Charting Stocks

22 national and regional banks were downgraded today by the S&P’s credit rating service. Among some of the larger names were  Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), U.S. Bancorp (USB), PNC Financial (PNC), BB&T Corp (BBT) and KeyCorp (KEY).
The ratings of several smaller regional banks were cut to “Junk” status by the S&P. [...]

Standard & Poor’s downgraded the credit rating of Ireland for the second time this year.  S&P cited the vast amount of money the government must continue to throw at the nations banking system.
The rating was cut down to AA, from AA+,  moving it to the same  level the United Arab Emirates as Japan, and Slovenia [...]

Hartford (HIG) CEO Ramani Ayer will be stepping down from his position as the company’s Chief Executive. Ayer spent 10 years at the top of the struggling insurer and will be retiring at the end of the year amid record company losses and shareholder pressure.
In our 2009 forecast, we suggested that Hartford’s future looked the [...]

Private gains through public risk.
In the latest of public subsidies handed out to private corporations, GE Capital will sell debt this week under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s (FDIC) Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program. GE will enjoy a very low cost of borrowing as it issues bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the [...]

The credit worthiness of the United States is deteriorating rapidly and may lead to a credit rating downgrade.
In our 2009 forecast, we mentioned that the United States may be downgraded this year.  The trillions of dollars being pumped into a dying financial system will have its consequences. The treasury is expected to issue $2 trillion [...]

Capital One Financial Corp. has increased the interest rate it charges card holders by 14% regardless of  credit worthiness. The bank was the recipient of $3.56 billion in US taxpayer money which was given as an incentive to lend to the public. Capital One has since announced the acquisition of a major bank and the [...]