 | New debit-card option touted for Social Security payments |
| Those without traditional bank accounts are getting a safer way to receive Social Security payments and other federal benefits.
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| Seller help for down payments comes under fire |
| Losses from home loans that depend on seller funded downpayment assistance are hurting the Federal Housing Administration, says its chief, calling on lawmakers to address these risks.
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| Financial Stocks: Lehman's loss warning, capital move drags down sector |
| Shares of Lehman Brothers drop nearly 12% at one point, retreating following news that the bank would attempt to raise $6 billion in new capital and would see a larger than expected second-quarter loss.
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| Personal Finance Daily: These 10 investing rules are for your own good |
| Most investing rules are designed for bad times -- and many folks would say this market qualifies. When portfolios are threatened it can be tempting to make moves you think will pump up returns. But a review of the rules will keep you and your nest egg to the straight and narrow.
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| Economic Report: Pending home sales index rises 6.3% in April |
| In a sign that the U.S. housing market may gain some strength in coming months, an index of sales contracts on previously owned U.S. homes rises 6.3% in April from the prior month, says the National Association of Realtors.
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| Pending home sales index up 6.3% in April: NAR |
| WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- An index of sales contracts on previously owned U.S. homes rose 6.3% in April from the prior month, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. The index, which is considered a leading indicator of existing home sales, was down 13.1% from the April 2007 level. By region, the April pending home sales index fell only in the Northeast, with a 1.9% decline. The index rose 13.0% in the Midwest, 8.3% in the West and 4.6% in the South.
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| Financials slip on Lehman news in early action |
| NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of U.S. financials fell early Monday as investors worried about future turmoil in bank stocks after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. reported a $6 billion capital raise and larger-than-expected second quarter loss. Lehman shares were down almost 10% in early trade. The Financial Select Sector SPDR , an ETF that tracks the financial stocks in the S&P 500, was up 0.4% to $23.42, and the Amex Securities Broker/Dealer Index was down 0.3% to $161.44. CIT Group rose more than 11% on news that it has agreed to a $3 billion long-term committed financing facility provided by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. . KeyCorp. and J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. were down in early trading after a Lehman banking analyst slashed second quarter earnings estimates for the firms.
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| Lehman trims earnings estimates for KeyCorp, Fifth Third |
| NEW YORK (MarketWatch) --Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. on Monday slashed its earnings estimates for several large cap banks on continued worries about weakness in the housing market and increased severity in real-estate related credits. Lehman analyst Jason Goldberg slashed his second-quarter estimate for KeyCorp in half to 25 cents a share and trimmed his forecast for Fifth Third Bancorp. by 9 cents to 38 cents a share on concerns about the banks' "outsized" exposure to construction loans. Goldberg also cut his second-quarter estimate for J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. by 29 cents to 54 cents a share, citing its exposure to weaker consumer credit card results and further mortgage-related writedowns.
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| Audio: The '7 Commandments Of Stock Investing" |
| Gene Marcial, long-time "Inside Wall Street" columnist for Business Week and author of "Gene Marcial's 7 Commandments of Stock Investing," said that investors need to "buy panic" and to focus their portfolio on a few picks, rather than diversifying so broadly that they can't get ahead. In a radio interview, Marcial acknowledged that his ideas often go against conventional wisdom, but noted that's how the money is made. Marcial also discussed three of his "seven stocks for the next seven years," naming Apple, CVS Caremark and JPMorgan Chase.
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| Moody's downgrades Lehman to negative from stable |
| NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service on Monday lowered the rating outlook on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to negative from stable after the bank said it will raise $6 billion in new capital and expects a $2.8 billion loss for the second quarter. The ratings agency said it made cuts because of "concerns over risk management decisions that resulted in elevated real estate exposures and the subsequent ineffectiveness of hedges to mitigate these exposures in the recent quarter." The firm noted that Lehman's rating will stabilize only after the bank returns to consistent profitability and continues to reduce it outsized commercial and residential mortgage exposures. In the same action, Moody's affirmed the rating of Lehman's senior long-term debt.
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