March 2008

Beating analysts expectations--expectations that companies routinely jawbone down--has shares in Lehman Bros. (LEH) and Goldman Sachs (GS) trading higher today, despite the fact their first-quarter profits fell more than 50% versus a year ago. Brush aside the pixie dust. Don't join the hallelujah chorus just yet, much as I'd personally like to, given that I am a long-term bull--I like to quote ... read more

The news that Bear Stearns (BSC), near collapse on Friday, was bought by JPMorgan Chase for a breathtakingly low $236.2 million in an all-stock deal won't calm rattled nerves in the market on Monday. The deal price is nothing short of shocking and is causing whiplash-inducing double-takes on Wall Street. The bailout of Bear comes after the near-destruction of the 85-year old U.S. institution, ... read more

It’s the most serious problem facing investors today. It’s the reason why we are witnessing spectacular bank writedowns never seen before in the history of the stock market. It’s an issue that, once you understand it, you’ll see why the red ink swamping the stock market and your stock portolio is now increasingly being talked about by accounting experts, economists and corporate ... read more

That New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was caught planning to meet a prostitute in Washington, D.C., as first reported by the New York Times, presents a tale almost too rich with ironies. It's an amusing sideshow to those who came under Spitzer's battle axe, a sideshow blast of entertainment for Wall Street struggling with one of the worst crises in its history. The fear is it may create a ... read more

In a bid to revive profit growth, Citigroup’s new chief executive, Vikram Pandit, is restructuring the world's biggest bank to focus on the strongest parts of the beleaguered banks’ operations, its global wealth management operations headed by Sallie Krawcheck, its global transaction services and its international consumer businesses, sources at Citigroup tell me. Pandit is getting high ... read more