Bank of America, DISH, SATS, EWBC, CBY, KFT, REV, NOC Popular Stocks
U.S. stocks traded higher Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 132 points to 10175, the S&P 500 up 18 points to 1088 and the Nasdaq Composite gaining 33 points to 2146.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC, $15.53, +$0.48, 3.19%) has extended $759 billion in new credit since the program was created in the fourth quarter of 2008. That represents almost $17 for every dollar of the $45 billion of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) investment. At the same time, Bank of America continues to provide a significant return on investment to U.S. taxpayers. Through November 16, Bank of America will have made more than $2.5 billion in dividend payments to the U.S. Treasury.
Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH, $19.98, +$0.83, 4.33%) posted a decline in its third-quarter profit, but the satellite-TV provider’s subscriber growth accelerated, thanks to aggressive promotions. Sister company EchoStar Corp. (NASDAQ:SATS, $20.08, +$0.20, 1.01%), which spun off from Dish at the start of 2008 and which still relies on the company for most of its business, swung to a profit.
East West Bancorp’s (NASDAQ:EWBC, $12.94, +$4.29, 49.60%) shares rose after an FDIC-assisted acquisition of San Francisco’s United Commercial Bank gave it $10.4 billion in new assets and $6.5 billion in deposits, with the FDIC helping cover losses on acquired loans. Plus, East West finished raising $500 million in new capital through private placements. Chairman and Chief Executive Dominic Ng called the takeover a “transformational event” and said FDIC backing and new cash leaves the company with “fortress-like capital.” It will help it return to “substantial profitability in 2010.” Morgan Stanley, Sandler O’Neill and Noble Financial all raised their ratings on East West on the deal.
A major shareholder in Cadbury (NYSE:CBY, $50.83, +$0.33, 0.65%) said on Monday that Kraft (NYSE:KFT, $26.42, -$0.36, -1.34%) will have to raise its offer for the candy maker to be succesful.
Revlon Inc.’s (NYSE:REV, $14.07, +$3.29, 30.52%) third-quarter earnings surprised BMO Capital analysts and they are now upgrading the stock to outperform from market perform as the cosmetics company is continuing to make headway in operations and its financials. Revlon announced Friday a tender offer for notes due in 2011 and followed up Monday by announcing its subsidiary is offering $330 million in notes due in 2015.
Jefferies upgraded Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC, $53.74, +$1.37, 2.62%) to buy from hold after news the company agreed to sell its TASC consulting unit, which serves the U.S. military and state governments, to two private-equity firms for $1.65 billion. “We see [Northrop] as setting itself apart with this transaction,” Jefferies said. The firm contends the price was reasonable and said the deal “demonstrates an understanding of and a capability to find value for shareholders in a changing market for defense-oriented suppliers.” It said management has indicated it will use proceeds to buy back shares.
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