Archive - Apr 2009

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One of the biggest threats to the financial system currently is neither Citi, nor Bank Of America, nor any other pure play bank. Over the past month the administration has made it clear that the U.S. would rather print ever more money (and funnel them directly to Citi's coffers) and potentially face default dangers, than allow another Lehman-type event. Right now, the biggest weakness, in my opinion, is the parent company of General Electric Capital, GE Corp, which incidentally is also the owner of such consistent market bottom callers as CNBC's Jim Cramer and Mark Haines.

One of the biggest threats to the financial system currently is neither Citi, nor Bank Of America, nor any other pure play bank. Over the past month the administration has made it clear that the U.S. would rather print ever more money (and funnel them directly to Citi's coffers) and potentially face default dangers, than allow another Lehman-type event. Right now, the biggest weakness, in my opinion, is the parent company of General Electric Capital, GE Corp, which incidentally is also the owner of such consistent market bottom callers as CNBC's Jim Cramer and Mark Haines.

The biggest financial institution in Florida, $14 billion BankUnited of Coral Gables, was told by its regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision, to find a buyer who would raise its depleted capital to acceptable levels or risk a government takeover.

In a Bloomberg article today, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said that the central bank’s emergency lending programs aren’t creating a significant risk for U.S. taxpayers and went on to clarify that the major sense of security is prompted by the quality of the collateral pledged against these loans. To quote Kohn:

When Zero Hedge first presented its thesis about a likely upcoming mega squeeze in Citi common concurrent with the bank's shares trading at $1, some readers expressed their dismay with our lack of intellectual capacity. Less than two months later, and $3 dollars higher, the situation has changed... at least for the Citi shorts.

Perspectives from Eric Sprott as a result of heightened reader inquiry.

Submitted by Ranjan Roy of Shadow Bankers

Spreads were mixed in the US today with IG worse, HVOL improving, ExHVOL weaker (thanks to high beta short-squeeze), XO stronger, and HY selling off. Indices typically underperformed single-names (for the fifth day in a row) with skews mostly narrower as IG underperformed but narrowed the skew (to its tightest of 2009), HVOL outperformed but widened the skew, ExHVOL intrinsics beat and narrowed the skew (to almost zero), XO underperformed but compressed the skew, and HY's skew widened as it underperformed.

"For every seller there is a buyer."

Goldman Sachs continues its to trounce everyone in principal program purchases, its 850 million principal shares representing 81% of all its traded shares, more than half of all NYSE reporting firms principal trades.

Maybe Goldman can focus on servicing its "clients" instead of "itself" for once.