Americanos procuram Portugal fora das praias

[acintra]

Tb estou de acordo contigo!
Quantos não venderam Bear Sterns no desespero e afinal a contrapartida subiu 5 vezes?
E quantos se encheram delas sabendo que o valor ia ser aumentado e fizeram mais valias incriveis com a subida para $10?
Neste momento já estão a avisar que o Citi, UBS, Merril e outros vão fazer amortizações de mais de 30bis referentes ao 1º trimestre de 2008 e que vão ser anunciadas durante o mês Abril.
Lá vai a FED tapar buracos como pode, não sei é até quando isto vai aguentar.

On top of losses, Oppenheimer analyst says the banks will face yet another capital shortage.
By Katie Benner, writer-reporter


NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Oppenheimer analyst Meredith Whitney upped the ante on the banking sector Thursday when she predicted Merrill Lynch, UBS, and Citigroup would report worse-than-feared earnings and find themselves once again scrambling for cash.

The new report comes just two days after she cut first quarter, full-year 2008, and full-year 2009 estimates for Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500), Wachovia and Wells Fargo due to estimates for mortgage- and CDO-related writedowns.

"We expect net losses for C, MER, and UBS of greater than $30 billion," Whitney wrote Thursday. "As many expected the fourth quarter to be the "kitchen sink" for the industry, we believe first quarter results, to be reported in two weeks time, will be a rude awakening."

Whitney's reports have been known to move markets, but midday Thursday Citi and Merrill (MER, Fortune 500) were trading slightly lower while UBS (UBS) was up about 2%.

Nevertheless, that would be cold comfort for investors who have come to take her predictions very seriously.

She also referred to a report she wrote last November, "Ring of Fire," that predicted Tier 1 Capital, the financial cushion banks must have in order to meet regulatory banking requirements, would fall more dramatically than anyone expected. "We believe this report is once again relevant and that the ratings agencies' actions in February will contribute to "Round 2" of financial recaps," she writes.

Her argument is straightforward and simple. Ratings agencies downgraded more than $370 billion worth of securities. "The indisputable truth about how this works is simply that when a rating agency downgrades a security held on a bank balance sheet, the regulator requires said bank to hold more capital against said security/asset."

According to Whitney, Citi is once again in most need of the swiftest and largest capital infusion.

Whitney has been one of the financial sector's biggest skeptics, a role that thrust her into the spotlight amid the ongoing Wall Street meltdown.

It began last October, when she downgraded Citi and said it would need to cut its dividend in order to raise much-needed capital. She was one of the first to paint such a grim picture of the bank's future, and she was proven correct.

Less than two weeks later, she released the "Ring of Fire" report, that said downgrades to asset-backed bonds would force banks to raise capital. That report hit on November 11 and by the end of January Wall Street's biggest firms including Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500), and the now defunct Bear Stearns were all working to raise capital from sovereign wealth investors.

Whitney was back in January, this time setting her sights on the bond insurers, a group that had been scrutinized because they insured risky asset backed securities and would likely not be able to make good on those contracts.

"While we had previously believed the monoline insurers MBIA and Ambac were too important to fail due to the threat of systemic risk and thus would likely be bailed out, we no longer think systemic risk is even realistic or a bailout of the monolines even viable."

Not since her October Citi report had she received so much resistance to a report. But the chorus of voices demanding the complete overhaul of the monoline industry shares many of her concerns.

[gfalmeida]

Court examiner links mortgage lender New Century's downfall to its continued use of improper accounting practices.

Last Updated: March 26, 2008: 9:47 PM EDT



LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Bankrupt mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. used improper accounting practices while making risky loans, creating "a ticking time bomb" that led to the company's rapid downfall, a court examiner said in a report released Wednesday.

Michael J. Missal concluded that New Century engaged in at least seven improper accounting practices that led the company to report incorrect financial information to Wall Street for fiscal 2005 and the first nine months of 2006.

Missal also found that senior management at the Irvine, Calif.-based lender failed to take appropriate steps to manage rising risks caused by the company's aggressive approach to originating loans, often to borrowers who couldn't afford them.

"New Century had a brazen obsession with increasing loan originations, without due regard to the risks associated with that business strategy," Missal's report said. "The increasingly risky nature of New Century's loan originations created a ticking time bomb that detonated in 2007."

In addition, the examiner found that New Century's accounting firm, KPMG LLC, enabled some of the improper accounting practices to continue.

"As an independent auditor they're supposed to look very skeptically at any client, and here they became advocates for the client and in fact even suggested some improper accounting treatment that ultimately started New Century down the road it's taken," Missal told The Associated Press.

The accounting also led to higher bonuses for key executives, the report said.

The report's findings may provide legal ammunition for the trustee appointed to liquidate New Century to sue KPMG and top New Century executives for millions of dollars to help pay off the lender's creditors, Missal said.

New Century spokesman Ronald Low said the company was pleased the examiner's report had been completed so the company's plan for liquidation can continue.

