Stock Blog Hub » Credit Services

(SLM) Sallie Mae Enhances Shareholder Value

vitalstocks — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:33:07 +0000

SLM Corp. (SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, remains committed to boosting investors’ confidence through dividend increases and share buybacks. The company announced a 25% hike in its quarterly dividend to 12.5 cents per share from 10 cents. Alongside, the company declared a $500 million share buyback program. The increased dividend will be paid on [...]

(SLM) Sallie Mae Enhances Shareholder Value

(COF) Capital One Financial Misses Estimates on Higher Expenses

vitalstocks — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:13:17 +0000

Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) reported fourth-quarter 2011 earnings from continuing operations of 89 cents per share, significantly below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53. This also compares unfavorably with $1.88 earned in the prior quarter and $2.07 recorded in the year-ago quarter. For the full year, Capital One’s earnings per share from continuing operations [...]

(COF) Capital One Financial Misses Estimates on Higher Expenses

(MCO) Fitch Has Eurozone Rating Misgivings

vitalstocks — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:13:32 +0000

Ratings agency Fitch has misgivings about Europe’s ability to tackle the sovereign debt crisis. Moody’s, a division of Moody’s Corporation (MCO) and Standard & Poor’s had earlier warned about the failing economic health of the European Union (EU) worsened by the indecision of the political class to address the crisis. At the recent summit, Europe [...]

(MCO) Fitch Has Eurozone Rating Misgivings

(AXP) American Express and Discover Financial Services Defaults Plunge

vitalstocks — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:31:13 +0000

Yesterday, major credit card companies American Express Co. (AXP) (AmEx) and Discover Financial Services (DFS) reported a drop in defaults and delinquency rates for November 2011, implying a favorable credit quality. Delinquency rates… Accordingly, the delinquency rate, indicating the future rate of default, for AmEx, 30 days, was recorded at 1.5% of balances, at par [...]

(AXP) American Express and Discover Financial Services Defaults Plunge

(MCO) Moody’s Follows with Eurozone Warning

vitalstocks — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:00:48 +0000

Moody’s, a division of Moody’s Corporation (MCO), becomes the second ratings agency to sound a warning after Standard & Poor’s on the failing economic health of the European Union (EU) partly fueled by the indecision of the political class to address the crisis. Although the markets were rattled by the announcement as most indices fell [...]

(MCO) Moody’s Follows with Eurozone Warning

(DFS) Discover Financial Services Downgraded to Neutral

vitalstocks — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:51:38 +0000

We have downgraded our recommendation on Discover Financial Services (DFS) to Neutral based on a weak momentum in the earnings outlook. The company reported third-quarter 2011 earnings per share of $1.18, significantly ahead of both the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 91 cents and 47 cents recorded in the year-ago quarter. Discover’s credit card sales volume [...]

(DFS) Discover Financial Services Downgraded to Neutral

(COF) Capital One-HSBC Credit Card Business Aquisition Deal Under Review

vitalstocks — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:10:24 +0000

Earlier this week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced the recommencement of the comment period on Capital One Financial Corp.’s (COF) proposed deal to acquire HSBC Holdings Plc’s (HBC) U.S. credit-card business. This decision was taken following consumer and housing advocates’ opposition to the agreement. Though the original comment period on [...]

(COF) Capital One-HSBC Credit Card Business Aquisition Deal Under Review

(CIT) CIT Group Resumes CRE Lending Business

vitalstocks — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:16:13 +0000

CIT Group Inc. (CIT) re-initiated its commercial real estate (CRE) lending business with the launch of CIT Real Estate Finance on Wednesday. The new business will originate and underwrite senior secured real estate transactions in the Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. areas. When the financial crisis was at its peak in 2008, CIT [...]

(CIT) CIT Group Resumes CRE Lending Business

(AXP) Stock Market News for November 4, 2011 – Market News

vitalstocks — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:38:17 +0000

Greecereversed its call for a referendum on the European debt deal that calmed nerves and helped the markets log their second consecutive days of gains. A drop in weekly jobless claims further added to the cheer coupled with the European Central Bank’s decision to reduce the interest rate to 1.25%. However, fears of Greek Prime [...]

(AXP) Stock Market News for November 4, 2011 – Market News

(ADS) Company News for October 26, 2011 – Corporate Summary

vitalstocks — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:19:25 +0000

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) posted earnings per share of $0.14, significantly below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.24 per share • Xerox Corp. (NYSE:XRX) reported third quarter earnings per share of $0.26, better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.25 • BP plc (NYSE:BP) posted third-quarter 2011 earnings of $1.67 per American Depositary Share (ADS) [...]

