JPMorgan’s Trading Loss Is Said to Rise at Least 50%
NYT - The trading losses suffered by JPMorgan Chase have surged in recent days, surpassing the bank’s initial $2 billion estimate by at least $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the losses.
When Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, announced the losses last Thursday, he indicated they could double within the next few quarters. But that process has been compressed into four trading days as hedge funds and other investors take advantage of JPMorgan’s distress, fueling faster deterioration in the underlying credit market positions held by the bank.
Wal-Mart posts strong profit as U.S. sales jump
Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as itsWalmart U.S. division showed a 2.6 percent rise in sales at stores open at least a year, as warm weather and an earlier Easter enticed shoppers to spend.
The world’s largest retailer, which was recently rocked by allegations of bribery in Mexico, earned $1.09 per share from continuing operations, compared with a profit of 98 cents a year earlier. Wal-Marthad forecast earnings per share of $1.01 to $1.06.
Goldman Sachs Group NY-USA
Goldman to Cash Out $1 Billion of Facebook Holding in IPO
Bloomberg – Goldman Sachs Group and funds managed by the firm will sell about $1 billion of stock in Facebook Inc. (FB)’s initial public offering, cashing out almost half their stake after the social network doubled in value. The investment bank and its funds will sell 28.7 million of the 65.9 million shares they own, more than twice the amount initially planned, Menlo Park, California-based Facebook said yesterday in a filing. The shares are being offered in a range of $34 to $38 apiece, meaning the stock being sold in this week’s IPO is valued between $975 million and $1.09 billion. A gain on the investment may help validate Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein’s business model and a January 2011 transaction that threatened to undermine efforts to improve the company’s reputation after it settled fraud claims a year earlier.
Sears posts net; eyes part spinoff of Sears Canada
MarketWatch - Sears Holdings Corp. swung to a profit in its fiscal first quarter on a boost from shedding some real estate, part of slimming-down the retailer signaled Thursday it intends to continue as it revealed plans to trim its stake in Sears Canada Inc. (SCC.T, SEARF).
The company’s board has approved plans to pursue a partial spin-off of Sears Canada, an effort that would reduce the company’s stake to roughly 51% from about 95%. The spin-off, Sears said, would give investors “a more targeted investment opportunity” by having ownership in two separate companies, while also allowing both firms to focus on their respective businesses.
Agilent to Buy Diagnostics Firm Dako for $2.2 Billion
Bloomberg – Agilent Technologies Inc. (A), the maker of scientific-testing equipment, agreed to buy Dako, a Danish maker of cancer-diagnostics tools, for $2.2 billion to expand its life-science business.
Agilent is buying Dako from the Swedish private-equity firm EQT Partners AB, according to a statement from the companies today. The purchase is the largest in Agilent’s history. Dako’s products complement Agilent’s existing diagnostics offerings. Sales growth at Santa Clara, California-based Agilent has slowed for the past four quarters.
Bankia plummets on deposit drain concerns
MarketWatch – Shares in Bankia SA plummeted Thursday as small investors scrambled to sell their holdings after a local newspaper report stoked fears that customers were withdrawing deposits after the government stepped in to rescue Spain’s fourth-largest bank by assets.
Traders said the brokerage of Bankia itself was the biggest seller, having sold 1.5 million shares by midday, more than three times the second-biggest seller. That, said David Gualtieri, a director at Madrid brokerage Intermoney, could be an indication that many of Bankia’s own retail clients who bought shares in the bank’s initial public offering and kept them under custody with Bankia are now throwing in the towel.
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