“About one-third of U.S. local governments may have their credit rating raised by Standard & Poor’s (MHP) under a new methodology that the company is proposing to boost transparency and comparability.
The change would affect about 3,800 issuers, S&P said in a report today. About 65 percent of ratings may remain unchanged under the plan, while 3 percent could drop, typically by one level, S&P said…”
Comments »Comments »LONDON/ATHENS (Reuters) – A disorderly Greek default would cause more than a trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) of damage to the euro zone and could leave Italy and Spain dependent on outside help to stop contagion spreading, the main bondholders group has said.
Greek private creditors have until Thursday night to say whether they will participate in a bond swap that is part of a bailout and restructuring deal to help it manage its finances and meet a debt repayment on March 20.
Investors will lose almost three-quarters of the value of their debt in the exchange. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Reuters on Monday it was the best deal they would get and those who did not sign up would still be forced to take losses.
Analysts said the Institute of International Finance document, marked “IIF Staff Note: Confidential,” may have been designed to alarm investors into participating in the exchange.
“There are some very important and damaging ramifications that would result from a disorderly default on Greek government debt,” the IIF said in the February 18 document obtained by Reuters.
“It is difficult to add all these contingent liabilities up with any degree of precision, although it is hard to see how they would not exceed 1 trillion euros.”
Read here:
Comments »EXCLUSIVE: It was one of the hottest days of the year and evening temperatures were still sweltering when two FBI agents wearing bulletproof vests under their dark suits climbed the stairs of the Jacob Riis housing complex in New York’s Lower East Side on June 7, 2011. Drenched in sweat, they knocked on the steel door of a sixth-floor unit. It swung open to reveal a man in his late twenties wearing jeans and a white T-shirt.
“I’m Hector,” he said.
The agents were suddenly face-to-face with “Sabu,” the computer genius they had stalked for months, a quarry so elusive they hadn’t pinned down his identity and location until just weeks before. The suspected ringleader of the Anonymous offshoot group LulzSec, Hector Xavier Monsegur and his web minions had just completed a month-long reign of terror, hacking the CIA, Fox, Sony and several financial institutions, causing, according to some estimates, billions of dollars in damage around the world.
The nondescript public housing unit seemed an unlikely nerve center for one of the world’s most wanted criminal masterminds, but the 28-year-old Monsegur himself is a study in such contradictions. An unemployed computer programmer, welfare recipient and legal guardian of two young children, Monsegur did not go to college and is a self-taught hacker. Although his skills and intellect could command a lucrative salary in the private sector, those who know him say he is lazy, an underachiever complacent with his lifestyle.
“He’s extremely intelligent,” a law enforcement official said. “Brilliant, but lazy.”
It was the laziness that got him.
Sabu had always been cautious, hiding his Internet protocol address through proxy servers. But then just once he slipped. He logged into an Internet relay chatroom from his own IP address without masking it. All it took was once. The feds had a fix on him.
For weeks they waited, watching him, monitoring the online activity of the man they believed was the leader of LulzSec.
But then, late in the evening of June 7, they received word that Sabu had been “doxed” — meaning that for a very brief moment, someone had posted Sabu’s real name and address online. Law enforcement feared Sabu would see he’d been outed and begin destroying evidence of his hacking career—and all traces of those he’d worked and communicated with online. They had to move.
Comments »WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress was moving Tuesday to overturn a court decision and reaffirm that the government has the right to impose higher tariffs on goods from China and other countries that subsidize their exports to the United States.
The House was expected to pass the bill Tuesday and send it to President Barack Obama for his signature. The Senate approved it Monday on a voice vote with no debate.
The speedy and bipartisan congressional action came after a federal appellate court ruled in December that the Commerce Department did not have the authority to levy the punitive tariffs because Congress had never explicitly given the agency that right.
The Commerce Department has been applying these “countervailing” duties since 2007. The legislation ensures that 24 existing higher tariff orders and six pending investigations against imports from China and Vietnam will continue to be valid.
