Countrywide Buyout Talks Lifted Stocks

123jump.com Staff
10 Jan, 2008
New York City

U.S. stocks rebounded after the news that Bank of America is in advacned talks to pruchase Countrywide Financial. Bank of America only few months ago acquired La Salle Bank based in Chicago and has made more than $100 billion of acquisition in the last four years. Countrywide stocks jumped 52% on the speculation but has lost nearly 90% from its peak of $45. Same store sales in December at retailers were weak and sales at apparel stores sell fell. Ann Taylor, Mens Wearhouse, Barnes & Noble fell.

[R]5:00PM New York, 11:00PM Frankfurt, 9:00AM next day Sydney[/R]

North American Markets indexes

Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 117.78 or 0.92% to a close of 12,853.09, S&P 500 closed up 11.20 or 0.79% to 1,420.33, and Nasdaq Composite Index traded up 13.97 or 0.56% to a close of 2,488.52.

In Toronto TSX Composite closed 49.87 or 0.37% to close at 13,629.81.

Of the 30 stocks in Dow Jones Industrial Average, 24 closed higher, 6 closed lower, and none was unchanged.

Intel led the decliners in the index with a fall of 0.92% followed by losses in Altria Group of 0.5%, in American Express of 0.33%, in Microsoft of 0.3%, and I Procter & Gamble of 0.08%.

General Motors led the gainers in the index with a rise of 4% followed by increases in Wal-Mart of 3.2%, in JP Morgan of 2.7%, in Boeing of 2.6%, and in AIG of 2.35%.


Of the stocks in S&P 500, 345 closed higher, 152 fell, and 3 were unchanged.

Nine stocks fell more than 3% and eighty nine stocks rose more than 3%.

The Gap Inc led the decliners with a loss of 7.2% followed by losses in Game Stop of 5.2%, in King Pharmaceuticals of 4.9%, in Huntington Banc of 4.4%, and in Akamai Technology of 4.07%.

Countrywide Financial led the gainers in the index with a rise of 52% followed by increases in E*Trade of 22%, in Washington Mutual of 14.75%, in Tellabs of 12.3%, in MGIC Investment of 11.8%, and in Unisys of Corp of 11.46%.

South American Markets Indexes

In Latin Markets Chile led the gainers in the region with a rise of 2.59% followed by increases in Mexico of 2.41%, in Brazil of 1.34%, in Venezuela of 1.68%, and in Colombia of 0.08%.

Peru led the decliners in the region with a fall of 1.62% followed by decreases in Argentina of 0.24%.

Asian Markets

In Tokyo Nikkei 225 Index closed lower 211.05 or 1.45% to 14,388.11, in Hong Kong Hang Seng index decreased 384.99 or 1.39% closed to 27,230.86, in Australia ASX 200 index lower 9.15 or 0.15% to close 6,078.70.

In South Korea Kospi Index decreased 19.69 or 1.07% to close at 1,824.78, in Thailand SET index closed lower 20.29 or 2.47% to 800.18. Sensex index in India decreased 287.70 or 1.38% to 20,582.08. Financial markets in Indonesia were closed today.

European Markets

In London FTSE 100 Index closed lower 83.80 or 1.32% to 6,272.70, in Paris CAC 40 Index decreased 60.25 or 1.10% to close at 5,435.42 and in Frankfurt DAX index lower 67.28 or 0.86% to close at 7,782.71. In Zurich trading SMI closed higher 23.42 or 0.28% to close at 8,339.81.


Bond Yields increased on 10-year U.S. bonds to 3.88% and 30-year bonds increased to 4.44%.

[R]Commodities, Metals, and Currencies[/R]

Crude oil fell $1.54 to close at $94.13 per barrel for a front month contract, natural gas increased 19 cents to $8.29 per mBtu, and gasoline futures decreased 6.79 cents to close at 236.76 cents per gallon.

