For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 20, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: CVB Financial (CVBF), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Zions Bancorp (ZION).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s AnalystBlog:

U.S. Bank Failures Reach 99 in ‘09

The failure of San Joaquin Bank represents another impact on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) fund for protecting customer accounts as it has been appointed receiver for the bank. The bank failure is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund

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U.S. bank failures continue unabated as U.S. regulators on Friday closed down San Joaquin Bank of Bakersfield, CA. This takes the total number of failed federally insured banks to 99 in 2009, compared to 25 in 2008 and 3 in 2007. As of September 29, San Joaquin Bank, a subsidiary of San Joaquin Bancorp, had about $775 million in assets, $631 million in deposits and 5 branches. The bank had not been included in a previous list of 89 institutions that were undercapitalized as of March 31. But its first quarter amended filing showed that there were additional loan charge-offs and a higher net loss. As of June 30, San Joaquin Bank’s Tier 1 leverage ratio was 4.12% and the total risk-based capital ratio was 6.70%. Though the Tier 1 leverage ratio was above the minimum level of 4% considered adequately capitalized, its total risk-based capital ratio ...

Regulators shut down 3 more banks including Corus; total failed banks in '09 reach 92   Three more banks including Corus Bank NA, a subsidiary of Corus Bankshares (CORS), were shuttered by the U.S. regulators on Friday as the recession continues to take its toll on banks. This takes the total number of failed federally insured banks in this year to 92, compared to 25 in 2008 and 3 in 2007. Based in Chicago, the Corus Bank was a major lender to condominium, office and hotel projects. Corus is one of the largest banks to fail this year, with about $7 billion in total assets, $7 billion in deposits and 11 branches. Two other small banks were Lacey, WA-based Venture Bank, with $970 million in assets and $903 million in deposits and Woodbury, MN-based Brickwell Community Bank, with $72 million in assets and $63 million in ...

In case you have not heard the news, China has announced that it will be instructing its state-owned enterprises to potentially default on their derivatives contracts. As I have written extensively in the past, the derivatives market is a massive time bomb just waiting to go off. China’s latest move may be the match that lights the fuse.

All told, US Commercial banks own $202 trillion in derivatives in notional value. To put that number into perspective, it’s roughly four times the global GDP. And 96% of this exposure sits on five banks’ balance sheets. I’ve shown the below chart before, but it’s worth re-visiting (chart is denominated in TRILLIONS).

Of course, not ALL of the $202 trillion these guys own is “at risk.” As their name implies, derivatives are “derived” from underlying assets (homes, debt, etc). The actual “at risk” money can be far FAR smaller than the “notional” …

U.S. banks are going bad as quickly as a bunch of over-ripe peaches in the summer heat. On the heels of the Colonial Bank failure comes another sizable bank failure.

Guaranty Bank in Texas became the 81st U.S. bank to fail this year. It was the 11th largest bank failure in U.S. history. This kind of thing is becoming so regular it is hardly news when it happens.

But what’s interesting to point out about this one is that the FDIC sold Guaranty to Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria of Spain. This is the first time regulators have sold a failed bank to a foreign lender. Such a turn of events would have been unthinkable only a decade ago.

So the world turns. When it comes to the question of who has the money, it’s often a non-U.S. buyer these days.

Speaking of foreign buyers, there is probably no group of buyers more watched and

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A pair of positive economic news failed to lift sentiments on the Street as mounting worries that the six-month old rally has gone ahead of the economic recovery led to a nervous selling and all major indexes closed sharply lower.  That September has historically been a rough month for stocks is also a factor why investors appear disinclined to jump into the fray and many say a break in the six-month old rally is on the cards.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average, after gaining over sixty points in the morning, nose-dived 185.68 points, or 2%, to 9,310.60.  Since Friday, the index has lost 270 points, or 2.8%.  The S&P 500 fell 22.58, or 2.2%, to 998.04, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 40.17, or 2%, to 1,968.89.  Treasuries, which usually benefit from a fall in stocks, could garner only moderate gains.  Volume picked up on the NYSE

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The yen and dollar rose on Tuesday as fears of further U.S. bank failures overshadowed unexpectedly strong U.S. manufacturing data, boosting the two currencies’ safe-haven appeal.

Major U.S. stock indexes <.DJI> <.SPX> <.IXIC> were down nearly 2 percent in afternoon U.S. trading as investors fretted that chatter from hedge funds on a bank failure could prove accurate.

The decline came despite upbeat economic news from the United States and euro zone as well as a stabilization in Chinese shares after a rout on Monday.

The hedge fund talk “is a huge driver” of currency markets, said Dan Cook, senior market analyst at IG Markets Inc in Chicago. “When you have data like we had but the Dow drops, people are running for that safe haven.”

In midafternoon trading in New York the dollar index <.DXY>, which tracks a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.8 percent at 78.786, rebounding from a session low

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Three more U.S. banks failed; tally reaches 84 this year Bank failures continue unabated as U.S. regulators on Friday closed down three more banks in California, Maryland and Minnesota. This takes the total number of failed federally insured banks this year to 84, compared to 25 in 2008 and 3 in 2007. The failed banks were Ventura, California-based Affinity Bank, with about $1 billion in assets and $922 million in deposits; Baltimore-based Bradford Bank, with $452 million in assets and $383 million in deposits; and Forest Lake, Minnesota-based Mainstreet Bank, with $459 million in assets and $434 million in deposits. Failure of these banks represents another sizable impact on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) fund for protecting customer accounts, as it has been appointed receiver for these banks. The failure of Affinity Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $254 million; ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 28, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBV), BB&T Corp. (BBT), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and AMR Corp. (AMR).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Thrifts Defy Troubles

Thrifts are required to have at least 65% of their loans as mortgages and other consumer loans, which makes them particularly vulnerable to the housing downturn. But banks have no such compulsion. However, the banking industry is likely to face further special

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On Wednesday, regulators said that the US thrift industry had earned its first profit since the third quarter of 2007, but the number of troubled institutions continued to rise. Profit for the period ended June 30, 2009 was $4 million, compared to a loss of $1.62 billion sequentially and $5.4 billion in the prior-year quarter. The small profit for the quarter mainly came from higher net interest margins, lower provisions for loan losses and better fees.

Although results for the quarter showed some improvement, overall performance of the industry remained uneven. Troubled assets at thrifts accounted for 3.52% of the industry's assets, up from 3.35% in the previous quarter. However, total value of troubled assets fell to $38.6 billion from $41 billion in the earlier quarter.

"Problem thrifts" on the agency's list are those which have significantly low capital reserves and other deficiencies. Their number rose to 40 from

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