q3 EPS of $0.08 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $82M (-20.3%) vs. $85M. Shares +0.7% AH. (PR)
  • Genworth Financial (GNW): Q3 net income available to common shareholders of $0.04 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $2.4B (+10%) vs. $2.5B. Shares +9.7% AH. (PR)
  • Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ): Q3 EPS of $0.15 misses by $0.09. Revenue of $2B (-16%) in-line. Raises full-year EPS guidance to $0.21-0.23 from $0.12-0.15, vs. $0.20. Shares +2.9% AH. (PR)
  • Human Genome Sciences (HGSI): Q3 EPS of -$0.32 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $19M (+61%) vs. $24M. Shares +0.9% AH. (PR)
  • Ingram Micro (IM): Q3 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $7.4B (-11%) vs. $6.7B. Shares +2.4% AH. (PR)
  • KLA-Tencor (KLAC): FQ1 EPS of $0.15 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $343M (-36%) vs. $332M. Shares +0.8% AH. (PR)
  • Las Vegas Sands (LVS): Q3 EPS of $0.03 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $1.1B (+3%) in-line. Shares +8.4% AH. (PR)
  • Manitowoc (MTW): Q3 EPS of -$0.04 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $882M (-20%) vs. $934M. Shares -7.2% AH. (PR)
  • Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM): FQ1 EPS of $0.13 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $449M (-12%) vs. $438M. Shares -4% AH. (PR)
  • McAfee (MFE): Q3 EPS of $0.62 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $485M (+19%) vs. $487M. Shares -5.8% AH. (PR)
  • MetLife (MET): Q3 EPS of $0.87 in-line. Revenue of $12.4B (-1%) vs. $12.3B. Shares -2.3% AH. (PR)
  • Mohawk Industries (MHK): Q3 EPS of $0.64 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $1.4B (-22%) in-line. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.28-0.38 vs. $0.45. Shares -5.3% AH. (PR)
  • PEPCO Holdings (POM): Q3 EPS of $0.44 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.5B (-17%) vs. $2.9B. (PR)
  • PerkinElmer (PKI): Q3 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $437M (-9%) vs. $430M. Sees full-year EPS of $1.23-1.26 vs. $1.22. (PR)
  • RealNetworks (RNWK): Q3 EPS of $0.00 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $140M (-8%) vs. $141M. (PR)
  • Regal Entertainment Group (RGC): Q3 EPS of $0.05 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $674M (-11%) vs. $702M. Shares +0.3% AH. (PR)
  • SBA Communications (SBAC): Q3 EPS of -$0.43 misses by $0.17. Revenue of $139M (+17%) in-line. Sees 2010 sales of $512M-532M vs. $604M. Shares -1.3% AH. (PR)
  • Southwestern Energy Company (SWN): Q3 EPS of $0.34 in-line. Revenue of $503M (-26%) vs. $387M. Shares +0.2% AH. (PR)
  • Standard Pacific (SPF): Q3 EPS of -$0.01 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $327M (-18%) vs. $285M. Shares +3.4% AH. (PR)
  • Varian Medical Systems (VAR): FQ4 EPS of $0.78 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $642M (+8%) vs. $593M. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.52-0.56 vs. $0.60, and full-year EPS of $2.65-2.75 vs. $2.61. Shares -2.3% AH. (PR)

Today's Markets

Overseas markets were mixed Friday, with strong gains in Japan and China, but some weakness in Europe early on. Futures have moved lower overnight.


Complete Story »]]> AB ACI AEE AIG AIV ALU AOC AXL BMC BYI C CEG CIT CLF CMI CMS CS CVH CVX D DIA DTE DUK EGO EL ELY GLD GNW GS HGSI HTZ IM ITT JPM KLAC LVS MET MFE MHK MS MTW MXIM NYX PAG PGN PKI POM QQQQ REG REP RGC RNWK RTP SBAC SNE SPF SPG SPY SWN THI UBS UPL USO VAR WY SA Editor Eli Hoffmann AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript http://seekingalpha.com/article/170051-alliancebernstein-holding-l-p-q3-2009-earnings-call-transcript?source=feed 170051 AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB)

Q3 2009 Earnings Call

October 29, 2009 5:00 pm ET

]]> Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:22:07 -0400 AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB)

Q3 2009 Earnings Call

October 29, 2009 5:00 pm ET


Complete Story »]]> AB Are Financial Management Firms a Good Buy Again? http://seekingalpha.com/article/168835-are-financial-management-firms-a-good-buy-again?source=feed 168835 Stock markets worldwide have rallied strongly since the lows reached in March of this year. In the U.S. the S&P 500 is up about 22% year-to-date. Despite many not trusting this rally, the market continues to defy gravity. As the market continues to go up or hold ground at current levels, some are convinced that the equity market is a leading indicator.

Retail investors who disappeared from the markets from the brutal market crash of the credit crisis are slowly trickling back in. Investors are putting money back to work via 401K retirement plans, their individual investment accounts, etc. As a result, asset management firms are seeing a rise in the flow of assets under management.

]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:32:13 -0400 David Hunkar David Hunkar submits:

Stock markets worldwide have rallied strongly since the lows reached in March of this year. In the U.S. the S&P 500 is up about 22% year-to-date. Despite many not trusting this rally, the market continues to defy gravity. As the market continues to go up or hold ground at current levels, some are convinced that the equity market is a leading indicator.

Retail investors who disappeared from the markets from the brutal market crash of the credit crisis are slowly trickling back in. Investors are putting money back to work via 401K retirement plans, their individual investment accounts, etc. As a result, asset management firms are seeing a rise in the flow of assets under management.


