Voice of Reason

National City Corp. Story Unlikely to Have Happy Ending

I have sympathy for Jura and other employees that might get the short end of the stick up and down the banking industry. Especially when the big shots that made the bad decisions likely will walk away with a golden parachute probably worth millions.

As far as banks making loans and getting sloppy with the paperwork and checking the borrower out, a few years ago when prime was around 4% I walked into my local Chase bank more on a whim than anything else to apply for a line of credit. There was a MAFB (now NCC) branch right next store and so I figured what the hell, two offers are better than one. I got approved the next day by both banks for a $250,000 ARM. They didn't even appraise the house and no I didn't show them non do I have any income except for my investments being retired. Not complaining, but seems a bit too easy. The only "requirement" was a clear title to the house and proof of home owners insurance so they could put on the policy.

Windows Collapsing Under Its Own Weight - Gartner

"...they will fix themself with windows 7" is just too funny to pass up. Microsoft was going to "fix" XP with Vista. They were going to "fix" Windows 98 with XP. There were going to "fix" Windows 95 with Windows 98. And so on, and so on backward 20 years. Ain't happened yet. Vista is the biggest, most bloated slowest version of Windows...yet. Don't even get me started on UAC.

Microsoft's Windows Is a Glacier That Won't Melt Fast

As both a Microsoft long time user and investor I can say it SUCKS on both counts. Big time.

National City Corp. Story Unlikely to Have Happy Ending

Oh, it was just "speculation and observation" and here I thought contributors unlike guys like me just commenting on what was said were suppose to offer up facts to back up their observations. Silly me.

No doubt about it NCC screwed up...big time. So did a bunch of other banks that should have known better. As long as anyone can jawbone, here's my opinion and I have a substational position (thousands of shares) in NCC so obviously I'm biased.

Something "good", a bail out of all or a substational portion, cash infusion between 4-5B, something, will happen and be announced by Tuesday at the latest when they are suppose to announce earnnings.

If a outright offer, no it won't be book value, maybe if lucky in the low teens at the high end. I'm just reading the tea leaves... I have no insider information any more than contributors do.

Seems there is considerable interest in NCC from several suitors, (always good) not just one nor is this a forced shotgun marriage ordered by the Federal Reserve like the Bears deal. While shakey NCC isn't about to go belly up.

I, like many don't view myself as a "trader" in fact I've come to hate that term. I'm an INVESTOR. I don't buy and hold, but I don't expect miracles either. NCC and most if the "big" banks this time next year will likely be much higher. But the heck what do I know.

Assessing the Odds of Another Rate Cut

The operative word is "yet" I agree probably can't expect the Feds to lower rates more than once more if at all, but you got to give time to all the rate cuts they've made have time to take effect.

The mortgage problem? Simple fix, The feds can buy about half a trillion of so-called "bad" paper and work it off over the next 30 years. Why not, the Bushies blew almost a trillion on a totally unnecessary Iraq war didn't they. What did doing that buy the taxpayer?

Was Last Week the Bottom?

I have a penchant for making money. Bottom? I don't care if we're at or close to a "bottom", risk brings reward. No pain, no gain. If you wait 1,000 points then say oh, we're at a bottom you already lost a big chunk of the move. If you're wrong, you're wrong. Ever here of stop loss orders, trailing stops or Puts?

Since I started posting here a few weeks ago I see mostly chicken little types screaming the sky is fallingm the sky is falling. Check history, that's the biggest sign of all we're at or close to the magical bottom. Started with 3,000 in 1983. Now approaching seven figures. You don't get there without assuming some risk. If you want no risk, I bet your local bank will give you a nice safe 1.2% CD.

National City Blew It

I agree NCC is worth way more than it's current badly battered stock price BECAUSE of it's underlying assets, deposit base and hundreds of location, some in very prime Chicagoland area locations.

I also have to say as a very long time Mid American Federal stock holder I have absolutely no use for NCC's gross mismanagement and will vote the entire board out on their stupid asses. They're lucky they don't face criminal charges for such grossly reckless conduct in not protecting shareholder interest while paying executive millions for running the bank into the ground.

