Så ligger der en artig gevinst og venter. Jeg tør ikke, selvom mit mod er stort når det gælder Barclays. Men i næste uge kan BAC meget vel være en højdespringer.
Memo From BofA’s Lewis: Rough Week for Stock, Good Week for Business
Posted by Deal Journal
Bank of America’s shares hit an intraday low of $3.19 a share today, a level not seen since August 2, 1984, when the bank traded at $3.17 a share. Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis is having his own difficulties over his bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. It must be time for some morale building, and to that effect, here is a memo Lewis sent out to his staff today:
Rough week for stock, good week for business
To my teammates:
Public debate on the subject of potentially nationalizing some banks continues to put great pressure on our stock. And yet, our company continues to be profitable. I see no reason why a company that is profitable, with capital and liquidity levels that are very strong, and that continues to lend actively, should be considered for nationalization. Speculation about nationalization is based on a lack of understanding of our bank’s financial position as well as a lack of appreciation for the adverse ramifications for our customers and the economy.
Bank of America does not need any further assistance today, and I am confident we will not need any further assistance in the future. I believe our company has more than enough capital, liquidity and earnings power to make it through this downturn on our own from here on out.
There is no question that the recession is continuing to worsen and that rising credit costs will continue to put great pressure on our ability to generate earnings. But here’s the good news: Your hard work is producing results in businesses all across the company.
While I can’t divulge any specific financial results mid-quarter, I can tell you that activity in our trading business continues to be vastly improved over last quarter. The corporate debt markets are showing some signs of thawing in both high yield and high grade, and we’re already seeing some benefits in the market of our combination with Merrill Lynch, in terms of winning mandates to raise capital for new and existing clients. And Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors posted nearly a half billion dollars in CD sales in the first four weeks these products were available to their clients.
On the retail side, our customer satisfaction scores are up at a time when others are down. Our brand, which took a beating in January, strengthened in early February, as customers gave us high marks for trustworthiness and perception that money is safe with us. In the first week of February, our Go America, Save! promotion boosted CD sales 18% and IRA sales 10% over the prior week. We extended our industry record this week for number of active mobile banking customers, surpassing the 2 million mark. And this week, a consortium of banks, including Bank of America, launched the Help With My Credit campaign to raise awareness of the different ways credit card issuers can assist customers in managing their financial obligations.
I am really encouraged by what we’re seeing in our home lending business. The mortgage boom is so intense we actually pulled down some advertising for a brief period to give our teams a chance to catch up to the volume, but they are running at full tilt now and processing record volumes. Our decision to acquire Countrywide has put us in a great position to capitalize on the surge in this business. This is a very positive story as we lead up to the launch of our new Bank of America Home Loans brand in April.
Yesterday, I met with a group of about a hundred of our top leaders to discuss what’s going on in the businesses and listen to their thoughts and concerns. We talked about the great challenges we’re all facing in the marketplace. But we also talked about how encouraging it is to work with such strong teammates, to have the trust and support of our customers and clients, and to have the position in our markets that we do.
As we concluded the meeting, I told them that we have a clear challenge in front of us: to prove the cynics and the critics wrong. I know we can do that – in fact, I think we’re doing it now, in the work each of you is doing every day, and the business results you’re putting up on the board.
Thank you for that. Let’s keep the momentum going.
Ken
Posted by Deal Journal
Bank of America’s shares hit an intraday low of $3.19 a share today, a level not seen since August 2, 1984, when the bank traded at $3.17 a share. Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis is having his own difficulties over his bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. It must be time for some morale building, and to that effect, here is a memo Lewis sent out to his staff today:
Rough week for stock, good week for business
To my teammates:
Public debate on the subject of potentially nationalizing some banks continues to put great pressure on our stock. And yet, our company continues to be profitable. I see no reason why a company that is profitable, with capital and liquidity levels that are very strong, and that continues to lend actively, should be considered for nationalization. Speculation about nationalization is based on a lack of understanding of our bank’s financial position as well as a lack of appreciation for the adverse ramifications for our customers and the economy.
Bank of America does not need any further assistance today, and I am confident we will not need any further assistance in the future. I believe our company has more than enough capital, liquidity and earnings power to make it through this downturn on our own from here on out.
There is no question that the recession is continuing to worsen and that rising credit costs will continue to put great pressure on our ability to generate earnings. But here’s the good news: Your hard work is producing results in businesses all across the company.
While I can’t divulge any specific financial results mid-quarter, I can tell you that activity in our trading business continues to be vastly improved over last quarter. The corporate debt markets are showing some signs of thawing in both high yield and high grade, and we’re already seeing some benefits in the market of our combination with Merrill Lynch, in terms of winning mandates to raise capital for new and existing clients. And Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors posted nearly a half billion dollars in CD sales in the first four weeks these products were available to their clients.