The duties are allowed under World Trade Organization rules to counteract unfair subsidies used by countries, such as China and Vietnam, that have yet to fully adopt market economies.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat, said that since 2007 countervailing duties have protected some 80,000 jobs across the country. “China doesn’t get a free pass to violate the rules at the expense of American jobs,” he said.
Comments »DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler aims to be the first U.S. automaker to produce a factory-built pickup truck that is powered mainly by natural gas.
The privately held company said Tuesday that its new Ram 2500 Heavy Duty CNG truck will be sold to commercial customers that operate truck fleets. The company expects to deliver the first trucks in July.
The truck will have natural gas tanks and an 8-gallon fuel tank for gasoline. Chrysler said a small amount of gasoline is needed to start the truck, but after ignition it runs entirely on natural gas. If the natural gas tanks run out, the engine can switch to gasoline.
Natural gas prices have dropped steeply over the last year thanks to higher production. Chrysler said the gas-powered trucks will save money for their owners over the long term.
Other automakers are moving into the natural gas market.
On Monday, General Motors Co. said it would release two 2013-model pickup trucks powered in part by natural gas. The company said it would start taking orders in April for the natural gas-powered 2013 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 2500 HD.
GM said it expects to ship its vehicles toward the end of the year. The trucks will be available to both commercial fleet operators and retail customers.
Comments »PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – France is prepared to switch allegiance from Spain to Luxembourg in the battle for a seat on the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, according to diplomatic sources, an appointment that would tilt the balance towards anti-inflation traditionalists.
Spain, Luxembourg and Slovenia are in a three-horse race to replace Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo when the Spaniard leaves the ECB at the end of May.
Since the ECB flooded banks with cheap money for a second time last week, some of its policymakers led by Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann have expressed alarm that the dramatic loosening of lending policy will fuel imbalances in the euro zone and stoke inflationary pressures.
The ECB hawks’ bargaining position could be further bolstered if Luxembourg’s central bank chief, Yves Mersch, wins the race.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy backed Spain to keep its seat on the ECB board before Madrid put forward the ECB’s top lawyer Antonio Sainz de Vicuna as its candidate.
Since then the veteran Mersch, who has one of the strictest anti-inflation stances among ECB policymakers, has entered the race for the post which manages the ECB’s day-to-day business.
Sources said France was now backing him rather than Sainz de Vicuna as part of a grand deal on top jobs at European institutions, which could see France bag the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
ECB board members are chosen by euro zone governments rather than the central bank itself. A decision may be made as soon as Monday at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers before being rubber stamped by heads of government at a later date.
Comments »(Reuters) – Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc emerged from its record $639 billion bankruptcy on Tuesday and said it will start paying back creditors on April 17.
The move puts an end to the bankruptcy proceeding that began on September 15, 2008, when Lehman collapsed and rocked the foundations of the global financial markets, catalyzing the Great Recession.
Exactly 1,268 days later, the case’s end enables Lehman to start distributing $65 billion or so to creditors who had asserted more than $300 billion in claims.
Bankruptcy Judge James Peck approved Lehman’s creditor payback plan in December. Since then, the company has tied up loose ends: selling assets, litigating claims and settling disputes with affiliates and counterparties.
The company will continue to liquidate its holdings under a new board of directors, Lehman said in a statement.
Comments »GENEVA (Reuters) – General Motors Co’s (NYS:GM) alliance with French peer PSA Peugeot Citroen (PAR:UG) is just one part of GM’s plan to fix its loss-making Opel unit, Vice Chairman Steve Girsky said, though he declined to say what would come next in the plan.
Girsky, a former Wall Street banker, told reporters at the Geneva Auto Show on Tuesday he knew investors, consumers and Opel workers did not like uncertainty but they just had to believe him when he said GM had a viable plan for Europe.
He said the alliance GM signed last week with Peugeot was “an additional tool to the toolkit in Europe.”