Complete Story »]]> AB BEN BK BLK EV FII GS JPM LM TROW David Hunkar Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News http://seekingalpha.com/article/164819-wall-street-breakfast-must-know-news?source=feed 164819

  • Paulson fibbed to clinch TARP. Then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson misled the public about the health of U.S. banks in order to seal the $700B TARP rescue package, according to TARP Inspector General Neil Barofsky. On Oct. 14, Paulson said TARP recipient banks were healthy, and that they took the money for "the good of the U.S. economy," in order to boost lending. In truth, regulators were already concerned that some banks were teetering. Barofsky's report, to be released today, also implies Bank of America (BAC) should have qualified for more aid earlier, but funds were withheld pending its merger with Merrill. In response to the report, TARP director Herb Allison said any review of the government's actions "must be considered in light of the unprecedented circumstances in which they were made."
  • PPIP to swell to $12.27B. The Treasury will announce today that AllianceBernstein (AB), BlackRock (BLK) and Wellington Management have raised a combined $1.94B to participate in government's scheme to soak up toxic assets from banks, known as PPIP. For their efforts, the Treasury will match the $1.94B dollar for dollar, and provide debt financing to double that, bringing their total purchasing power to $7.74B. Last week Invesco (IVZ) and TCW became the first two PPIP investors with a combined $1.13B.
  • CIT failure would benefit Goldman, hurt taxpayers. Sources say Goldman Sachs (GS) stands to earn a $1B 'make-whole payment' from CIT Group (CIT) if it files for Chapter 11 or otherwise terminates a $3B financing facility extended by Goldman last June. On the other hand, U.S. taxpayers stand to lose the $2.3B the Treasury paid to purchase preferred shares in CIT. In a statement this morning, Goldman Sachs insisted the $1B was not a 'windfall payment' but rather represents "the present value of the spread to be earned over the life of the facility."
  • IMF's new role as G-20 admin. The cloudy relationship between the IMF and its shareholders took shape over the weekend. While managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn would have liked the IMF to emerge as a global central bank, G-7 leaders in Istanbul - with broad support from other world leaders - moved to convert the IMF into the administrative arm of the G-20, which is emerging as the board of directors of the global economy. On Sunday, G-7 leaders instructed the IMF to prepare the framework for an "orderly and cooperative exit" from global fiscal and monetary stimulus.
  • Brocade puts itself on the block. Brocade Communications (BRCD), which makes equipment that links computer networks to data-storage centers, has quietly put itself up for sale. H-P (HPQ), whose mounting rivalry with Cisco Systems (CSCO) has it scrambling to source parts for its ProCurve networking division, is a lead candidate to acquire Brocade. Other tire-kickers include Oracle (ORCL). Brocade's market cap as of Friday was $3.2B.
  • BofA readies for sudden departure. Sources say Bank of America's (BAC) board will settle this week on an emergency CEO in case legal turmoil forces Ken Lewis to step down before year-end. The TARP IG report due out today (see above) will also say that while government officials didn't pressure BofA to hide Merrill's losses from shareholders, it was under pressure to finish the deal, and that its lawyers decided the bank did not need to disclose losses mid-stream.
  • Euro-zone service sector moves back to growth. The euro-zone services sector returned to growth for the first time in 16 months, with Markit's PMI index climbing to a surprisingly strong 50.9 (consensus: 50.6) from 49.9 in August. France's growth was most pronounced, climbing to 52.2 from 49.3. Business sentiment regarding activity in one year's time hit a 44-month high. "Although the rise was only very modest," Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said, "signs that the recovery has spread from manufacturing to services add to hopes that the upturn can become self-sustaining." Meanwhile, euro area retail sales (.pdf) dropped 0.2% in August from July, the 15th straight month of decline, and 2.6% weaker than a year ago.
  • Finra concedes partial blame for Ponzi schemes. Finra, the U.S. brokerage industry’s main regulator, is inadequately trained to investigate fraud allegations, according to an internal probe (.pdf) of the Madoff and Stanford scandals. Finra's report concedes regulatory lapses that allowed the giant Ponzi schemes to proliferate undetected weren't confined to the SEC (which earlier issued its own damning findings (.pdf)), noting it received credible tips from at least five sources, including the SEC. Somewhat troubling is the notion that current SEC chief Mary Schapiro was head honcho at Finra during the period in question.
  • HSBC chief fires warning shot. HSBC (HBC) CEO Michael Geoghegan is convinced we're headed for a W-shaped recovery and a second downturn, and says he's in no rush to expand. "I'm not as convinced we're through the worst as others are," he told the FT in an interview. Meanwhile, HSBC's head of global private banking said this morning the bank has mulled ING's (ING) private banking assets for sale in Asia and Switzerland, noting such businesses almost never come up for sale. On Sunday, HSBC sold its NYC headquarters for $330M in cash to Israeli businessman Nochi Dankner.
  • U.S. group enters race for Volvo. A U.S.-led consortium is pitting itself against China's Geely Automotive to buy Ford's (F) Swedish car maker, Volvo (VOLVY.PK). The group is led by former Ford director and turnaround specialist Michael Dingman and former Ford and Chrysler executive Shamel Rushwin, who have lined up financing. While the U.S. consortium is reportedly offering much less than Geely, both involve similar plans to invest more than $3B in Volvo.
  • Greenspan sees more job losses. Calling Friday's September job report "pretty awful," former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan warned that the U.S. unemployment rate could "penetrate the 10% barrier and stay there for a while before we start down." Greenspan said he was especially worried that Friday's report, which put unemployment at 9.8%, showed an increasing number of Americans unemployed for more than six months – up by 450,000 at 5.4M.