Gold increased $13.30 in New York trading to close at $895.00 per ounce, silver closed up 44 cents to $16.28 per ounce, and copper for front month delivery decreased 0.20 cents to 328.15 per pound and in London copper futures increased $3.50 to $7,206.50.

Dollar edged higher against euro to $1.4805 and lower to 109.380 yen.


[R]2:00PM New York, 7:00PM London –The Bank of England holds rates at 5.5%.[/R]

In London trading FTSE 100 declined 0.8% or 50 to 6,222.70.

Of the 102 FTSE stocks 29 gained, 72 declined, and 1 was unchanged.

Sainsbury led advancers with a rise of 6.30% after December sales rose 5.9% on the back of a 20% price cut for DVDs and discounts on select television sets.

The Bank of England announced today that the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.5%. The bank is trying to forestall the rising inflationary pressures induced by soaring energy costs, high taxes and increased mortgage repayments.

Minutes of the meeting will be published on January 23.

Separately, the European Central Bank also kept interest rates at 4% today.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling told a panel of lawmakers today that the Treasury is planning legislation in May allowing regulators and government to fix problems at troubled financial institutions before there is a run on the bank.

The British lender Northern Rock needed emergency funding of 25 billion pounds from the Bank of England and the bank may be nationalized if it fails to find a “private sector solution”.

Shareholders of the lender will meet on January 25 to consider a resolution meant to compel the company’s board to consult them about the buyout.

Of the 102 FTSE Index shares, Sainsbury led advancers with a rise of 6.30% followed by gains of 3.73% in Kingfisher Plc, of 3.65% in Rexam Plc, of 3.30% in Imperial Tobacco, and of 2.30% in Wolseley Plc.

Retailers rose after Sainsbury reported better-than-expected third quarter profits that saw revenue at stores open at least for 1 year jump 3.7% and total sales climb 5.9%. Online sales also soared 40% through home deliveries of online orders.

Tullow Oil led declining FTSE 100 stocks with a drop of 5.34% followed by losses of 4.55% in First Group Plc, of 4.29% in HBOS Plc, of 4.16% in Whitbread Plc, of 4.07% in Man Group Plc.

Man Group plunged after reporting investors put $600 million into funds, raising the assets to $71.7 billion. The company, however, reported that assets under management rose 4.5% in the last quarter of 2007.

U.K. brewer Scottish & Newcastle said that it is considering to initiating talks with bidders Heineken NV and Carlsberg A/S if bids top 800 pence per share.

The company has rejected a 7.5 billion pounds or 780 pence per share takeover bid from the two companies. The stock closed up 0.76%.

Signet reported today that revenue at stores open at least one year fell 6.8% in the eight weeks ending December as sales in the U.S. and Britain plummeted. The company forecasted pretax profit for fiscal 2008 will be between $330 million and $340 million.



[R]12:30PM New York – U.S. stocks reversed morning losses.[/R]

Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 95.51 to 12,830.81, Nasdaq rose 7.71 to 2,482,75, and S&P 500 rose 5.78 to 1,414.24.

The European Central Bank, ECB, left the rates unchanged at 4% and signaled that it is prepared to hike rates if necessary. The euro rallied almost one cent against dollar after the rate decision.

The Bank of England left its rate unchanged at 5.5% lifting pound against euro and dollar. The UK government bond yield rose to 4.39%. Inflation in the UK has been running above the central bank target on rising food and energy costs.

Initial jobless claims decreased for the week ending on January 5. The claims declined by 15,000 to 322,000 according to the U.S. Labor Department.

Intel declined after the New York Attorney General opened anti-trust investigation to see if Intel coerced customers to prevent from buying Advanced Micro Devices chip products.

Discounters and wholesaler reported better same store sales data then most retailers as consumers searched for discount amidst rising energy costs.

Wal-Mart ((WMT)) same store sales increased 2.4% in December but at Target fell 5%. Apparel retailer faced the worst declines on the consumer curtailing discretionary spending. Chico’s sales fell 13.7%, at J C Penney declined 7.5%, at Limited Brands declined 8%, and at Macy’s fell 9%.

