Fourth quarter GDP ended on a uptrend, coming in at 3.1%. The state of the economy was healthy and it looked like growth would continue to match or exceed Q4. Based on that scenario, Bank of America (BAC) analyst Ethan Harris, forecast first-quarter 2011 GDP to come in at 3.3%.

But in the few short months of 2011, the world is getting turned upside down. The conflict in Libya has cut OPEC oil production and sent oil prices skyrocketing. In turn, the price of gasoline is nearing $4.00 per gallon. And food processors are raising prices due to higher raw commodity prices. These two factors have put a dent in the household budget.

Continue reading Bank of America Cuts First-Quarter GDP Forecast

Bank of America Cuts First-Quarter GDP Forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bank of America (BAC) is a pretty big player in its industry; it's got brand equity -- everyone has heard of it. How is its stock looking these days?

At the time of writing, shares could be had for $13.44. The 52-week low for the company is $10.91; the 52-week high is $19.86. That's a tight range, and as one might imagine, this company has been a vehicle for traders trying to ride whatever volatility is available at any given time.

Continue reading BAC: Checking In on Bank of America's Stock

BAC: Checking In on Bank of America's Stock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks Q1 Review -- A Platform for Success

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks Q1 Review -- A Platform for Success originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Let's go back to the financial crisis and the practices that brought this country to its knees. Banks developed a fancy scheme whereby they absolved themselves of all risk from the loans they made. They simply wrapped them up in a bundle and sold them to someone else. What they were doing is essentially packaging and reselling "junk."

When the news of how bad things were became known, the markets froze and collapsed. No one knew who had which securities, and if they did, they didn't know their true value.

Continue reading Banks Lobby Against Risk Retention on the Loans They Make

Banks Lobby Against Risk Retention on the Loans They Make originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Red Hat (RHT) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Cogdell Spencer (CSA) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Micron (MU) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• El Paso Electric (EE) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• MICROS Systems (MCRS) and Harmony Gold (HMY) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Verso Paper (VRS) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Sony (SNE) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Noble Corp. (NE) and Baker Hughes (BHI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Tyson Foods (TSN) and Smithfield Foods (SFD) to buy from hold at BB&T.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BAC, BHI, KKR, MU, NE, RHT, SNE, TSN, WMT ...

Analyst Calls: BAC, BHI, KKR, MU, NE, RHT, SNE, TSN, WMT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Charles Schwab (SCHW) has announced its decision to acquire optionsXpress (OXPS) in a friendly all-stock deal. This deal will help Schwab compete with other firms like E-Trade (ETFC), Ameritrade (AMTD), and Bank of America (BAC), which all have large online brokerage services and are vying to provide investors with the best tools and services.

The deal, which is expected to close by the third quarter of 2011, will cost Schwab $1 billion, and the company will issue 60 million new shares to swap each outstanding share of optionsXpress with 1.02 of its own shares. Our $19.74 price estimate for Charles Schwab is at a premium of almost 12% to its current market value.

Continue reading Chuck Adds optionsXpress to Schwab's Portfolio

Chuck Adds optionsXpress to Schwab's Portfolio originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just when we thought the banking crisis was finished, we get another jolt. The U.S. Federal Reserve denied Bank of American (BAC) permission to raise its dividend.

If you recall, Bank of America is still struggling to absorb toxic assets it acquired with its purchase of Countrywide Mortgage. It has been on a slow climb back to fiscal health. At the end of 2010 the company was still bleeding, with a net loss of $1.2 billion.

Continue reading Fed Says No to Bank of America Dividend Increase

Fed Says No to Bank of America Dividend Increase originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Banks are back in the news -- in a good way. Speculation is that mergers and acquisitions will be picking up, so are profits. Some are looking to raise their dividend and/or buy back more shares. Bank of America (BAC) is one of them.

The CEO, Brian Moynihan, announced that B of A wasn't looking to buy other banks. Instead, the bank would be focused on returning more capital to shareholders in the form of a regular dividend (now 4 cents a year), share buybacks and special cash dividends. The reason: he feels the bank will earn between $35 billion and $40 billion a year (yes, billion ... a year) in pretax earnings when the business normalizes. (But there's the catch: when does business get to normal?)

Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: Are the Banks Back?

Comfort Zone Investing: Are the Banks Back? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is the fourth update to my ranting eight months ago that acquiring six of the most hated, and most highly traded stocks with constant negative headlines would outperform the overall market. The theory has born fruit as the toxic stocks are ahead and the difference is increasing over time.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Toxic Stock Update #4 -- BAC, BP, C, GE, GS, RIG

Chasing Value: Toxic Stock Update #4 -- BAC, BP, C, GE, GS, RIG originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Even when the market is up a lot, you can always find some good stocks that have been left behind but could be on the verge of a rebound," says George Putnam.

The editor of The Turnaround Letter explains, "That's where we suggest you focus your efforts right now. These eight stocks all have strong business franchises and have all significantly lagged the market over the last two years.

"In fact, several of them are still trading near or even below where they were in early 2009. Here, we look at Bank of America (BAC), Best Buy (BBY), Campbell Soup (CPB), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Microsoft (MSFT) and Sprint Nextel (S).

