Big Movers
Top 20 Financial Stock Movers | ||
| Company [ticker] | News | Price Move |
| Washington Mutual Inc [WAMUQ] | Valuation-insensitive buyers on high volume and no news. | 13% |
| Pacific Capital Bancorp NA [PCBC] | Strong buying at the open leads the stock up on no news. | 6% |
| Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc [AHT] | No news materially driving the stock price | 6% |
| First BanCorp/Puerto Rico [FBP] | No news materially driving the stock price | 4% |
| Radian Group Inc [RDN] | No news materially driving the stock price | 4% |
| EastGroup Properties Inc [EGP] | Jim Cramer likes it for the yield. Mentioned on Mad Money. | 3% |
| Advance America Cash Advance C [AEA] | No news materially driving the stock price | 3% |
| LoopNet Inc [LOOP] | No news materially driving the stock price | 3% |
| Heartland Financial USA Inc [HTLF] | No news materially driving the stock price | 3% |
| China Real Estate Information [CRIC] | No news materially driving the stock price | 3% |
| Move Inc [MOVE] | Banxquote.com sues them for antitrust reasons. | 2% |
| First Bancorp/Troy NC [FBNC] | No news materially driving the stock price | 2% |
| United America Indemnity Ltd [INDM] | No news materially driving the stock price | 2% |
| Enstar Group Ltd [ESGR] | No news materially driving the stock price | -3% |
| New York Community Bancorp Inc [NYB] | No news materially driving the stock price | -3% |
| Stewart Information Services C [STC] | No news materially driving the stock price | -3% |
| Waddell & Reed Financial Inc [WDR] | No news materially driving the stock price | -3% |
| Artio Global Investors Inc [ART] | Dilution. Issuing shares to buy back units from principals. | -4% |
| First American Financial Corp [FAF] | Index investors sell off FAF as CLGX remains in the S&P 400. | -4% |
| Assured Guaranty Ltd [AGO] | Determined sellers on light volume and no news. | -4% |
Thoughts:
- Real Estate servicers and finance companies lead. GSEs and guarantors trail. Light corporate news day.
- AIG Bankers Said to Value Asia Unit at Up to $36 Billion in Stock Offering – dream, baby. You can’t get as much as Pru plc was willing to overpay.
- Citi U.S. Consumer Unit to Show Profit by Shifting Loans, Closing Branches – Wisdom. Shrink operations and focus on what makes money. Universal banking does not work, because managements lack focus.
- Covered Bond Sales Surge, Transocean Falls, GE Buys CMBS – the panic in Europe takes a breather, but RIG has some worried about its survival. For a primer on covered bonds look here: Covering Covered Bonds.
- Buffett Forced to Testify Backs Moody’s in Hearing Without `Candid’ Voice — well, what do expect when he is compelled to testify by a subpoena? I would be careful about what I said as well.
- Buffett Expects ‘Terrible Problem’ for Municipal Debt – Buffett sounds the same themes as my “New Normal,” where municipalities will have a hard time for a long while.
- AIG’s Benmosche May Survive AIA Deal Failure – Who else has the chutzpah to take on the job?
- The short-term performance model for financial stocks recommends Real Estate Services, Real Estate Development, Residential REITs, Consumer Finance, Hotels, Office REITs, Diversified REITs, Multiline Insurance, Regional Banks, and Retail REITs.
- Whether insurers or banks, avoid equity-sensitive names here – aim at companies that don’t have a high degree of sensitivity to stock market performance.
Group Price Movements for this Morning
| Real Estate Mgmnt/Servic | 1.2% | Reinsurance | 0.0% | REITS-Health Care | -0.3% | ||
| Commercial Serv-Finance | 1.1% | Diversified Banking Inst | 0.0% | REITS-Storage | -0.3% | ||
| Finance-Consumer Loans | 1.0% | Multi-line Insurance | 0.0% | Commer Banks-Western US | -0.3% | ||
| Insurance Brokers | 0.7% | Exchanges | 0.0% | S&L/Thrifts-Central US | -0.4% | ||
| Life/Health Insurance | 0.7% | Property/Casualty Ins | 0.0% | Commer Banks-Central US | -0.5% | ||
| Other | 0.5% | Fiduciary Banks | -0.1% | Invest Mgmnt/Advis Serv | -0.5% | ||
| Retail-Pawn Shops | 0.4% | REITS-Hotels | -0.1% | REITS-Diversified | -0.5% | ||
| Real Estate Oper/Develop | 0.4% | Commer Banks-Eastern US | -0.1% | REITS-Single Tenant | -0.5% | ||
| Finance-Invest Bnkr/Brkr | 0.4% | Grand Total | -0.1% | Finance-Credit Card | -0.5% | ||
| REITS-Mortgage | 0.4% | REITS-Office Property | -0.1% | S&L/Thrifts-Eastern US | -0.7% | ||
| REITS-Regional Malls | 0.1% | REITS-Forestry | -0.1% | Finance-Auto Loans | -0.7% | ||
| Commer Banks Non-US | 0.1% | REITS-Warehouse/Industr | -0.1% | Super-Regional Banks-US | -1.0% | ||
| REITS-Apartments | 0.1% | REITS-Shopping Centers | -0.2% | Financial Guarantee Ins | -1.1% | ||
| S&L/Thrifts-Western US | 0.1% | Commer Banks-Southern US | -0.2% | GSEs | -2.3% |
I look at these companies for big news events that have occurred since the last close. Often there isn’t any, but big changes here can be an indication that someone knows something, or there is trading noise. After that, it is up to the analyst to dig. Often, the dog that does not bark is the clue, as stocks move up or down on no news, as well as unexplained large spikes in volume, CDS spreads, and implied volatility of options.
Note: If I use the phrase “better seller,” it does not mean “sell.” If I use the phrase “better buyer,” it does not mean “buy.” “Better seller” and “better buyer” are bond portfolio manager terms that simply mean that if I were forced to take action on a security, what would I do as a trader in the short run, given the current news.
Disclosure: long ALL NWLI SAFT RGA AIZ PRE CB
“Buffett Expects ‘Terrible Problem’ for Municipal Debt”
Is this one of those tacit Buffett pleas for additional bailout (the man speaks in code so often, it is hard to tell)? If I were a betting man, I would say that he wants the Feds to be more aggressive in guaranteeing/financing municipalities to help out his bond insurance business.
The man knows how to ask for a bailout with a little more class than the big banks (“Give us money or we’ll collapse the entire economy”).
Matt, true, but the big question will be whether the US has the ability to bailout lesser governments when the time comes. It is a volatile world.
Generally speaking, I hear that all the former GS employees who migrate to the Fed and government posts are worms of a low order. CEO’s of all the financials are usually lumped in with them and then there is Soros the scum of the earth. But until this crisis in which Buffet has started making hay, I thought he was a non-political investor. Has Buffet always been part of the bailout machine with the rest – or is this a new development since the 2008 crisis?
David -
Is there supposed to be a link to “GE buys CMBS”?
David -
Never mind; I found the information elsewhere.