On the retail side, our customer satisfaction scores are up at a time when others are down. Our brand, which took a beating in January, strengthened in early February, as customers gave us high marks for trustworthiness and perception that money is safe with us. In the first week of February, our Go America, Save! promotion boosted CD sales 18% and IRA sales 10% over the prior week. We extended our industry record this week for number of active mobile banking customers, surpassing the 2 million mark. And this week, a consortium of banks, including Bank of America, launched the Help With My Credit campaign to raise awareness of the different ways credit card issuers can assist customers in managing their financial obligations.
I am really encouraged by what we’re seeing in our home lending business. The mortgage boom is so intense we actually pulled down some advertising for a brief period to give our teams a chance to catch up to the volume, but they are running at full tilt now and processing record volumes. Our decision to acquire Countrywide has put us in a great position to capitalize on the surge in this business. This is a very positive story as we lead up to the launch of our new Bank of America Home Loans brand in April.
Yesterday, I met with a group of about a hundred of our top leaders to discuss what’s going on in the businesses and listen to their thoughts and concerns. We talked about the great challenges we’re all facing in the marketplace. But we also talked about how encouraging it is to work with such strong teammates, to have the trust and support of our customers and clients, and to have the position in our markets that we do.
As we concluded the meeting, I told them that we have a clear challenge in front of us: to prove the cynics and the critics wrong. I know we can do that – in fact, I think we’re doing it now, in the work each of you is doing every day, and the business results you’re putting up on the board.
Thank you for that. Let’s keep the momentum going.
Ken
Hedge funds are switching their short positions away from UK banks to areas such as insurers and defensives
Hedge funds switch shorts, but losing firepower
Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:31pm GMT Email | Print | Share| Single By Laurence Fletcher
LONDON (Reuters) - Hedge funds are switching their short positions away from UK banks to areas such as insurers and defensives, but their impact on the market is becoming less marked as the once-booming industry rapidly shrinks.
Short-selling bank shares was a profitable trade in a bleak 2008 for hedge funds, but with stock prices having fallen so sharply and tens of billions in writedowns announced, many funds think UK banks may have 'kitchen-sinked' their bad news and there is more chance of the shares rising.
Shorting means selling borrowed stock in the anticipation the price will fall, allowing the stock to be bought back at a profit.
This week high-profile hedge fund manager Crispin Odey, who last year won bets on falling bank shares, revealed he has been buying into UK banks because he thinks they are now so cheap.
"Given that on the other side of this disaster these banks can earn multiples of their current share price, the risk/return is wrong... Given time and distance, they will be fine," Odey wrote in a letter to investors.
Many funds are closing their UK bank shorts and moving to sectors such as insurance, which outperformed banks in 2008 -- the FTSE 350 Life Insurance sector .FTNMX8570 fell 43 percent while the FT350 Banks sector .FTNMX8350 fell 57 percent.
While insurers have reported some writedowns, some hedge funds are betting the sector will need to raise more capital or cut dividends. On Wednesday shares in Legal & General fell when a trading update failed to reassure investors on its capital position.
Hedge fund firm Lansdowne Partners this week increased its short position in Legal & General (LGEN.L) and also has shorts on Aviva (AV.L), Prudential (PRU.L) and Old Mutual (OML.L).
Hedge funds switch shorts, but losing firepower
Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:31pm GMT Email | Print | Share| Single By Laurence Fletcher
LONDON (Reuters) - Hedge funds are switching their short positions away from UK banks to areas such as insurers and defensives, but their impact on the market is becoming less marked as the once-booming industry rapidly shrinks.
Short-selling bank shares was a profitable trade in a bleak 2008 for hedge funds, but with stock prices having fallen so sharply and tens of billions in writedowns announced, many funds think UK banks may have 'kitchen-sinked' their bad news and there is more chance of the shares rising.
Shorting means selling borrowed stock in the anticipation the price will fall, allowing the stock to be bought back at a profit.
This week high-profile hedge fund manager Crispin Odey, who last year won bets on falling bank shares, revealed he has been buying into UK banks because he thinks they are now so cheap.
"Given that on the other side of this disaster these banks can earn multiples of their current share price, the risk/return is wrong... Given time and distance, they will be fine," Odey wrote in a letter to investors.
Many funds are closing their UK bank shorts and moving to sectors such as insurance, which outperformed banks in 2008 -- the FTSE 350 Life Insurance sector .FTNMX8570 fell 43 percent while the FT350 Banks sector .FTNMX8350 fell 57 percent.
While insurers have reported some writedowns, some hedge funds are betting the sector will need to raise more capital or cut dividends. On Wednesday shares in Legal & General fell when a trading update failed to reassure investors on its capital position.
Hedge fund firm Lansdowne Partners this week increased its short position in Legal & General (LGEN.L) and also has shorts on Aviva (AV.L), Prudential (PRU.L) and Old Mutual (OML.L).