Today's Markets

Asia markets were mixed Monday, Europe is marginally higher, and futures are up about half a point from Friday's close.

]]> Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:19:20 -0400 SA Editor Eli Hoffmann

  • Paulson fibbed to clinch TARP. Then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson misled the public about the health of U.S. banks in order to seal the $700B TARP rescue package, according to TARP Inspector General Neil Barofsky. On Oct. 14, Paulson said TARP recipient banks were healthy, and that they took the money for "the good of the U.S. economy," in order to boost lending. In truth, regulators were already concerned that some banks were teetering. Barofsky's report, to be released today, also implies Bank of America (BAC) should have qualified for more aid earlier, but funds were withheld pending its merger with Merrill. In response to the report, TARP director Herb Allison said any review of the government's actions "must be considered in light of the unprecedented circumstances in which they were made."
  • PPIP to swell to $12.27B. The Treasury will announce today that AllianceBernstein (AB), BlackRock (BLK) and Wellington Management have raised a combined $1.94B to participate in government's scheme to soak up toxic assets from banks, known as PPIP. For their efforts, the Treasury will match the $1.94B dollar for dollar, and provide debt financing to double that, bringing their total purchasing power to $7.74B. Last week Invesco (IVZ) and TCW became the first two PPIP investors with a combined $1.13B.
  • CIT failure would benefit Goldman, hurt taxpayers. Sources say Goldman Sachs (GS) stands to earn a $1B 'make-whole payment' from CIT Group (CIT) if it files for Chapter 11 or otherwise terminates a $3B financing facility extended by Goldman last June. On the other hand, U.S. taxpayers stand to lose the $2.3B the Treasury paid to purchase preferred shares in CIT. In a statement this morning, Goldman Sachs insisted the $1B was not a 'windfall payment' but rather represents "the present value of the spread to be earned over the life of the facility."
  • IMF's new role as G-20 admin. The cloudy relationship between the IMF and its shareholders took shape over the weekend. While managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn would have liked the IMF to emerge as a global central bank, G-7 leaders in Istanbul - with broad support from other world leaders - moved to convert the IMF into the administrative arm of the G-20, which is emerging as the board of directors of the global economy. On Sunday, G-7 leaders instructed the IMF to prepare the framework for an "orderly and cooperative exit" from global fiscal and monetary stimulus.
  • Brocade puts itself on the block. Brocade Communications (BRCD), which makes equipment that links computer networks to data-storage centers, has quietly put itself up for sale. H-P (HPQ), whose mounting rivalry with Cisco Systems (CSCO) has it scrambling to source parts for its ProCurve networking division, is a lead candidate to acquire Brocade. Other tire-kickers include Oracle (ORCL). Brocade's market cap as of Friday was $3.2B.
  • BofA readies for sudden departure. Sources say Bank of America's (BAC) board will settle this week on an emergency CEO in case legal turmoil forces Ken Lewis to step down before year-end. The TARP IG report due out today (see above) will also say that while government officials didn't pressure BofA to hide Merrill's losses from shareholders, it was under pressure to finish the deal, and that its lawyers decided the bank did not need to disclose losses mid-stream.
  • Euro-zone service sector moves back to growth. The euro-zone services sector returned to growth for the first time in 16 months, with Markit's PMI index climbing to a surprisingly strong 50.9 (consensus: 50.6) from 49.9 in August. France's growth was most pronounced, climbing to 52.2 from 49.3. Business sentiment regarding activity in one year's time hit a 44-month high. "Although the rise was only very modest," Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said, "signs that the recovery has spread from manufacturing to services add to hopes that the upturn can become self-sustaining." Meanwhile, euro area retail sales (.pdf) dropped 0.2% in August from July, the 15th straight month of decline, and 2.6% weaker than a year ago.
  • Finra concedes partial blame for Ponzi schemes. Finra, the U.S. brokerage industry’s main regulator, is inadequately trained to investigate fraud allegations, according to an internal probe (.pdf) of the Madoff and Stanford scandals. Finra's report concedes regulatory lapses that allowed the giant Ponzi schemes to proliferate undetected weren't confined to the SEC (which earlier issued its own damning findings (.pdf)), noting it received credible tips from at least five sources, including the SEC. Somewhat troubling is the notion that current SEC chief Mary Schapiro was head honcho at Finra during the period in question.
  • HSBC chief fires warning shot. HSBC (HBC) CEO Michael Geoghegan is convinced we're headed for a W-shaped recovery and a second downturn, and says he's in no rush to expand. "I'm not as convinced we're through the worst as others are," he told the FT in an interview. Meanwhile, HSBC's head of global private banking said this morning the bank has mulled ING's (ING) private banking assets for sale in Asia and Switzerland, noting such businesses almost never come up for sale. On Sunday, HSBC sold its NYC headquarters for $330M in cash to Israeli businessman Nochi Dankner.
  • U.S. group enters race for Volvo. A U.S.-led consortium is pitting itself against China's Geely Automotive to buy Ford's (F) Swedish car maker, Volvo (VOLVY.PK). The group is led by former Ford director and turnaround specialist Michael Dingman and former Ford and Chrysler executive Shamel Rushwin, who have lined up financing. While the U.S. consortium is reportedly offering much less than Geely, both involve similar plans to invest more than $3B in Volvo.
  • Greenspan sees more job losses. Calling Friday's September job report "pretty awful," former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan warned that the U.S. unemployment rate could "penetrate the 10% barrier and stay there for a while before we start down." Greenspan said he was especially worried that Friday's report, which put unemployment at 9.8%, showed an increasing number of Americans unemployed for more than six months – up by 450,000 at 5.4M.

