tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:26:23 +0000http://www.money-rx.com/blog/noreply@blogger.com (Admin)Blogger219125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-3146083262142346360Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:56:00 +00002008-08-08T20:26:23.964-07:00John C. Cox, a Palo Alto based Labor attorney for the Los Angeles based law firm Manatt Phelps and Phillips LLP was retained as an 'expert supporting declaration' by the Detroit Pension funds who have filed the shareholder lawsuit against Yahoo related to the 'Change in Control Severance Plan' (background). Excerpts from John Cox's Declaration in Delaware Chancery Court regarding the merits (or http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/08/inside-dope-on-yahoo-poison-pill.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-8912754446004564971Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:02:00 +00002008-08-07T20:57:05.084-07:00Seems the BAC-Countrywide dashing duo are holding a subpoena-fest, with an open invitation to all federal and state regulatory agencies. For starters, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) said it received subpoenas and requests for information with regards to auction-rate securities from multiple federal and state government agencies. And four class-action lawsuits have been filed against BAC, on http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/08/subpoena-fest-at-bac-countrywide.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-6831321621054917996Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:54:00 +00002008-08-06T10:16:58.464-07:00The Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group III has released its report entitled "Containing Systemic Risk: The Road to Reform." Here's the link (pdf) to the full report, which should end this post right here. :) But since you asked, here's the highlights. The Report is a forward-looking, integrated framework of private initiatives that will complement official oversight to help contain http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/08/crmpg-iii-report-containing-systemic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-8488476828988983090Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:26:00 +00002008-08-05T19:55:20.147-07:00Jerry Yang must be ferevently wishing for this roller coaster nightmare to be over once and for all. After all the drama since January, when it finally looked like it was all over and done with, comes news that a major Yahoo shareholder has asked Broadridge Financial Solutions, which trasmitted the votes to Yahoo, to take a closer look at Yahoo's recent shareholder vote and examine it for http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/08/capital-research-wants-yahoo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-4778127418443403431Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:46:00 +00002008-08-04T09:58:55.741-07:00WSJ report says that Time Warner has wrapped up the spade work necessary for seperating AOL's dial-up business from the content and advertising side, and they're now seriously following up on talks to sell off AOL in bits and pieces. Article goes on to add that discussions with Yahoo are 'ongoing' for the ad-based business and Earthlink is a solid contender for the dial-up side. Discussions withhttp://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/08/time-warner-putting-aol-on-bidding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-3374669232353489529Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:19:00 +00002008-08-03T10:24:03.835-07:00The economy is like a boat taking water faster than it can be pumped out. Congress, the Bush Administration and the Fed and Treasury keep pumping out the stuff - First it was a string of rate cuts, then an SWF bailing out CitiGroup, then the Bear bailout by JPM and the Fed, along with the emergency lending window, then the stimulus package, and now the Housing bill. Somebody please add up the http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/08/universal-healthcare-to-rescue.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-8534963205722271168Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:39:00 +00002008-07-29T04:55:15.957-07:00There's lots of illogical things printed by the New York Times, which bloggers love to hate, but the most irritating and unsensible thing about the Grey Lady is that every quarter, the same thing happens - The stock (NYSE: NYT) gets pegged down a little more, more cost cuts are announced, maybe some layoffs, reduction in coverage areas, disposal of an asset or two, etc.. - And then everybody justhttp://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/nyt-pride-vs-schadenfreude.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-5302019023810036407Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:53:00 +00002008-07-26T23:20:32.286-07:00Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) has his hands full, and his decisions in August will probably have a wide impact on the trifecta of housing, banking and commodity speculation. This trifecta, if you look at it from a macro view, is what is affecting the economy. Housing woes have impacted the bottomlines of investment banks and lenders, this brings down the stock markets, which is pushing http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/dodd-days-of-august.