KPMG spokesman Dan Ginsburg said the accounting firm strongly disagreed with the report's conclusions on KPMG's actions.

"We believe that an objective review of the facts and circumstances will affirm our position," Ginsburg said.

New Century had been the second-largest originator of subprime home loans in the U.S. and had a market capitalization in excess of $1 billion several months before seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2007.

The company collapsed after a spike in mortgage defaults on loans made to borrowers with past credit problems led New Century's lenders to pull funding and demand that it buy back bad loans.

As its financial footing slipped, New Century also warned that it would need to restate financial results from 2005 and 2006 because it failed to tally losses from loan repurchases.

Judge Kevin Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., appointed Missal last June to examine New Century's accounting practices.

Missal said he conducted more than 100 interviews with New Century employees and others, including New Century's former chief executive, Brad Morrice.

Missal issued a preliminary report in November and a final version at the end of last month, but it was sealed until Wednesday.

The report described New Century, once a Wall Street darling, as a company bent on making loans, layering "the risk of loan products upon the risks of loose underwriting standards."

Some 70 percent of the loans originated by New Century featured low initial "teaser" interest rates designed to increase after a period of time.

The report said 40 percent of the company's loans were so-called stated-income loans that don't require borrowers to verify their income.

The company's predominant criteria for making loans was whether it could resell them on the secondary market, New Century directors and senior managers told investigators.

Even as the housing market began to sour, New Century continued to originate loans with the goal of selling them to investors, the report said.

"Senior management turned a blind eye to the increasing risks of New Century's loan originations and did not take appropriate steps to manage those risks," the report concluded.

One example cited in the report had New Century understating by more than 1000 percent the amount of money it needed to have on reserve to buy back bad loans.

As a result, it reported a profit of $63.5 million in the third quarter of 2006, when it should have reported a quarterly loss, the report said.

New Century also failed to include the interest that it was obligated to pay to investors whenever it was forced to buy back bad loans, the report said.

Missal, however, found no evidence that the lender deliberately manipulated accounting to bolster profits.

Still, investors who lost big when New Century folded last year likely relied upon the financial information when making their decisions to sell or buy its stock.

KPMG severed its ties to New Century a few weeks after the lender sought bankruptcy protection. KPMG did not complete an audit of New Century's 2006 financial results before it resigned as its independent auditor.

New Century has been deluged with investor lawsuits and disclosed last year that it was the target of a criminal inquiry by federal prosecutors in California.

Porquê não se soube disto há mais tempo? Só quando os mercados corrigem é que vêm ao de cima tudo o que foi acontecendo e que foi ficando no silêncio. Porquê estas noticias de escandalos nunca aparecem em mercados em fase bull? Porquê as fraudes na societe general só vieram a lume quando essas fraudes começaram a dar prejuízo? Porquê só com as zangas das comadres se soube das fraudes no bcp? Eu tenho uma resposta possível: Este é mais um excelente exemplo da ganância que prevalece nos mercados e que de facto quando o mercado sobe não existem valores, prncipios nem escrupulos que se atrevam a denunciar estes escandalos, existe apenas a obsessão por encaixar mais valias. Money talks louder!!!

[acintra]

100% dos tópicos que aqui abres, são tópicos só com desgraças. E que tal colocar também os com boas notícias ?

Caro Filipe,

Andas desatento ou com azar a ler os meus Tópicos. Como já mencionei em diversos tópicos de há uns meses para cá, tenho investido muito menos e lido muito mais.
Tenho aprendido bastante nesta pausa de investimento, até porque sou um touro convicto, devido á minha pouca experiênçia na bolsa e a não saber ganhar nas descidas.
Infelizmente, este momento que estamos a atravessar é dificil encontrar noticias positivas que sejam crediveis. Normalmente as positivas, são contra a tendençia do mercado apenas para marcar a diferença e serem lidas.
Para mim serve de alerta e para refrear as minhas intenções de investimento. Já ganhei muito por estar quieto, ou seja não perdi, o que considero uma grande vantagem.
Caso não te interesse, não percas o teu tempo em abrir os meus tópicos porque já imaginas que são negativos, mas olha que não sou Eu que escrevo para a Fortune, CNNMoney, Reuters...

Quanto ao Sporting, concerteza que para mim seria dos Tópicos mais positivos que podia existir, mas tb se calhar achavas negativo.

Felizmente que as ideias, objectivos, raciocinios, formas de pensar... não são todos iguais, porque se não, nem sequer havia bolsa. Todos compravam ou vendiam ao mesmo tempo, acabando com a lei da oferta e da procura.

[nunofaustino]

O acintra é lagarto!!!

A próxima boa noticia que ele vai postar é que o Sporting é campeão!!


Portanto, habituem-se...

(as noticias no mundo finaceiro, não são "boas" ou "más" - são as que há - boas para uns, más para outros)

Abraços

Xi!!!!! estás mesmo pessimista para os próximos anos...

Jocas
Nuno

[scpnuno]

O acintra é lagarto!!!

A próxima boa noticia que ele vai postar é que o Sporting é campeão!!