(ADS) Company News for October 26, 2011 – Corporate Summary

(DLLR) DFC Global Corporation – Bull of the Day

vitalstocks — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:50:44 +0000

We are upgrading our recommendation on DFC Global Corp. (DLLR) to Outperform from Neutral, as we believe that the recent sell-off in the stock has made DFC’s valuation more compelling. We think the recent pullback gives investors an opportunity to buy the shares at a more reasonable multiple. DFC Global’s return on equity of 23.6% [...]

(DLLR) DFC Global Corporation – Bull of the Day

(DFS) Discover Financial Services – Bull of the Day

vitalstocks — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:16:26 +0000

Discover Financial Services (DFS) third-quarter earnings came in substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, driven by lower loan loss provision, higher transaction and credit card sales volumes, loan loss reserve release growth and record-low delinquency and charge-off rates. Higher consumer spending and merchant acceptance also contributed to the substantial expansion of income across direct [...]

(DFS) Discover Financial Services – Bull of the Day

(MCO) Insurance Industry Stock Update – September 2011 – Industry Outlook

vitalstocks — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:11:44 +0000

Despite a series of natural disasters and consequent above-average losses, the U.S. insurance industry could rebound only with help from rising rates and reduced pricing pressure. Though financials of U.S. insurance companies are still not strong enough to soak up losses from catastrophic events such as the recent Hurricane Irene, which affected a wide area [...]

(MCO) Insurance Industry Stock Update – September 2011 – Industry Outlook

(MCO) Moody’s Downgrades Three U.S. Mega Banks

vitalstocks — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:05:31 +0000

On Wednesday, Moody’s Investors Service, a credit rating arm of Moody’s Corp. (MCO) downgraded its credit ratings on Bank of America Corporation (BAC), Citigroup Inc. (C) and Wells Fargo & Company (WFC). The rating cut followed the agency’s belief that the federal government will not save them whenever they are in dire straits. The credit [...]

(MCO) Moody’s Downgrades Three U.S. Mega Banks

(AXP) Stock Market News for August 26, 2011 – Market News

vitalstocks — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:27:43 +0000

Tense investors chose to raise cash ahead of the Federal Chairman’s speech at Jackson Hole and subsequently dragged the benchmarks lower, negating the effect of Warren Buffet’s $5 billion investment in Bank of America. Additionally, the jobs market painted another gloomy picture of the economy as initial claims grew. The benchmarks registered its first day of [...]

(AXP) Stock Market News for August 26, 2011 – Market News

(SLM) SLM Corporation – Bull of the Day

vitalstocks — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:38:36 +0000

We are upgrading our recommendation on SLM Corporation (SLM) to Outperform. Its second quarter 2011 core earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, on the back of an increase in student loan originations, improved credit quality as well as a decline in operating expenses. We believe that the company’s leading position in the student lending market, [...]

(SLM) SLM Corporation – Bull of the Day

(AXP) Stock Market News for August 11, 2011 – Market News

vitalstocks — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:38:08 +0000

Indices were dealt yet another blow by a multitude of concerns as benchmarks incurred heavy losses on Wednesday. Worries about the debt crisis spreading to Italy and Spain bogged down investor sentiment with additional pressure coming from fears of France losing its AAA rating. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) had been feeling the heat [...]

(AXP) Stock Market News for August 11, 2011 – Market News

(MCO) Much Ado About a Double-Dip?

vitalstocks — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:34:09 +0000

Don’t panic. This is not the time to be scared by heated talks on the possibility of a so-called double-dip recession. The global stock market has come crashing down close on the heels of the debt ceiling raise and the dramatic downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor’s. But it would be [...]

(MCO) Much Ado About a Double-Dip?

(COF) Capital One Financial Earnings Outpace Estimates

vitalstocks — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:51:38 +0000

Capital One Financial Corp.’s (COF) second quarter 2011 earnings from continuing operations of $2.04 per share were substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.67. Though this compared unfavorably with $2.04 in the prior quarter, it surpassed $1.78 recorded in the year-ago quarter. Better-than-expected results for the quarter were primarily aided by increased revenues [...]

(COF) Capital One Financial Earnings Outpace Estimates

(AXP) Stock Market News for July 13, 2011 – Market News

vitalstocks — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:22:33 +0000

Indices washed out early gains made after Fed minutes suggested the possibility of a third economic stimulus package, as euro-zone debt woes led to markets closing in the red for the third consecutive day. Meanwhile, reports of US trade deficit surging more than expected also kept investors jittery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shed [...]

