Investment Banking & Brokerage

SWS Group (NYSE: SWS) today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously rejected the unsolicited, highly conditional and opportunistic proposal from Sterne Agee to acquire the Company. The Board, after a careful and thorough review of the proposal with the assistance of its financial...

Trading Halted: SWS Group (NYSE: SWS)

Rajit Gupta, a former board member at Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), who has been accused of assisting hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam in an insider trading scheme, is suing the SEC for violating his rights according to breaking news from CNBC.

As written about yesterday, a slew of banks just announced they were raising dividends, and we expect to hear more sometime today or early next week. J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and BB&T (NYSE: BBT) all announced dividend raises, with the first...

As written about yesterday, a slew of banks just announced they were raising dividends, and we expect to hear more sometime today or early next week. J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and BB&T (NYSE: BBT) all announced dividend raises, with the first...

Analysts at BofA/Merrill upgrade TD Ameritrade Holding Corp (NASDAQ: AMTD) from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for AMTD is set to $23. AMTD shares rose 1.36% to close at $20.16 yesterday. More Analyst Ratings here

Below are the top small-cap financial stocks on the NYSE and the NASDAQ in terms of cash. MF Global Holdings Ltd (NYSE: MF) had $26.04 billion in total cash and $20.63 billion in total debt for the latest quarter. Interactive Brokers Group Inc (NASDAQ: IBKR) had $20.29 billion in total cash and...

Hearing Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has laid off 5% of its workforce.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) today announced that H. Lee Scott, Jr. has decided not to stand for re-election to the Board of Directors at the 2011 Annual Meeting of Shareholders as a result of increasing time requirements associated with his other commitments.

Barney Frank (D-MA) wants JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) to pay for the housing programs that Republicans are trying to cut. Frank, the top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, introduced a measure today that would impose a $2...

FOX Business Network's Charlie Gasparino is reporting this afternoon that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) Chairman and CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, may be looking to leave the firm at the end of the year. Sources tell Gasparino that “there is no board pressure” for Blankfein to “step down or even give up power...

As Benzinga wrote about earlier, the Federal Reserve is going to approve some dividend hikes tomorrow, a day earlier than expected. Names like Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) could see a little boost on this headline. The...

Earlier today, Fox Business New reporter Charlie Gasparino said that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) CEO Llod Blankfein would be leaving the firm shortly. A spokesperson has refuted those claims, saying they are not true.

Now may be a good time to look at the big international banks, as hopes increase the companies will be allowed to raise their dividends sometime in the next few months. Names like Citigroup (NYSE: C), J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Capital One (NYSE: COF) and Goldman Sachs (...

United Community Banks Inc (NASDAQ: UCBI) shares surged 30.72% to $2.00 at 9:52 am. UCBI announced its plans to raise $380 million in capital and offload $435 million in bad assets. Maxygen Inc (NASDAQ: MAXY) shares advanced 26.76% to $5.21. Astellas Pharma Inc announced its plans to purchase...