Archives: April 2009

Will E*Trade Take the TARP Tack?

Posted by: Ben Steverman on April 29

A full-scale crisis hit the world's financial system last fall, but for E*Trade Financial (ETFC) by that point it was old hat. A crisis of confidence began for E*Trade a...

Dendreon's Mysterious Trade

Posted by: Ben Levisohn on April 29

Biotech stocks are supposed to be volatile, but yesterday’s move in Dendreon (DNDN) was a bit much. In a matter of minutes, the biotech stock fell 70%, from 25 to...

Stocks for 'Flationary Times?

Posted by: Lauren Young on April 28

Which 'flation camp are you in? Most of the 50 advisers and analysts I interviewed for a story about 'flation in the most recent issue of BusinessWeek think the U.S....

How to Invest for 'Flation

Posted by: Lauren Young on April 27

Which way is the economy heading next? Is it inflation, deflation, and stagflation? Overwhelmingly, most of the 50 advisers and analysts I interviewed for a story about 'flation in the...

Predicting Bank Stress Test Results

Posted by: Ben Steverman on April 24

The U.S. Treasury today releases the methodology for its "stress test" of major U.S. banks, but the full results may not be known until May 4. The results matter to...

Best and Worst 529 Plans

Posted by: Karyn McCormack on April 23

If you're enrolled in a 529 college savings plan, you're probably feeling some angst when looking at the plans' performance given the market's horrible returns last year. "Unfortunately, the past...

The Ever-Shrinking Bank Dividend

Posted by: Ben Steverman on April 21

Bank of New York Mellon (BK) slashed its dividend 63% on Apr. 21. It's a story financial sector investors have heard before. By now, nearly every major bank has cut...

Does Coke do everything Pepsi does?

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on April 20

Interesting move by PepsiCo (PEP) to buy the outstanding shares it didn't already own of its two major bottlers, Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) and PepsiAmericas (PAS). While the pundits debate...

Active Mutual Fund Managers Still Can't Beat Indexes

Posted by: Lauren Young on April 20

To paraphrase Joan Baez, where have all the active managers gone? During the five-year market cycle from 2004 to 2008, the S&P 500 outperformed 72% of actively managed large-cap funds,...

Citi's Good News: A Cautionary Note

Posted by: Dan Beucke on April 17

By Mara Der Hovanesian In the ‘hold on there a minute’ department: Citigroup’s (C) lower-than-expected loss in the first quarter offered a glimmer of hope for the bank and the...

Bankrupt General Growth Properties Says It Will Be Fine--Maybe

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on April 16

Apropos of one of my colleagues' posts yesterday on the future of retail, now comes news that mall giant General Growth Properties (GGP) has filed for bankruptcy protection. The company's...

The Future of Retail

Posted by: Ben Steverman on April 15

By Kyle Shen The slowdown in consumer spending cut many retail stocks in half in 2008, but retailers have seen a surprising rally recently. Many of the worst-performing stocks of...

Movie boom keeps booming, lifting cinema stocks

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on April 14

I must admit that when my kids turn the dial to the popular Disney Channel show "Hannah Montana," I make my excuses and hurriedly leave the room. But the show...

Reasons to be skeptical of the Pulte Homes-Centex merger

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on April 08

Well, say what you want about Pulte Homes (PHM) CEO Richard Dugas but don’t accuse him of buying high. Sure, offering $10.50 a share (in all-stock deal) for home building...

Mike Mayo and the Busted Banks

Posted by: Ben Levisohn on April 06

The banking sector has been banging its head against its recent highs and those with a bearish disposition need to look no further than Mike Mayo’s latest report, “The Seven...

Individual Investors: Late to the Party?

Posted by: Ben Steverman on April 06

Stocks are up more than 20% since early March, but many remain skeptical. Among those not jumping on the equity bandwagon are individual investors, at least according to one measure....

Implications of John Hancock Tower Auction Grim for Commercial Real Estate

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on April 01

The most iconic building on the Boston skyline, the John Hancock Tower designed by I.M. Pei, sold at auction yesterday for $661 million to bargain hunting investors Normandy Real Estate...