Today's Markets

Asia markets were mixed Monday, Europe is marginally higher, and futures are up about half a point from Friday's close.


Complete Story »]]> AB BAC BLK BRCD CIT CSCO DIA F GLD GS HBC HPQ ING IVZ ORCL QQQQ SPY USO VOLVY.PK SA Editor Eli Hoffmann 11 New U.S.-listed IPO Deals Coming Up http://seekingalpha.com/article/162357-11-new-u-s-listed-ipo-deals-coming-up?source=feed 162357 With five new deals added to the upcoming IPO calendar over the last week, the US IPO market is showing further signs of opening up, setting the stage for what could be the most active pricing period for IPOs since the end of 2007, when 10 deals went public in a single week. The newly-added IPOs are:

  • Foursquare Capital ($500 million deal size), a newly formed mortgage REIT backed by US asset manager AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB)
  • Shanda Games Limited ($725 million), a carveout of the majority business of leading online Chinese game developer and operator Shanda Interactive (NASDAQ: SNDA)
  • Ladder Capital Realty Finance ($400 million), another newly formed mortgage REIT focused on investing in distressed commercial real estate
  • Echo Global Logistics ($80 million), a provider of technology-enables shipping and freight management services
  • Talecris Biotherapeutics ($850 million), one of the world's largest manufacturers of plasma-derived protein therapies for treating chronic and acute diseases

A sixth pending offering filed pricing terms on Thursday - Omeros Therapeutics, a biotech focused on inflammation/pain and disorders of the central nervous system. Although the company has yet to set an official pricing date, the deal is likely to be added to the IPO calendar soon. If successful, Omeros stands to be the first true US-listed biotechnology IPO since a small offering by Bioheart (BHRT) in February 2008 (a 20 month hiatus!). Bioheart, which is focused on development therapies for chonic and acute heart damage, went public at $5.25 per share but currently trades at just over $2 per share. Given the risk profile of most biotechs, Omeros’ offering will offer a strong gauge of investors’ appetite for risk.

]]> Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:15:46 -0400 Renaissance Capital IPO Research With five new deals added to the upcoming IPO calendar over the last week, the US IPO market is showing further signs of opening up, setting the stage for what could be the most active pricing period for IPOs since the end of 2007, when 10 deals went public in a single week. The newly-added IPOs are:

  • Foursquare Capital ($500 million deal size), a newly formed mortgage REIT backed by US asset manager AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB)
  • Shanda Games Limited ($725 million), a carveout of the majority business of leading online Chinese game developer and operator Shanda Interactive (NASDAQ: SNDA)
  • Ladder Capital Realty Finance ($400 million), another newly formed mortgage REIT focused on investing in distressed commercial real estate
  • Echo Global Logistics ($80 million), a provider of technology-enables shipping and freight management services
  • Talecris Biotherapeutics ($850 million), one of the world's largest manufacturers of plasma-derived protein therapies for treating chronic and acute diseases

A sixth pending offering filed pricing terms on Thursday - Omeros Therapeutics, a biotech focused on inflammation/pain and disorders of the central nervous system. Although the company has yet to set an official pricing date, the deal is likely to be added to the IPO calendar soon. If successful, Omeros stands to be the first true US-listed biotechnology IPO since a small offering by Bioheart (BHRT) in February 2008 (a 20 month hiatus!). Bioheart, which is focused on development therapies for chonic and acute heart damage, went public at $5.25 per share but currently trades at just over $2 per share. Given the risk profile of most biotechs, Omeros’ offering will offer a strong gauge of investors’ appetite for risk.


Complete Story »]]> AB AONE ART GAME SEM SNDA TLCR VITC Renaissance Capital IPO Research Trading the Economic Recovery: Potential Opportunities Are Staggering http://seekingalpha.com/article/161568-trading-the-economic-recovery-potential-opportunities-are-staggering?source=feed 161568 The American system may have plenty of flaws. But an inability to react to a clear and present danger isn’t one of them.

By late 2008 it was clear even to the man on the street that this country had become chronically over-leveraged. Too many people had taken on too much debt they couldn’t possibly service, and exposure to default was too widespread for the center to hold.

]]> Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:36:00 -0400 Roger S. Conrad The American system may have plenty of flaws. But an inability to react to a clear and present danger isn’t one of them.

By late 2008 it was clear even to the man on the street that this country had become chronically over-leveraged. Too many people had taken on too much debt they couldn’t possibly service, and exposure to default was too widespread for the center to hold.


Complete Story »]]> AB APL EPD LINE MAA SEP SSUMY.PK USS VNO Roger S. Conrad 16 Breakout Stocks on Unusually High Volume http://seekingalpha.com/article/160762-16-breakout-stocks-on-unusually-high-volume?source=feed 160762 In this post are 16 stocks which I will be keeping an eye on at least until September options expiration. These stocks have shown great strength, breaking out to the upside on extremely large volume. The table below shows the company, ticker, Wednesday's $ per share and % increase, and Wednesday's volume increase (% increased compared to 50 day average).

