For traders with a more short-term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks that have the largest intraday high-low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low over the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling 50-day moving average. Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this month.

We reviewed the Tier 1 Capital Ratios of large U.S. banks back in June. In this post, lets take a look at the Tier 1 Capital Ratios and Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of some of the banks from the Unofficial Problem Banks list created by Calculated Risk. CR compiled this list from various press releases from the FDIC, OCC, Fed and OTC. In the table below, I have included banks that trade in the organized exchanges only. Banks that are in the process of merger are excluded.

The latest Tier 1 Capital Ratio and Non-Performing Assets (NPA) Ratio of Unofficial Problem Banks in the US are shown:

For traders with a more short-term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks that have the largest intraday high-low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low over the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling 50-day moving average. Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this month.

This month's most volatile stock is AIG, which has an average intraday range of 14.6%. A couple of years ago the stock was considered a conservative and safe investment. Today, it has become a daytrader's dream. As the market becomes more stable, we are also beginning to see an increase in the number of stocks with share prices in the double digits. While AIG's double digit share price is somewhat artificial given the 1:20 reverse split, seven other stocks with prices above $10 are also on the list.

For traders with a more short-term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks that have the largest intraday high-low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low over the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling 50-day moving average. Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this month.

Once again this month, Financials and Consumer Discretionary are the most represented sectors, although the two are no longer as dominant on the list as they have been in the past. Not surprisingly, as the overall market has become more stable, the percentage swings of the most volatile stocks has decreased. Also noteworthy is the fact that stocks with double digit prices are once again showing up. In this month's list, six stocks with prices above $10 per share (NP, CENX, LAWS, SAH, ROCK, and AIG) made the cut.

For traders with a more short-term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks that have the largest intraday high-low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low over the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling 50-day moving average (DMA). Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this month.

After the market's sideways correction from May through mid-July, the number of volatile stocks with falling moving averages has once again exceeded the list of stocks with rising moving averages. However, if the gains of the last week keep up, we're likely to see increases in the list of stocks with rising 50-DMAs in the coming weeks.

For traders with a more short-term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks that have the largest intraday high-low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low over the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling 50-day moving average. Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this month.

While the majority of stocks on the list are still from the Financials and Consumer Discretionary sectors, we are beginning to see some broadening of the range of sectors. This implies that the market is beginning to stabilize as no one or two sectors are the center of volatility. The other positive aspect of this list is that stocks with rising moving averages outnumber stocks with falling moving averages by a factor of about five to one. This is a complete reversal of the situation six months ago when most stocks had falling 50-day moving averages.

For traders with a more short-term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks that have the largest intraday high-low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low over the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling 50-day moving average. Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this month.

Volatility continues to be the most concentrated in the Financial and Consumer Discretionary sectors. Of the fifty stocks highlighted below, 28 are Financials and 11 are in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Unlike prior months, however, most of the most volatile stocks have rising 50-day moving averages, indicating that these stocks are in short term uptrends. Now if only these uptrends could last long enough to bring their stock prices into the double digits.

While the Russell 3,000 index is down 5.18% year to date, the average stock in the index is actually up 0.41%. Below we highlight the 30 best and worst performing stocks in the index so far in 2009.

The Providence Service Corp (PRSC) is the top performing stock in the Russell 3,000 year to date with a gain of 561%! Based on its profile, a Democratic-led government can't get any sweeter for the company:

For traders with a more short-term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks that have the largest intraday high-low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low over the last 50 days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling 50-day moving average. Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this month.

Two trends that have been in place for several months and continued this month are that the majority of the stocks on the list trade in the single digits and are from the Financial sector. Of the 50 stocks highlighted, only three (COF, LNC, and MAC) trade above $10 per share and 29 of the 50 are financials.

For traders with a more short-term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks that have the largest intraday high-low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low over the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling 50-day moving average. Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this month.

As has been the case in prior months, the majority of the stocks in the list share similar traits. They are in downtrends (declining 50-day moving averages), most are from the financial sector, and they trade for under $5 per share. In fact, the only stock on this month's list that has a double digit price is Sun Trust Bank (STI).

With the "No Short" rule in place, the 68 stocks in the S&P 1500 Bank group went down an average of 11.56% yesterday.  At the same time, 88% of the stocks in the group did less than their average 30-day volumes yesterday, while nearly 25% did less than half! 

With the shorts now out of the market temporarily, it looks like volume is drying up, buyers have retreated (why buy now when we know the shorts will be back?), and only the sellers are left. 

