By Halah Touryalai, Forbes Staff
It looks like bigger isn’t always better in Wall Street’s brokerage business as Morgan Stanley brokers lag Merrill’s productivity. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Narrative Science Leading up to Morgan Stanley’s announcement of its second quarter earnings on Thursday, July 18, 2013 analysts have become more wary as expectations have fallen over the past month to earnings of 44 cents per share from earnings of 49 cents per share. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets
Ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and investment bank Morgan Stanley have settled two lawsuits dating back to the financial crisis that accused them of hiding risky investments.
The lawsuits from King County in Washington state and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank claimed that the ratings agencies and Morgan Stanley hid the risk of investing in a fund that purchased bonds backed by subprime mortgages.
Judge Shira Scheindlin dismissed the lawsuits on Friday, in federal court in New York, with prejudice, which means they can’t be filed again.
Spokesmen for the McGraw-Hill Cos., which owns S&P, Moody’s Corp. and Morgan Stanley confirmed the settlements but did not disclose terms.
McGraw-Hill spokesman Jason Feuchtwanger said the cases were settled without any admission of liability or wrongdoing.
Ratings agencies came under intense scrutiny following the 2008 financial crisis for giving top-notch ratings to investments backed by subprime mortgages. As defaults and losses mounted in the housing market, especially among subprime loans, the value of bonds backed by the bad debt plummeted.
As the mortgage market collapsed, the ratings agencies sharply lowered their ratings on the investments.
With the value of such investments declining, funds that purchased the bonds filed for bankruptcy. King County and Abu Dhabi sued the ratings agencies and Morgan Stanley claiming the banks misled them about the safety of some investments that were part of a structured investment vehicle.
A structured investment vehicle is a fund that borrows money by issuing short-term securities at a low interest rate and then lends that money by purchasing long-term securities at higher interest. That process can make a profit for its investors from the difference.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Filed under: Earnings, Banking
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reported first-quarter 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The bank reported adjusted diluted quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.50 on revenues of $8.2 billion. In the same period a year ago, Morgan Stanley reported an adjusted EPS loss of $0.05 on revenues of $6.9 billion. First-quarter results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $0.57 on revenues of $8.35 billion.
Excluding adjustments for debt valuation, the bank’s revenues totaled $8.9 billion and EPS totaled $0.61. The adjustment for debt valuation totaled $317 million in the quarter, compared with a $2 billion adjustment in the first quarter of 2012.
The bank’s CEO said:
Morgan Stanley demonstrated solid momentum across the Firm this quarter, consistent with the strategic objectives we laid out at the beginning of the year. … Looking forward, while the global environment continues to have moments of fragility, we believe the broad economic outlook for the next several years is stronger than in the recent past.
The bank said its Basel I Tier 1 capital ratio is about 13.9% and its Tier 1 common ratio is about 11.5%.
Morgan Stanley had no comments in its release regarding guidance. The consensus estimates for the second quarter calls for EPS of $0.51 on revenues of $8.03 billion. For the full year, EPS is expected to total $2.09 on revenues of $32.32 billion.
Shares are down about 1% in premarket trading this morning, at $21.25 in a 52-week range of $12.26 to $24.47. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $23.90 before today’s results were announced.
Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Banking & Finance, Earnings, Financial Stocks Tagged: MS
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From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/18/morgan-stanley-results-not-so-hot-but-better-than-last-year/
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Morgan Stanley Reports First Quarter 2013:
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Morgan Stanley (NYS: MS) today reported net revenues of $8.2 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013 compared with $6.9 billion a year ago. For the current quarter, income from continuing operations applicable to Morgan Stanley was $1.0 billion, or $0.50 per diluted share,8 compared with a loss of $79 million, or a loss of $0.05 per diluted share,8 for the same period a year ago.
Results for the current quarter included negative revenue related to changes in Morgan Stanley‘s debt-related credit spreads and other credit factors (Debt Valuation Adjustment, DVA)1 of $317 million, compared with negative revenue of $2.0 billion a year ago.
Excluding DVA, net revenues for the current quarter were $8.5 billion compared with $8.9 billion a year ago and income from continuing operations applicable to Morgan Stanley was $1.2 billion, or $0.61 per diluted share, compared with income of $1.4 billion, or $0.71 per diluted share a year ago.3, 8, 9
Compensation expense was $4.2 billion compared with $4.4 billion a year ago.10 Non-compensation expenses of $2.3 billion were essentially unchanged from a year ago.
