Morning Coffee with TradingMarkets

  • January 22, 2008
  • David Penn

Good Morning!

Fed cuts rates 75 basis points in emergency move… Credit Scare Spreads in U.S., Abroad… Bank of America Earnings Plummet After Loan Writedown… Ambac Posts Loss, Is Studying Options With ‘Potential Parties’… Commodity prices extend losses… Panic sparks plunge in global markets… Australian stocks erase 2007 gains… Asian markets plunge for second day… Commodity prices extend losses… And the futures are indicating a 450 point drop in the Dow!

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TradingMarkets 5 Business Stories You Need to Know

Fed cuts rates 75 basis points in emergency move – Marketwatch

Hoping to prevent a market meltdown and recession, the Federal Reserve lowered its overnight lending rate by 75 basis points to 3.50% on Tuesday in a rare move between formal meetings.

Credit Scare Spreads in U.S., Abroad – Wall Street Journal

The credit crunch sparked by problems with residential mortgages is spreading to the broader economy — with banks making it harder and more expensive for some small and midsize businesses to borrow.

Bank of America Earnings Plummet After Loan Writedown – Bloomberg

Bank of America Corp., the second- largest U.S. bank, said earnings dropped 95 percent after $5.28 billion of mortgage-related writedowns and higher provisions for future loan losses.

Ambac Posts Loss, Is Studying Options With ‘Potential Parties’ – Bloomberg

Ambac Financial Group Inc., the first bond insurer to be stripped of its AAA credit rating, reported a $3.26 billion quarterly loss and said it is evaluating options with “a number of potential parties.”

Australian stocks erase 2007 gains – Financial Times

The Australian equities market is suffering its longest losing streak in 26 years after on Monday closing down for the 11th consecutive session.

For more stories as they happen, go to our Breaking News section.

TradingMarkets 7 Stocks You Need to Know for Today

Here are 7 stocks for traders for today from TradingMarkets.com:

For a list of today’s highest PowerRating stocks, click here.

TradingMarkets 5 Top PowerRatings Stocks for Today

 

Company
 Symbol PowerRatings
Solarfun Power Holdings SOLF 9
Evergreen Solar ESLR 9
Brasil Telecom BTM 9
Morningstar MORN 9
Advent Software ADVS 8

View More Stocks

TradingMarkets Tracking the Wizards



eBay’s CEO Meg Whitman on the Way Out? –
Wall Street Journal

"Web Pioneer" Whitman prepares to leave the internet auctioneer after nearly a
decade of service at the helm.



Marc Fagel, the SEC and the Case of the Dirty Options –
MarketWatch

Marc Fagel led the SEC San Francisco investigation into the shady options
back-dating practices of some tech firms; Fagel has filed complaints against
nearly 30 Silicon Valley executives.



Bill Clinton Wants Out of Burkle Partnership –
Wall Street Journal

Former President Bill Clinton will end a high-profile business relationship with
long-tie ally Ron Burkle, and walk away with $20 million. The move was done, for
the most part, to sever a potentially sensitive relationship with Dubai.

View Portfolios of Prominent Investors

David Penn is Senior Editor at TradingMarkets.com..



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