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Blackstone Vies For Fidelity National Information (FIS, BX, FNF)
Thursday, May 6, 2010 - 7:09pm | 143Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (NYSE: FIS) has attracted a slew of potential suitors. According to Reuters, three major private equity firms are competing to acquire the company. These PE firms are Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), Thomas H. Lee Partners and TPG Capital. Fidelity...
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Puts Active in MBIA
Thursday, May 6, 2010 - 1:31pm | 103Shares of MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) are sharply lower on the session, off by 7.02% to $9.14 and the puts are trading heavily. The June $7 put was purchased over 54,000 times; this action far, far outpaced open interest, signaling new, bearish positioning in the name. MBIA Inc. has been screaming...
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Wunderlich Securities Reiterates Hold Recommendation On Markel Corp. (MKL)
Thursday, May 6, 2010 - 12:52pm | 122Yesterday, insurance company Markel Corporation (NYSE: MKL) reported operating EPS of $3.36 versus $5.32 in the year ago period. The results were below Wunderlich Securities' estimates of $3.84 and Wall Street consensus. Book value increased 33% to $296.17 compared to $222.14 in last year's...
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Stock Market News for May 6, 2010 - Market News
Thursday, May 6, 2010 - 9:45am | 399Efforts to contain the European financial crisis are on but there is no amicable solution in sight. At least that is what it appears. With Moody’s Investors Service warning on Wednesday that Portugal’s credit rating faces a possible downgrade and violent protestors killing three people on the...
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Wunderlich Securities Maintains Buy Rating For ProAssurance Corporation (PRA)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - 9:59am | 88Analyst Elizabeth C. Malone at Wunderlich Securities has released an update on ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE: PRA). The company will report its first-quarter results after market close, today. Wunderlich Securities expects ProAssurance to report first-quarter operating EPS of $1.18. The consensus...
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Loews Is A Good Buy: Barron’s (L)
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 - 4:20pm | 123Loews Corp. (NYSE: L) has posted impressive first quarter numbers. According to Barron’s, the conglomerate has reported earnings of 99 cents per share, beating the street estimates. Loews draws more than 50 percent of its earnings from insurance company CAN (NYSE: CNA). CNA also posted good...
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Wunderlich Securities Reiterates Buy Recommendation On AmTrust Financial (AFSI)
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 - 2:50pm | 109In a research report released today, Wunderlich Securities reiterated their Buy rating on shares of AmTrust Financial Services (NASDAQ: AFSI) and $18 price target. On May 3, 2010 AFSI reported operating EPS of $0.51 versus $0.50 in the year ago period. Wall Street consensus ahead of this report was...
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AmTrust (AFSI) Posts Record Profits
Monday, May 3, 2010 - 12:39pm | 99First quarter profit of AmTrust Financial Services (NASDAQ: AFSI) rose from $24.2 million to $31.9 million in first quarter this year, an increase of 32.1%. Revenue went up from $172.2 million to $203.7 million, an increase of 18.3%. The return on equity is in excess of 20%. Barry Zyskind, CEO,...
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Wunderlich Securities Maintains Hold Rating On Amerisafe, Inc. (AMSF)
Monday, May 3, 2010 - 9:20am | 100Analyst Elizabeth C. Malone at Wunderlich Securities has released an update on Amerisafe, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMSF). The company will report its first-quarter results after market close, today. Wunderlich Securities expects the company to report first-quarter operating EPS of $0.49. The consensus...
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Allstate Corp. (ALL) Reports $120 Million In First-Quarter Profit
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - 5:14pm | 96Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) has reported its first-quarter results. The company reported a profit of $120 million, or $0.22 per share, compared with a loss of $274 million, or $0.51 per share it reported for the same period last year. Excluding investment gains or losses, the company reported a...
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Financial Sector Inches Up To Add To Early Weekly Gains
Monday, April 26, 2010 - 5:21am | 449US financial stocks were nudged higher on Friday with the help of bank shares, exchange operators and impressive credit card earnings. Both the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund and the SPDR KBW Bank Fund swung back and forth between negative and positive territory on Friday. While the Financial...
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Stock Market News for April 23, 2010 - Market News
Friday, April 23, 2010 - 10:00am | 342President Obama’s conciliatory tone on financial reform sent traders back on the buying table around midday after Moody’s downgrade of Greece’s credit rating and uncertainty about the country’s financial system resulted in a sharp sell off in the morning session. The Dow Jones industrial average,...
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Ecuador: Correa’s Play for Greater Influence in the Oil Sector
Friday, April 23, 2010 - 8:25am | 2000Summary Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa is pressuring foreign oil investors to change from production-sharing agreements to service contracts, or else face expropriation. Correa is looking to enhance the state’s authority over oil revenues and thus enhance his own political security, but is...
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Ecuador: Correa’s Play for Greater Influence in the Oil Sector
Friday, April 23, 2010 - 8:25am | 2000Summary Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa is pressuring foreign oil investors to change from production-sharing agreements to service contracts, or else face expropriation. Correa is looking to enhance the state’s authority over oil revenues and thus enhance his own political security, but is...
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ETFs To Watch April 23, 2010 (KIE, KRE, XHB, OIH)
Friday, April 23, 2010 - 5:44am | 203Here is the ETF Professor's ETF Watch List for Friday April 23, 2010. Play earnings from Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Microsoft (NYSE: MSFT) with the Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLK). With Dow component Travelers (NYSE: TRV) reporting before the bell, keep an eye on the SPDR KBW Insurance ETF...