Company Ticker $ / % Change % Vol. Increase
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation AMCC +0.77 (8.61%) 380.83%
Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co. HITK +4.16 (24.10%) 759.25%
MoneyGram International, Inc. MGI +0.33 (11.30%) 168.18%
VIVUS, Inc. VVUS +4.89 (70.77%) 9979.10%
AllianceBernstein Holding LP AB +1.46 (6.25%) 219.53%
Signet Jewelers Ltd. SIG +2.64 (10.76%) 307.75%
Cano Petroleum, Inc. CFW +0.130 (17.79%) 352.58%
Capstone Turbine Corporation CPST +0.19 (13.97%) 249.83%
JDA Software Group, Inc. JDAS +3.15 (16.07%) 177.75%
Parallel Petroleum Corporation PLLL +0.39 (18.75%) 907.15%
Quest Resource Corporation QRCP +0.131 (30.44%) 854.06%
MGM MIRAGE MGM +0.68 (7.23%) 143.19%
MSC Software Corp. MSCS +0.52 (6.83%) 224.54%
Rovi Corp ROVI +0.80 (2.56%) 19.81%
Delta Petroleum Corp. DPTR +0.75 (32.89%) 1735.69%
Gasco Energy, Inc. GSX +0.120 (31.58%) 930.78%

Vivus certainly had a wonderful day on the back of some very positive news, but I feel I may have missed the majority of the move, as news caused that to rocket. The stocks which are most attractive to me from the list above are: Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co., JDA Software Group, Inc., Rovi Corp, and MGM MIRAGE - ROVI and MGM did not have any direct headlines causing Wednesday's share price and volume increase.

]]> Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:47:13 -0400 Marco Hickey Marco Hickey submits:

In this post are 16 stocks which I will be keeping an eye on at least until September options expiration. These stocks have shown great strength, breaking out to the upside on extremely large volume. The table below shows the company, ticker, Wednesday's $ per share and % increase, and Wednesday's volume increase (% increased compared to 50 day average).

Company Ticker $ / % Change % Vol. Increase
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation AMCC +0.77 (8.61%) 380.83%
Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co. HITK +4.16 (24.10%) 759.25%
MoneyGram International, Inc. MGI +0.33 (11.30%) 168.18%
VIVUS, Inc. VVUS +4.89 (70.77%) 9979.10%
AllianceBernstein Holding LP AB +1.46 (6.25%) 219.53%
Signet Jewelers Ltd. SIG +2.64 (10.76%) 307.75%
Cano Petroleum, Inc. CFW +0.130 (17.79%) 352.58%
Capstone Turbine Corporation CPST +0.19 (13.97%) 249.83%
JDA Software Group, Inc. JDAS +3.15 (16.07%) 177.75%
Parallel Petroleum Corporation PLLL +0.39 (18.75%) 907.15%
Quest Resource Corporation QRCP +0.131 (30.44%) 854.06%
MGM MIRAGE MGM +0.68 (7.23%) 143.19%
MSC Software Corp. MSCS +0.52 (6.83%) 224.54%
Rovi Corp ROVI +0.80 (2.56%) 19.81%
Delta Petroleum Corp. DPTR +0.75 (32.89%) 1735.69%
Gasco Energy, Inc. GSX +0.120 (31.58%) 930.78%

Vivus certainly had a wonderful day on the back of some very positive news, but I feel I may have missed the majority of the move, as news caused that to rocket. The stocks which are most attractive to me from the list above are: Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co., JDA Software Group, Inc., Rovi Corp, and MGM MIRAGE - ROVI and MGM did not have any direct headlines causing Wednesday's share price and volume increase.


Complete Story »]]> AB AMCC CFW CPST DIA DPTR GSX HITK IWM IWN IWW IWZ JDAS LVS MGI MGM MSCS PLLL QQQQ QRCP ROVI SIG SPY TLT VVUS Marco Hickey 20 'Babies with Bathwater' and 20 'Dogs with Fleas' for the Week http://seekingalpha.com/article/153499-20-babies-with-bathwater-and-20-dogs-with-fleas-for-the-week?source=feed 153499 At the end of each trading week, Hillbent scans for the equity market for potential anomalies which exhibit extremely oversold and overbought conditions. Past observations have revealed that such candidates may experience reversal corrections to the upside or downside once the market reconfirms that their fundamentals remain solidly intact or relatively poor. From a contrarian perspective, these lists may also serve as a precursor to changes in institutional sentiment and underlying fundamentals.

(The purpose of this report is not to provide specific recommendations, but instead serve as a time-saving reference tool and starting point for investment ideas as the upcoming trading week unfolds. Of course, the results generated are not always perfect and users are strongly encouraged to perform their own due diligence on these names. Note that overbought and oversold conditions are based upon proprietary algorithms and quantitative models instead of conventional technical analysis indicators. As a supplement to this report, please refer to our ETF Trends Report to determine if market direction trends support a bullish or bearish investment bias over short-term, intermediate, and long-term timeframes.)

]]> Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:05:55 -0400 J Clinton Hill J Clinton Hill submits:

At the end of each trading week, Hillbent scans for the equity market for potential anomalies which exhibit extremely oversold and overbought conditions. Past observations have revealed that such candidates may experience reversal corrections to the upside or downside once the market reconfirms that their fundamentals remain solidly intact or relatively poor. From a contrarian perspective, these lists may also serve as a precursor to changes in institutional sentiment and underlying fundamentals.

