Warren Buffett, the CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)/(BRK.B), announced on Thursday to borrow $8 billion of loan for the acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNI). Berkshire Hathaway, which already owns a 22% stake in Burlington Northern, announced earlier this month it would acquire the rest for a total value of $34 billion. Buffet agreed to pay $100 a share in cash and stock to buy the rest of the company. The $8 billion loan that will be provided by JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) is intended to be paid back in three years’ time. For Berkshire, the acquisition of Burlington Northern, or BNSF, the second largest railroad, will be its biggest to date. With it, Berkshire is adding a railroad transportation business with its already diverse range of businesses including retail, manufacturing and insurance, as well ...

After almost a year of initiating the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to rescue the nation’s financial industry, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday that it would auction off stock warrants it acquired from three big banks that received a significant portion of taxpayers’ money and have fully repaid the same. The government is taking this step to free the lenders from the federal bailout program.  The three banks, whose warrants will be sold via auctions over the next month, are JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Capital One Financial (COF) and TCF Financial Corporation (TCB). These three banks, that received a total of $28.9 billion from the TARP, have fully repurchased Treasury's preferred stock investment. The current move to sell their warrants will completely free these banks from government intervention.  The government still holds warrants of 261 banks, out of which only 15 ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 18, 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: PNC Financial Services (PNC), Bank of America (BAC), Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK), MasterCard (MA) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM).

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Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

BofA Continues CEO Hunt

Recently, William Demchak of the PNC Financial Services (PNC) was offered the position of the next CEO of the Bank of America (BAC). However, the offer was turned down by Demchak.

We suspect Demchak declined the

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Recently, William Demchak of the PNC Financial Services (PNC) was offered the position of the next CEO of the Bank of America (BAC). However, the offer was turned down by Demchak.   We suspect Demchak declined the offer as the pay package is likely to be among the least competitive in the industry, especially since the Obama administration's pay czar took the axe to seven institutions' pay plans, chopping the average high-end salary by 50%. Moreover, the bank is also operating under a memorandum of understanding with regulators, who are scrutinizing the top gun's every decision.   The present CEO of the Bank of America, Mr. Ken Lewis, is set to leave the position, stepping down at the end of the year. It may be noted that he succumbed to the pressure to resign after his company’s Merrill Lynch acquisition.   Earlier this month, Robert Kelly of the ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 17, 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 (JPM), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI) and PNC Financial (PNC).

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 Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Bank Failures Rise to 123

The failed banks were -- Century Bank, FSB of Sarasota, Florida with $728 million in assets and $631 million in deposits, Orion Bank of Naples, Florida with about $2.7 billion in assets and $2.1 billion in deposits and Pacific Coast National Bank of

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Regulators shut down 2 banks in Florida and 1 in California; U.S. bank failures reach 123 this year.   U.S. regulators on Friday shuttered two more banks in Florida and one in California. Though there are some early signs of economic recovery, bank failures continue unabated. This takes the total number of bank failures to 123, compared to 25 in 2008 and 3 in 2007.  The weak economy continues to weigh heavily on banks with a stream of loan defaults. As the industry has to tolerate bad loans that were made during the credit explosion, the trouble in the banking system goes even deeper, increasing the possibility of more bank failures. However, the regulators are trying to avoid panic by seizing banks slowly. Also, the slow seizing could be a strategy as it is hard to get buyers for so many failed banks.  The failed banks were ...

A rebounding dollar and persisting worries about the economy kept investors on a wait-and-watch mode and stocks fell broadly as weakness in energy shares, precipitated by reports of flush U.S. reserves, weighed on sentiments.  In a broad based decline, major stock indexes fell about 1% from their 13-month highs. 

The strength in US dollar, based upon its safe-haven appeal, undermined investors' appetites for riskier, high-yielding assets such as equities as upside guidance from DJIA components Wal-Mart and Hewlett-Packard failed to stem the retreat.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 94 points, or 0.9%, to close at 10,197.47.  The S&P 500 retreated 11 points, or 1%, to close at 1,087.24, after climbing to an intraday high of 1,101.97.  The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index retreated 18 points, or 0.8%, to settle at 2,149.02.  On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outpaced those that advanced in price by a four-to-one margin

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After enduring extraordinary shocks in 2008, the U.S. banks entered an exceptional state of turmoil in 2009. Starting as a credit issue in the subprime segment of the mortgage market, the sticky situation spread to almost the entire financial services industry, and all corners of the globe. In other words, the financial crisis ultimately morphed into a massive economic crisis, which has had major ramifications across the whole world. Although the banking industry is dealing with liquidity and confidence challenges, it now has financial support from the U.S. government. The government has taken several steps, including programs offering capital injections and debt guarantees, to stabilize the financial system. We believe that the worst of the credit crisis is now probably behind us. After almost a year of initiating the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a lot has improved with respect to the economic crisis, but ...

Willis North America Inc., a subsidiary of Willis Group Holdings Limited (WSH), today announced the final results of its cash tender offer to purchase any and all of its 5.125% senior notes due 2010.

The net proceeds from the offer came to $159,788,000. All of the 2010 notes that were tendered have been guaranteed for payment by Willis. The holders of the 2010 notes will be entitled to receive tender offer consideration of $1,027.50 per $1,000 principal amount of the 2010 notes, plus any accrued and unpaid interest.

The notes, which are guaranteed by Willis Group Holdings, carry ratings of Baa3 by Moody's and BBB- by S&P.

Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) were the joint book running managers for the sale.

Willis intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to purchase any and all of Willis North America's outstanding 5.125% senior notes due 2010 that

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In order to replenish the declining fund of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that insures regular deposit accounts when banks fail, the agency may ask U.S. banks to prepay fees for three years. Under the plan, banks would have to prepay their insurance premiums of $12 billion a year for 2010-2012, for a total of about $36 billion. The fees could, however, vary somewhat according to growth in total insured deposits. The FDIC board will discuss the issue today at its public meeting. The prepayment proposal is likely to get opposition from banks as the size of the upfront fees is significant and the banks are just at the start of their recovery period. The agency could again propose an emergency assessment, or a transfer of cash collected in fees from the FDIC's temporary rescue program that guarantees huge debt that banks issue to each ...