SaulGriffith

A probe of improper foreclosure practices by mortgage services, which began in October 2010, and engulfed the largest U.S. banks, is now drawing within its fold four smaller banks. According to a report, state attorney generals are trying to get regional banks U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC), SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI), and HSBC Holdings plc (LON:HSBA) (NYSE:HBC), to come to a legal settlement regarding the improper foreclosure practices. An HSBC spokesman confirmed that preliminary discussions had been held with regulators, but said “the timing of any settlement is not presently known.” The three other banks did not comment. In February JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), and Ally Financial Inc., entered into a $25 billion settlement with states and the federal government for improper mortgage practices, including “robo-signing” leading to irregular foreclosures. Read more about this settlement on ValueWalk here. The smaller bankers are now facing the heat from AGs to settle, or else. On their part, they claim that it is yet to be demonstrated that a state-brokered settlement would be more beneficial to the injured parties, rather than remedial actions by the banks themselves. Yet,
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Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) reported excellent results for its second quarter, and boosted its guidance for the year. Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) is a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company for women, men, and female youth, primarily in Canada, the United States, and Australia. Profits jumped almost 50 percent, to $57.2 million (39 cents a share) from $38.4 million (26 cents a share) in the year ago period. Excluding items, earnings for the quarter were 31 cents a share, in line with analysts’ expectations. Revenues were higher by 33 percent, at $282.6 million, up from $212.3 million last year. Counting only stores that were open at least a year, revenues were up a healthy 15 percent. A very strong performance came from direct-to-customer sales, which climbed 91 percent to $35.4 million. However, gross margin fell during the quarter from 57.5 percent to 55.1 percent, while inventories climbed to $125.4 million from $88.9 million a year earlier. Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) bumped up its guidance for 2012, saying it hopes to earn an EPS of $1.76 to $1.81, on revenues of $1.35 billion to $1.36 billion, and that’s ahead of analysts’ expectations of $1.63 on $1.35 billion. The company maintains a reputation for quality,
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Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) announced yesterday the closure of its deal to acquire Instagram, initially planned to cost about $1 billion. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s plan to acquire photo-sharing app Instagram for $300 million in cash and 23 million shares was approved by the State of California on Aug 29, after lawyers and employees from Facebook and Instagram presented themselves at a hearing before the California Department of Corporations. Earlier the Federal Trade Commission announced on Aug 22 that it had closed its investigation of the deal “without taking any action.” After April’s announcement of the huge deal, much water has passed under the bridge. Most importantly, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) completed its historic IPO, which has had a troubled history because of the substantial depreciation in the value of the stock. At levels of the stock around the time of closure, the acquisition of Instagram is valued at about $715 million. In a welcoming message, Mike Scroepfer, Vice President of Engineering, says: “So many of us at Facebook love using Instagram to share moments with our friends. And for so many people, sharing photos with friends is an important part of the Facebook experience. That’s why we’re so excited to bring Instagram to Facebook
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Shares of Audience Inc (NASDAQ:ADNC) have collapsed by over 67% today after the company announced that the main customer for its noise-filtering chips, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), is not likely to use its technology in its forthcoming, latest iPhone. Audience Inc (NASDAQ:ADNC) has been a member of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) supply chain since 2008, and feeds its chips to Foxconn and Protek Ltd., the manufacturers of the phones on behalf of Apple. Apple’s new phone is rumored to be launching next week. The chips made by Audience enhance voice quality by removing extraneous noise. According to Reuters, Audience Chief Executive Peter Santos said, “Events of the last week in the normal course of business led us to believe that our technology is not likely to be enabled in Apple’s next generation mobile phone.” In the Press Release of the company, Audience Inc (NASDAQ:ADNC) says: Audience sells processors and licenses its processor IP to Apple Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (collectively, OEM) for inclusion in the OEM’s mobile phones pursuant to a Master Development and Supply Agreement (MDSA). Pursuant to a statement of work under the MDSA, amended in March 2012, Audience developed and licensed a new generation of processor IP
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Yesterday, the European Central Bank (ECB) made a decision to lend support to the troubled economies of the Eurozone, by initiating a bond buying program that is likely to be practically unlimited in scope. The action indicated an attempt to wrestle the region’s long-festering debt problems to the ground. The European Central Bank and the sovereign countries are to be working together to help restore their economies, which are facing huge debt levels. These have become so high that servicing them for their interest and principal repayments is becoming extremely difficult. In a vicious circle, these difficulties have an impact on the cost of the fresh debt/bonds that these countries need to raise to keep their economies afloat – interest rates rise to record levels, and so it goes on. By standing by as a bond-buyer of ultimate recourse, so to speak, the European Central Bank ensures that these countries are not faced with a situation where a paucity of subscribers causes the interest rate on their bond issues to go up. In one way, this effectively buys time, and financing at reasonable rates, until these economies get their fiscal house in order. This involves a reduction in expenditures to rein in fiscal
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Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has come out all guns blazing in its drive to take market share from Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad. At an event held at Santa Monica, near Los Angeles, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) unveiled today its latest version of the Kindle fire tablet. Dubbed the Kindle Fire HD, and featuring two screen sizes (8.9” and 7”), the tablet is HD 1080p and boasts of a 1900 x 1200 resolution, with In-Plane Switching (IPS) and 254 PPI, along with dual-Dolby stereo sound. These are features geared to the enjoyment of media content, and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)  makes that a breeze by also letting you sync photos, music, and movies in the cloud for all Kindle Fire devices. The 8.9” version costs $299, while the 7” model sets you back only $199. Rest assured the old Fire is still available at $159. There is also a 4G LTE version at $499. The new tablet features advanced Wi-Fi technology of the MIMO kind – MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) is an antenna technology for wireless communications, in which multiple antennas are used. The first tablet ever to incorporate MIMO, the twin antennas and dual band (2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz) support, make
