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American Capital Agency Falls: Fed Loser

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:59:12 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet)--American Capital Agency Corp. was one of big losers in financial stocks Wednesday on concerns the Federal Reserve is nearing the time when it will begin reducing its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program.

AGNC turned downward following the Fed's 2pm announcement outlining criteria for which it would begin to curb its stimulus program. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke stopped short of issuing a timeline but said that as the economy shows signs of improving, the bank will consider cutting back on the bond-buying that has helped to drive stocks.

AGNC spent much of the day higher on Wednesday until the Federal Open Markets Committee statement. While the S&P 500 tumbled 1.4% to 1,628.93, AGNC shares were hit especially hard, falling 3.6% to $24.44 on volumes of more than 21.5 million shares, nearly three times the stock's daily three-month average of 8.36 million shares. ...

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Hormel Tumbles as Key Banc Sees Buying Opportunity

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:02:42 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -Hormel Foods tumbled after the food producer announced low forecasts for success in fiscal 2013 in a press release this morning. Key Banc used new initiatives to upgrade Hormel shares to buy from hold despite the expected decline.

Hormel Foods were falling 4.4% to $38.85.

Hormel lowered its full year guidance range from $1.93-$2.03 a share to $1.88-$1.96. Chairman, President and CEO Jeffrey M. Ettinger attributed the negative expectations to shortcomings in their pork operations, higher input costs and underselling refrigerated food products. ...

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Ohio Banks: Financial Losers

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:16:38 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- KeyCorp of Cleveland and Huntington Bancshares of Columbus, Ohio, were the losers among the nation's largest banks on Friday, with both stocks seeing 3% declines.

KeyCorp's shares closed at $10.41, while Huntington closed at $7.53. Please see TheStreet's recent coverage for analysts' thoughts on KeyCorp as an interest rate and efficiency play, and Huntington as another solid stock to hold as interest rates rise.

The broad indices all ended with 1% declines, while the the KBW Bank Index sank 2% to close at 60.16. ...

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Huntington Bancshares: Financial Winner

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:13:56 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Huntington Bancshares was the winner among the nation's largest banks on Thursday, with shares rising 2.5% to close at $7.73.

The broad indices rebounded with gains of over 1% after two straight days of declines, following a set of better-than-expected economic reports. There were also two major M&A deals announced, including an agreement by Safeway to sell its Canadian operations for $5.7 billion and Gannett's acquisition of Belo Corp. for $1.5 billion.

The Department of Labor reported that initial unemployment claims for the week ended June 8 were down 12,000 to 334,000 from 346,000 the previous week. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average had expected last week's initial claims number to come in at 345,000. ...

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Big Banks Slide on Rate Jitters: Financial Losers

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:25:56 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- KeyCorp was the loser among the nation's largest banks on Wednesday, with shares down 2.4% to close at $10.48.

The broad indices saw a second day of 1% declines, as investors continued to worry over the timing and magnitude of the Federal Reserve's eventual slowdown of its balance sheet expansion.

The Fed has kept the short-term federal funds rate in a range of zero to 0.25% since late 2008. The Federal Open Market Committee has said repeatedly that it would be "appropriate" to keep the federal funds rate in this range until the U.S unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, assuming inflation is kept in check. ...

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Citigroup: Financial Loser

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:13:48 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Citigroup was the loser among the nation's largest banks on Tuesday, with shares sliding 4% to close at $49.95.

Following a rise in the dollar against the Japanese yen over the previous two trading sessions, Portales Partners analyst Charles Peabody on Tuesday warned that Citigroup could lose up to $7 billion in regulatory capital this year if the dollar keeps gaining against yen, the euro and currencies in emerging markets," according to a Bloomberg report. Roughly 60% of Citigroup's earnings came from outside the United States during the first quarter.

The broad indices all ended 1% lower, with investors appearing unsettled after the Bank of Japan said it would continue to purchase assets to expand Japan's monetary base at an annual pace of about 60 trillion yen ($612 billion) to 70 trillion yen, in an effort to reach a 2% inflation target. ...

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PNC: Financial Winner

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:25:46 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- PNC Financial Services Group was the winner among the nation's largest banks on Monday, with shares rising 2.6% to close at $72.93.

The broad indices ended mixed, even though the Nikkei 225 rose 4.71% after Japan revised its first-quarter gross domestic product higher. The Japanese economy grew by an annualized 4.1% versus the original estimate of 3.5%, according to the country's Cabinet Office.

The KBW Bank Index was up 0.6% to close at 61.93, after Standard & Poor's affirmed its "AA+" long-term and "A-1+" short-term credit ratings for the U.S. and raised its long-term rating outlook on the country to "stable" from "negative," to indicate the ratings agency's "view that the likelihood of a near-term downgrade of the rating is less than one in three." ...

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Morgan Stanley: Financial Winner

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:10:03 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Morgan Stanley was the big winner on a second consecutive day of strong performance for bank stocks, with shares rising over 6% to close at $27.00.

