US mortgage carnage

[numbercruncher]

UK Chancellor Darling has proposed that the GBP 25bn BoE loan made to Northern Rock be converted into bonds and sold to investors ... now there's a place to put the money you pull out of the market...
Cheers
..........Kauri

Laff my britches off ......

Least the politicians have learnt from the muppets that Infected the entire planet with this toxic waste

 

[wayneL]

Same idiot that sold 2/3 of the gold for $275 an ounce, yup the UK is in superb hands

The yocals here looked at me kinda funny when I referred to him as Crash Gordon; now they're asking me what they should do.

 

[dhukka]

More US mortgage related carnage I assume?

WestLB to lose $1.5 billion, may make $1.5 billion write-off

German bank WestLB said it's going to post a loss of approximately 1 billion euros ($1.46 billion) in 2007 and may write down almost 1 billion euros. The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the regional associations and the savings banks associations will balance out the annual loss and up to 1 billion euros of write-downs in a planned capital increase, WestLB said.

 

[Mofra]

...with all this sub- prime stuff going on I would hate not to be able to access my equity if the bank ran into problems.

If your lender was taken over, chances are you will have the same sort of dual branding arrangemt that CBA/Colonial had, NAB/Homeside etc.

You could also refinance as well... although if the property market slowly retracts in line with expectations, you might have a little less equity than you planned.

 

[dhukka]

More US mortgage related carnage:

Fifth Third Bancorp's fourth-quarter net drops 42%

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) reported fourth-quarter net income of $38 million, or 7 cents a share, down from $66 million, or 12 cents, earned in the final three months of 2006. On an operating basis, the Cincinnati-based holding company said, quarterly earnings would have been $260 million, or 49 cents a share, down from $357 million, or 64 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The mean profit estimate as compiled by FactSet Research had been for Fifth Third to earn 33 cents a share. "Operating results continue to be relatively strong," said Kevin Kabat, Fifth Third's president and chief executive. "However, the credit environment remains challenging, and we expect credit conditions and the performance of our loan portfolio to continue to deteriorate in the near term." In particular, higher loss reserves on loans and leases -- $284 million in the latest quarter, up 166% from a year earlier -- are to be expected in the short run, he said.

 

[dhukka]

And the one we've been waiting for today:

Bank of America Earnings Decline 95% After Mortgage Writedown

Bank of America Corp., the second- largest U.S. bank, said earnings dropped 95 percent after at least $5.28 billion of mortgage-related writedowns.

Fourth-quarter net income fell to $268 million, or 5 cents a share, from $5.26 billion, or $1.16, a year earlier, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America said today in a statement. Excluding merger and restructuring costs and a gain from the sale of Marsico Capital Management LLC, the company earned 5 cents a share, missing the 21-cent average estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

``Our fourth-quarter results were severely impacted by ongoing dislocations in capital markets and the slowing economy,'' Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis said in the statement.

Bank of America increased its bet on the faltering U.S. housing market earlier this month by agreeing to acquire Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. mortgage lender, for about $4 billion in stock. Lewis has scaled back investment banking by cutting 1,150 jobs since October and putting the hedge-fund brokerage unit up for sale.

``Investment banking isn't Ken Lewis's core competency and he doesn't need it,'' says Bruce Foerster, a former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. managing director who's now president of the South Beach Capital Markets advisory firm in Miami.

 

[dhukka]

What's that? You want more? OK then, how about this one;

National City 4th Quarter EPS Down On Mtge Losses, Visa Charges

National City Corp. (NCC) swung to a fourth-quarter loss of $333 million, or 53 cents a share, from a profit of $842 million, or $1.36 cents a share, a year earlier. The Cleveland financial services company said the loss resulted from a large credit-loss provision, losses on mortgage loans held for sale, indemnification charges from Visa Inc. and severance charges from employee reductions. The company also recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $181 million, or 26 cents a share, associated with the mortgage business. Analysts from Thomson Financial, on average, projected a per-share loss of 26 cents, excluding some items. National City's fourth-quarter tax-equivalent net-interest income declined to $1.12 billion from $1.13 billion while its non-interest income fell to $597 million from $1.7 billion a year earlier

 

[wayneL]

And yet there is a glass floor under the futures...hmmmmmm

 

[chops_a_must]

And yet there is a glass floor under the futures...hmmmmmm

I bet we go limit down across the board on open barring a helicopter.

You would dip in too if you knew everyone could only buy from above. The problem is, mis-time that trade... hmmm...

The pre-open futures have been quite liquid tonight...

