Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Chief Executive Officer John Mack will step down and be replaced by Co-President James Gorman, who has been running the company’s brokerage and overseeing its merger with Citigroup Inc.’s (NYSE: C) Smith Barney unit.
The financial services industry in the United States and Europe is still reeling from the financial crisis, shedding tens of thousands of jobs each month – even a year after the crisis hit its apex.
With a deadline looming for financial firms that received government bailout funds to submit their 2009 compensation plans to Treasury Department’s pay czar, there’s a possibility that Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) will lose the head of its secretive and extremely profitable energy trading arm.
Ask U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, about credit default swaps and she’ll offer this warning: Ban them now or expect a reprise of the ongoing global financial crisis – which the derivative securities helped create. When it comes to elected officials, Congresswoman Waters is not one I would typically feel that I have a lot in agreement with.
Earnings Announcements: Novellus (NVLS)
Tuesday
Economic Reports: Core PPI, PPI, Retail Sales
Will this be the month that we finally see inflation take hold? If expectations come true, it very well could be. PPI is anticipated to show an increase of nearly 1%. Core PPI (which excludes food and energy costs) is expected to show an increase of 0.10%. Retail Sales are expected to post a surprising increase. Most reports I have seen show that retailers are still struggling. I don’t expect this report to beat expectations.
Earnings Announcements: Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Yum Brands (YUM)
American International Group (NYSE: AIG) has been taking a beating over the past two weeks, and even with its recent 20-1 reverse stock split, it’s been headed back down. So far in fact, that we’re getting close to the price we talked about on March 9 – $.35 (or split adjusted $7.00).
Ten More to Be Charged in Madoff Case; British GDP Suffers Highest Drop in Half a Century; Housing Price Drops Slowing; GM Attempts to Emerge From Bankruptcy; Corn & Soybean Planting Up; AIG Gets Government-Backed Board; Japanese Memory Maker Gets Bailout
While economists generally agree the recession has bottomed out, rising energy prices and a high national unemployment rate is prompting the No. 1 appliance retailer in the United States to give concerned consumers a safety net should they lose their jobs.
It’s been in the news the last couple of days. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) bankers are headed for record bonuses. The Financial Times reports that bankers’ pay in the London market is already right back to 2007 levels and going higher. Banks are poaching each others’ best staff, and are offering huge pay packages to staffers willing to make the leap.
U.S. stocks suffered their first weekly loss since May last week, further exacerbating trader concern that the bullish surge that sent share prices up as much as 40% from their March lows may have been overdone.