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-8530600676156538636Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:58:00 +00002008-07-24T07:41:20.780-07:00I don't think Kevin R. Johnson, President, Platforms & Services Division, Microsoft Corp., saw this one coming in his crystal ball. Microsoft announced that PSD President Kevin Johnson will be leaving the company. Microsoft Corp. also announced that the Platforms & Services Division (PSD) will be split into two groups: Windows/Windows Live and Online Services, with both groups reporting directlyhttp://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/kevin-johnson-leaving-microsoft-splits.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-5029796998530071957Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:28:00 +00002008-07-21T09:02:12.710-07:00Yahoo! Inc. announced today that it has reached an agreement with Carl Icahn to settle their pending proxy contest related to the Company's 2008 annual meeting of stockholders. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, eight members of Yahoo!'s current Board of Directors will stand for re-election at the 2008 annual meeting: Roy Bostock, Ronald Burkle, Eric Hippeau, Vyomesh Joshi, Arthur Kern,http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/yahoo-announces-settlement-with-carl.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-3502910851016935484Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:35:00 +00002008-07-20T23:37:46.595-07:00Just when you think the subprime mortgage turmoil is old news, something new and even more incredible pops up. Wall Street Journal has a story which sounds a bit hard to believe, were it not for the deluge of facts supporting the story. The FDIC is facing an estimated $70 million lawsuit filed by Plano, Texas based Beal Bank SSB, for selling it a portfolio of loans, many of which Beal Bank claimshttp://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/fdic-facing-lawsuit-for-improper.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-3434287510688780054Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:43:00 +00002008-07-18T10:20:26.198-07:00Say what you will about Jerry Yang's management capabilities, the guy is a sheer visionary, when it comes to the internet. Yahoo! Inc. just upped the proxy fight with Ichan/Microsoft by putting an ad on the Yahoo home page (see image or visit http://www.yahoo.com/) And in an internal video to Yahoo! employees, posted on Yahoo's intranet site, Yang said that "Today, I’m excited to tell you that http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/yahoo-takes-proxy-fight-to-internet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-1142487516572230350Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:13:00 +00002008-07-17T10:21:55.441-07:00The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), chaired by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), after a 6 month probe, has released a report which says that Swiss banking giant UBS AG and Lichtenstein based LGT Bank have aided and abetted wealthy Americans evade taxes, cover up ownership of accounts and hide assets. Background on the LGT investigation and updates on the UBS tax evasion here, http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/ubs-lgt-helped-tax-evaders-senate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-7270352286029353843Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:24:00 +00002008-07-15T11:23:38.656-07:00I wasn't planning to write anything about Microhoo until there were any 'new' developments, but if the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is getting in on the act, I figure its time to update. The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights is holding an anti-trust hearing on the Google-Yahoo search advertising agreement, and in attendance are http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/yahoo-google-senate-antitrust-hearing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-6798172967987250645Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:06:00 +00002008-07-14T10:56:09.204-07:00In response to 'market rumors' National City has put out a press release intended to tamp down the rumors and reassure investors. "National City is experiencing no unusual depositor or creditor activity. As of the close of Friday's business, the bank maintained more than $12 billion of excess short-term liquidity. Further, as a result of our recent $7 billion capital raise, National City http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/national-city-tamping-down-market.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-8200369410377167331Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:41:00 +00002008-07-12T21:04:38.438-07:00Yahoo! Inc. confirmed that it has rejected, again, a joint proposal from Microsoft Corporation and Carl Icahn for a complex restructuring of Yahoo! that would include the acquisition of Yahoo!'s search business by Microsoft. The proposal was made on Friday evening and Yahoo! was given less than 24 hours to accept the non-negotiable proposal. Yahoo! also offered to sell the entire company to http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/yahoo-rejects-microsoft-icahn-search.