Capital One Financial ((COF)) lowered its annual earnings estimate for the year 007 to $3.97 from $5 per share on loan losses. The company booked a legal reserve of $80 million in legal costs and $1.9 billion in loan-loss provisions.

The company expects diluted earnings from continuing operations of approximately $0.85 per share for the fourth quarter of 2007 and approximately $6.55 per share for full year 2007.

Earnings from continuing operations excludes the loss from discontinued operations related to the shutdown of GreenPoint Mortgage, announced in August 2007, of approximately $0.25 per share for the fourth quarter of 2007 and approximately $2.58 per share for full year 2007.

The reduction in expected earnings per share was driven primarily by increased provision expense and additional legal reserves established in the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter 2007 provision for loan losses was approximately $1.9 billion. This is comprised of approximately $1.3 billion in charge-offs and an allowance build of about $650 million.

The company recorded a pre-tax charge in the fourth quarter of approximately $80 million for liabilities in connection with the Visa antitrust lawsuit settlement with American Express that was disclosed on November 9, 2007.

Additionally, the company has initiated a legal reserve of approximately $60 million for estimated possible damages in connection with other pending Visa litigation, reflecting Capital One''s share of such potential damages as a Visa member. Together, these legal expenses increased operating expenses by approximately $140 million.

[R]9:00AM New York, 7:30PM Mumbai – Tata Motors launched much awaited mini car Nano at a New Delhi auto show.[/R]

Stocks in India traded lower on Thursday with the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index declining 1.4% or 287 at 20,582.

Of the BSE shares 351 stocks advanced, 2,544 stocks declined, and 17 remained unchanged.

Of the Sensex index, 2 stocks gained while the rest fell.

Turnover on the BSE stood at 9,068 crore rupees while turnover on the National Stock Exchange was at 20,932 crore rupees.

Reliance Natural Resource was the most active stock on BSE with a turnover of 719.74 crore rupees Reliance Petroleum, Reliance Energy, Reliance Communications and Reliance Capital were other active stocks.

In the broader markets, Nifty fell 1.8%. The 50-share index closed at 6,156.

Healthcare, metal and real estate sectors led the gainers.

Of the stocks in NSE-50 index, Idea Cellular, Unitech and BHEL advanced with a rise of more than 0.8%.

The United Nations report said that developing economies in Asia posted a growth rate of 8.2% in 2007 and is expected to grow at a slightly lower but still robust rate of 7.8% this year.

Of the BSE share, Reliance Industries declined 0.2% to 3,027.05 rupees.

Tata Motors lost 2.8% to 749 rupees. Maruti Suzuki slipped 2% to 907.65 rupees.

Tata Motors unveiled the much anticipated small car priced at 100,000 rupees. Two deluxe models are available at a higher price. The world’s cheapest car, named Nano, is hailed as people’s car, does not have air conditioning, power windows, and electronic brakes.

The Nano is expected to sell well in India and may find a market in many Asian and African nations. Nano, though priced at 100,000 rupees competes with scooters and motor bikes that are sold in India between 50,000 and 70,000 rupees.

Nano is equipped with engine of 620cc and powers 33bhp.

Rata Tata, chairman of Tata Motors dismissed the concerns that the car will be a drag on earnings and may not be safe. He said that the car will be better for a family of five and will be safer than motorbikes or scooters that are sold to the middle-class in small towns and rural markets.

Larsen and Toubro fell 2.8% to 4207.2 rupees after the company said it had booked orders worth 3,500 crore rupees for construction of information technology parks, hotels and malls.

Infosys Technologies lost 3.2% to 1,602.2 rupees. The company will release unveils Q3 December 2007 results on Friday.

NTPC fell 4% to 266.1 rupees, Reliance Energy lost 3.9% to 2,465.1 rupees, ACC fell 3.3% to 938.55 rupees and Reliance Communications declined 3.02% to 796 rupees.

