NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Capital One (COF) was the winner among the largest U.S. financial names on Thursday, with shares 3% to close at $51.72. The broad indexes ended mixed, after the U.S. Labor Department reported 370,000 first first-time jobless claims for the week ended May 19, improving from an upwardly revised 372,000 the previous week. Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders rose 0.2% in April, which was less than the 0.5% increase expected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters. Durable goods orders in March in March declined by a revised 3.7%. Also on Thursday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported that the U.S. banks and thrifts earned a combined $35.3 billion during the first quarter, for the industry's best performance ... Continue reading →
10 Best Stocks for 2012The InvestorPlace 10 Best Stocks for 2012 includes 10 long-term investments from a group of money managers, market experts and financial journalists. Returns will be based on market close Friday, Dec. 30. Throughout the year, the writers will regularly offer updates on the good, the bad and the unexpected as it relates to their best stock for 2012. Questions about the stocks or writers on our list? Email us at editor@investorplace.com or engage in the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #beststocks. Continue reading →
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. banks and thrifts earned $35.3 billion during the first quarter, for the industry's best aggregate earnings performance since the second quarter of 2007, according to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. statement issued Thursday. The first-quarter results compared to earnings of $26.3 billion in the fourth quarter, and $29.0 billion during the first quarter of 2011. As expected at this stage of the economic recovery, banks continued to see a major boost to earnings from the release of loan loss reserves, which declined by $8 billion to $183.1 billion. The FDIC said reserves had declined for an eighth consecutive quarter, and were "$80 billion (30.4 percent) below the peak level of two years ago, and their lowest level since year-end 2008." ... Continue reading →
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Bank stock investors "impatient about revenue recovery" and "wary of macro tail risk" should consider First Republic Bank (FRC), according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Erika Penala. Penala on Friday reiterated her "Buy" rating for the San Francisco lender, with a price objective of $36, after meeting the bank's management and touring its branch facilities in Boston, saying that First Republic "offers both high quality, superior loan growth and a defensive balance sheet," and forecasting "best in class annual organic loan growth" of "18% in 2012; 17% in 2013; and 12% in 2014." First Republic was acquired by Bank of America (BAC) as part of the purchase of Merrill Lynch in January 2009, and then sold in July 2010 ... Continue reading →
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Most bank stock coverage is rightly centered on the volatility for the largest sector players this year, but investors should also consider smaller, steadier players for a portion of their long-term portfolios. TheStreet Ratings has assigned A (Excellent) ratings to just three bank stocks, although many more have "recommended" ratings of B+ (Good) or higher. Rather than just considering 12-month price targets, based on earnings estimates, capital levels and various market and environmental risks, the way most sell-side analysts do, TheStreet Ratings places its emphasis on long-term total returns, as well as revenue trends and capital strength and dividends, while also considering short-term performance, financial stability and volatility. With the sector's recent downturn -- centered around JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO James ... Continue reading →
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Bank of America (BAC) was the winner among the largest U.S. financial names on Wednesday, with shares rising 3% to close at $7.17. The broad indexes recovered from earlier losses to end mixed, following a warning from the Congressional Budget Office that "under current law, increases in taxes and, to a lesser extent, reductions in spending will reduce the federal budget deficit dramatically between 2012 and 2013," which "will dampen economic growth in the short term." According to the CBO, if Congress wishes to "minimize the short-run costs [to the economy] of narrowing the deficit very quickly while also minimizing the longer-run costs of allowing large deficits to persist," legislators will need to "enact a combination of policies: changes in taxes ... Continue reading →
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- KBW analyst David Konrad on Tuesday said that JPMorgan Chase (JPM) could be broken up if stock price multiples remain low over the long term. Konrad said that his firm did not think that JPMorgan CEO James Dimon was "going anywhere soon," in the wake of the company's $2 billion second-quarter hedge trading loss and its suspension of its share buyback program, but that "should the market continue to depress the multiples of universal banks regardless of underlying values, we believe the Board may explore options to unlock value." The analyst added that "contrary to public opinion, that JPM provides less regulatory risk to the system as a consolidated company than broken up." As of Tuesday's market close, JPMorgan Chase and ... Continue reading →
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- SunTrust (STI) was the winner among the largest U.S. financial names on Monday, with shares rising 3% to close at $22.31. The broad indexes were strong, despite an 11% decline in shares of Facebook (FB), which closed at $34.03, following the company's initial public offering on Friday, and significant buying by the dozens of underwriters to defend the shares. Investors cheered a very large M&A deal, with Eaton Corp.(ETN) agreeing to acquire Cooper Industries (CBE) for $11.8 billion in cash and stock. The KBW Bank Index (I:BKX) rose 1%, with all but three of the 24 index components showing gains for the session. SunTrust's shares have now returned 26% year-to-date, following a 40% decline in 2011. Content on this page requires ... Continue reading →