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-6626438118945429292Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:08:00 +00002008-07-12T08:57:10.071-07:00On July 11, 2008, IndyMac Bank, F.S.B., Pasadena, CA was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Conservator. All non-brokered insured deposit accounts have been transferred to IndyMac Federal Bank, F.S.B., Pasadena, CA ("assuming institution") a new FDIC-insured Federal Mutual Savings Bank. - FDIC Closing information for http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/indymac-bank-closed-by-ots-fdic-takes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-2454169529108767062Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:00:00 +00002008-07-11T12:09:28.739-07:00Wall Street rumor is a vicious creature. And its been swirling around Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) ever since the fall of Bear Stearns. There's got to be one prime candidate headed for a fall, and Lehman has been nominated to be the star of the show, cast as the next sacrificial lamb. The latest rumor was that the world's largest bond fund PIMCO, the hedge fund giant SAC and other institutions http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/mirror-mirror-on-wall-is-lehman-headed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-4697997408286599286Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:17:00 +00002008-07-10T10:22:35.470-07:00At a Full Committee Hearing (Systemic Risk and the Financial Markets) of the House Committee on Financial Services, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke urged Congress to consolidate more power with a single regulator for the oversight of investment banks. This is the first hearing on this subject, and Congress has plans to continue the series of http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/bernanke-paulson-push-congress-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-6991448962884063824Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:00:00 +00002008-07-08T20:41:14.804-07:00For Michael W. Perry, Chairman and CEO of IndyMac BankCorp Inc. (NYSE: IMB), the hits just keep rolling in. The latest news is that Paul Miller, a Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co analyst, cut his price target for IndyMac to zero per share from $1.00. Zero? He could at least have kept it 10 cents or so... Anyway, that solves at least one problem. IndyMac shareholders don't have to worry about howhttp://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/indymac-hits-bottom-literally.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-242875227891618046Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:18:00 +00002008-07-07T11:19:56.364-07:00Carl Icahn has issued a letter to Yahoo shareholders detailing the summary of his talks with Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer. Here's an excerpt from the letter. During the past week I have spoken frequently with Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. Several of our conversations have lasted as long as an hour. Also, a few of our discussions have taken place while other top executives, such as Kevin http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/icahn-ballmer-plotting-yahoo-takeover.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-8534805966225711375Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:24:00 +00002008-07-07T00:34:52.423-07:00The Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC) wants UBS and Credit Suisse to raise an additional $68.3 billion in capital (70 billion Swiss francs - 40 for UBS, and 30 for Credit Suisse) to avoid problems due to the banks' subprime exposure, expected write-downs and losses. AFP reports a quote from a Swiss parliamentarian Hans Kaufmann in the Swiss newspaper Sontagg to this effect, and a http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/sfbc-wants-ubs-credit-suisse-to-raise.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-6072901121399155597Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:12:00 +00002008-07-03T20:14:01.785-07:00In late June, the Federal Reserve completed its financing of the Bear Stearns bailout arrangement, contributing $28.8 billion to the newly created Maiden Lane LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. JP Morgan, for its part, put up $1.15 billion. The Bear Stearns assets being financed were valued at about $30 billion in March, consisting mainly of mortgage backed securities and related assets. http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/jp-morgan-takes-1-billion-hit-over-bear.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-1094066696763363362Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:53:00 +00002008-07-02T21:30:01.238-07:00The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft is talking to Time Warner Inc. and News Corp., among others, about joining it in a deal that would effectively lead to Yahoo's breakup. It seems that a couple of weeks ago, Ballmer called Yahoo! Chairman Roy Bostock and suggested they meet to discuss a new proposal involving other 'partners'. The meeting, scheduled for Monday, was then scrapped http://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/07/microsoft-throws-another-curveball-at.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4040737224365294854.post-4356625343065869875Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:28:00 +00002008-07-02T21:13:24.427-07:00According to court papers filed with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami by U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta, the Department of Justice is asking the Court to allow the IRS to issue a summons to UBS AG demanding the names of wealthy U.S. clients who used the Swiss bank to keep 'undeclared accounts' in order to evade U.S. taxes. Background information onhttp://www.money-rx.com/blog/2008/06/doj-moves-court-for-ubs-client-list.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Admin)