Fitch Maintains Negative Outlook for Senior Living Industry

Fitch Ratings maintains its negative outlook for the senior living sector as the fragility in the global economic recovery, combined with such sector-specific negative credit factors as renewal risk on letters of credit (LOCs), weaker liquidity, higher capital costs, and uncertainty in the real estate market, outweighs the surprising resiliency that Fitch-rated, senior living credits [...]

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Research Recap Twitter Update Highlights

Led by China, foreign governments/central banks sold record amount of US financial assets in January (FT Alphaville)
US Bank Failures Threaten Small-Business Lending (WSJ)
Global harmony on financial regulation a distant prospect despite Lehman outrage( FT’s Gillian Tett) Sad but true
Junk Bond Avalanche Looms for Credit Markets (NY Times)
Traders Tapping Social Media to Gauge Market Sentiment using [...]

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PulseCheck: Blockbuster Staring Bankruptcy Filing in the Face

Blockbuster (BBI) today said it may have to file for bankruptcy protection as it tries to restructure itself.
Business Insider has details of the company’s 10-K filing. A few excerpts:

It is possible that a successful and efficient implementation of an exchange or any of the other strategies we are pursuing will require us [...]

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New Credit Card Rules to Have Little Impact on ABS

U.S. credit card Asset-backed securities trusts are well positioned to offset performance repercussions from changes to U.S. credit card regulations that went into effect on February 22, according to Fitch Ratings. However, credit card companies are set to face more acute pressures.
The impact on card performance variables will be felt most noticeably in gross yield, [...]

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S&P Affirms Greece’s Credit Rating but Downgrades Banking System, Sets Negative Outlook on Four Banks

Standard & Poor’s today indicated that the Greek government has done enough for now to get its fiscal house in order and preserve  the country’s credit rating, but at the same time the ratings agency downgraded the banking system and placed a negative outlook on several banks.

Key comments from S&P:

We view the Greek government’s total [...]

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Trading Based on Analysts’ “Buy” Recommendations Appears to Pay Off

The FT’s Lex highlights research by hedge fund GLG Partners, which tracked share price movements before and after broker announcements and finds a connection between recommendations and a stock’s subsequent performance.
The paper  found that when an average stock burdened with a consensus “sell” recommendation is given a “buy” rating, the underperforming price turns round and, [...]

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Zacks Upgrades Cisco Systems to Outperform

Zacks on Monday upgraded Cisco Systems (CSCO) to Outperform with a price target of $28.  We are pleased to offer a complimentary download of Zacks ‘research report on the company.

Selected Excerpts:
The company s second quarter results beat the Zacks Consensus on both the top and bottom lines. Orders continued [...]

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PulseCheck: Boston Scientific Needs a Defibrillator

Boston Scientific (BSX) fell the most in 17 months on Monday after  the company’s announcement it had stopped shipment and is retrieving inventory of all of implantable cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators in the US.
The latest bad news is Goldman Sachs’ [...]

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Renewable Energy Remains an Expensive Proposition for US Electric Utilities

While almost every one says they want more renewable energy, nobody wants to pay more for it, Standard & Poor’s says in a new Q&A on the topic.
Selected excerpts from Q&A: U.S. Utilities Ramp Up Renewable Energy (Premium)
The real challenge for managements at electric utilities is to explain to and help their customers, [...]

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PulseCheck: RadioShack (RSH)

RadioShack (RSH) is in the news today after Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Fassler removed the company from Goldman’s Conviction List, but still maintains a Buy recommendation.
RSH’s stock price has moved higher recently on speculation that the company is ripe for a buyout. However, Fassler sees only [...]

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