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.

The bailouts of late 2008 and 2009 have cost the American taxpayers $61 billion, according to the Treasury Department, but the banks aren't to blame this time. The auto manufacturer bailout, which includes Chrysler and General Motors (GRM), has cost the country more than $30 billion, with American International Group (AIG) consuming another $30 billion.

Meanwhile, Bank of America (BAC) has already made good with the government, and several banks -- such as Capital One (COF), JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and TCF Financial (TCB) -- only have to clean up situations regarding the warrants they've issued. And interestingly, the losses from the bailouts on AIG and auto manufacturers are being offset by profits from the bank bailouts, which could generate additional funds of up to $19.5 billion.

Continue reading Banks subsidizing auto TARP, extra money could be spent

Banks subsidizing auto TARP, extra money could be spent originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Capital One warrants help chip away TARP obligation

Capital One warrants help chip away TARP obligation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Capital One (COF) soars on Q3 earnings surprise

Capital One (COF) soars on Q3 earnings surprise originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Capital One is on schedule

Capital One is on schedule originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Capital One reports a smaller-than-expected loss -- still a loss

Capital One reports a smaller-than-expected loss -- still a loss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Late Monday, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) unveiled its plan to sell $1.2 billion worth of stock in order to repay its TARP loan to the U.S. Treasury Department. The company priced 42 million shares at $28.75 a piece, a discount of 3% to the stock's close on Monday.

Even though BK passed the government's stress test with no trouble, the bank is nonetheless eager to raise funds and pay off its debt to the government. Other financial firms selling stock to repay TARP loans include Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB).

However, investors seem none too pleased with BK's dilutive stock offering. The security shed 2.5% within the first 10 minutes of today's trading, extending BK's retreat from double-top resistance at the $33 level. The shares first shied away from this region in mid-April, and pulled back from the $33 neighborhood again last week.

Continue reading Put sellers target Bank of New York Mellon after $1 billion stock offering

Put sellers target Bank of New York Mellon after $1 billion stock offering originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 May 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Capital One Financial: A play for high-risk investors only

Capital One Financial: A play for high-risk investors only originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 May 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Banking analyst Meredith Whitney is credited with questioning assets on bank balance sheets given the collapse in the real estate market.

Taking advantage of a complete lack of information, Ms. Whitney triggered a massive collapse of trust in an industry by claiming that mortgage-backed securities were worth far less than what the market had perceived.

While she may have had a basis for her claims, her assessment was more sensational than factual. Mortgage-backed securities are quite complex instruments whereby loans are sliced, diced and packaged for sale to a global market.

With maturities extending 30 years into the future, it is unreasonable and unfair to assume that paybacks, even with high default rates will amount to what is currently priced into the market.

The lack of understanding of the underlying security or loans at the individual level has created uncertainty that has yet to be resolved.

For fans of the original "Star Wars" movie, think of the weakness in terms of attacking the Death Star. That one hole was exploited (we can debate the merits of doing so later) by Ms. Whitney and those like her.

Continue reading Next target for fear mongers: Credit cards

Next target for fear mongers: Credit cards originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Reuters reports that Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) reported that its profit tumbled 40% and its earnings came in 10 cents a share less than expected. Its loan losses spiked -- cutting into profits.

In particular, Capital One made $1.21 a share and analysts had expected $1.31. And its provision for losses more than doubled from the same period in 2007. According to PR Newswire, Capital One's provision increased 109% from $397 million to $829 million.

The problem? Consumers are not paying off their credit cards like they did when they were using their house as an ATM. With housing prices down 15% and three million foreclosures underway, consumers just can't afford to pay off their credit cards. And Capital One is expecting a big jump in bad debt. Its stock has fallen 4.9% after hours.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

Capital One profit plunges 40% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc (NYSE: BUD) is going to turn down InBev's unsolicited $46.35B takeover offer and that may come before week's end, the Wall Street Journal reported. InBev is then expected to pursue a hostile takeover and Anheuser will say the offer undervalues the company. Instead, Anheuser will attempt to boost its share price by selling non-core assets such as its theme parks.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that Belgian-Dutch financial firm Fortis NL (OTC: FORSY), in a move to increase its solvency, will attempt to raise $12.54B, and will also cancel its interim dividend and sell some assets.
• According to people familiar with the situation, the Wall Street Journal reported that JP Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) reportedly dropped out of the bidding for General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) $30B credit-card business. The sources said Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) are not expected to submit bids, as a result of charge-offs and rising delinquencies in their own credit card portfolios.
• The Financial Times reported that the London Stock Exchange, in a joint venture with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH), unveiled a pan-European equities trading platform to fight rivals that are hurting its market share.

Newspaper wrap-up: Anheuser-Busch prepares to battle InBev originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Capital One (COF) lifted by finance sector upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) is recently down $1.66 to $47.96 on unconfirmed negative chatter.

COF is speaking at Credit Suisse Group Financial Services Forum at 2:00pm today.

COF call option volume of 3,528 contracts compares to put volume of 8,528 contracts. COF March option implied volatility of 75 is above its 26-week average of 47 according to Track Data, indicating that investors are betting on a move down.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option update: Capital One Fin'l put volume & volatility up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

if Ben Stein is right that people who are worried about the subprime mortgage crisis are being "chicken little," then there will be plenty of clucking going on following yesterday's announcement from Capital One Financial Corp.(NYSE: COF) that it was shutting down its GreenPoint mortgage unit.

As the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) points out, Capital One bought this business as part of its $13.2 billion acquisition of GreenPoint Financial Corp. The company now is shutting 31 locations, firing 1,900 workers and taking a charge of $860 million, or $2.15 per share. To top it off, Capital One is slashing its 2007 guidance by $5 a share.

What's scary is that GreenPoint didn't even sell subprime mortgages. It sold loans to people who lacked sufficient documentation to qualify for the best rates.

When the dust clears, it will show that the real estate boom was fueled by rampant mortgage fraud. People got loans that they couldn't afford and are now paying the price. Congress needs to take action to make sure this doesn't happen again.

It's only a matter of time for the next shoe to drop.

Why Capital One (COF) will make Wall Street cluck originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Capital One feels the pain originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Apr 2007 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.