 

[dhukka]

And yet there is a glass floor under the futures...hmmmmmm

Hanging on for a rate cut perhaps?

 

[dhukka]

Got to love these headlines flashing across the screen;

8:04Treasury Secretary Paulson: Bipartisan support for stimulus
8:04Treasury's Paulson: Unemployment remains low
8:03Treasury's Paulson says U.S. economy resilient
8:03Treasury's Paulson says housing correction inevitable
8:02Paulson says he's optimistic on fiscal stimulus package

Absolute muppet

 

[Kauri]

Got to love these headlines flashing across the screen;

8:04Treasury Secretary Paulson: Bipartisan support for stimulus
8:04Treasury's Paulson: Unemployment remains low
8:03Treasury's Paulson says U.S. economy resilient
8:03Treasury's Paulson says housing correction inevitable
8:02Paulson says he's optimistic on fiscal stimulus package

Absolute muppet

and half of the rate cut rumours debunked??? (purported Joint eurozone action)
.........Almunia Dismissive of Coordinated Rate Cut Rumour ..........

 

[dhukka]

We knew this was coming after their warning last week but anyway here it is again;

Ambac swings to big loss after $5.2 billion writedown
Troubled bond insurer Ambac Financial (ABK) said Tuesday its fourth quarter results swung to a loss of $3.26 billion, or $31.85 a share as the firm wrote off $5.2 billion of credit derivative exposures. The company earned $202.7 million or $1.88 a share a year ago. The firm said it is also exploring strategic options with potential partners to address some of its financial problems. The reiterated that it sees opportunities in its core markets and that it will strengthen its capital position to keep its AAA credit rating at Moody's and Standard & Poors.

 

[Kauri]

MBIA , the bond insurer, has jumped nigh on 28% and Ambac has rallied the best part of 38%. I guess I'm really convinced that the worst is behind us now.. or no... it wouldn't be the PPT would it.. :
Cheers
.........Kauri

 

[chops_a_must]

MBIA , the bond insurer, has jumped nigh on 28% and Ambac has rallied the best part of 38%. I guess I'm really convinced that the worst is behind us now.. or no... it wouldn't be the PPT would it.. :
Cheers
.........Kauri

Nah, there have been some people with massive money shorting it into bankruptcy. Just one almighty short squeeze.

 

[refined silver]

MBIA , the bond insurer, has jumped nigh on 28% and Ambac has rallied the best part of 38%. I guess I'm really convinced that the worst is behind us now.. or no... it wouldn't be the PPT would it.. :
Cheers
.........Kauri

PPT started in Europe dragging FTSE back up from 4.3% down, then the .75 cut before opening and more futures buying, after that shorts get squeezed, but on a 1 yr chart, 28% and 38% don't look very impressive, still down hugely. (75%+ from memory don't have a chart handy)

 

[Kauri]

MBIA , the bond insurer, has jumped nigh on 28% and Ambac has rallied the best part of 38%. I guess I'm really convinced that the worst is behind us now.. or no... it wouldn't be the PPT would it.. :
Cheers
.........Kauri

and that was the trading day before last nights 70% gain on the more widespread news of the rumoured bailout... wouldn't it be good to know these rumours before they become general knowledge.. even if they don't become fact?? ..
Cheering
...........Kauri

 

[refined silver]

and that was the trading day before last nights 70% gain on the more widespread news of the rumoured bailout... wouldn't it be good to know these rumours before they become general knowledge.. even if they don't become fact?? ..
Cheering
...........Kauri

Ah yes, not hard to make money on the inside!!!

For those on the outside, as alluded to on other threads an 80% drop followed by an 80% rise still leaves down over 60%.

 

[Kauri]

Ah yes, not hard to make money on the inside!!!

For those on the outside, as alluded to on other threads an 80% drop followed by an 80% rise still leaves down over 60%.

yes... but. getting in at $7ish on the initial rumours tuesday night via 10% margin cfd with 0.3%GSL premium and... oops, it's now over $13. Not necessary to ride her down to be able to ride her up.. believe me.. or not..
Cheers
........Kauri

 

[refined silver]

yes... but. getting in at $7ish on the initial rumours tuesday night via 10% margin cfd with 0.3%GSL premium and... oops, it's now over $13. Not necessary to ride her down to be able to ride her up.. believe me.. or not..
Cheers
........Kauri

Too True.

For others, talk about trying to catching falling knives...or pianos..

Not a healthy looking chart for a company supposedly underpinning the system is it?