(The purpose of this report is not to provide specific recommendations, but instead serve as a time-saving reference tool and starting point for investment ideas as the upcoming trading week unfolds. Of course, the results generated are not always perfect and users are strongly encouraged to perform their own due diligence on these names. Note that overbought and oversold conditions are based upon proprietary algorithms and quantitative models instead of conventional technical analysis indicators. As a supplement to this report, please refer to our ETF Trends Report to determine if market direction trends support a bullish or bearish investment bias over short-term, intermediate, and long-term timeframes.)


Complete Story »]]> AB ABFS AGU AVY BBT BCO BID CAL COT CRY CTS DB DFT DIN GBX GFIG GHDX HMSY HOGS HPY HRBN HUBG LRCX MPWR N NTDOY.PK OC PNC PRSC PVR REG RNOW RTI SBS STBA SYNA THQI TXI WRLD ZION J Clinton Hill Two Asset Management Companies Still Have Room for a Rebound http://seekingalpha.com/article/152925-two-asset-management-companies-still-have-room-for-a-rebound?source=feed 152925 Almost no industry group was slammed harder in the crash of 2008 – 2009 than the asset management companies. They suffered from both net asset withdrawals and huge mark-to-market reductions in the remaining assets under management [AUM] which slashed their earnings from record levels in 2007.

The stocks of the publicly traded managers were devastated. Here’s a chart showing some of the damage from the 2007 peaks to their recent troughs:

]]> Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:22:46 -0400 Paul Price Paul Price submits:

Almost no industry group was slammed harder in the crash of 2008 – 2009 than the asset management companies. They suffered from both net asset withdrawals and huge mark-to-market reductions in the remaining assets under management [AUM] which slashed their earnings from record levels in 2007.

The stocks of the publicly traded managers were devastated. Here’s a chart showing some of the damage from the 2007 peaks to their recent troughs:


Complete Story »]]> AB BEN CLMS FII Paul Price AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. Q2 2009 Earnings Call http://seekingalpha.com/article/152707-alliancebernstein-holding-l-p-q2-2009-earnings-call?source=feed 152707 AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB)

Q2 2009 Earnings Call

July 30, 2009 5:00 pm ET

]]> Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:22:11 -0400 AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB)

Q2 2009 Earnings Call

July 30, 2009 5:00 pm ET


Complete Story »]]> AB REITs Are Not Right for PPIP Players http://seekingalpha.com/article/148575-reits-are-not-right-for-ppip-players?source=feed 148575 This week, Angelo, Gordon & Co. became the latest of the nine firms awarded the right to take part in the U.S. Treasury's Public-Private Investment Plan to file a prospectus for a new real estate investment trust. These REITs are designed, of course, as tax-efficient vehicles to hold the legacy assets purchased through the PPIP. AG follows in the footsteps of both AllianceBernstein (AB) and Invesco (IVZ), who have also thrown together newly-formed REITs for the same purpose -- loading up on distressed real estate debt with the government’s blessing.

While the concept of buying these toxic securities with governmental support is certainly straightforward enough, cramming all these marked-down assets into a REIT seems as short-sighted as the original underwriting on these deals.
For one, these REITs will acquire the aforementioned securities in the secondary market at prices well below par value because of the credit risk associated with them. The difference between the purchase price and the face value of the securities acquired will be treated as "market discount" for tax purposes. Per IRS rules, market discount on a debt instrument accrues on the basis of the constant yield to maturity of the debt instrument and it is reported as income when any payment of principal of the debt instrument is made. For mortgage loans where payments are made monthly, accrued market discount will be included in income each month as if the debt instrument were assured of ultimately being collected in full.
Furthermore, if (and when) these credit-challenged assets become delinquent as to mandatory principal and interest payments, the REITs will still be required to recognize the unpaid interest as taxable income. Similarly, taxable interest income will also be accrued and recognized for subordinate mortgage-backed securities (e.g. junior CDO tranches) at the stated rate, regardless of whether corresponding cash payments are received.
As if that weren’t enough, the Legacy Securities Program will require the asset purchasers to use the cash received from interest payments to make principal payments on the related indebtedness, effectively restricting the cash available for distribution to shareholders, despite the recognition of taxable income from the interest payments.
The upshot of it all is a significant risk that these mortgage REITs will have substantial taxable income in excess of cash available for distribution, forcing them to borrow more money under unfavorable market conditions or “take other actions” to satisfy the REIT distribution requirements. “Take other actions” is, of course, code for issuing more equity, probably in the form of common stock dividends.
Take a lesson from California and steer clear of these REITs, because no one really wants another IOU.

Disclosure: Author has no positions in any securities mentioned in this article.

]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:35:16 -0400 Patrick Harden Patrick Harden submits:

This week, Angelo, Gordon & Co. became the latest of the nine firms awarded the right to take part in the U.S. Treasury's Public-Private Investment Plan to file a prospectus for a new real estate investment trust. These REITs are designed, of course, as tax-efficient vehicles to hold the legacy assets purchased through the PPIP. AG follows in the footsteps of both AllianceBernstein (AB) and Invesco (IVZ), who have also thrown together newly-formed REITs for the same purpose -- loading up on distressed real estate debt with the government’s blessing.