For those wondering how the SEC's crackdown on naked short selling has worked, the answer so far is pretty good.   One of the tenets of the new rules was that brokers would be forced to close out trades where a counterparty failed to deliver securities on time.  Based on this plan, we sent out a list to our Bespoke Premium subscribers highlighting the stocks in the S&P 1500 that have been on the Regulation SHO list of fails to deliver for at least 100 days.  As shown by the list provided below, these stocks have averaged a return of over 6% since the time of the announcement.  Over that same period, the S&P 500 declined by 3.3%.

No one can argue that the SEC deserves every bit of criticism for fiddling while Wall Street burned.  However, it appears as though their recent actions, while not addressing the main issues that needed to be addressed, have had at least some impact.  On short selling in general, we believe that it is fine to short a stock if you think a company will likely go out of business.  What's not okay is to short something in order to make it go out of business.

With all this talk today about limiting "naked short selling" for FNM, FRE, and primary dealers (dismiss the fact that it is already illegal to do for all stocks, making it ironic that the SEC is only now going to focus on a few), below we highlight S&P 1500 stocks that have been on the "Threshold Securities" list for the most consecutive days. 

These stocks have ongoing failure to deliver problems, meaning short sellers are most likely not officially borrowing (naked shorting) them before going short.  As shown, Chipotle (CMG) has been on the list the most consecutive days at 457.  CMG is followed by Corus Bankshares (CORS), Cree (CREE), La-Z-Boy (LZB) and and Meritage Homes (MTH). 

In light of the slow down in the financial sector, I set out to search for a bank stock that has recently increased its dividend. Lo and behold, I found a small regional bank based in Oregon called Cascade!

The Board of Directors of Cascade Bancorp (CACB), approved payment of a $.10 per share
quarterly cash dividend, an increase of 11% over the prior quarter’s dividend. This regular dividend is payable on November 16, 2007, to shareholders of record as of November 9, 2007.

Mortgage companies and other similar consumer financial institutions are feeling the brunt of the slowing housing market. At least 20 subprime lenders, who give high-interest loans to customers with poor credit, have gone out of business, and unease over the health of the housing market has spilled over to other areas. Lumber futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, for instance, are down about 30 percent from a year ago. There's reason to worry: About one-fifth of new home loans in 2006 were subprime, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Consumer financial companies are taking steps to mitigate the damage from a slowing market. Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC), one of the largest mortgage lenders in the United States, recently instructed employees to stop offering no-money-down mortgages. Still, Countrywide has already felt some sting. Its net profit margin has contracted from a five-year average of 25.1 percent to 23.4 percent over the trailing 12 months [TTM] and its return on assets [ROA] has slipped from a five-year norm of 1.84 percent to a TTM figure of 1.43 percent. On Monday, the firm warned investors that, even though subprime loans account for just 7 percent of its loan portfolio, there might still be an impact on earnings.

			Days-To	Short %	Short %	Squeeze
		# Shares	Cover	of Float	Change	Ranking
Ticker	Company	Short	("DTC")	("SPF")	("SPC")	("SR")
(RNST)	Renasant Corp.	465,753	21.7	4.9%	30.21%	23
(RAI)	Reynolds America	13,621,801	21.6	15.9%	-0.41%	161
(CTBK)	City Bank	337,549	21.0	N/A	23.01%	N/A
(MWP)	MarkWest Hydroca	295,276	19.9	4.7%	26.58%	9
(PSB)	PS Business Park	951,440	18.1	6.0%	22.12%	38
(AMH)	AmerUs Group Co.	4,283,203	17.1	11.1%	-3.15%	67
(CTBI)	Community Trust	629,270	16.0	4.5%	34.17%	6
(CACB)	Cascade Bancorp	1,198,897	15.0	5.9%	52.89%	50
(INDB)	Independent Bank	624,304	13.8	4.4%	25.85%	7
(TBBK)	The Bancorp Inc.	391,800	11.7	3.4%	27.38%	16

The best opportunity in the list that I see is Cascade Bancorp (CACB) which broke out with force following an outstanding earnings report on Thursday. Technicals look for very strong as well with a nice shallow base followed by the high volume breakout to a new all time high. It's returned to a buyable range today, but it's probably best to wait to see how it reacts to the upcoming inflation data on Wed and Thurs, which would weigh heavily on the Fed's decision with future rate hikes.

Ahead of the Tape: Kiss Me, Dahhhhling

Cascade Bancorp has total assets of $1.35 billion and deposits of $1.16 billion. Over the last ten years, the company has averaged a 2.08% return on assets and a 22.89% return on equity.

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