Archive for the ‘Business News’ Category

Not such a bad deal for Bank Of America now, is it?

Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N) shares on Thursday fell below the $18 price at which Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) may convert its $2 billion investment into common stock.

It was the first time the shares have dipped that low since the infusion was announced two weeks ago.

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, on August 22 bought preferred stock yielding 7.25 percent, convertible into common stock at $18.

…

“Countrywide has been criticized for adding to staff in a declining market, and the job cuts are what they should be doing as the mortgage market contracts significantly,” said Blake Howells, who helps invest $2.6 billion at Beckers Capital Management in Portland, Oregon, which owns Countrywide shares.

Shares of Countrywide fell as low as $17.95 in morning trading. They closed down 33 cents, or 1.8 percent, at $18.48 on the New York Stock Exchange, and are down 56 percent this year.

Howells said the shares are unlikely to drop much further, but for the time being, “Bank of America can collect the coupon payment, which is pretty attractive.”

It was a win-win situation for BoA, too bad the same can’t be said for all the people still having trouble.

Here we go again, I am sure the price of gas will spike to over $3.00 a gallon again…

Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said it was evacuating 300 more support workers from U.S. Gulf of Mexico facilities on Saturday due to Hurricane Dean.

“Since the beginning of the week, Shell has evacuated approximately 460 people, with approximately 300 scheduled to be evacuated today,” Shell said in a news release Saturday. “Evacuations are expected to continue through the weekend.”

Shell has shut down production on approximately 10,000 barrels of oil and 15 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in preparation for the storm’s possible entry into the U.S. Gulf, Shell said.

Of course, it could be worse… Someone could threaten Hugo Chavez again and then oil would hit $100 per barrel, right?

Just days after closing above 14,000 for the first time in history, the Dow Jones Industrials plunged more than 350 points because of worries over subprime mortgages.

Wall Street suffered its second-biggest plunge of the year Thursday, leading global markets lower as investors fled stocks amid increasing uneasiness about the mortgage and corporate lending markets. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 350 points, while Treasury yields plunged as investors moved money into bonds.

Investors who had been able to shrug off discomfort about subprime mortgage problems and a more difficult environment for corporate borrowing appeared to finally succumb to those concerns. The Dow’s drop is the biggest since it plummeted 416 points on Feb. 27 after a nearly 10 percent decline in Chinese stock markets.

While the mainstream media will hype this til they are blue in the face, trying to convince us that the economy is about to tank, I predict a major corporation will turn around and announce some positively shocking news and the market will quickly recover from this dip.

Then again, the Fed could just open his mouth and tell people things look good and that would fix it before noon tomorrow.