For the current quarter, net income applicable to Morgan Stanley, including discontinued operations, was $0.49 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $0.06 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2012.8
By Joel South and Taylor Muckerman, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
ExxonMobil was recently downgraded by Morgan Stanley. But with a company like Exxon that has a long history of a rock-solid balance sheet, excellent reserve replacement, and the ability to return enormous amounts of money to shareholders, what is holding back the world’s largest oil company? In this video, Motley Fool energy analysts Joel South and Taylor Muckerman discuss Exxon’s 2009 acquisition of XTO Energy, and tell investors how overpaying in an acquisition continues to hurt investors.
There are many different ways to play the energy sector, and The Motley Fool‘s analysts have uncovered an under-the-radar company that’s dominating its industry. This company is a leading provider of equipment and components used in drilling and production operations, and poised to profit in a big way from it. To get the name and detailed analysis of this company that will prosper for years to come, check out the special free report: “
The Only Energy Stock You’ll Ever Need
.” Don’t miss out on this limited-time offer and your opportunity to discover this under-the-radar company before the market does.
Click here to access your report — it’s totally free.
The article ExxonMobil’s $40 Billion Mistake originally appeared on Fool.com.
Joel South has no position in any stocks mentioned. Taylor Muckerman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Chevron. The Motley Fool has the following options: Long Jan 2014 $20 Calls on Chesapeake Energy, Long Jan 2014 $30 Calls on Chesapeake Energy, and Short Jan 2014 $15 Puts on Chesapeake Energy. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/13/exxonmobils-40-billion-mistake/
In McDaniels, et al. v. Wells Fargo Investments, LLC, et al. (9th Circuit, April 10, 2013), Plaintiffs are former employees of Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch: Douglas McDaniel and Bryan Clark are former Wells Fargo financial advisors (Wells Fargo Investments, Wells Fargo Bank, and Wells Fargo Advisers collectively referred to as “Wells Fargo”). Holly Hanson, John Rennell, Marcia Bloemendaal, and David Notrica formerly worked for what is now known as Morgan Stanley. Kristen Heilemann and Marcella Lees worked as financial consultants and portfolio managers for Merrill Lynch. While employed at Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch, the employees were denied the ability to open self-directed brokerage accounts at other firms. The employer firms argued that federal law requires brokerage firms to promulgate rules and regulations reasonably designed to supervise their employees in order to deter the misuse of material, nonpublic information. Accordingly, the employers claimed that their denial of employee requests to open outside self-directed trading accounts promoted sound compliance policies and furthered the federal requirement to properly supervise.
By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Next Tuesday, Goldman Sachs will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they’ll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you’ll be less likely to make an uninformed kneejerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.
Goldman Sachs has recovered strongly from the worst of the financial crisis more than four years ago, but it hasn’t managed to overcome all of the obstacles in its path. With the threat of heightened regulation, the company’s earnings haven’t grown as quickly as investors would like. Let’s take an early look at what’s been happening with Goldman Sachs over the past quarter and what we’re likely to see in its quarterly report.
Stats on Goldman Sachs
|
Analyst EPS Estimate |
$3.84 |
|
Change From Year-Ago EPS |
(2%) |
|
Revenue Estimate |
$9.60 billion |
|
Change From Year-Ago Revenue |
(3.5%) |
|
Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters |
4 |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
Will Goldman Sachs crush estimates again this quarter?
Analysts have gotten a lot more excited about Goldman’s prospects over the past few months, as they’ve raised their estimates for the just-ended quarter by more than 10%, or $0.36 per share. Moreover, analysts have been even more optimistic about Goldman’s prospects for the rest of 2013, as their consensus earnings estimate has soared by more than $1 per share. That enthusiasm has translated into gains for Goldman’s stock, which has risen more than 11% since early January.
Arguably, Goldman’s big news for the quarter came from the stress tests. The company boosted its tier 1 common ratio by a full percentage point over the past year, yet while Goldman passed the tests, that extra capital didn’t translate into any stronger of a cushion for its “stressed minimum” capital ratio result. Indeed, both it and Morgan Stanley posted the lowest passing scores on that metric, showing the difficulty that investment-oriented banks have in satisfying the Fed about their stability.