Portanto, habituem-se...

(as noticias no mundo finaceiro, não são "boas" ou "más" - são as que há - boas para uns, más para outros)

Abraços

[rosso]

acintra,

Gosto muito dos teus posts.
Em geral trazem noticias às quais não teria acesso se não fosses tu a colocá-las.

Obrigado!

PS - surgiu o rumor que a Lehman Brothers está em grandes dificuldades e pode pedir o Cap. 11.
É o que eu penso (o protecção de falências)? alguém confirma?

[nunofaustino]

100% dos tópicos que aqui abres, são tópicos só com desgraças. E que tal colocar também os com boas notícias ?

Olha que é preferível mostrar aquilo que se acredita do que mostrar sempre flores e coisas alegres...

Eu gosto imenso de ler opiniões contrárias às minhas... do que ter toda a gente a concordar comigo...

Um abr
Nuno

[filipe1970]

100% dos tópicos que aqui abres, são tópicos só com desgraças. E que tal colocar também os com boas notícias ?

[acintra]

Court examiner links mortgage lender New Century's downfall to its continued use of improper accounting practices.

Last Updated: March 26, 2008: 9:47 PM EDT



LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Bankrupt mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. used improper accounting practices while making risky loans, creating "a ticking time bomb" that led to the company's rapid downfall, a court examiner said in a report released Wednesday.

Michael J. Missal concluded that New Century engaged in at least seven improper accounting practices that led the company to report incorrect financial information to Wall Street for fiscal 2005 and the first nine months of 2006.

Missal also found that senior management at the Irvine, Calif.-based lender failed to take appropriate steps to manage rising risks caused by the company's aggressive approach to originating loans, often to borrowers who couldn't afford them.

"New Century had a brazen obsession with increasing loan originations, without due regard to the risks associated with that business strategy," Missal's report said. "The increasingly risky nature of New Century's loan originations created a ticking time bomb that detonated in 2007."

In addition, the examiner found that New Century's accounting firm, KPMG LLC, enabled some of the improper accounting practices to continue.

"As an independent auditor they're supposed to look very skeptically at any client, and here they became advocates for the client and in fact even suggested some improper accounting treatment that ultimately started New Century down the road it's taken," Missal told The Associated Press.

The accounting also led to higher bonuses for key executives, the report said.

The report's findings may provide legal ammunition for the trustee appointed to liquidate New Century to sue KPMG and top New Century executives for millions of dollars to help pay off the lender's creditors, Missal said.

New Century spokesman Ronald Low said the company was pleased the examiner's report had been completed so the company's plan for liquidation can continue.

KPMG spokesman Dan Ginsburg said the accounting firm strongly disagreed with the report's conclusions on KPMG's actions.

"We believe that an objective review of the facts and circumstances will affirm our position," Ginsburg said.

New Century had been the second-largest originator of subprime home loans in the U.S. and had a market capitalization in excess of $1 billion several months before seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2007.

The company collapsed after a spike in mortgage defaults on loans made to borrowers with past credit problems led New Century's lenders to pull funding and demand that it buy back bad loans.

As its financial footing slipped, New Century also warned that it would need to restate financial results from 2005 and 2006 because it failed to tally losses from loan repurchases.

Judge Kevin Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., appointed Missal last June to examine New Century's accounting practices.

Missal said he conducted more than 100 interviews with New Century employees and others, including New Century's former chief executive, Brad Morrice.

Missal issued a preliminary report in November and a final version at the end of last month, but it was sealed until Wednesday.

The report described New Century, once a Wall Street darling, as a company bent on making loans, layering "the risk of loan products upon the risks of loose underwriting standards."

Some 70 percent of the loans originated by New Century featured low initial "teaser" interest rates designed to increase after a period of time.

The report said 40 percent of the company's loans were so-called stated-income loans that don't require borrowers to verify their income.

The company's predominant criteria for making loans was whether it could resell them on the secondary market, New Century directors and senior managers told investigators.

Even as the housing market began to sour, New Century continued to originate loans with the goal of selling them to investors, the report said.

"Senior management turned a blind eye to the increasing risks of New Century's loan originations and did not take appropriate steps to manage those risks," the report concluded.

One example cited in the report had New Century understating by more than 1000 percent the amount of money it needed to have on reserve to buy back bad loans.

As a result, it reported a profit of $63.5 million in the third quarter of 2006, when it should have reported a quarterly loss, the report said.

New Century also failed to include the interest that it was obligated to pay to investors whenever it was forced to buy back bad loans, the report said.

Missal, however, found no evidence that the lender deliberately manipulated accounting to bolster profits.

Still, investors who lost big when New Century folded last year likely relied upon the financial information when making their decisions to sell or buy its stock.

KPMG severed its ties to New Century a few weeks after the lender sought bankruptcy protection. KPMG did not complete an audit of New Century's 2006 financial results before it resigned as its independent auditor.

New Century has been deluged with investor lawsuits and disclosed last year that it was the target of a criminal inquiry by federal prosecutors in California.