Acquisitions are good news, raising stock prices. Dow is up 107, advancers ahead of decliners better than 2-1 while NAZ is up 17. The major news is Washington Mutual (WM), the troubled but largest S&L in the US will receive a $5B investment from TPG, sending the stock up 2.71. The investment is from Texas-based TPG a Fort Worth business formerly know as Texas Pacific Group which invests more than $30B. This is not a done deal although investors are treating it as such. In addition, Novartis, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, will spend $38B in a two-step bid for a majority stake in U.S. eye-care company Alcon (ACL) sending it's stock up $5.39. Acquisition news is always good for stocks, raising spirits of investors.
The future of bank dividends are discussed in an excellent article attached. Yields are high, partly because dividends are at risk. Two mentioned, Bank of America (BAC) & US Bancorp (USB), are members of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats group, stocks with track records of more than 25 years of year over year higher dividends. This article gives a pause for thought.
This PM, Alcoa (AA) will announce earnings, the first Dow stock to do so. As mentioned last week, analysts are forecasting lower earnings, but traders are generally more concerned about "beating" estimates.
No comments:
Post a Comment