While the concept of buying these toxic securities with governmental support is certainly straightforward enough, cramming all these marked-down assets into a REIT seems as short-sighted as the original underwriting on these deals.
For one, these REITs will acquire the aforementioned securities in the secondary market at prices well below par value because of the credit risk associated with them. The difference between the purchase price and the face value of the securities acquired will be treated as "market discount" for tax purposes. Per IRS rules, market discount on a debt instrument accrues on the basis of the constant yield to maturity of the debt instrument and it is reported as income when any payment of principal of the debt instrument is made. For mortgage loans where payments are made monthly, accrued market discount will be included in income each month as if the debt instrument were assured of ultimately being collected in full.
Furthermore, if (and when) these credit-challenged assets become delinquent as to mandatory principal and interest payments, the REITs will still be required to recognize the unpaid interest as taxable income. Similarly, taxable interest income will also be accrued and recognized for subordinate mortgage-backed securities (e.g. junior CDO tranches) at the stated rate, regardless of whether corresponding cash payments are received.
As if that weren’t enough, the Legacy Securities Program will require the asset purchasers to use the cash received from interest payments to make principal payments on the related indebtedness, effectively restricting the cash available for distribution to shareholders, despite the recognition of taxable income from the interest payments.
The upshot of it all is a significant risk that these mortgage REITs will have substantial taxable income in excess of cash available for distribution, forcing them to borrow more money under unfavorable market conditions or “take other actions” to satisfy the REIT distribution requirements. “Take other actions” is, of course, code for issuing more equity, probably in the form of common stock dividends.
Take a lesson from California and steer clear of these REITs, because no one really wants another IOU.

Disclosure: Author has no positions in any securities mentioned in this article.


Complete Story »]]> AB IVZ Patrick Harden 20 'Bathwater Babies' and 3 'Dogs with Fleas' for the Week http://seekingalpha.com/article/148354-20-bathwater-babies-and-3-dogs-with-fleas-for-the-week?source=feed 148354 At the end of each trading week, Hillbent scans for the equity market for potential anomalies which exhibit extremely oversold and overbought conditions. Past observations have revealed that such candidates may experience reversal corrections to the upside or downside once the market reconfirms that their fundamentals remain solidly intact or relatively poor. From a contrarian perspective, these lists may also serve as a precursor to changes in institutional sentiment and underlying fundamentals.

(The purpose of this report is not to provide specific recommendations, but instead serve as a time-saving reference tool and starting point for investment ideas as the upcoming trading week unfolds. Of course, the results generated are not always perfect and users are strongly encouraged to perform their own due diligence on these names. Note that overbought and oversold conditions are based upon proprietary algorithms and quantitative models instead of conventional technical analysis indicators. As a supplement to this report, please refer to our Market Condition Summary to determine if market direction trends support a bullish or bearish investment bias over short-term, intermediate, and long-term timeframes.)

]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:31:38 -0400 J Clinton Hill J Clinton Hill submits:

At the end of each trading week, Hillbent scans for the equity market for potential anomalies which exhibit extremely oversold and overbought conditions. Past observations have revealed that such candidates may experience reversal corrections to the upside or downside once the market reconfirms that their fundamentals remain solidly intact or relatively poor. From a contrarian perspective, these lists may also serve as a precursor to changes in institutional sentiment and underlying fundamentals.

(The purpose of this report is not to provide specific recommendations, but instead serve as a time-saving reference tool and starting point for investment ideas as the upcoming trading week unfolds. Of course, the results generated are not always perfect and users are strongly encouraged to perform their own due diligence on these names. Note that overbought and oversold conditions are based upon proprietary algorithms and quantitative models instead of conventional technical analysis indicators. As a supplement to this report, please refer to our Market Condition Summary to determine if market direction trends support a bullish or bearish investment bias over short-term, intermediate, and long-term timeframes.)


Complete Story »]]> AB ALGT AMB ANDE BEN BHP CMCSK CNQ GES GII HDB HOME IBN MCCC MIDD NILE PEGA PNNT SKS SLT STLY SWC TROW J Clinton Hill Bull Run on AllianceBernstein http://seekingalpha.com/article/140911-bull-run-on-alliancebernstein?source=feed 140911 By David Russell


AllianceBernstein Chart

]]> Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:30:33 -0400 optionMONSTER optionMONSTER submits:

By David Russell


AllianceBernstein Chart


Complete Story »]]> AB optionMONSTER 30 Investors Bound to Lose Big on GM http://seekingalpha.com/article/138479-30-investors-bound-to-lose-big-on-gm?source=feed 138479 If General Motors (GM) declares bankruptcy, some of its investors—including bondholders, other secured lenders, and the U.S. government—are likely to get a portion of their money back. But stockholders, with virtually no protections, will be essentially wiped out.

To gauge who stands to lose the most, we obtained a list of GM's biggest shareholders from research firm Thomson Reuters. In general, the largest shareholders are at risk of losing the most. But losses on stock holdings also depend on the price paid for the stock, compared to the price at which it's sold. And big shareholders typically build their positions over time, buying at a range of prices.

]]> Tue, 19 May 2009 12:00:20 -0400 Rick Newman Rick Newman submits:

If General Motors (GM) declares bankruptcy, some of its investors—including bondholders, other secured lenders, and the U.S. government—are likely to get a portion of their money back. But stockholders, with virtually no protections, will be essentially wiped out.

To gauge who stands to lose the most, we obtained a list of GM's biggest shareholders from research firm Thomson Reuters. In general, the largest shareholders are at risk of losing the most. But losses on stock holdings also depend on the price paid for the stock, compared to the price at which it's sold. And big shareholders typically build their positions over time, buying at a range of prices.


Complete Story »]]> AB BCS BK C GBL GMGMQ.PK MS SCHW Rick Newman Financials' Earnings Reports - Each Firm Unique in Market's Eyes http://seekingalpha.com/article/132893-financials-earnings-reports-each-firm-unique-in-market-s-eyes?source=feed 132893 With the equity markets showing some life and enough pundits calling for a big correction, perhaps the inevitable move down will be milder than forecasted.

