Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), has been selected by SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI), a premier banking organization in the U.S., to provide integrated facility management services across its entire portfolio spanning 16 million square feet.

With the deal, Jones Lang would be entrusted to effectively manage the day-to-day tasks related to the operations across SunTrust’s facilities. SunTrust operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, DC. Jones Lang’s leading position in property and corporate facility management services would enable it to improve the operational efficiency of SunTrust.

On the other hand, the deal strengthens Jones Lang’s position in the market and offers it an expanded role in the operations of one of the largest banking organizations of the country. Jones Lang is a leading full-service real estate firm that provides corporate, financial,

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Thursday October 8, 2009

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Please be advised that Getty Realty Corp. (NYSE: GTY) will release its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, after the market closes on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.

CIGNA (NYSE:CI) and ProHealth Physicians, Inc., have expanded their longstanding relationship by implementing an enhanced care coordination program that includes pay-for-performance provisions and many of the features of a patient-centered medical home program. This is the first program of its kind in Connecticut.

The Insurance Solutions

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Bank of America Corp. (BAC) sued Colonial Bancgroup Inc. (CNB) to protect its claim on certain loans after the troubled company refused to return more than $1 billion it owed to Freddie Mac (FRE).

Bank of America filed the lawsuit at a federal court in Florida, asking for a temporary restraining order prohibiting Colonial from using the proceeds it received from Freddie Mac for buying mortgage and other loans owned by Ocala Funding LLC.

Bank of America was the collateral agent for the Ocala Funding loans and Colonial held them as custodian, agent and bailee. On the whole, Bank of America was a trustee to parties that provided financing for Colonial's mortgage business.

On Thursday, the court decided in favor of Bank of America and ordered Colonial to freeze $1 billion in assets.

Colonial appears to be on the threshold of collapsing as a going concern

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[Editor's Note: After more than a year of chaos and controversy, some of the leading U.S. banks saw their stock prices soar during the second quarter. As part of its mid-year forecast series, Money Morning examines the outlook for U.S. banks for the rest of this year. To see earlier stories from our mid-year forecast series, please click here.] By Martin Hutchinson Contributing Editor Money Morning

Can U.S. bank stocks continue their winning streak?

In February, I analyzed the top 12 U.S. banks to determine whether they really needed $1.5 trillion in taxpayer-provided bailout capital. I concluded that only a few of those banks seemed to be in any danger of collapse, and actually recommended several.

Policymakers and the market later came to agree with me: The Standard & Poor’s 500 Financial Index has more than doubled from its March low and several bank stocks have posted triple-digit …

Results for regional banks may be dreadful in the second quarter 2009, as evidenced by the companies who have already reported their results.

Regions Financial Corp. (RF), Comerica Inc. (CMA) and ZION Bancorporation (ZION) reported losses in the quarter primarily due to continued strain in their loan portfolios, as the commercial sector continues to droop in the prolonged recession.

Along with continued losses in their residential mortgage, home equity and consumer loan portfolios, these banks are also showing continued distress in their residential and commercial development loans, as well as commercial real estate loans.

Large-cap center banks and brokerage firms like Goldman Sachs (GS), Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) were able to somewhat offset weak credit metrics by strong results in their investment banking and mortgage refinancing divisions.

Regional banks, however, are much more directly connected to the state of the economy and the

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On July 7, 2009, SLM Corporation (SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, announced its support for the Student Loan Community's proposal to reform the student loan program.

The alternative proposal, put forth by a diverse group that includes non-profit, for-profit and state-based service providers and guaranty agencies seeks to enhance the Administration’s plan to better serve students, families, schools, and taxpayers. The plan also aims at retaining a significant role for private lenders in the student loan market.

The Administration’s plan is framed to provide certainty that funding will be available to students and save nearly $90 billion over the next decade by ending unnecessary public subsidies paid to banks. It would use the freed up resources to partially cover the cost of a permanent increase in grants for students from lower-income families.

Consequently, this would end all private originations of student loans and use only a small panel of financial firms

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SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) made a public offering of $1.4 billion of its common shares today as it aims to bolster its capital levels following a federal regulatory mandate.

The company is required to raise $2.2 billion of equity capital to withstand headwinds in case the economy worsens.

SunTrust has sold about $260 million of its $1.25 billion "at-the-market" offering that was announced last month. However, that offering is now suspended and likely to be terminated after the $1.4 billion sale is completed.

SunTrust plans to use the proceeds from the $1.4 billion public offering to buy back up to $1 billion in preferred and hybrid shares. SunTrust also aims to raise $300 million of common equity from the sale of investments.

With this move, the Atlanta-based lender stepped closer to its plans of repaying the $4.9 billion it had received under the Troubled Asset Relief Plan (TARP).

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Highlights include Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A and BRK.B), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), M&T Bank (MTB), SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI), Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Iron Mountain (IRM).Basically, the last of the Buy-and-Hold intrinsic value investors, Warren Buffett, through his investment entities Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A and BRK.B) was out bargain-hunting during 1Q09.While Berkshire officials are typically tight-lipped, based on documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission recently, Berkshire's holdings as of March 31, 2009 showed financials high on the list.True to his comments made at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting earlier this month -- where Mr.Buffett stated that US Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC) were extremely strong banks and that he would be willing to invest in ...

Didn’t a “stress test” used to be something you saw your doctor about when life became overwhelming? Today, this buzz-phrase is more often used as a measure of American banks’ financial strength (or lack thereof).  On the surface, you might think it’s good news that several banks fared quite well and “passed” the government’s recent stress test. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find that the banks being tested actually helped set the rules.  This could be a dangerous situation for those simply following the crowd into buying banks stocks, but unaware of the real story…

Stress Test A Concoction By Banking Industry

In a nutshell, the banks’ stress test was really nothing more than a fantastic concoction put forward by the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the banking industry.

Unemployment assumptions too high in the test? No problem… just amend them to a more favorable number.

GDP growth too low? Ah,

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Schwab Tax-Free Bond (SWNTX) seeks to provide high current income free from federal personal income tax for the eligible investor by investing primarily in investment grade municipal securities. It is non-diversified.

The fund primarily invests in municipal securities, the interest from which is exempt from federal income tax, including the federal alternative minimum tax. It seeks to maintain an average portfolio maturity of between 3 years and 10 years.

The fund declares dividends every business day and pays it on the last business day of every month. Capital gains are distributed annually. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.48%.

Schwab Financial Services (SWFFX) was incepted in July 2000. The fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in equity securities issued by companies in the financial services sector.

The fund generally invests in U.S. companies and may invest in companies of all sizes.

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