| Business News |
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac shares tumble on bailout fears
(Reuters)
 Reuters - Shares of Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac slid at the open on Thursday, on mounting
fears that the two mortgage finance companies may need a
government bailout, which would wipe out shareholder value.
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Analysts see tough quarter for U.S. investment banks
(Reuters)
 Reuters - Wall Street research analysts are
projecting yet another tough quarter for U.S. investment banks
marked by additional writedowns across a series of fixed-income
assets amid an already weak operating environment.
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Lehman outlook dims on failed sale report
(Reuters)
 Reuters - The outlook for Lehman Brothers Holdings
Inc darkened further on Thursday as a newspaper
reported that an intended asset sale had collapsed and a
Citigroup analyst forecast big losses for the group.
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Nasdaq falls more than 1 pct as oil gains
(Reuters)
 Reuters - The Nasdaq extended losses on
Thursday, falling more than 1 percent as resurgent crude oil
prices pushed above $120 per barrel, heightening fears about
the durability of business and consumer spending.
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Barnes & Noble profit falls, cuts year sales view
(Reuters)
Reuters - Barnes & Noble Inc posted a
smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit on Thursday, but
cut its full-year sales forecast, citing a challenging
environment for book sales.
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Global stocks gain, dollar rises towards 2008 peak
(Reuters)
 Reuters - World stocks edged higher on Wednesday
after the previous day's tumble to their lowest level in almost
two years attracted some buyers, while rebounding commodity
prices helped resource shares.
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| Bank and economic woes hit Wall St; Oracle dives late - 27, Mar 2008 |
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks dropped on Wednesday as financial shares slid when concerns resurfaced that bank profits will take much longer than expected to recover from the housing slump.
Surging oil prices and data showing a tumble in orders for U.S.-made manufactured goods revived concerns that the economy is already in recession.
Bank stocks tumbled across the board when a prominent analyst lowered her first-quarter profit forecasts for Citigroup, Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), and Wachovia Corp (WB.N). The S&P financial index fell 3.5 percent, marking its biggest setback after rising more than 10 percent in the last two weeks.
Oppenheimer & Co analyst Meredith Whitney said bank profits would not start growing any time soon because of fallout from what she called the worst credit cycle in generations.
Financials are down "on the combination of Citigroup, Meredith Whitney coming out with talk of more potential write-downs and a lot of profit-taking. Financials moved big the last two weeks," said Matt McCall, president of Penn Financial Group in Denver, Colorado.
The other backdrop for the drop in Citigroup's stock was news that the largest U.S. bank by assets has agreed to pay Enron creditors $1.66 billion to settle a lawsuit over its responsibility in the energy trading company's downfall.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI finished down 109.74 points, or 0.88 percent, at 12,422.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX dropped 11.86 points, or 0.88 percent, to end at 1,341.13 -- marking the broader market's first decline in four days. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 16.69 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 2,324.36.
After the bell, there was unnerving news from the technology front as Oracle Corp (ORCL.O), a major software maker, posted quarterly revenue that missed Wall Street's forecasts. Oracle shares slid 8.3 percent to $19.20 after the bell from their Nasdaq close at $20.94.
(c) 2008 Reuters
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| TAGS: Online Report text item, United States of America, Canada |
| Other news from Business category: |
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Burger King Holdings Inc , the world's second-largest hamburger chain, posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday and issued a fiscal 2009 forecast within Wall Street's expectations.
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LONDON (Reuters) - The outlook for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc darkened further on Thursday as a newspaper reported that an intended asset sale had collapsed and a Citigroup analyst forecast big losses for the group.
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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, which has pumped billions of dollars into ailing lenders such as Merrill Lynch & Co Inc, said it may invest more in Western banks if the opportunity arose.
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(Reuters) - Wall Street research analysts are projecting yet another tough quarter for U.S. investment banks marked by additional writedowns across a series of fixed-income assets amid an already weak operating environment.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's state attorney general office on Wednesday intensified its probe into auction-rate debt focusing on Bank of America Corp, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank AG, while issuing a warning to brokerages.
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SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian airline Qantas Airways Ltd reported a 2.5 percent fall in second-half profit on Thursday, below analysts expectations, as fuel prices soared, but predicted it would meet forecasts for the current year.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - California's attorney general is reviewing a request by former employees of IndyMac Bancorp Inc to investigate whether a New York senator triggered the bank's collapse by releasing confidential information.
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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil raced above $116 a barrel on Thursday, a third straight day of gains, on supply concerns after Russia expressed its displeasure over a U.S.-Poland defense pact.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as bank and energy shares rebounded even as investors dumped Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on fears of an imminent government bailout of the housing finance companies.
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