GM agreed to pay 304 million euros for a 7 percent stake in Peugeot, the French carmaker said on Tuesday, as part of an alliance designed to save the companies at least $2 billion over the next five years.
GM had previously valued the purchase at approximately 320 million euros based on earlier market prices.
“We can’t tell you what our play is in Europe,” said Girsky. “We will tell you when it plays out over the next period of months and years … I don’t see the play in Europe showing up in one big bang.”
Girsky declined to say when the next step would be made in the overall GM profit plan for Europe, where production capacity is estimated to be at least 20 percent higher than needed to keep companies profitable in a tight and weakening market.
“Excess capacity is not a GM issue, it’s an industry issue,” Girsky said.
Gapping up
MWW +6.4%, SHFL +4.7%, MTGE +2%, PAY +0.5%, MNST +0.4%, KRO +5.6%, SWY +4.1%, GA +2.6%, NQ +1.8%, FTEK +1.8% ,
PAY+0.5%, HNR +11.8%, CYTK +6.7%, QCOM +0.5%,
Gapping down
ONTY -33.4%, NTRI -9.9%, RAS -5.8%, XOMA -4.8%, EQY -4.3%, SKUL -4.1%, QLTY -3.2%, PAA -3.1%, CASY -2.6%, JAZZ -2.4%, NLY -0.7% ,
POM -0.6%, AAPL -0.8%, CNX -2.2%, PAA -3.4%, SKUL -4.1%, KERX -7.9% , AEZS -9.8%, IRE -5.8%, IBN -3.6%, CS -3.1%,
STD -3%, DB -2.8%, UBS -2.7%, LYG -2.7%, HBC -2.4%, C -1.6%, BAC -1.1%, MT -2.9%, SLW -2.3%, SSRI -2.3%, SLV -2.2%, HL -2.1%,
BHP -2%, GOLD -1.9%, BBL -1.6%, RIO -1.2%, NEM -1.1%, GLD -1%, STO -2.5%, HAL -1.7%, BP -1.6%, TOT -1.5%, RDS.A -1.4%, WFT -1%, XOM -0.8%.
Comments »Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) : The largest video-game maker hired Dennis Durkin, who had been an executive in Microsoft Corp.’s Interactive Entertainment Business, to fill its open chief financial officer position.
Casey’s General Stores Inc. (CASY) : The operator of convenience stores in the U.S. midwest reported third-quarter revenue of $1.58 billion, missing the average analyst estimate by 2.8 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
ConocoPhillips (COP) fell 0.7 percent to $77. The U.S. oil company that plans to spin off its refining business this year expects to sell $10 billion of assets in 2012 and to repurchase $10 billion of shares, Chief Executive Officer James Mulva said during an investor’s conference.
Kronos Worldwide Inc. (KRO) gained 5.6 percent to $25. The maker of titanium dioxide pigments reported fourth-quarter earnings of 74 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate by 57 percent.
Monster Worldwide Inc. (MWW) rose 7.7 percent to $8.10. The online recruiting service hired Stone Key Partners LLC and Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch to help it review strategic alternatives.
Nutrisystem Inc. (NTRI) tumbled 11 percent to $10.52. The provider of prepared meals to help clients lose weight forecast annual earnings per share of no more than 55 cents, falling short of the average analyst projection of 92 cents a share, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Safeway Inc. (SWY) gained 4.1 percent to $23. The grocer forecast 2012 earnings excluding some items of as much as $2.10 a share, above the average analyst estimate of $1.89 a share, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Shuffle Master Inc. (SHFL) : The maker of casino roulette-chip sorters and card shufflers reported first-quarter revenue of $56.1 million, beating the average analyst estimate of $50.5 million.
Skullcandy Inc. (SKUL) (SKUL US): The maker of headphones said Chief Financial Officer Mitch Edwards is resigning, effective April 1.
Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. (LVB) : The piano maker posted fourth-quarter earnings excluding some items of 24 cents a share, missing CJS Securities’ projection of 37 cents, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY) : The largest maker of credit-card terminals forecast 2012 earnings may be as much as $2.66 a share excluding some items, compared with the average analyst projection of $2.60 a share.
Comments »Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Started as Buy at Nomura.
LifePoint Hospitals Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Cut to Hold on valuation at Argus.
Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Yandex N.V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) Started as Neutral at UBS.
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“The gap between rich and poor in the United States created the need for the housing credit bubble, which led in turn to the subsequent credit crisis and economic collapse, says Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.
Worse, it would take a new bubble to get back to full U.S. employment, he says.
Income “inequality is bad for growth, stability and efficiency,” Stiglitz told NorthJersey.com after speaking to students nearby. “Inequality peaked both before the Great Depression and before the Great Recession, and it’s not an accident. So basically, when we have a lot of inequality, demand goes down.”
The lack of economic balance created the need for increased consumption on credit, which appeared as home equity lending during the housing boom.
“The bubble allowed people to consume more. Now we have the inequality but we don’t have a bubble, and that means that we will have persistent, weak demand, and therefore unless we create another bubble it’s going to be very difficult for us to get back to full employment,” says Stiglitz, a former chief economist for the World Bank and adviser to President Bill Clinton.
He suggested that higher taxes on the rich to invest in education, technology, and infrastructure was a solution but rejected the idea that reducing the budget deficit matters to the economy….”
Comments »“For many, this year’s stock market rally has been really something. But investors and bankers on Wall Street worry it may be based on a whole lot of nothing, which is why they aren’t doing much of anything.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has forged a path higher, marking its best start to a year since 1998. And on Monday, the Dow notched its 45th consecutive trading day without a triple-digit decline—the longest streak since 2006. Investors contained the decline in the blue-chip index to 14.76 points on Monday.
The market’s fear gauge—the CBOE Market Volatility Index, known as the VIX—has tumbled since August.
Such pleasant conditions would typically be celebrated by investors and considered a boon for Wall Street investment bankers and their clients seeking to put together mergers and acquisitions or initial public offerings.
Bloomberg NewsHeadwinds that investors see include rising oil prices, Europe’s unresolved debt troubles and elections in the U.S.
Instead, initial public offerings are in a slump, and mergers and acquisitions activity by some measures is the lowest since 2008, according to data firm Dealogic. As a result, investment banking fees are down by a third.
Recalling last year’s swings, some investors worry that volatility—or market declines—may be afoot. “We cannot continue this upward movement forever,” said Reed Choate, portfolio manager at Neville, Rodie & Shaw, a New York firm with $1.2 billion under management….”
Comments »“Tornadoes that slammed five states in the U.S. Midwest and South last week may generate as much as $2 billion in claims costs for insurers, risk-modeling firm Eqecat Inc. said.
Tornadoes have killed 49 people in the U.S. this year, according to a statement issued yesterday by Oakland, California-based Eqecat. The tornadoes will probably bring claims of $1 billion to $2 billion, the firm said.
More than 150 tornadoes touched down from Feb. 28 through March 3, most of them inTennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Alabama, Eqecat said. The U.S. has experienced 272 tornadoes this year through March 4, more than twice the seven-year average for the period, according to the statement.
“With basically a month’s worth of tornadoes last week, that doesn’t necessarily say that the rest of the year will be as bad as it has been so far,” said Jose Miranda, Eqecat’s director of client advocacy. Referring to conditions that increase the likelihood of tornadoes, he said, “You have to have all the ingredients come together.”
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., the biggest U.S. home and car insurer, is among the top two providers of homeowners’ coverage by market share in Alabama, Kentucky and Indiana, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The insurer received about 3,600 claims from the tornadoes for that line as of March 3, Holly Anderson, a spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.
“These are early numbers and we expect to know more early this week as our customers assess damage,” said Anderson….”
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