Merrill Lynch, Ambac, A Bunch Of Idiots, Further to Go
No Soup for You... Yesterday, Ambac announced it is cutting its dividend, and is planning to raise $1 billion to offset its $5.4 billion pretax write-down, shares lost 39%.
Today, the guarantors shares are getting hammered again as Moody's put Ambac's Aaa credit rating under review for a possible downgrade.
Lynched... Merrill Lynch, worlds largest brokerage, net loss $9.8 billion vs profit of $2.3 billion a year ago, the largest loss in company history.
Q4 $16.7 billion writedown, including $11.5 billion for declining CDO exposure...
and a $3.1 billion credit valuation adjustment related to hedges with guarantor ACA on U.S. ABS CDOs.
A Bunch Of Idiots... Michael Lewis at Bloomberg sheds insight on how Goldman Sachs has profited from the housing debacle while others have failed:
"I can't think of another example of a big Wall Street firm saying so clearly through its trading positions as Goldman Sachs did over the past year that it thinks the rest of its industry, including its own people, is a bunch of idiots."
Benny & The Ink Jets... the economic outlook has worsened, and downside risks to growth are now more pronounced.
Ben, if you had read these pages for an ounce of the truth, you would have known this at least a year ago.
Further to go... the S&P 500 declined 0.6 percent yesterday to 1,373.2, the lowest in 14 months.
The index has dropped for three straight weeks and is 12% below its Oct. 9 closing peak.
Louise Yamada, the top-ranked technical analyst in Institutional Investor magazine's annual survey from 2001 through 2004:
"This is the initial breakdown going into a bear market,or a 20% retreat."
Hattip to Bloomberg.
Today, the guarantors shares are getting hammered again as Moody's put Ambac's Aaa credit rating under review for a possible downgrade.
Lynched... Merrill Lynch, worlds largest brokerage, net loss $9.8 billion vs profit of $2.3 billion a year ago, the largest loss in company history.
Q4 $16.7 billion writedown, including $11.5 billion for declining CDO exposure...
and a $3.1 billion credit valuation adjustment related to hedges with guarantor ACA on U.S. ABS CDOs.
A Bunch Of Idiots... Michael Lewis at Bloomberg sheds insight on how Goldman Sachs has profited from the housing debacle while others have failed:
"I can't think of another example of a big Wall Street firm saying so clearly through its trading positions as Goldman Sachs did over the past year that it thinks the rest of its industry, including its own people, is a bunch of idiots."
Benny & The Ink Jets... the economic outlook has worsened, and downside risks to growth are now more pronounced.
Ben, if you had read these pages for an ounce of the truth, you would have known this at least a year ago.
Further to go... the S&P 500 declined 0.6 percent yesterday to 1,373.2, the lowest in 14 months.
The index has dropped for three straight weeks and is 12% below its Oct. 9 closing peak.
Louise Yamada, the top-ranked technical analyst in Institutional Investor magazine's annual survey from 2001 through 2004:
"This is the initial breakdown going into a bear market,or a 20% retreat."
Hattip to Bloomberg.
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