Moreover, the Fed wasn’t satisfied with Goldman’s proposed capital plan, asking the bank to resubmit its plan to take other factors into account. JPMorgan Chase faced a similar restriction, although it plans to move ahead with its decision to boost its dividend by 27% and make a $6 billion stock buyback. Goldman hasn’t disclosed its capital intentions at this point, but with a dividend yield of just 1.3%, shareholders certainly hope that a boost to its payout will come in the near future.
One concern that arose in the past month is the extent to which Goldman is baldly moving forward with attempts to get around stricter regulation. In a filing for its proposed business development company, Liberty Harbor Capital, Goldman specifically mentioned its intent to “take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/12/goldman-sachs-seeks-to-start-growing-again/
By Matt Thalman, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Thanks to a few top stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to once again set a new all-time closing high at 14,865. Today, the index rose 62 points, or 0.42%, after investors received a better-than-expected jobless claims report, despite a few technology stocks plummeting. The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims for last week fell by 42,000, to 346,000. Economists were only expecting a decline of 23,000 from the 388,000 claims which were reported two weeks ago.
With the jobless numbers moving in a positive direction, the markets, as a whole, ended the session on a high note. While the Dow was the top index, the S&P 500 managed to rise 0.36%, as the Nasdaq lagged behind, only gaining 0.09%.
The Nasdaq was likely pulled lower by the IDC report, which indicated that PC sales declined 14% during the first quarter of 2013. This report pulled a number of technology stocks lower, but shares of Cisco slipped away from the downward pressure, and managed to become one of the index’s top stocks. Shares of the networking giant rose 1% during today’s trading session after climbing 2.4% yesterday, and 2% on Tuesday. Today’s move came on very little news, but Cisco certainly is gaining momentum. The company also recently announced a joint project with Microsoft, in which the two will work together to provide data center customers with more functionality and lower complexity. In addition, the two will work together to improve and grow data center operations.
Another top stock today was Chevron , which saw its shares rise 1.09%. One likely catalyst for the rise was the recent Morgan Stanley report that claimed Chevron would outperform its fellow Dow component and competitor ExxonMobil by 55% over the next few years. Morgan Stanley believes Chevron could experience higher production growth and realize better returns in the coming years. The firm also raised Chevron’s price target to $135 per share, while reducing Exxon’s to $85 per share.
Not only does Morgan Stanley believe Chevron is cheap, but my Fool Colleague Brian Pacampara also feels that way. To read what Brian has to say about the company, click here.
Shares of Pfizer rose 2.41%, making it the true “top stock” of the Dow today. The increase came after Pfizer announced that its palbociclib, an experimental treatment for breast cancer, received the Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA. This is a great development for the company, as it will now have the drug expedited through the regulatory process. Currently, the drug is in the later stages of testing, and this news should help it hit the market sooner rather than later.
More top stocks
The Motley Fool’s chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for this year. Find out which stock it is in the brand-new free report, “The Motley Fool’s Top Stock for 2013.” Just click here to access
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/the-dows-top-stocks-on-a-record-setting-day/
By Travis Hoium, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Although we don’t believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes — just in case they’re material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Boyd Gaming jumped 10% today after the company got an analyst upgrade.
So what: Morgan Stanley upgraded shares to overweight today, and gave the stock a $12 price target. The analyst cited the potential for online gaming as the driver of the stock, potentially bringing as much revenue to the industry as Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined.
Now what: Online gaming is slowly being legalized across the U.S., with Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware being the first to allow it. Boyd has a potentially lucrative partnership with bwin.party and MGM Resorts , which could lead to huge profit growth, as I pointed out over a year ago. I wouldn’t buy on this analyst upgrade alone, but the potential for online gaming is too big to ignore. I’ve built some estimates before (which can be seen here) and there’s huge upside for both Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts, but only if its legalized nationally. Until then, the potential for online gaming is minimal for Boyd.
Interested in more info on Boyd Gaming? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.
The article Why Investors Are Gambling on Boyd Gaming Today originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/why-investors-are-gambling-on-boyd-gaming-today/
By Matt Thalman, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Only four of the Dow Jones Industrial Average‘s 30 components ended the trading session in the red today, as the blue-chip index rose more than 128 points. The main catalyst for the move higher today was the release of the Federal Reserve‘s minutes from its last meeting. These minutes made it clear that the Fed will only slow its quantitative easing programs once the jobs market dramatically improves. The promise of continued cheap money was enough for investors to push the Dow to an all-time closing high once again today. The Dow now rests at 14,802, after rising 0.88%.
