Credit crunch hits Old Time Pottery
Posted on August 25, 2009 at 7:26 am
The Murfreesboro-based retailer of bargain home decorations has been unable to extend its main line of credit and has filed to restructure under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. Old Time execs are focused on bouncing back quickly.
“We have achieved significant improvements in our operation in 2009 resulting in significant savings. We are evaluating the most prudent course of action to assist us in meeting our operational and financial objectives in the future, including the replacement of our line of credit.”
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Local analyst: Banks’ book values have more to fall
Posted on April 16, 2009 at 1:21 pmNashville-based bank analyst Jeff Davis has begun covering most of the Southeast’s regional players with ‘hold’ ratings. His earnings estimates are generally below the investment community’s consensus numbers because he sees “migrating” credit issues. Those problems will eat at banks’ capital positions and push down book values until the end of 2010.
“Over the next few quarters, the industry should get closer to reality in that reserves will be much higher, more loans will have been written off and presumably the economy will be closer to basing, thereby creating a better risk-reward scenario for depository investors,” Davis wrote.
The government also will be in the banks’ corner to a certain extent, Davis said, though not necessarily on purpose. “Public policy for the large banks is such that these institutions are nearly too-big-to-fail… As a result, the government is unlikely to force draconian mark-to-distressed loan bids that create an immediate capital call if for no other reason than the government cannot seem to get organized to close small banks.”
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No new credit from the banks
Posted on April 13, 2009 at 12:55 pmNew figures from the Fed show that U.S. banks’ commercial loan portfolios shrank 2.9 percent during the first quarter. Commercial real estate exposure – seen by many as the next domino to fall – fell by 0.5 percent.
For a glass-half-full take on these numbers, check out hedge fund manager Gary Townsend’s opinion that “banks are not only able to lend, but that they’re taking ample market share from non-bank financiers and the shadow banking system.” For the glass-almost-empty approach, read the first few comments to Townsend’s piece.
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Bank bear roars again
Posted on April 6, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Noted analyst Michael Mayo has changed employers, but not his dour outlook for the banking sector.
Loan losses are going to exceed what the industry suffered in the Depression. Loss totals for the industry could reach $1 trillion to as much as $1.5 trillion. Players haven’t moved swiftly enough to write down the value of bad loans. The government doesn’t have the ability to resolve the problems.
Here’s more via Business Pundit. The main financial sector ETF (Ticker: XLF) is down about 3 percent. Regions Bank, First Horizon and Pinnacle are among the regional players down more than 5 percent.
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Why the credit crisis will last
Posted on March 10, 2009 at 11:18 pmSeveral important market indicators have regressed to their worst levels from late last year, which means cash will remain hard to get for many companies and individuals – and that any stock rally is short-lived.
“With those four things showing more and more strain, there’s a disconnect with equities rallying the way they are,” Lutz says. “If they keep trading this way it’s definitely an indication that there could be another leg down in stocks.”
See also: Short sellers, not Citi, spurred the rally and Even solid firms feel pinch as lending remains tight
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Owner of ‘Boro apartments files for Chapter 11
Posted on January 12, 2009 at 12:59 pmNew York-based Tarragon says equity investors will get nothing from a reorganization that aims to “structure a consensual plan with our creditors structured to enable Tarragon to preserve the value of its property management and development platforms.”
Tarragon (Ticker: TARR) first ran into financial problems in the summer of ‘07. The company now owns two apartment complexes in Murfreesboro, but used to also own other local properties. It also developed Belle Park in Belle Meade.
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The credit crunch’s ‘revolutionary’ impact on hospitals
Posted on December 29, 2008 at 9:59 pmThat cause-and-effect as well as the nine other top hospital stories in 2008 from Becker’s ASC Review.
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