I also take major exception with Townsend comments about MAFB.

Mediocre performance? Yea right over the time I've held the stock a 2 for 1 and if I rember correctly a 3 for 2 stock split and the stock price going from roughly $7 to $43 before the merger was announced and a $14 spike after. Don't you wish other banks did as well.

Citigroup: Hoping for a Thaw

The BS here (entire site) always seems to run deep. Don't wade in without hip boots. I see little serious or factual anything. Just one self appointed "expert" after another grinding his ax and doing a bad job of faking he knows what he/she is talking about. Damn funny but useful, no freaking way.

Friday Outlook: Bulls in Charge?

Chart readers are like fortune tellers. They tell you want you want to hear and only point out "trends" AFTER they have happened.

In times like this go to a larger pet store and buy yourself a chimp. Take him home and train him to pick names out of a hat. Write down 100 names, 50 you want to buy, 50 you want to sell. Each morning have your chimp give you his advice by having him pick selection. Hell, you could do worse like listening to those moronic talking heads on CNBC or Bloomberg Financial.

GE Will Still Shine - Barron's

I'm going out on a limb and make a wild prediction. GE's stock as well as the rest of the stock market will see their stock values go up and down over the next 12 months. Some here should write that down so they don't forget.

The chicken little mentality is really starting to get a firm grip. That means we're very close to a bottom. Here's another hot tip: Buy low. Sell high. As obvious as it sounds, most people do the exact opposite. They really do.

Is Bank of Nova Scotia Interested in National City?

National City is in play for either an outright buy or major capital infussion before it's scheduled 4/22 quarter reporting. Rarely does such a large bank stumble as badly in so short a time as NCC has this past year. This stock has been beaten far below it's book value and could be a steal for a larger fish and Scotiabank could be that shark or white knight depending on how things unfold.

Also don't count out Key Corp, Wells Fargo or Fifth Third. In fact while it may be a dark horse J. P. Morgan in spite of being busy swallowing Bears, easily has enough reserves to take on NCC as a second helping. My rational for JPM being interested is last year's takeover of MAFB, a Chicago area bank with a lot of prime locations. Chase also has a lot of Chicago area shops, some even right next store to what now are NCC locations so they could realize huge cost cutting savings and big up lots of deposits.

Bank Stocks: April Fools' or Finally Bottoming?

I bet the previous three posters keep their money under their mattress for "safe" keeping.

Regional Bank Failures: The Next Shoe to Drop

This comment has been edited for abusive language. - Ed.
The Fed simply can't afford to let any major bank fail. Peiod. That includes regionals if they're in the top tier. Not that I want to make a list, but I would roughly suggest the top 10-15 or so are safe. They may be more shotgun marriages or creative backstops. Outright failures? No!

Why not you may ask. Because you can't unring a bell anymore than you can stop panic selling once it starts. The Feds learned a bitter lesson from the 1929 crash. This is the reason Bears was given to JPM on a silver platter. If the Feds didn't arrage a hasty shotgun marriage the Far Eastern markets would have taken a nose dive that Monday morning, followed by Europe and the DOW Jones and SP500 tanking with likely several big name financials going South within days. The Feds couldn't and won't let that happen no matter what because it would cause a panic in global financial markets.

There are ALWAYS the gloom and doom guys. Most are either dumb or have motives to drive stocks lower. We are already at or very close to a bottom. The best signal of all we are is all the gloom and doom guys saying we're on the Tiantiac.

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

There are way too many 'the sky is falling' worrywarts in the market right now that don't have a clue how the "game" is played.

Take GE for example. Awhile ago I was watching some bubble headed blond bimbo "analyst" on CNBC having a hissy fit on air over GE calling their creditability into question.

Earth to all analysits... When a company "misses" all that really means is YOU fools got YOUR estimates wrong. I still can't figure out why so many get their shorts all bunched up over pennies quater by quater. INVESTING not moronic trading short term trading... is best judged over multiple quarters or years even.

Oh, by the way I just doubled my positoin on GE. Thanks to be dummies for the bargain basment price. GE rarely takes such a big hit. LOL!

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

I guess you have no idea what Chapter 13 means and doesn't mean.