Two of the four losers today were Wal-Mart and Travelers, which lost 0.96% and 0.54%, respectively, this afternoon. This morning I touched on a few reasons for the declines. To read about those companies, click here.
After releasing mixed earnings after the market closed on Monday, shares of Alcoa fell 0.95% today. My fellow colleague John Maxfield pointed out earlier today that the aluminum giant is now the most shorted Dow component. Currently 6.47% of the float has been sold short by investors speculating that the stock still has room to move lower. While this is not a particularly positive thing for the company, it’s really not all that bad, either. But what is a negative sign is that, according to John, the company’s earnings per share have fallen 44% since the financial crisis began. Alcoa also takes the No. 1 spot for this metric when compared with the other 29 Dow components.
Shares of ExxonMobil lost 0.1% of their value today, after a Morgan Stanley analyst changed the stock‘s rating and gave investors a better option. Exxon was cut from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating this morning, in addition to having its target price cut from $90 per share to only $85. The new target price would indicate that shares are worth less than their current price of $88.68.
Morgan Stanley also stated that Exxon competitor and fellow Dow component Chevron will outperform Exxon by 55% over the next five years. Furthermore, Morgan Stanley slapped a price target of $135 per share on Chevron. Reports have cited that higher production growth and improving returns will give Chevron an advantage in the long run.
While the analyst may be correct, the call is a little late. Shares of Chevron have already risen 10.63% year to date, while Exxon’s stock is up only 2.46% in 2013.
More Foolish insight
If you’re on the lookout for some currently intriguing energy plays, check out The Motley Fool’s “3 Stocks for $100 Oil.” For free access to this special report, simply click here now.
The article Exxon Mobil’s Stock Falls As the Dow Sets a New Record originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Matt Thalman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Chevron.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Eric Volkman, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Fifth Street Finance is about to expand its capital base. The company has launched a fresh issue of 13.5 million shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. It also intends to grant its underwriters a purchase option for an additional 2.025 million shares.
Fifth Street said it plans to use the proceeds of the issue to retire debt drawn from its credit facilities and, through reborrowing under those facilities, to make investments in small and mid-sized businesses.
The lead book-running managers for the issue are Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and the Securities units of Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank.
The article Fifth Street Finance Floats New Stock Issue originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Eric Volkman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo and owns shares of Wells Fargo. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Harvey Jones, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
LONDON — I’m window shopping for shares again, and there are plenty of goodies for sale. Should I pop Polymetal International into my basket?
Go West, go East
Russian gold and silver producer Polymetal International sought the greater security of a FTSE 100 listing in 2011 in a bid to attract a wider investor base, boost liquidity and reduce political risk. I’m tempted by the prospect of Western standards of corporate governance and Eastern growth potential. Should I buy it?
Polymetal International’s share price has plummeted nearly 25% over the past six months, but publication of its preliminary 2012 results earlier this week sparked a sudden 6% rebound. That’s down to its “strong operational performance”, which included a 31% rise in gold production and a 40% leap in revenues to $1.85 billion dollars. Adjusted EBITDA grew a forecast-busting 47% to $918 million. Polymetal also fulfilled its promise to pay 30% of net earnings to investors (up from 20% last year), paying 31 cents a share (on top of a special dividend of 50 cents in January). Management has floated the idea of making a special payment every December, if cash flow allows. Given its strong cash position, Polymetal could be a nice little income earner.
Gold bugs
This week, Polymetal also announced that it had completed its purchase of the Maminskoye gold deposit in Sverdlovks, Russia, which it claims has “substantial exploration upside”, and could yield between 80,000 and 120,000 ounces of gold a year. That’s another advantage of a FTSE 100 listing. It makes equity-based acquisitions easier.
Polymetal is sitting pretty, thanks to its strong financial performance, stable cash flow, solid margins and healthy return on capital, and is already on track to meet its gold production targets for 2013. Commodity stocks have struggled in recent months, but that could make now a buying opportunity. Polymetal currently trades at 13.2 times earnings, and although that isn’t dirt cheap, you aren’t paying over the odds, either. You get a forecast yield of 3.7%, and an exciting dividend policy. Projected earnings-per-share growth is a shiny 56% this year, followed by 15% in 2014.