(AXP) Stock Market News for July 13, 2011 – Market News

(DLLR) Dollar Financial Wraps Up Risicum Deal

vitalstocks — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:01:20 +0000

Yesterday, Dollar Financial Corp. (DLLR) announced the completion of its acquisition of Finnish internet loan provider Risicum Oyj for $46 million. This move is in sync with Dollar’s strategy to grow its global internet lending business. Dollar Financial is already a leading pawn lender in Scandinavia. With the acquisition of the Risicum technology and products, [...]

(DLLR) Dollar Financial Wraps Up Risicum Deal

(DFS) Discover Analyst Retains Outperform on Shares

vitalstocks — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:18:00 +0000

Discover has grown to become one of the largest card issuers in the U.S. and a leading innovator and driver of change in the credit card industry. The company continues to explore healthy opportunities for inorganic growth and also implements several capital-bolstering initiatives. These factors induce us to retain our Outperform rating on Discover Financial [...]

(DFS) Discover Analyst Retains Outperform on Shares

(DFS) Discover Financial Services – Bull of the Day

vitalstocks — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:56:08 +0000

Discover Financial Services’ (DFS) second quarter earnings came in dramatically ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, driven by lower loan loss provision, higher transaction and credit card sales volumes that also drove the loan loss reserve release growth. Higher consumer spending and merchant acceptance also contributed to the substantial expansion of income across direct banking [...]

(DFS) Discover Financial Services – Bull of the Day

(AXP) Stock Market News for June 30, 2011 – Market News

vitalstocks — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:39:22 +0000

On Wednesday, markets enjoyed their best three-day winning streak in three months as investor sentiment was boosted by news that the Greek austerity plan had been approved by the nation’s lawmakers. This would not only enable Greece avoid a debt default but would also help the global markets avoid bearish sentiments The Dow Jones Industrial [...]

(AXP) Stock Market News for June 30, 2011 – Market News

(MCO) Moody’s Casts Shadow on Toyota Motor

vitalstocks — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:36:00 +0000

Moody’s Investors Service, the credit rating arm of Moody’s Corp. (MCO), has cut the credit rating for Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) by one level to Aa3 on the back of its weakening market position and difficulties in operations emanating from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11. Moody’s has warned the company of [...]

(MCO) Moody’s Casts Shadow on Toyota Motor

(MCO) Prudential Financial Upgraded by Moody’s

vitalstocks — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:47:13 +0000

Last week, credit rating agency Moody’s Investors’ Service, a subsidiary of Moody’s Corp. (MCO), affirmed the debt rating of Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) at “Baa2” and upgraded its outlook to positive from stable. Prudential has one of the best collections of businesses in the U.S. life insurance sector, with strong positions in high margin businesses [...]

(MCO) Prudential Financial Upgraded by Moody’s

(DFS) Discover Financial Services’ Profit Rockets Up

vitalstocks — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:07:13 +0000

Discover Financial Services’ (DFS) second quarter earnings per share of $1.09 came in dramatically ahead of both the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 72 cents and 33 cents recorded in the year-ago quarter. Net income spiked substantially by over 132% year over year to $600 million from $258 million. Net income allocated to common shareholders also [...]

(DFS) Discover Financial Services’ Profit Rockets Up

(AXP) American Express Issues $600 Million in Notes

vitalstocks — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:15:21 +0000

Last week, American Express Co.’s (AXP) (AmEx) American Express Credit Corp sold senior unsecured floating-rate notes worth $600 million, according to Thomson Reuters. The senior floating-rate notes were issued at a price of $100.00 and are dated to mature on June 24, 2014. The non-callable notes are projected to have a coupon rate of 85 [...]

(AXP) American Express Issues $600 Million in Notes

(COF) The Cheap “Ones” – Finding Value Stocks

vitalstocks — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:14:15 +0000

Firms for which the market’s expectations of the future are low tend to be very cheap statistically. There is a very large body of research that suggests that over time you do much better buying cheap firms than expensive ones, even if the expensive ones seem to have the hot products and the buzz around [...]

(COF) The Cheap “Ones” – Finding Value Stocks

(DFS) Discover Financial Services Earnings Preview

vitalstocks — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:59:55 +0000

Electronic payment processor in the US, Discover Financial Services (DFS) is scheduled to release its second quarter results before the market opens on June 23, 2011. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second quarter is 66 cents per share, representing about 100% growth over the year-ago quarter. Following the first quarter trends, higher consumer spending [...]

