BOK Financial Corporation’s (BOKF) third-quarter earnings of 75 cents per share were 7 cents ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents. The company had earned 84 cents in the year-ago period. Results reflected an increase in interest revenue and margin, though credit quality continued to deteriorate in the quarter.   Net interest revenue totaled $180.5 million, up 2.8% sequentially and 9.8% year-over-year. Net interest margin was 3.63%, up 8 basis points (bps) sequentially and 15 bps year-over-year. The increase in net interest margin over the previous quarter resulted from improved loan pricing and lower funding costs.  Outstanding loan balances were $11.6 billion at Sep 30, 2009, down $458 million since Jun 30, 2009. All major loan categories decreased during the quarter largely due to reduced customer demand, normal repayment trends and management decisions to exit certain loan types. Average deposits decreased $202 million from the ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 4, 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: Stanley Works (SWK), Black & Decker Corporation (BDK), Joy Global (JOYG), Paccar (PCAR) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW).

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 Tuesday’s AnalystBlog:

Stanley Works Acquires B&D

Stanley Works (SWK) and Black & Decker Corporation (BDK) have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create Stanley Black & Decker, an $8.4 billion global tool maker. The Board of Directors of both companies approved an all-stock transaction valued

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A recent Bloomberg article was titled”Pandit “near death” hoard signals lower bank profits“, and stated that Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were hoarding cash as if another crisis were on the way. Also, a Wall Street Journal article entitled “Jittery Companies Stash Cash“ showed cash on the balance sheets of S&P 500 companies was the highest in 40 years.

The chart below, courtesy of economist David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff & Associates, shows that credit is still contracting as banks go through the painful process of repairing their balance sheets. As indicated, bank lending has now declined for 21 weeks in a row and over this entire period a total of $216 billion (15% at an annual rate) of loans and leases has vanished.

“The contraction

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Joshua Brown, writer of The Reformed Broker blog, has just updated his list of top finance blogs. He has also put together a very handy, and humorous, graphic of his rather unique categorization. Brown said the blogs included have “either inspired, educated or entertained me in some way, so I figured I’d return the favor”.

It is a great honor for Investment Postcards to be included in the company of some industry heavy weights. Merci beaucoup for the compliment Josh!

Click on the image below to enlarge the table.

The sites included in the table are listed below, together with links to the specific sites. (Please note that the numbering of the blogs does not represent a ranking system.)

Rocket Science (macroeconomics, monetary policy, real estate, regulation)

BP The Big Picture EV ...

Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) reported strong third quarter 2009 results with FFO (funds from operations) of $234.2 million or $1.25 per share, compared to $159.8 million or 97 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter. Funds from operations, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income. After adjusting items for comparability, FFO during the quarter was $1.18 per share, compared to $1.17 in the prior year quarter. Vornado is the largest publicly traded office REIT in the New York region. The core properties of the company are still performing at a high level and it is maintaining strong occupancies in its NYC office and retail portfolios. The company is also increasing rents in most property formats. We believe this puts the company well ahead of many competitors who have ...

While last week GDP growth came in better than expected at 3.5%, which was a very welcome development, there was very little change in the coverall shape of GDP. This is a troubling development for the long term. GDP is the sum of spending by the Consumer, Private Investment, Government Spending and Net Exports. The Graph below shows the percentage each of them has contributed to overall GDP since 1947. The Consumer is still by far the dominate force in the economy, and it is becoming more so. In the 3Q, PCE, meaning the consumer, rose to 70.98% of GDP, up from 70.66% in the second quarter. That is an all-time record high. At the same time, private investment was virtually unchanged near an all-time low as a share of GDP at 11.04%, up from 11.03% in the 2Q. Government spending as a share of GDP ...

While there have been some signs of recovery in real estate and the stock market it seems that the job market is still declining. Online advertised vacancies declined by 83,200 to 3,280,000 in October, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series (HWOL)(TM) released November 2. Of course those jobs are only representative of the national job market and don’t include every available job.

The job market varies by region. The south showed job losses in both September and October. However, Texas and Florida were basically flat. The smallest decline was in the Northeast. In the West, California fell by only 3,700 about the same as Arizona with a much smaller population. In the Midwest most of the states declined but Michigan showed a small gain and Wisconsin had no change.

Don’t let a layoff take you by surprise. Keep your eyes and

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 3, 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: U.S. Bancorp (USB), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Zions Bancorp (ZION) and SunTrust Banks (STI).

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 AnalystBlog:

Bank Failures Zoom to 115

The nine banks had 153 offices, out of which California National Bank had 68 branches. California National Bank was the biggest of FBOP's banks, the nation's 101st largest with assets of $7.1 billion.

Failure of these institutions represents another impact on the Federal

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Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts!

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FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com

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DrStockPick.com Watch List!

My Picks for Tuesday November 3, 2009, are:

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PVTB, Privatebancorp Inc.

PVTB is a growing diversified financial services company with 34 offices in 10 states and approximately $12.1 billion in assets as of September 30, 2009.

Through its subsidiaries, PVTB delivers customized business and personal financial services to middle-market commercial and commercial real estate companies, as well as business owners, executives, entrepreneurs and families in all of its markets.

** PVTB has closed its recently announced underwritten public offering of common stock, which included the full exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option, and issued a total of 22.2 million shares

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On Friday, before market opened, Weyerhaeuser Company (WY) reported discouraging results for the third quarter 2009.  The company reported net sales of $1,407 million compared to $2,107 million in the year ago quarter. Excluding one time items, Weyerhaeuser reported a net loss of $56 million, or 26 cents per share versus a net loss of $3 million, or 1 cent per share, in the third quarter of 2008.  Weyerhaeuser operates through four business segment such as Timberlands, wood products, cellulose fibers and real estate. Excluding a pre-tax gain of $163 million from the sale of 140,000 acres of non-strategic timberlands in northwestern Oregon, the segment’s quarterly results decreased $10 million.  Excluding the pre-tax items, the wood product segment’s loss in the reported quarter decreased $55 million. During the quarter, cellulose fibers segment included a pre-tax gain of $122 million related to alternative fuel mixture credits, ...