Continue reading Turnaround Expert: A Six-Pack of Rebound Buys

Turnaround Expert: A Six-Pack of Rebound Buys originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bank of America CEO Predicts Big Dividends by 2013

Bank of America CEO Predicts Big Dividends by 2013 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When it comes to hard-disk drives, Western Digital (WDC) is the largest publicly traded operator in the U.S. And with its recent deal, it will get much larger. That is, the company has agreed to pay $4.3 billion for the data storage business of Hitachi.

Based on the stock move for Western Digital, investors love the transaction. In early Monday trading, the shares were up a sizzling 17.33% to $35.21.

Continue reading Western Digital Bulks Up with a $4.3 Billion Storage Deal

Western Digital Bulks Up with a $4.3 Billion Storage Deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iShares Barclay 20+ Year Treasury ETF (TLT) March put option implied volatility is at 15, April is at 17, June is at 19, September is at 20, compared to its 26-week average of 16, according to Track Data, suggesting larger outer month price movement.

Bank of America (BAC) overall option implied volatility of 35 is near its 26-week average of 39, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement into its March 8 analyst day.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: iShares Barclay 20+ Year Treasury March Put Volatility Low at 15, September at 20 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bank of America (BAC), the largest bank in the U.S. based on the level of deposits, is testing new fee structure for its checking account service, which used to be free. The new pilot program for the customers in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts allow the customers to apply for various account types with a monthly fees ranging from $6 to $25. The bank plans to expand the program nationally later this year. Other banks such as JPMorgan (JPM), Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) have introduced new fees on the checking account service after the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill restricted banks from charging merchants processing fees on debit card transactions.

Continue reading Bank of America New Account Fees Could Add Slight Additional Upside

Bank of America New Account Fees Could Add Slight Additional Upside originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Compelling valuations and improving fundamentals mean that 2011 could be a strong year for shares of the biggest U.S. banks," suggests Elliott Gue.

The editor of Personal Finance explains, "To benefit from this outlook, Bank of America (BAC) is a new addition to the model Growth Portfolio.

"Bank of America suffered mightily during the financial crisis of 2007-09. Not only were the bank's legacy loan portfolios hit hard by delinquencies and charge-offs, but the company also assumed additional liabilities and credit risk when it acquired Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch.

Continue reading Bank of America Corp. (BAC): Bank on It

Bank of America Corp. (BAC): Bank on It originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The past week's data-point-of-consequence for investors had to be investment decisions by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A).

Buffett ended positions in several stocks in the fourth quarter, including the Bank of America (BAC), Nike (NKE), Fiserv (FISV), Becton Dickinson (BDX), Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), Lowe's Co.s (LOW), Nalco (NLC) and Nestle (NSRGY), according to a filing, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Berkshire added to a holding of only one stock in the fourth quarter: Wells Fargo (WFC).

Continue reading Tell-Tale Stat: Buffett's Berkshire Divests Bank of America, Nike Stakes

Tell-Tale Stat: Buffett's Berkshire Divests Bank of America, Nike Stakes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

JPMorgan (JPM) is one the largest and most diversified bank in the U.S., and offers services such as retail banking, commercial banking, asset management, investment banking, consumer lending and credit cards. Its main competitors include Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Deutsche Bank (DB) and Morgan Stanley (MS).

JPMorgan has benefited from a decline in provisions for credit losses that raised operating margins for its retail banking business. However, a weak economic recovery has resulted in a decline in average interest earning deposits and presents a potential concern for the multinational bank.

Continue reading JPMorgan: Upside and Downside Scenarios

JPMorgan: Upside and Downside Scenarios originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Picks Dust the S&P

Chasing Value: 2011 Picks Dust the S&P originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Early Friday morning, Bank of America (BAC) reported a fourth-quarter loss of 16 cents per share ($1.2 billion). This includes the company's previously announced goodwill impairment charge of $2 billion that was related to its home loans and insurance business. Taking this charge out of the equation, BAC earned 4 cents per share. It could be an interesting morning for BAC, as experts predicted earnings of 18 cents per share.

Shares of BAC were down more than 2% as we await the opening bell. This drop should push the stock low enough to mount a serious challenge to the support of both BAC's 20-month moving average and the $14 level.

Continue reading Bank of America Posts $1.24 Billion Loss for Fourth Quarter

Bank of America Posts $1.24 Billion Loss for Fourth Quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The earnings season ramps up this week. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters foresee strong reports from such big names as Apple (AAPL), eBay (EBAY), IBM (IBM), General Electric (GE), Google (GOOG), Schlumberger (SLB) and Southwest Airlines (LUV). And fast on the heels of last week's big earnings beat from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), there will be plenty more results from the financial sector to peruse this week.

Among the financials expected to post double-digit earnings growth this week are Capital One Financial (COF), Morgan Stanley (MS), SLM Corp. (SLM) and U.S. Bancorp (USB), but the week's biggest earnings winner may be Wells Fargo (WFC).

Continue reading Week in Preview: Banks in the Earnings Spotlight

Week in Preview: Banks in the Earnings Spotlight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.