(DFS) Discover Financial Services Earnings Preview

(DFS) Discover Financial Services Sanctions $1 Billion Buyback

vitalstocks — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:57:02 +0000

Yesterday, the board of Discover Financial Services (DFS) approved and authorized a two-year share repurchase program worth $1 billion with an expected expiry on June 14, 2013. Although the approval is effective immediately, the buyback of its shares will be held from time to time through open market operations, depending on the market conditions. Over [...]

(DFS) Discover Financial Services Sanctions $1 Billion Buyback

(MCO) Moody’s Unveils New Mobile Website Version

vitalstocks — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:35:01 +0000

Credit rating and research provider, Moody’s Corp. (MCO) recently launched a mobile version of Moodys.com, which can be accessed from any smartphone browser. The mobile version will allow users to access Moody’s credit ratings and research specially formatted for smartphones and other mobile devices at any time and from any where. We believe this is [...]

(MCO) Moody’s Unveils New Mobile Website Version

(COF) Capital One Acquires ING Direct USA

vitalstocks — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:26:45 +0000

Capital One Financial Corp.(COF) announced an agreement to acquire ING Direct USA, the online banking unit of Amsterdam-based ING Groep NV (ING), in a stock-cum-cash transaction valued at $9.0 billion. The deal would catapult the company to fifth position from the present eighth, in terms of deposits in the U.S. Earlier this month, Capital One [...]

(COF) Capital One Acquires ING Direct USA

(AXP) American Express Diversifies with Prepaid Card

vitalstocks — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:52:38 +0000

Diversifying its scope of operation beyond affluent customers, American Express Co. (AXP) (AmEx) is expected to introduce a new convenient prepaid debit card on Tuesday, which will operate out of the Dodd-Frank regulatory premises. Moreover, this new revenue-generating platform is created to target the customers of the bank giants such as JP Morgan Chase & [...]

(AXP) American Express Diversifies with Prepaid Card

(MCO) Fitch Threatens US Credit Rating Downgrade

vitalstocks — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:13:46 +0000

Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday that it will keep a watch on U.S. debt for a possible downgrade if the debt ceiling isn’t raised by August 2. The news was published in the Associated Press yesterday. Though the government hit the debt ceiling on May 16, it still has buffer time till August 2, to [...]

(MCO) Fitch Threatens US Credit Rating Downgrade

(MCO) Rating Woes for U.K. Banks

vitalstocks — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:20:47 +0000

Rating downgrade woes have plagued the U.K. banks. Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service, a wing of Moody’s Corp. (MCO), placed 14 U.K. banks and building societies on review for potential credit rating downgrades following the reluctance of the government to provide bailouts in future. The rating reassessment does not reflect a financial weakness either in [...]

(MCO) Rating Woes for U.K. Banks

(MCO) Who Gains from Jumbo Mortgage?

vitalstocks — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:14:20 +0000

According to a report published in TheStreet on Tuesday, Moody’s Investors Service, a wing of Moody’s Corp. (MCO), has said that many U.S. banks, which produce jumbo mortgage loans and have the power to independently sell these, could enjoy higher earnings as government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) are gradually [...]

(MCO) Who Gains from Jumbo Mortgage?

(AXP) Stock Market News for May 2, 2011 – Market News

vitalstocks — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:22:06 +0000

Investors were in an upbeat mood after the benchmarks had their best monthly performance in years and the markets had their best run in five weeks, ended with gains on Friday. Through the week, the indices were pushed higher by the Federal Reserve’s vow to keep interest rates low to stimulate the economy and by [...]

(AXP) Stock Market News for May 2, 2011 – Market News

(MCO) Moody’s Reports Excellent 2011 First Quarter Earnings

vitalstocks — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:56:39 +0000

Moody’s Corp. (MCO) reported strong first quarter 2011 earnings, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 53 cents by 14 cents (26.4%). The positive surprise was primarily driven by strong top-line growth across all segments. Based on the strong results, Moody’s revised its full-year guidance, expecting higher revenues from most of its operational segments. Operating Performance [...]

(MCO) Moody’s Reports Excellent 2011 First Quarter Earnings

(AXP) American Express Expands Online Pay

vitalstocks — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 03:29:08 +0000

On Wednesday, American Express Co. (AXP) (AmEx) expanded its digital payment services by partnering with a leading mobile payment processing service – Payfone, in a strategic alliance whereby the latter will integrate its advanced mobile authorization and payment services with AmEx’s Serve. Serve is a digital payment service, launched by AmEx about a fortnight ago, [...]

