According to a Wall Street Journal report, Bank of America Corporation (BAC) is looking to expand its operations in China. Currently, the bank has some investment banking and lending operations in the country. BofA also owns a minority stake in China Construction Bank.   According to the source, BofA is now considering operating locally in China, which implies that it would have to invest a significant amount of new capital. Expectedly, BofA will bulk up its commercial business in China, instead of its retail banking business.   Recently, the Treasury received net proceeds of $1.5 billion from the sale of warrants, entitling it to purchase BofA common stock. BofA is the first among four banks whose warrants were scheduled to be sold via auctions this month. The three other banks are Washington ...

China-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is optimistic about its acquisition of Swedish brand Volvo from Ford Motor Co. (F). Geely is close to acquiring Volvo in early 2010, with strong support from the Chinese Government.

Geely is eager to tap China’s high-growth auto market by acquiring modern, innovative technologies from the Swedish brand to upgrade its car lineup. The automaker expects robust growth for China’s auto industry in 2010. In this situation, upgrading the product lineup would no doubt land the automaker in a favorable market position.

Geely is seeking about $1 billion in loans to finance the $1.8 billion deal. Three major Chinese banks, including Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Export-Import Bank of China have agreed to extend loans to the Chinese automaker for the deal.

Beside the financial support for the deal, Geely would also benefit from the Chinese Government’s subsidies policy, which will continue in 2010.

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Today, Ford Motor (F) will reveal its progress on the sale of Swedish brand, Volvo. The automaker is most likely to sell the unit to China-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Ford aims to conclude the sale in early 2010.  Ford had discussions with many automakers to sell Volvo, including Renault SA, China’s third-largest automaker, Dongfeng Motor Group and fifth-largest automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp. In October, Ford revealed that the preferred bidder is Geely, who has submitted a concrete bid for the unit. Media reports had disclosed that Geely valued the unit at close to $2 billion.  Geely’s bid is backed by the Beijing Government. Three major Chinese banks, including Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Export-Import Bank of China have agreed to extend loans to the Chinese automaker for the deal.  In 1999, Ford had acquired Volvo Car Corporation from Sweden-based Volvo Group ...

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has signed up Johnson Controls (JCI) to be its global parts supplier. According to an official statement, Johnson will cooperate with Geely in the clean energy sector. In the last three years, Geely, similar to other Chinese automakers, has been struggling hard to enhance its global profile by upgrading its technology to the international standards. In this effort, the company has rejected 385 companies from among its pool of suppliers. Geely is also a preferred bidder for Ford’s (F) Swedish brand, Volvo. So far, Geely has submitted the only concrete bid for the unit. Media reports have disclosed that Geely valued the unit at close to $2 billion. Geely aims to complete its acquisition of Volvo in early 2010. The deal is backed by the Beijing Government. Three major Chinese banks, including Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Export-Import ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 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: Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), JP Morgan (JPM), Biogen Idec (BIIB) and Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR).

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 Friday’s Analyst Blog:

BofA “Beats," But…

Bank of America (BAC) reported its 2Q09 income at $3.22 billion, or $0.33 per share, down from $3.41 billion, or $0.72 per share, a year earlier. The results were down 5.5% on higher merger charges and credit costs, but were ahead of analysts'

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BofA “beats" but credit deteriorates sharply Bank of America (BAC) reported its 2Q09 income at $3.22 billion, or $0.33 per share, down from $3.41 billion, or $0.72 per share, a year earlier. The results were down 5.5% on higher merger charges and credit costs, but were ahead of analysts' expectations of $0.28 per share. We may add that the analysts’ estimates ranged from a loss of 11 cents per share to a profit of 70 cents per share, and with so many one-time items it is difficult to conclude which items were included or excluded in the estimates and whether the results actually exceeded the expectations. Results were driven by strong performance in the wholesale capital markets and home loans businesses, gains on the sale of China Construction Bank shares and the sale of the company's merchant processing business to a joint venture, but were ...

Bank of America (BAC) raised an additional $5.9 billion through the conversion of privately-held preferred shares into common stock on Wednesday and said it was "well on its way" to meet the regulatory mandate of plugging nearly $34 billion in capital shortfalls.

With this recent step, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm has attained 76% of the daunting task assigned to it by the federal government following a stress test to check its ability to hold up against future loan losses. A portion of the $26 billion that Bank of America has raised came from its sale of 1.25 billion common shares and a partial stake in China Construction Bank before the stock swaps.

The beleaguered banking giant said that none of the preferred shares exchanged for common stock were held by the government as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. While Bank of America seems

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Sentiment was mixed yesterday as a weak report on housing starts soured hopes of a much-expected recovery in housing markets. Tech shares, nevertheless, showed strength on signs of improving PC sales.  However, after the close, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) announced additional job cuts and its full-year revenue guidance also disappointed.  Financials declined in spite of improved LIBOR data and a number of firms announcing plans to pay back TARP funds.  Market's volatility measure, the CBOE Vix, fell below 30.

Yesterday the DJIA declined 0.3% and S&P was off 0.2%; tech-heavy Nasdaq managed a 0.1% gain. Among DJIA components, Citigroup (NYSE:C), Alcoa (NYSE:AA) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) led the advancers with gains of 3.6%, 2.0%, and 2.4%, respectively.  Home Depot (NYSE:HD) shares declined 5.3%, after yesterday's 6.6% surge, as the company reported a decline in sales and margins, even though the company's earnings were above expectations.  American Express (NYSE:AXP), which said it is

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Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) plans to sell assets and issue more common stock after being told by the federal government that it must raise $33.9 billion to adequately guard against “more adverse” economic conditions.

Bank of America was one of 10 banks told by the government to raise more capital following the so-called stress test. The government concluded that BofA faces a potential $136.6 billion in losses from troubled loans and investments in 2009 and 2010. The bank’s $34 billion capital shortfall was more than twice that of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), which had the second greatest capital need.

BofA Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis said Thursday that his company will start closing the capital shortfall by raising $17 billion in common equity, both by selling new shares and converting a portion of its privately held

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Following the release of the government’s “Stress Test” results, 10 of the largest 19 banks will be required to raise additional capital. This additional capital needed by these 10 banks will cushion their existing capital in the event of a further market deterioration. Among the top banks that need to raise additional capital is Bank of America [BAC: 14.17, 0.00 (0.00%)]. Fed officials are forcing BofA to raise more capital to ensure it will have sufficient Tier 1 capital to absorb losses from an adverse scenario.

Fed officials targeted the largest banks and provided them with a scenario in which 2 year loan loss rates increased substantially. From these increased rates, fed officials estimated that another $599 billion could be written down by the largest 19 financial institutions. The hardest hit bank

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