ICICI Bank jumped 3.5% to 1,356.7 rupees on reports the bank will list its brokerage subsidiary ICICI Securities in the next six months.

ITC slipped 3.6% to 219.7 rupees and Hindustan Unilever declined 2.2% to 228.8 rupees.


[R]5:00AM New York, 7:00PM Tokyo - Japan’s foreign exchange reserves reaches $973.37 billion.[/R]

Stocks in Japan traded in negative territory after Goldman Sachs Group Co lowered Japan’s economic growth estimate for 2008.

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 dropped 1.45% or 211.05 to 14,388.11, while the broader Topix Index declined 1.6% or 22.93 to 1,401.36.

In the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange 19 billion shares worth 2.4 trillion yen were traded and in the second section 576 million shares valued at 7.9 billion yen changed hands.

Of the Nikkei 225 stocks 142 gained, 177 declined and 6 were unchanged.

Kikkoman Corporation led advancers with a gain of 4.54%, followed by Casio Computer rising 3.88% after Mizuho Securities raised the rating of the stock to “buy” from “neutral”.

Japan’s Cabinet Office said today that the leading index, which gauges how the economic will perform in the next three months, fell to 10.0 in November from 18.2 in October on weak consumer confidence and inventory increases. Of the 10 indicators available for the preliminary reading, one pointed to an expansion while the remaining nine indicated a contraction.

The coincident index, which measures the state of the economy at the time the readings are taken, fell to 33.3 from a revised 70 in October. Furthermore, the lagging index, which reflects economic conditions three months earlier, soared to 75.0 from a revised 60.

Japan’s Ministry of Finance reported today on its web site that the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose to a record $973.37 billion at the end of December.

About $823.53 billion is held in foreign securities, $124.46 billion in foreign currency deposits, and $6.99 billion in foreign central banks.

Gold reserves accounted for $20.58 billion and $1.40 billion was held in International Monetary Fund reserve positions.

Of the Nikkei 225 index shares Kikkoman Corporation led advancers with a rise of 4.54% followed by rises of 3.88% in Casio Computer, of 3.70% in Dainippon Sumitomo Pharmaceutical Company, of 3.37% in Chugai Pharmaceutical Company, and of 3.15% in Takara Holding.

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharmaceutical rose after KBC Securities raised its rating to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’.

Other pharmaceuticals rose as well on speculation that they are insulated from the market turbulence after Goldman Sachs Group Co noted that health care companies have been the best performers in the U.S. Takeda Pharmaceuticals climbed 1.08% on the news.

Casio Computers soared after Mizuho Securities raised its rating to “buy” from “neutral”.

NGK Insulators led decliners of the Nikkei 225 index shares with a fall of 8% followed by losses of 7.40% in Mitsub Rayon Company, of 7.17% in Tokai Carbon Company, of 7.14% in Inpex Holding, and of 5.62% in Mitsubishi Estate Company.

Inpex Holdings dropped after announcing the delay of its proposed Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in Australia saying the project might cost more than initially planned.

Realty stocks fell in Japan after brokerage Credit Suisse Group said U.S. mortgage defaults may prompt overseas investors to sell property holdings in Japan.

The Nikkei news online reported that Japan’s real estate investment trusts are less willing to buy properties on stricter lending regulation and declining share prices. Sumitomo Realty & Development fell 5.34% and Tokyo Dome plummeted 0.70%.

Seven & I Holdings reported today that net income might top 127 billion yen for the year ending February, from 133 billion yen reported in the same period a year ago.

The retailer cut its forecast by 12% on costs to introduce an electronic payment system at its convenience stores.

Kyodo news reported today Matsushita Electrical Industrial Company will rename itself to Panasonic.