(AXP) American Express Expands Online Pay

(COF) Capital One Gets Fitch Investment Grade Rating Retained

vitalstocks — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:58:38 +0000

On Monday, Fitch Ratings announced that it has maintained its investment grade ratings on Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) and its core operating subsidiaries. The rating agency stated the company’s significant earnings growth and improving asset quality as the main reasons for the affirmation. Fitch reiterated Capital One’s long-term issuer default rating (IDR) at “A-” [...]

(COF) Capital One Gets Fitch Investment Grade Rating Retained

(DFS) Discover Financial Services – Bull of the Day

vitalstocks — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:23:32 +0000

Discover Financial Services (DFS) first quarter earnings were substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The growth in the loan loss reserve release as well as gains from the payments business drove the credit card sales volumes. In addition, higher consumer spending and merchant acceptance also contributed to the increase. Recently, Discover also completed the [...]

(DFS) Discover Financial Services – Bull of the Day

(DLLR) Dollar Financial Corporation Prices Share Offering

vitalstocks — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:57:48 +0000

Dollar Financial Corporation (DLLR) has priced its previously announced public offering of 6 million shares at $20.75 per share, to use the proceeds to help fund its acquisition of Purpose U.K. Holdings Limited in the U.K. However, Dollar Financial earlier planned to underwrite a public offering of 5 million shares of its common stock, subject [...]

(DLLR) Dollar Financial Corporation Prices Share Offering

(COF) Capital One Financial Planning to Bid for ING Direct?

vitalstocks — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 14:49:24 +0000

On Sunday, Bloomberg reported that Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) is one of the few firms that are interested in buying ING Direct USA. ING Direct USA is the online banking unit of Amsterdam-based ING Groep NV (ING). Apart from Capital One, ING has been in talks with several other companies and is looking to [...]

(COF) Capital One Financial Planning to Bid for ING Direct?

(DLLR) Dollar Financial Commences Stock Offering

vitalstocks — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:40:34 +0000

In order to help fund its acquisition of Purpose U.K. Holdings Limited in the U.K., Dollar Financial Corporation (DLLR) plans to underwrite a public offering of 5 million shares of its common stock, subject to market conditions. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dollar Financial allowed underwriters a 30-day option to cover allotments up to [...]

(DLLR) Dollar Financial Commences Stock Offering

(MCO) Moody’s Investor’s Service May Downgrade Toyota Motor Shares

vitalstocks — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:09:31 +0000

Moody’s Investors Service, the credit rating agency operated by Moody’s Corp. (MCO), warned that it may downgrade its credit rating for Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) on the backdrop of earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 2011 that will adversely affect the financial results of the company. The catastrophe in Japan damaged many parts supplying [...]

(MCO) Moody’s Investor’s Service May Downgrade Toyota Motor Shares

(MCO) Moody’s Ups MoneyGram Debt Rating

vitalstocks — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:28:19 +0000

The rating agency, Moody’s Investors Services, a unit of Moody’s Corporation (MCO), provided debt ratings to MoneyGram International Inc. (MGI) and upgraded its outlook. Moody’s assigned new debt ratings of Ba1 and CFR of B1. In addition, Moody’s raised its debt outlook to positive on the new debt refinancing for MoneyGram Payment Systems Worldwide. MoneyGram [...]

(MCO) Moody’s Ups MoneyGram Debt Rating

(DFS) Discover Financial Services – Bull of the Day

vitalstocks — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:49:10 +0000

(DFS) Discover Financial Services – Bull of the Day

(DFS) Discover Financial Services Earnings Scorecard

vitalstocks — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 16:09:10 +0000

Discover Financial Services (DFS) reported its first quarter earnings for fiscal year 2011 on March 22, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate substantially by 33 cents per share, led by strong net interest income growth and lower loan loss provisions, though partially offset by higher-than-expected interest expenses. Nonetheless, the investors’ reactions to the better-than-expected results were [...]

(DFS) Discover Financial Services Earnings Scorecard

(AXP) Stock Market News for March 21, 2011 – Market News

vitalstocks — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:04:22 +0000

The markets, on Friday, edged modestly higher taking a cue from banks getting a go-ahead for raising dividend rates and a weakening Japanese yen. Also, the Libyan government’s decision for a cease-fire helped calm investors down for the moment. However, investor expectations of volatile trading in the weeks ahead, due to unrest in Middle East [...]

(AXP) Stock Market News for March 21, 2011 – Market News