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Washington Mutual Gains on Speculation of TPG Support (Update4)

By Edward Evans and David Mildenberg

April 7 (Bloomberg) -- Washington Mutual Inc., the largest U.S. savings and loan, rallied as much as 19 percent in New York trading as a group led by private-equity firm TPG Inc. considers a $5 billion investment in the Seattle-based company.

Negotiations with the TPG group are at an advanced stage and an agreement could be announced within days, said a person familiar with the discussions, who declined to be identified. Washington Mutual needs the funds after reporting more than $3 billion of home-mortgage writedowns and loan losses.

At least 14 banks and securities firms have sought cash from outside investors in the past year after more than $230 billion of global markdowns and losses caused by the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Washington Mutual Chief Executive Officer Kerry Killinger told investors in January he expected a ``dramatic'' increase in loans that need to be modified to avert defaults.

The company must get an infusion ``in order to stave off insolvency,'' said Richard Clayton, research director of CtW Investment Group, which advises unions holding about 4.5 million shares. ``This is indicative of our point that the company wasn't properly evaluating risk.'' His group is opposing the election of two Washington Mutual directors.

Washington Mutual, which had lost 74 percent of its market value in the past 12 months, gained $1.86 to $12.03 in 11 a.m. New York trading, and rose as high as $12.06. The talks were reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

TPG spokesman Owen Blicksilver and Washington Mutual's Derek Aney declined to comment.

Previous Investments

Washington Mutual reported its first loss since 1997 in the fourth quarter after writing down the value of its home-mortgage unit by $1.6 billion and setting aside $1.5 billion to cover bad loans. The lender also said in January that it will have to put aside $1.8 billion to $2 billion in provisions for the first quarter.

The company, commonly known as WaMu, is the largest bank or savings institution based in Washington and the second-largest in the western U.S., behind Wells Fargo & Co. The investment committee of the Washington State Investment Board last month agreed to invest up to $750 million in TPG Partners VI fund, spokeswoman Liz Mendizabal said Feb. 12. It would be the Washington pension fund's fifth investment in TPG, she said.

The Oregon State Treasury Board has also invested in five TPG funds dating back to 1994.

Raising Capital

Losses from the subprime market have affected more than 40 companies, according to Bloomberg data. Zurich-based UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest bank by assets, announced plans last week to seek 15 billion Swiss francs ($14.8 billion) in a rights offer to replenish capital, while New York-based Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. securities firm, raised $4 billion in a stock sale.

The investment group led by TPG would purchase both common and preferred shares in Washington Mutual, the Journal reported. TPG, co-founded by David Bonderman, also would probably get a seat on the company's board, the newspaper said. TPG, which acquired Dallas-based power producer TXU Corp. last year, is seeking more than $15 billion for a new fund, potential investors said in February.

Bonderman was a director at WaMu from January 1997 through December 2002. The company in 1996 acquired American Savings Bank of Irvine, California from Keystone Holdings Inc., a firm owned by investor Robert Bass. Bonderman had been chief operating officer of Bass's company, which bought American in a government-assisted rescue in 1988. American was among the biggest U.S. savings and loans to fail in the 1980s.

Analysts are becoming more bearish about Washington Mutual's prospects because of higher credit costs. Frederick Cannon of Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. told clients last week he estimates the company will post a loss of $3.15 a share this year, compared with his earlier prediction of $1.45.

To contact the reporters on this story: Edward Evans in London at at eevans3@bloomberg.net; David Mildenberg in Charlotte at dmildenberg@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 7, 2008 11:04 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home

[Elias]

As principais bolsas dos Estados Unidos abriram em alta, impulsionadas pela subida dos preços do petróleo e do cobre, que estão a sustentar os títulos dos produtores de "commodities". Por outro lado, os analistas da Merrill Lynch dizem que "o pior já deve ter passado" para os mercados do crédito, o que contribuiu para animar as praças americanas.

Notícia completa:
http://www.jornaldenegocios.pt/default. ... tId=314849



Comentário:
Então agora a subida do petróleo já serve para justificar as subidas das bolsas?

Ou será que a subida do petróleo serve para justificar qualquer movimento do mercado, seja ele para cima ou para baixo?

Parece-me que é mais a segunda hipótese: o que interessa é que haja uma justificação, por mais estapafúrdia que seja

Saudações,
Elias