Filed under: International markets, Deals, Ford Motor (F), India

Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), which are down about 11% this year, are trading close to a 52-week low. Anyone with a pulse knows why: the auto industry stinks.

But let’s look at this from another vantage point. At $5.98, all of the bad news may have been factored into the stock price. The company is slicing costs by selling Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata Motors for $2 billion. While it is a fraction of the price it paid for the luxury automakers, Ford is lucky to have found a buyer at all. The money will at least help put a dent in the $15.3 billion in losses the automaker has incurred over the past two years.

Under CEO Alan Mullaly, the company is headed in the right direction. Several new models including the Ford Flex do look promising, and Ford seems serious about stemming the losses in North America. I am not suggesting that the company is near solving its many serious problems. But even the tiniest bit of progress will boost the stock from its current levels.

For investors with an iron constitution, this stock might be worth a look. The faint of heart need not apply.

Freelance writer Jonathan Berr edits the blog Ketchup and Eggs.

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Filed under: Deals, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Jones Soda (JSDA), Wells Fargo (WFC), Bear Stearns Cos (BSC), Federal Reserve

In an article in the San Fransisco Business Times, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) CEO John Stumpf spoke about how he wouldn’t at all mind getting involved in a Federal Reserve brokered deal, like JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) did with Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC).

According to the article: “I would not be averse to a Fed-assisted transaction,” Stumpf stated, adding that any deal would have to meet the company’s traditional acquisition targets and benefit the bank’s acquired customers. Wells has built a reputation as a disciplined buyer over the years, focusing on deals that generate at least a 15% internal rate of return and contribute to the bottom line within three years.

“Fixer-uppers don’t bother us,” he added.

Who wouldn’t want to be part of a deal like this? It’s become pretty obvious that JP Morgan Chase got an breathtaking deal to buy Bear Stearns, and now Wells Fargo wants to join the party.

If Wells Fargo is able to swing a great deal by buying some massive and beleaguered financial company for less than that company’s building is worth, like what happened with Bear Stearns, then investors may want to take a long hard look at Wells Fargo stock. This might be the potential catalyst needed to drive the stock up in the coming months.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer’s fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 3/25/08

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Filed under: Deals, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), S and P 500, DJIA, Bear Stearns Cos (BSC)

MarketWatch has an interesting thought piece out on JPMorgan’s (NYSE: JPM) re-negotiated deal for troubled investment bank, Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC). Entitled “Dimon’s Dog “, the article’s thesis is that while JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, initially had a great score scooping up Bear on the brink of insolvency, his renegotiated deal leaves the company with a significantly weaker hand than it had just one week ago.

According to MarketWatch’s David Weidner, “Somewhere, Gordon Gecko is hanging himself with his suspenders.”

It seemed that Dimon had it in the bag. A swift and dirty deal, approved by Bear’s board with pressure from the Federal Reserve Board — it appeared a done deal.

But then something happened.

$2 had tremendous shock value. Regardless of how that values the company, you can purchase a hot dog for $2. The market didn’t believe it could happen and I guess what happened is that JPMorgan couldn’t believe it either even though the firm committed to taking on Bear Stearn’s obligations whether or not Bear shareholders concurred to the deal. Check out Sheldon Liber’s article on the subject.

Dimon and Co. began bidding against itself and the market perception of the deal and ultimately is paying more for the deal to solidify its position.

According to the same MarketWatch article: “But it’s also kind of like the Rolling Stones going back and rerecording some of their early hits. It makes a fan want to state, why?”

$2, $10, whatever — if Bear’s book value really hovers near the $80 as their CEO stated just a couple of weeks ago and they’ve got that beautiful building — I still think JPMorgan came out ahead.

Zack Miller is the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund.

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Filed under: Deals, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bear Stearns Cos (BSC), Federal Reserve

The Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) deal happened fast, nearly overnight. Some analysts think buyer JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) got a great deal because the Fed is backing nearly $30 billion of Bear Stearns asset values. Within days of an announcement of the buyout, the large bank had 39.5% of BSC shares, a lien on its headquarters, and a very firm deal at $10 a share.

According to The Wall Street Journal: “Indeed, it’s possible a Delaware court could find these features coercive, and depriving shareholders of a true vote.” It is true that Bear’s shareholders didn’t have much time to take into account the idea. The Fed and JP Morgan would argue that there wasn’t time. The brokerage was about to go under.

As is true with most visible deals that involve shareholder rights and employment, Congress may decide that it wants to look at the transaction, as if it didn’t have superior things to do.

The perverse argument here’s that shareholder rights trump the company’s survival. It leads to a conclusion that the holders of Bear Stearns stock should have been able to accept or reject the JP Morgan bid, even if it caused Bear Stearns to go under. In essence, shareholders have the right to lose all of their money, if they wish.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, Deals, Ford Motor (F), XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Market matters, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Economic data, Bear Stearns Cos (BSC), Tata Mtrs Ltd (TTM), Housing

U.S. stock futures turned positive recently, despite being lower earlier this morning. With the current advances on Wall Street the past two sessions, some investors feel it may be prudent to be more cautious and wait for some more data to be released before rejoining the activity.

This day, two main economic releases are due. The S&P/Case-Shiller index on home prices in January is due before the market open and March consumer confidence is due out at 10 a.m. EDT. Judging from yesterday’s existing home sales report, housing prices haven’t recovered yet and will likely show yet another decline. Similarly, consumer confidence is expected to be lower than the previous month as well, as consumers haven’t regained confidence in the economy.

Overseas, Asian and European markets surged Tuesday. Many markets were shut for the Easter holiday Monday, and investors returned today after witnessing U.S. stock markets rally Monday. Encouraged by the same news for the U.S. economy, a buying spree was evident. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 6.4%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 3.7% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 2.2%. In Europe, with markets mostly returning from a four-day weekend, the U.K’s FTSE 100 rose 3.6%, Germany’s DAX gained 3.3% and France’s CAC 40 was also up 3.6%.

Meanwhile, the dollar resumed its downward trend, falling the most against the euro in two weeks, on speculation U.S. consumer confidence dropped to a five-year low and the housing slump deepened. The dollar also dropped from a one-week high against the yen.
However, following the current advances in the U.S. dollar, oil prices fell to hover above $100 a barrel Tuesday.

In deal news, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) has concurred to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) for $2.65 billion, according to an Indian TV report. Ford shares are resuming yesterday’s 6%, climbing another 1.3% in premarket trading.

Staying in deal news, the Justice Department has finally approved the merger between satellite radio companies Sirius (NASDAQ: SIRI) and XM (NASDAQ: XMSR) late Monday. The proposed $5 billion buyout of XM by Sirius now needs to be approved by the FCC, which originally prohibited the merger in 1997 when it first granted satellite radio operating licenses. SIRI shares are climbing 1.6% in premarket trading on top of Monday 8.6% rally, and XMSR shares last traded 1.5% higher in after-hours trading, after closing up 15.5% Monday.

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