The broad indices all ended with strong gains of at least 1.3%. The KBW Bank Index was up 1.6% to close at 61.58, with all 24 index components up for the session.

In a monthly event that saw even more preliminary hype than usual, the Department of Labor reported that nonfarm payrolls in the United States grew by 175,000 positions during May, increasing from a downwardly revised 149,000 in April. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters on average had expected the April jobs growth number to come in at 170,000. ...

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Wells Fargo: Financial Winner

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:03:45 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Wells Fargo was the winner among resurgent large U.S. banks on Thursday, with shares rising more than 2% to close at $40.72.

Bank stocks rebounded from a four-day slide, heading into the Labor Department's monthly non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which will include the U.S. unemployment rate. The KBW Bank Index rose over 1% to close at 60.64, with all but one of the 24 index components showing gains.

The broad indices all ended with gains to snap a two-day losing streak, after the Department of Labor said initial unemployment claims during the week ended June 1 totaled 346,000, declining by 11,000 from an upwardly revised 357,000 the previous week. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters on average expected new jobless claims to come in at 345,000. The four-week moving average for unemployment claims was 352,000, increasing from a revised figure of 348,000 the previous week. ...

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Big Banks Tumble Again: Financial Losers

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:40:46 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Bank of New York Mellon was the loser among the nation's largest banks on a rough day for the stock market, with shares falling 3% to close at $29.01.

Another mixed batch of economic reports underscored investors' concerns over the timing of the Federal Reserve's inevitable curtailment of its monthly purchases of $85 billion in long-term securities. The Fed has kept the short-term federal funds rate in a range of zero to 0.25% since late 2008. The central bank's bond buying is meant to keep the squeeze on the rate curve, by holding long-term rates down.

The market had been anticipating a slowing of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet expansion, sending the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds up by 44 basis points from the end of April to Tuesday, when the market yield was 2.14%. Investors on Wednesday pushed the yield on the 10-year down to roughly 2.11%. ...

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Bank Banks: Fed Fear Losers

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:32:51 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Nearly all stocks of large U.S. banks were down on Tuesday, as investors continued to worry over a possible curtailment of bond-buying by the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each saw declines of 0.6%.

The KBW Bank Index pulled back 1% to close at 61.00, with all but three of the 24 index components showing declines. Big banks with shares declining over 1% included Bank of America , which closed at $13.36; Citigroup , closing at $1.40; Fifth Third Bancorp , at $17.92; Regions Financial , at $8.98; and Goldman Sachs , which closed at $161.68. ...

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Fannie and Freddie Keep Flying High: Financial Winners (Update 1)

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:41:27 EDT

Updated from 12:48 ET with market close information and updated stock returns.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Investors on Monday kept pouring money into common stocks of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac .

Shares of Fannie Mae rose 21% to close at $2.53, following a 21% increase on Friday. Friday's rise followed a 58% loss over the previous two sessions though Thursday's close at $1.73. The shares are up 873% from their closing price of 26 cents at the end of 2012. ...

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Investors Pump GSEs Again: Financial Winners

Fri, 31 May 2013 16:56:27 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac roller coaster continued on Friday, with shares of both companies rebounding after two days of significant losses.

Shares of Fannie Mae rose 21% on Friday to close at $2.10. The shares had suffered a decline of 58% over the previous two sessions though Thursday's close at $1.73. That decline followed an increase of 140% the preceding week through Tuesday when the stock closed at $4.08.

Freddie Mac's shares were up 27.5% to close at $2.04. Freddie's shares had fallen a 57% over the previous two sessions through Thursday's close $1.60. The shares had risen 150% through close at $3.75. ...

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Fannie and Freddie Keep Tumbling: Financial Losers (Update 1)

Thu, 30 May 2013 16:29:13 EDT

Updated from 2:27 p.m. ET with market close information and additional comments on Thursday from Michael Kao of Akanthos Capital Management.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued their epic slide on Thursday, following their change of course on Wednesday.

Shares of Fannie Mae dropped 40% to close at $1.73. The shares had declined 29% to $2.90 on Wednesday, following an increase of 140% the preceding week through Tuesday when the stock closed at $4.08. ...

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Buy Huntington Bancshares for Solid Rate Play: Merrill Lynch

Thu, 30 May 2013 13:03:44 EDT

Updated from 11:54 a.m ET with afternoon market action and Huntington's interest rate shock analysis showing benefits of rising rates.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Huntington Bancshares is an excellent play for investors looking for a bank stock that will benefit when short-term rise, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Erika Penala.

In a report on Thursday, Penala wrote that in light of the recent spike in market rates for 10-year U.S Treasury bonds, her research team updated its proprietary rate scorecard for banks. The analysts found that the regional banking names covered by their firm that would see the greatest earnings benefit from an increase in short-term rates included Zions Bancorporation , Comerica , KeyCorp , Huntington and Fifth Third Bancorp . ...

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