Gary Siegel

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Hold on Tight: The Dow bounced back up again yesterday by 423 points, 4 percent. As the Post described: "investors cheered a better-than-expected report on jobless claims in another round of volatile trading that continued a week-long pattern of wild swings between gains and losses." The Journal referred to the week as "one of the most volatile streaks in history for stocks." The Times said the move from "panicked selling to fevered buying and back" has left "investors bewildered about what might come next." But banks shouldn't expect the huge number of trades to help their bottom lines. The Journal notes, "a stock-trading surge likely won't generate enough commission revenue for banks and securities firms to overcome the losses they are expected to take this quarter from holding stock inventories whose value has fallen with the recent market rout." Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Down, Up, and Down Again: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 520 points, 4.62 percent, putting it to the lowest level since September 2010 and wiping out Tuesday's gains. The Post predicted "The dramatic reversal signals investors are likely to see more volatile trading in the days and weeks ahead as world markets struggle to digest the full ramifications of the European debt crisis." The Journal said that bank stocks led the way down. The paper added that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been ramping up the number of calls it makes to banks to ask about "the volatility in their stock prices." It noted that for the second time this week Bank of America shares fell more than most. Meanwhile, the Times said the stock market fluctuations are giving Americans flashbacks to the 2008 financial crisis. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post

Breaking News This Morning ...HSBC Sells U.S. Credit Card Business: Capital One will buy HSBC's credit card business in the U.S. for a premium of $2.6 billion. Analysts expect the deal could raise Capital One's earnings by 10 percent or more. Wall Street Journal, New York Times

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Dow Down: The lead story in all three papers was the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 635 points, or 5.55 percent, to 10,810 yesterday, the worst day since December 2008. An address from President Obama, the Journal said, failed to inspire the markets as the Dow lost 20 points during his 11-minute speech. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Fighting May Move to the Courts. House Republicans are calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide an accounting of the time and money it spent on a failed plan that would make it easier for shareholders to fire members of corporate boards. A federal appeals court killed the SEC plan several days ago, the Post reported. But, the ruling could have greater implications, according to the Journal. The court ruling has given business leaders hope that if their appeals for changes in Dodd-Frank are nixed by regulators and lawmakers, the courts may be a last option.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...To Downgrade or Not to Downgrade… At a hearing on Capitol Hill the president of Standard & Poor's, Deven Sharma said that some newspapers have misreported his company's position on the U.S. debt crisis as having set a $4 trillion deficit reduction target in order for the country to preserve its triple-A credit rating. He said that some of the plans being considered that would reduce the U.S deficit by less than $4 trillion, actually would allow the United States to preserve its rating, the Post reported. The Journal, however, said Sharma said the rating agency was taking a wait-and-see attitude. The Times' take? The U.S. is unlikely to default on its debt but the credit rating depends on cutting spending and reducing the deficit. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post

Wall Street JournalSquabbling over who should pay less has delayed a settlement between banks and 50 state attorneys general over the mortgage foreclosure mess, sources told the Journal. "The latest disagreement among banks is a contrast to the largely unified public stance taken by financial firms as they work to put the foreclosure woes behind them," the paper said.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...A Split Decision: Deutsche Bank said Anshu Jain, head of its investment bank, and Jürgen Fitschen, the German bank's head of regional management, will become co-CEOs of the bank next year when Josef Ackermann retires. One holdup, according to the Times, had been that Jain, a native of India who is not fluent in German, is regarded as not ready to assume the statesmanlike duties required of Deutsche Bank's chief. The Journal said the decision to have co-CEOs is "a compromise solution that could complicate decision-making at the top." The Post said the bank's stock prices rose after the announcement. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Two Tales of A Nation: The deal on debt relief for Greece will remove uncertainty, helping prevent a loss of confidence in banks, said Charles Dallara, the managing director of the Institute of International Finance, the Times reported. Dallara was a negotiator for the deal. The Post reported that Moody's cut Greek debt three notches to Ca and warned that the nation will likely default before stabilizing. Wall Street Journal, Washington Post

Receiving Wide Coverage ...B of A Posts a Loss: Bank of America reported a loss of $8.8 billion during the second quarter partly due to the $8.5 billion settlement with investors in June who claimed the bank had sold them poor-quality mortgage-backed bonds. The reported loss to shareholders was 90 cents per common share, according to the Post. CEO Brian Moynihan said, "the solid performance in our underlying businesses continues to be clouded by the costs we are absorbing from our legacy mortgage issues," The Times reported. The Journal said that if you exclude the $1.23 charge a share in mortgage-related and other adjustments, the bank earned 33 cents a share. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Cordray Tapped for CFPB: President Obama will nominate former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, sidestepping Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren, who envisioned the agency and spent the past year setting it up, the White House said Sunday. The Post said a formal announcement was expected Monday. The Journal said that as Ohio Attorney General Cordray butted heads with banks over mortgage foreclosure. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post

Breaking News This Morning ...Earnings: "Citigroup's second-quarter profit jumped 24% as provisions for loan losses declined sharply from a year earlier but revenue fell 7%."

Receiving Wide Coverage ...AG Questions B of A Settlement: New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman asked for information about Bank of America's $8.5 billion settlement agreement in the mortgage-backed securities case. The AG's move indicates he may challenge the deal, according to the Times. Letters sent by the AG's office indicate the settlement may have been made without the full participation of all investors who would be affected. The Journal says Schneiderman wants to know if public agencies or state-affiliated pension funds were included in the settlement. "Some mortgage-bond investors have already objected to the deal, citing conflicts of interest that raise questions about the fairness of the accord," the Journal says. The paper also reported Rep Brad Miller, D-N.C., in a letter questioned if the deal was fair to taxpayers or if the settlement amount is "too low." Wall Street Journal, New York Times

Receiving Wide Coverage ...B of A's Mortgage Mess: Tens of thousands of Bank of America borrowers will be evicted as a result of the bank's $8.5 billion settlement with regulators over mortgage-backed securities, the Times reported. Bank of America servicing executive Tony Meola said, "While not a desirable outcome, the recovery of the housing markets depends on moving through the foreclosure process as quickly and fairly as possible." Meanwhile, the settlement, plus the specter of an additional settlement, of up to $7 billion, with the 50 state attorneys general over mortgage-servicing practices, could leave the bank short of equity, according to the Journal's "Heard on the Street" column. Wall Street Journal, New York Times