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’Fannie and Freddie’s revenge — the details [updated]
– By John McDermott and Cardiff Garcia
The details of the US government’s attempted bank raid are coming in on Friday afternoon.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency has filed 17 lawsuits against banks operating in the US.
Further further reading
For the commute home, where your discount windows have always been transparent and available with easy credit,
- Appetite grows for asset-backed securities. Exotic ones, no less. Awesome.
- A venture capitalist is caught running a weed empire.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Liverpool FC board agrees sale to Boston Red Sox owners — statement.
- GE says Wellstream rejected 750p per share offer — statement.
- DNO International may face $45m-$65m loss from Iraq arbitration award – statement.
Comcast to take control of NBCU
Comcast has sealed an agreement to take control of NBC Universal from General Electric in a deal valuing the media property at $30bn and creating one of the largest US media companies. Comcast will pay about $6.5bn in cash and will own 51% of the combined venture and GE will own 49%.
Comcast bid values NBC JV at $37bn
Comcast’s long-awaited bid for control of NBC Universal will value the new joint venture with General Electric at an unexpectedly larger $37.25bn before debt, boosted by a higher valuation on the US cable group’s pay-TV stations,
No cash for Vivendi in NBC deal
Vivendi will not receive any cash upfront from General Electric for its stake in NBC Universal under a $5.8bn proposed deal agreed this week. GE will pay more than its original offer of about $5bn for the French media group’s 20% stake in NBCU but delay payments until at least late next year.
GE, Vivendi agree NBCU deal
General Electric has agreed to pay Vivendi $5.8bn for the French group’s 20% stake in NBC Universal, paving the way for the conglomerate’s planned sale of 51% of the US media group to Comcast. The valuation,
French win bid for Areva unit
Alstom and Schneider Electric of France on Monday night trumped foreign rivals GE and Toshiba with a €4.1bn (£3.7bn) bid for the transmission and distribution arm of Areva, France’s state-owned nuclear group.
Comcast closes in on NBC stake
Comcast may seal a deal to buy a controlling stake in NBC Universal from General Electric by next Monday, creating one of America’s largest media companies. The deal, which values NBC Universal at about $30bn,
Vivendi mulls NBC Universal sale
French telecoms and media company Vivendi is considering selling its 20% stake in NBC Universal this year, reports the WSJ. However a final decision will not be made until at least mid-November and will depend on whether Vivendi can get a good price,
GE, Comcast eye NBC Universal options
Comcast is in talks with General Electric to create a new venture that would combine NBC Universal and the content assets of the top US cable operator. The potential Comcast deal emerged this week as one of several options GE is pursuing as it waits for Vivendi,
Comcast eyes NBC Universal stake
Comcast, the largest US cable network, is in talks with General Electric to buy a stake in NBC Universal, reports Bloomberg. Negotiations for Comcast to buy about a 50% NBC Universal stake have been ongoing and a deal would depend in part on Vivendi making a decision to sell its 20% holding,
American Airlines raises $2.9bn
AMR, the parent of American Airlines, has struck financing accords with GE and Citigroup that will free $2.9bn in cash to help offset a slump in air-travel demand, reports the FT. Shares of the carrier jumped more than 23% on Thursday’s news,
GE seeks to sell security division for $2bn
General Electric is looking to sell its security business, which makes surveillance systems and other safety products, and hopes to attract bids in the range of $2bn for the unit. The US conglomerate has received preliminary indications of interest for the unit from rival manufacturers,
GE settles claims of fraud in accounts
General Electric agreed on Tuesday to pay $50m to settle civil accounting fraud charges, calling into question its famed ability to deliver consistent earnings growth. The settlement with the SEC – which accused GE of bending accounting rules “beyond breaking point” – involves a relatively small payment.
SEC accuses GE of accounting fraud
The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday accused GE of “[misleading] investors by reporting materially false and misleading results in its financial statements.”
Or, as Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement put it:
GE’s Immelt would oppose split
General Electric opposes any regulation that would force it to split off its hefty finance business, Jeff Immelt, GE’s chief executive, said in a memo to staff on Monday, reports Reuters. Some analysts have said the Obama administration’s proposed regulatory revamp could force GE to sell or exit its diversified GE Capital unit.
GE reassures over finance unit
General Electric on Thursday sought to allay fears that the Obama administration’s plan for financial regulatory reform would force a spin-off of its finance arm, reiterating its commitment to “retaining GE Capital”.
Weekend catch-up
In case you missed these stories:
Results boost for Citi, GE
Citigroup and General Electric, two of the biggest corporate victims of the economic crisis, on Friday won some respite by reporting better-than-expected profits in the first three months of the year.
Moody’s strips GE of AAA rating
General Electric’s financial health came under renewed focus on Monday as Moody’s stripped the group of its long-held triple-A rating and questioned GE’s pledge that its finance arm would be profitable this year.
Another sacred cow, slain (or, Fitch downgrades Berkshire Hathaway)
Once upon a time, the merest suggestion that certain entities known as “bond insurers” or “monolines” might be stripped off their triple-A ratings was enough to send markets into a right panic.
Once upon a time,
CDS update: Markets resilient despite weakening sentiment
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
European credit markets gave back some of their gains from yesterday as the positive sentiment surrounding financials faded. But the spread widening at the close was modest compared to the morning session.
S&P downgrades GE
Standard & Poor’s on Thursday stripped General Electric of its historic triple-A rating, downgrading to the global conglomerate by one notch to AA+.
The move follows a warning from S&P in December that GE had a one in three chance of losing its gilded rating within the new two years.
Investors fear GE will lose AAA rating
General Electric’s shares slid briefly below $6 on Wednesday, a level unseen since 1991, amid fears that the conglomerate could lose its triple A credit rating and make another equity issue. The two scenarios have dragged on GE’s shares in recent weeks,
General Electrocuted
Hot off the market-crashwire (TM): GE, previously one of the world’s largest companies by market cap, had fallen more than 9 per cent in Monday trade. The stock broke below $8 per share for the first time since 1994 following news on Friday that the conglomerate would be cutting its annual dividend for the first time since 1938.
Moody’s could cut GE rating
Moody’s Investors Service said Tuesday it was reviewing General Electric’s triple-A credit ratings, which could lead to a downgrade, and its shares fell as much as 5% in extended trade, reports Reuters.
Another knock for GE as Moody’s warns on rating
Following in S&P’s footsteps, Moody’s on Tuesday warned that GE is at risk of losing its triple-A rating.
Here’s the statement, emphasis FT Alphaville’s:
Jan 27 – Moody’s Investors Service placed the long-term ratings of General Electric Company (Aaa senior unsecured) and General Electric Capital Corporation (GECC;
GE, that’s awful
Shares in economic bellwether GE fell more than 5 per cent on Thursday after BarCap said the company’s profit might be driven largely by tax gains.
BarCap analyst Robert Cornell argued in a note that more than half of its forecast Q4 profit for the conglomerate could come from tax benefits :
Signs of life in the corporate bond market
It is very faint, but there seems to be a pulse. In fact it could be a bit more than that.
There was $41bn of corporate bond issuance last week, which was the highest weekly total in eights months and roughly equal the tally for all of last September and October when the credit markets froze,
S&P lowers GE debt rating outlook
S&P lowered its outlook on General Electric’s debt ratings to “negative” on Thursday, a move that could cost the conglomerate its pristine credit grade if profit from its GE Capital finance arm falls more than expected.