From the category archives:
In addition to everything I just said in my latest Money and Markets column, I want to point out one more news item that just hit the wires …
U.S. credit card defaults rose to record highs in May. According to Bank of America, the company’s default rate — which measures loans that aren’t expected to [...]
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This past week, my Money & Markets column was devoted to identity theft, and ways to protect yourself from it. I noted that thieves could do a lot of different things with your information, including renting apartments.
And now, this story from CNN really brings home my point. As it notes:
“The Federal Trade Commission reported that [...]
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I just wanted to post a quick follow-up note to my Money & Markets column this past week …
Today, GE said the finance unit will turn a profit in the first quarter of 2009. While this doesn’t prove that that the company is out of the woods, it does bring home my point that investors have [...]
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Bad news: American Capital Strategies has also fallen victim to the credit crunch and has decided to suspend its dividend payments.
Obviously, I am extremely disappointed by the news. ACAS has been my favorite high-yield play in the financial sector, and one of the companies that looked best positioned to capitalize on temporary weakness [...]
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I am as disappointed to see Bank of America’s dividend cut as anyone. The stock is one of the only financial positions in the Dividend Superstars portfolio, and I thought the company would honor its promise to keep its payout at least stable through the current crisis.
I was wrong. Circumstances — which sure include [...]
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Amazingly, Fannie Mae lost another couple billion in the second quarter (2.3 to be exact) and reiterated news about its dividend getting slashed from $0.35 to $0.05. I guess it’s true what they say — “a billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you’re talking real money.”
We are still being told that these GSEs [...]
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There has been a lot of concern about the security of financial stocks’ dividends lately. And I can see why …
According to the latest data from S&P, 16 companies have cut their dividends so far this year vs. 12 for the FIVE-YEAR period from 2003 through 2007. Even more telling is that fact [...]
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Look, I don’t want to downplay what’s happening right now. I’m as mad about the way the government is handling this credit mess as anyone. I hate the fact that savers and investors are seeing lower and lower returns on their investments while greedy real estate speculators and financial bigwigs are getting bailed out [...]
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