Asian Markets Indexes Update

In Tokyo Nikkei 225 Index closed lower 211.05 or 1.45% to 14,388.11, in Hong Kong Hang Seng index decreased 384.99 or 1.39% closed to 27,230.86, in Australia ASX 200 index lower 9.15 or 0.15% to close 6,078.70.

In South Korea Kospi Index decreased 19.69 or 1.07% to close at 1,824.78, in Thailand SET index closed lower 20.29 or 2.47% to 800.18. Sensex index in India decreased 287.70 or 1.38% to 20,582.08. Financial markets in Indonesia were closed today.


[R]4:00AM New York, 8:00PM Sydney – Westpac Banking sold $1.2 billion bonds yielding premium on weak global sentiment.[/R]

ASX 200 index lost 0.2% or 9 to close at 6,078.70.

The Preliminary market turnover was 1.76 billion, worth $6.02 billion, with 546 shares trading higher, 695 trading lower, and 365 unchanged.

The most actively traded stock was Centro Properties, with 102.4 million shares worth $95.6 million changing hands.

Qantas Airways Ltd defused a potentially damaging strike after agreeing with its engineers union to extend wage negotiation up to the end of this month.

The National Secretary of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, Steve Purvinas told reporters today that the airline and the association were negotiating a new pay settlement after having appeared before the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.

The engineers want a 5% increase in the annual pay, 2% more than the airline is offering.

The airline was reported to have reversed its earlier decision to cancel annual leave for its 1,700 engineers after they had threatened to refuse overtime work or perform the jobs of colleagues. The turnaround was in response for calls for both parties to hold hostilities as negotiations continue. Qantas share lost 1%.

Westpac Banking Corporation recorded the first local currency debt sale by an Australian bank this year. It sold $1.2 billion (U.S.$1.1 billion) bonds but only after it offered a higher yield.

According to National Australia Bank Ltd, investors were looking for higher returns on Australian corporate bonds on the back of the nation''s banks face increased refinancing costs on $8.4 billion of bonds due to mature this year.

The country''s four biggest banks took more than $10 billion of funding for structured investment vehicles so called SIV back onto their balance sheets in September. Westpac fell 1.3%.

Japan''s largest oil explorer, Inpex Holdings Inc cast doubt on its Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in Australia after indicating that it is still reviewing the project. Local media in Japan indicated that the project may cost more than earlier estimated.

Perth-based spokesman for the company, Sean Kildare was reported to have said the review meant that Inpex and its partner Total SA were holding back on a decision to start engineering and design work on the project.

Inpex and France''s Total S.A. plan to build two 3.8 million tons annual LNG production units on the Maret Islands off Western Australia. The preliminary cost of the project was put estimated at $10 billion (US$8.8 billion) with deliveries expected to start in 2013.

Centro Properties Group fell for the fourth-straight day by 22.5% after investors ditched the stock over concerns on the viability of the company. The Group was reported to have been questioned by regulators about accounting for its debt.

Centro Chief Executive Officer Andrew Scott has indicated that he wants to sell the group''s 700 malls in the U.S. that were acquired in the past two years after borrowing $9 billion. The asset sales will help the company to refinance $3.9 billion (US$3.4 billion) of debt by the February 15 deadline.

The Australian dollar traded near a four-week high despite it gaining marginally against the U.S. dollar today. At the close the Australian dollar was trading at 88.33 American cents up slightly from yesterday''s close of 88.29 cents. During the day, the dollar traded between a low of US$0.8820 US cents and a high of US$0.8854.

Of the ASX 200 index shares, AED Oil Limited led the gainers with a rise of 6% followed by increases in Minara Resources of 5.9%, in Perilya Limited of 5.8%, in Sally Malay Mini of 5.8%, and in Cabcharge Australia of 5%.

Of the ASX 200 index stocks, Centro Retail Group led the decliners with a fall of 24% followed by losses in Centro Properties of 22.5%, in MFS Limited of 9%, in Murchison Metals of 5.6% and in Mount Gibson Iron of 4.6%.