Chinese arithmetic
Your decision to buy will partly depend on how bullish you are about the global recovery. But with central bankers competing to pump liquidity into the economy, and Chinese domestic consumption rising, the tide could be moving in favor of commodities. Brokers rate Polymetal. Canaccord Genuity names it a buy, with a target price of £14, Morgan Stanley is overweight on a target of £11.25. You can currently buy it for £9.
As with every miner, you have to understand the risks. This is a volatile sector. Polymetal is still relatively new to the FTSE 100 index, while three major shareholders continue to dominate its board. The gold price is down 10% over the last six months, and any serious decline could hit investor sentiment. But if you think metals are set to get more precious over the next
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Matt DiLallo, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
If you haven’t noticed yet, natural gas prices have started to head higher. A combination of factors, including a surprisingly cold March, have led to resilient demand. As prices have inched up, two top Wall Street banks have seen enough momentum to raise their 2013 price target for natural gas. Morgan Stanley‘s price forecast was bumped up by 7% to $3.93 per million British thermal units, or MMBtu, while Goldman Sachs raised its forecast from $3.75 per MMBtu all the way to $4.40 per MMBtu.
That’s good news for those companies in regions where natural gas production is actually growing. Overall since the end of 2011, North American dry shale gas production has risen by 9.95% to 27.2 billion cubic feet of production per day as of the beginning of this past February. This rise has been driven primarily by production growth at three big plays. Let’s take a look.
Eagle Ford
While not known for natural gas, the Eagle Ford Shale has actually seen a 43.12% pop in natural gas production according to data from the Energy Information Administration, or EIA, over the past year. Most of this gas is associated with oil and liquids, as fewer companies are drilling in the dry gas window at the moment.
For example, Chesapeake Energy‘s core acreage is in the sweet spot of the oil window. Despite that, 19% of the company’s fourth-quarter production was natural gas. As Chesapeake increases its overall production, natural gas production increases as a byproduct of its liquids-focused drilling. Further, as the nation’s No. 2 gas producer, Chesapeake is one of the biggest beneficiaries of higher gas prices.
Marcellus
According to the EIA, natural gas production out of the Marcellus jumped 55.28% over the past year. Top producer, Range Resources , produced a total of 146 Bcf of natural gas last year. That production easily exceeded that of number two producer EQT‘s 103 Bcf of natural gas production last year.
These two companies hold one thing in common: Both are among the lowest-cost producers of natural gas in the country, which gives them a competitive advantage to make money when most of their competitors cannot. Investors in these low-cost producers have been served well as both have returned around 40% over the past year.
Bakken
While the Bakken is known for its oil, natural gas production skyrocketed by 94.38% according to data from the EIA. Part of the reason more gas is being produced is because less of it is being flared — instead, it’s being put into pipelines. Most of this infrastructure simply didn’t exist until recently and now that companies have a way to get gas to market, they’re able to sell instead of flare.
The impact of this reduced flaring is clearly evident at Kodiak Oil & Gas . In 2011 the company produced 1,329 MMcf of gas, but flared 807 MMcf. That’s 61% of the gas! Last year the
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Filed under: Housing Market, Foreclosure, Economy
The nation’s largest banks will begin sending payments this week to millions of Americans who may have been wrongfully foreclosed on during the housing crisis.
A total of $3.6 billion in cash will be distributed to 4.2 million borrowers who lost their homes or were at risk of foreclosure, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency said Tuesday. Payments will range from $300 to $125,000. About 90 percent of borrowers whose mortgages were serviced by 11 of the banks will receive payments by the end of April, the agencies said.
The last group of payments is expected in mid-July.
A large share of those receiving payments, about 3 million borrowers, will each get only $300 or $400, according to data issued by the two agencies. Around 80 percent of them will receive $1,000 or less.
At the other end of the scale, $125,000 payments will go to 1,082 military personnel, who were foreclosed upon in violation of a law prohibiting foreclosures on active-duty service members, and to 53 borrowers who weren’t in default on their mortgages but still lost their homes.
Generally homeowners who were wrongly denied a loan modification are entitled to relatively small payments. By contrast borrowers whose homes were deemed to be unfairly seized are eligible for the biggest payments.
The amounts apply to borrowers whose mortgages were serviced by the 11 banks. Details for the other two, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, will be announced in the near future, the agencies said.
The 13 banks, which include Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, reached a settlement with the federal agencies in January. They agreed to pay a total $9.3 billion in cash and in reductions of mortgage balances.
The banks settled the regulators’ complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on borrowers with abuses such as “robo-signing,” or automatically signing off on foreclosures without properly reviewing documents.