Money may be moving into equities. That is the impression I am getting by the release from the Investment Company Institute (a lobbying organization for the Mutual Fund Com pies).

]]> Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:02:53 -0400 Andrew Corn Andrew Corn submits:

With the equity markets showing some life and enough pundits calling for a big correction, perhaps the inevitable move down will be milder than forecasted.

Money may be moving into equities. That is the impression I am getting by the release from the Investment Company Institute (a lobbying organization for the Mutual Fund Com pies).


Complete Story »]]> AB BEN EV FII IVZ JNS Andrew Corn AllianceBernstein Holding LP Q1 2009 Earnings Call Transcript http://seekingalpha.com/article/132602-alliancebernstein-holding-lp-q1-2009-earnings-call-transcript?source=feed 132602 AllianceBernstein Holding LP (AB)

F1Q09 Earnings Call Transcript

April 22, 2009 at 5:00 pm ET

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:05:29 -0400 AllianceBernstein Holding LP (AB)

F1Q09 Earnings Call Transcript

April 22, 2009 at 5:00 pm ET


Complete Story »]]> AB AllianceBernstein Tightens Investment Belt http://seekingalpha.com/article/128794-alliancebernstein-tightens-investment-belt?source=feed 128794 The axe is swinging at AllianceBernstein (AB), which likely hasn't seen a profitable quarter in years. The company announced it had canned a total of 237 people, lowering headcount to 4,760 at March 31, from 4,997 in December, and another 75 are expected to be sacked any minute. Among the 237 were 31 investment professionals, including analysts, PMs, CIOs, directors of research and traders. Presumably these are the 31 that watch Cramer for investment advice and start every conference call Q&A with the words "Great quarter..."

The lucky 4,760 who are still left at AB should not get too comfy - after all they work at a company that is not allowed to short securities in the biggest bear market in 70 years.

]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:30:08 -0400 Tyler Durden Tyler Durden submits:

The axe is swinging at AllianceBernstein (AB), which likely hasn't seen a profitable quarter in years. The company announced it had canned a total of 237 people, lowering headcount to 4,760 at March 31, from 4,997 in December, and another 75 are expected to be sacked any minute. Among the 237 were 31 investment professionals, including analysts, PMs, CIOs, directors of research and traders. Presumably these are the 31 that watch Cramer for investment advice and start every conference call Q&A with the words "Great quarter..."

The lucky 4,760 who are still left at AB should not get too comfy - after all they work at a company that is not allowed to short securities in the biggest bear market in 70 years.


Complete Story »]]> AB Tyler Durden Alliance Bernstein: Managing to Make Money http://seekingalpha.com/article/128477-alliance-bernstein-managing-to-make-money?source=feed 128477 Alliance Bernstein (NYSE:AB) March 27, 2009: $15.62 /unit
52-week range: $10.12 (Mar. 9, 2009) - $67.75 (Apr. 2, 2008)
Dividend: Variable, 11-year median distribution = $2.74 /year

Alliance Bernstein was formed in 1987 as a spin-off from AXA Financial. They provide institutional investment management as well as serving individuals through broker-dealers. The company is structured as a Master Limited Partnership which means they pay a very low tax rate (4.6% - 9.6% over the past nine years).

]]> Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:47:12 -0400 Paul Price Paul Price submits:

Alliance Bernstein (NYSE:AB) March 27, 2009: $15.62 /unit
52-week range: $10.12 (Mar. 9, 2009) - $67.75 (Apr. 2, 2008)
Dividend: Variable, 11-year median distribution = $2.74 /year

Alliance Bernstein was formed in 1987 as a spin-off from AXA Financial. They provide institutional investment management as well as serving individuals through broker-dealers. The company is structured as a Master Limited Partnership which means they pay a very low tax rate (4.6% - 9.6% over the past nine years).


Complete Story »]]> AB Paul Price Wednesday Options Review: Signs of Unusual Activity http://seekingalpha.com/article/125527-wednesday-options-review-signs-of-unusual-activity?source=feed 125527 Sentiment
Stocks showed some resilience Wednesday. After a 379-point rally Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened steady, but then faltered in morning trading. Weighed down by losses in AMEX (AXP), General Electric (GE), McDonald's (MCD), and Pfizer (PFE), the Dow made a run to 6,868 by midday, down 58 points on the session.

Yet, with an empty economic calendar and no earnings of broad market significance, a lack of negative news items seemed to keep the bears at bay for a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 30 points heading into the final forty-five minutes of trading, with JP Morgan (JPM), Citi (C), and HP (HPQ) leading the industrial average in late-day action.

]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:16:43 -0400 Options Insider The Options Insider submits:

Sentiment
Stocks showed some resilience Wednesday. After a 379-point rally Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened steady, but then faltered in morning trading. Weighed down by losses in AMEX (AXP), General Electric (GE), McDonald's (MCD), and Pfizer (PFE), the Dow made a run to 6,868 by midday, down 58 points on the session.

Yet, with an empty economic calendar and no earnings of broad market significance, a lack of negative news items seemed to keep the bears at bay for a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 30 points heading into the final forty-five minutes of trading, with JP Morgan (JPM), Citi (C), and HP (HPQ) leading the industrial average in late-day action.


Complete Story »]]> AA AB AXP AXYS C FCX GE GS HOT HPQ JPM LM MCD MCK NSM PFE TBSI VMC Options Insider