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After what seemed an interminable delay, Air India, India’s national carrier, received the delivery of its first 787-800 Dreamliner airplane from The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), according to a report by the WSJ. The airplane, with two more to be delivered later this month, is an important component of Air India’s return to profitability. The new planes consume 20% less fuel than other aircraft of the same size, and will replace older and less fuel-efficient planes that are a drag on the airline’s operations. The airline plans to deploy these aircraft on new routes to international destinations as they can seat 256 passengers and fly non-stop for 9,400 miles. Initially these destinations will be Australia and Europe. These moves should help the airline recoup lost market share, which has shrunk to 18.2 percent in the face of increased competition, after the Indian skies were opened to competition. The losses led to the government clearing a bailout package of $5.75 billion for the carrier. “Today is a great day for Air India, as the most technologically advanced and fuel-efficient airplane in the world joins our fleet,” Air India’s chairman and managing director, Rohit Nandan, said in a statement. The airplane has twin aisles
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Here’s the latest on U.S. natural gas storage and futures. Front month natural gas futures on NYMEX are trading at $2.838 per mmBTU after opening at $2.799 and touching a high of $2.866 and a low of $2.765.. Prices are exhibiting a firm tendency, after injection into storage grew far less than was anticipated, because the impact from Hurricane Isaac was worse than expected. According to the EIA report, natural gas injection was 28 Bcf last week and much lower than the expectations of 33 Bcf. This lower quantity into storage led to firmer prices. “The 28 bcf net injection was bullish relative to both the consensus expectations for a 36-bcf build and the 60-bcf five-year average gain for the week. The data basically confirms that there was a larger net impact from Hurricane Isaac than had been assumed,” said Citi Futures energy analyst, Tim Evans, and quoted by Reuters. Total gas in U.S. storage is currently at 3.402 Bcf, which is 13% higher than last year and 11% above the five-year average. The outlook is that milder autumn weather will prove to be a dampener on cooling demand. Some portions of shut-in gas, due to the hurricane, will continue
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Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O) (NYSE:O-E) (NYSE:O-D) agreed to acquire American Realty Capital Trust Inc (NASDAQ:ARCT) in a $2.9 billion deal. According to the Press Release, Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O) (NYSE:O-E) (NYSE:O-D) is a real estate company that has paid 505 consecutive monthly dividends through its 43 year history, enabled primarily due to the cash flow received from over 2,600 properties held under long term leases. American Realty Capital Trust Inc (NASDAQ:ARCT) is a leading REIT that acquires, owns, and operates single-tenant, freestanding commercial properties, under long-term net leases with primarily investment grade tenants. The deal is structured as follows. Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O) (NYSE:O-E) (NYSE:O-D) will issue common stock to American Realty Capital Trust Inc (NASDAQ:ARCT) shareholders, equal to about $1.9 billion, pay off $570 million of the latter’s debt, and take over $526 million of other liabilities. The issue of common stock would be by way of fractional shares of $12.21 each. Tom A. Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Realty Income commented, “This acquisition comprehensively advances Realty Income’s strategic objectives of increasing its revenue generated by investment grade tenants and further diversifying its portfolio outside of the retail industry. This transaction is immediately accretive and is expected to generate approximately $0.20-$0.22
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Quantitative easing is here to stay. In the U.S., we are on the threshold of another, the third, tranche of monetary easing in the face of a reluctant economy that is not up and running as fast as the regulators would like. Though the economy is improving, unemployment remains at stubbornly high levels. This and other factors prompted the FOMC to express the likelihood of another round of “monetary accommodation” in the minutes of the meeting on July 31, and the remarks bear repetition for their significance: “Many members judged that additional monetary accommodation would likely be warranted fairly soon unless incoming information pointed to a substantial and sustainable strengthening in the pace of the economic recovery. Several members noted the benefits of accumulating further information that could help clarify the contours of the outlook for economic activity and inflation as well as the need for further policy action.” “Many participants expected that such a program could provide additional support for the economic recovery both by putting downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and by contributing to easier financial conditions more broadly,” the minutes indicate. “In addition, some participants noted that a new program might boost business and consumer confidence
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TransCanada Corporation  (TSE:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) has submitted route alterations for its Keystone XL pipeline that would pass through Nebraska. TransCanada Corporation  (TSE:TRP) (NYSE:TRP)’s Keystone XL pipeline is a 36-inch, crude oil pipeline that would connect Canada’s tar-sands region to the U.S. Gulf coast. The company submitted the route changes to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality who will clear them after public hearings. The changes are meant to alleviate concerns about environmental damage to the environmentally fragile area known as the Sand Hills, as also regarding municipal drinking water well-fields and sandy soils. The revised route of the TransCanada Corporation  (TSE:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) Keystone XL pipeline incorporates two detours at Clarks, Neb., and Western, Neb., to avoid municipal well-fields. Another detour was placed in Northern Nebraska to avoid the “Sand Hills”, and the sandy erodible soils in that region. The detours aggregate about 20 miles in route changes. The company would also have to get the changes approved by the U.S. Department of State, who will have the ultimate call on the project. “The preferred alternative route in this Supplemental Environmental Report was developed based on extensive feedback from Nebraskans, and reflects our shared desire to minimize the disturbance of land and sensitive resources in the state,”
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