The settlement covers borrowers whose homes were in any stage of the foreclosure process in 2009 or 2010. It ended an independent review of loan files that the two agencies ordered in 2011.
Banks and consumer advocates had complained that the loan-by-loan reviews were time-consuming and costly and didn’t reach many affected borrowers. Some questioned the independence of the consultants who performed the reviews, who often ruled against borrowers.
Consumer advocates have criticized the deal, saying the regulators settled for too low a price by letting banks avoid full responsibility for wrongful foreclosures.
The other banks in the settlement are HSBC, MetLife Bank, PNC Financial Services, Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, Aurora, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Royston Wild, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
LONDON — Shares in budget airline easyJet have steadily strode higher since the middle of 2011, and in the past six months alone have leapt more than 66%, striking all-time highs of 1,128 pence in the process.
And I believe that the stock still has much further to run owing to bursting growth prospects and an improving ability to grab custom from rival operators. Indeed, just today Morgan Stanley hiked its target price for the carrier’s shares by almost a third, to 1,375 pence, affirming easyJet’s chunky upside potential.
Airline ready to boost market share
easyJet announced in last week’s trading statement that it expects revenues per seat to have risen 8.5% in the September-March period, beating a projected rise of between 6% and 8%, and propelled by stronger-than-forecast late bookings in the run up to the Easter break.
Although overall capacity rose 3.3% from the corresponding 2012 period, falling short of a projected 3.5% increase, this was caused by weather-related cancellations. And passenger numbers rose 5.3% in March, it added.
The company halved first-half losses year-on-year, which is now predicted to come in between £60 million and £65 million. Indeed, cost per seat (excluding fuel) rose 3.5%, at the lowest point of estimates due to the firm’s effective cost-management plan during the winter.
I fully expect easyJet to sustain future growth by grabbing market share from other major industry players. Higher-cost rivals such as Iberia and Air France are reducing the number of routes served, as well as flight frequency on the remaining routes, giving rivals such as easyJet room to muscle in.
Furthermore, I believe airlines with the capacity to offer cheaper services are likely to remain in vogue while the beleaguered economic backdrop in Europe continues to strike travellers’ wallets.
Earnings growth expected to soar
Broker Investec expects earnings per share to explode 35% in the year ending September 2013, to 83.4 pence, before galloping 12% higher the following year to 93.1 pence.
The airline currently changes hands on a P/E rating of 12.4 and 11.1 for 2013 and 2014 respectively. This represents a healthy discount to a forward earnings multiple of 13.1 for budget airline rival Ryanair Holdings, and 17.6 for the wider travel and leisure sector.
As well, easyJet’s status as a value stock is exemplified by a price/earnings to growth readout of 0.4 and 0.9 for this year and next. Any value below one is considered excellent value for money.
The canny guide for clever investors
If you already hold shares in easyJet, check out this newly updated special report that highlights a host of other FTSE winners identified by ace fund manager Neil Woodford.
Woodford — head of U.K. Equities at Invesco Perpetual — has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, and boasts an exceptional track record when it comes to selecting stock market stars.
The report, compiled by The Motley Fool’s crack team of analysts, is totally free and comes with no further obligation. Click here now to download your copy.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
From a fees perspective, Morgan Stanley was the No. 2 bank in terms of equity underwriting in 2012. But now, with The Blackstone Group taking Sea World public, Goldman Sachs is the lead book runner on the deal, which includes a whole slew of the biggest names in investment banking. But which name isn’t on that list? Why, Morgan Stanley.
Should investors be concerned that this bank’s reputation is slipping away? Motley Fool financial analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson give investors some perspective on how to interpret this fishy new deal.
During the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs did so well pivoting to avoid the worst of the fallout that it had to downplay its success to duck public ire and conspiracy theories. Today, Goldman is still arguably the powerhouse global financial name, and yet its stock trades at a valuation of less than half what it fetched prior to the crisis. Does this make Goldman one of the best opportunities in the market today? To answer that question, I invite you to check out The Motley Fool‘s special report on the bank. In it, Fool banking expert Matt Koppenheffer uncovers the key issues facing Goldman, including three specific areas Goldman investors must watch. To get access to this report, just click here.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Andrew Marder, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
If we’ve learned nothing over the past decade, we’ve learned that on Capitol Hill, Democrats and Republicans hate each other. So I suppose we should all be applauding the unanimous approval of Mary Jo White as the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Apparently not one single U.S. Senator was concerned that, for the last decade, she worked to defend banks like JPMorgan Chase , Morgan Stanley , and UBS .
Maybe that doesn’t matter, and White will be completely unbiased. Even so, the number of cases she’ll have to recuse herself from seems likely to exceed the number she’ll be allowed to hear in her first year, because of the number of personal connections she still holds in the banking world.
The warm embrace of familiarity
Wall Street‘s love of American politics has never been in question, and in the 2012 election, the financial sector gave over $88 million to presidential campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The close connection the industry feels with politicians has led to what many have deemed a revolving door between Wall Street and Capitol Hill.
During the financial crisis, then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson was reported to have held closed-door meetings with his former employer, JPMorgan. Those close ties may lead to weakness in policy and in litigation. Unfortunately, White’s nomination isn’t a breath of fresh air, but just more of the same.
Commenting on the appointment, the Investment Company Institute — a trade group for money markets, which recently tried to sue the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — applauded the appointment. Without making it a black and white issue, shouldn’t we want the people who are working on behalf of the companies that are suing the government to be more upset with these appointments? While they might have to work together, I’d be happier if the Institute had been furious.
What comes next
To paraphrase Senator Sherrod Brown, who initially voted against White’s appointment, I’m not worried that White is a bad person, and I’m not worried she’s going to be manipulated — I’m worried that we’ve made the system of oversight too chummy with those that it’s supposed to oversee.
White will have to recuse herself for a year in cases that involve former clients, but after that, things don’t get much clearer. With a net worth well over $15 million and a decade spent in the financial industry, White is probably going to have to sit out of at least a few cases in which she has a financial interest in the outcome.
While it’s probably not fair to say that there’s a fox in the hen house, it’s not all that far off. I’m reminded of a Far Side cartoon that depicts a dingo farm built right next door to a nursery, with a caption that just reads “Trouble brewing.” That’s what we’ve got now — trouble brewing.
With big finance firms still trading at deep discounts to their historic norms, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Morgan Stanley Schedules Quarterly Investor Conference Call
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Morgan Stanley (NYS: MS) will announce its first quarter 2013 financial results on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at approximately 7:15 a.m. (ET). A conference call to discuss the results will be held on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
The call will be available at www.morganstanley.com or by dialing 1-877-895-9527 (domestic) and 1-706-679-2291 (international); the passcode is 27304664. To listen to the playback, please visit our website or dial: 1-855-859-2056 (domestic) or 1-404-537-3406 (international); the passcode is 68986239.
Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
Morgan Stanley
Media Relations:
Wesley McDade, 212-761-2430
or
Investor Relations:
Celeste Mellet Brown, 212-761-3896
KEYWORDS: United States North America New York
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
The article Morgan Stanley Schedules Quarterly Investor Conference Call originally appeared on Fool.com.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Cousins Properties Prices Offering of 14,354,000 Shares of Common Stock
ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Cousins Properties Incorporated (the “Company”) (NYS: CUZ) today announced that it has increased its previously-announced underwritten public offering from 14,000,000 to 14,354,000 shares of its common stock and priced the offering at $10.45 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately $150 million. The underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,153,100 shares. The offering is expected to close on or about April 12, 2013, subject to customary closing conditions.
The Company intends to use a significant portion of the net proceeds of the offering to acquire 816 Congress Avenue, a Class-A office building in Austin, Texas. The property is currently under contract, and the acquisition is expected to close mid-April 2013. In addition, the Company intends to use a portion of the net proceeds to redeem in full its outstanding 7.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock.
BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Securities acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.
This offering will be made pursuant to a prospectus supplement to the Company’s prospectus dated March 29, 2013, filed as part of the Company’s effective shelf registration statement relating to these securities. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the shares described herein or any other securities, nor shall there be any sale of these shares in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or other jurisdiction. This offering may be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and the related prospectus.
Copies of the final prospectus supplement (when available) and the base prospectus relating to the shares can be obtained by contacting the underwriters as follows: BofA Merrill Lynch, 222 Broadway, New York, NY 10038, Attn: Prospectus Department or email at dq.prospectus_requests@baml.com; or J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by calling 1-866-803-9204.
About Cousins Properties Incorporated
The Company is a leading diversified real estate company with extensive experience in development, acquisition, financing, management and leasing. Based in Atlanta, the Company actively invests in office and retail projects. The Company is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
