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Store Redesigns, Not Asset Sales, Top Lampert's Priority List for Sears
2007-11-17 19:36:00
Investors hoping Sears Holdings (SHLD) Chairman Eddie Lampert would quickly move to transform the company into more than just a retailer have been disappointed. Lampert clearly understands the tremendous value of his company's assets, but thus far has not moved to revamp the company as much as his supporters would have liked. Instead, Lampert seems convinced that he can boost the company's retail operating margins closer to industry averages with better management of the store base.In fact, a press release issued Saturday sheds light into Lampert's game plan: Kmart Store Becomes a New Sears MARIETTA, Ga., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The former Kmart at 4269 Roswell Rd is now a brand new Sears. Local Atlanta residents can expect a one-of-a-kind shopping experience that offers an expanded selection of merchandise including more national brands than ever before and a 23,000 sq. ft. Lands' End shop featuring the largest selection of Lands' End merchandise ever at Sears.The new Sears w...
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SandRidge Is An IPO To Watch
2007-11-15 15:48:00
In general, IPO investing is not a very rewarding experience. If you can get in on a hot deal at the offering price, then obviously you can make good money, but studies have shown that recent IPOs lag the market in general after they are available to the public. The reason is pretty simple. More often than not, corporations will choose to sell stakes in their companies when they think they can get a very good price. If the firm gets a good price by selling, investors certainly can't expect to get a good deal when buying simultaneously.Now, this is all generally speaking. Of course, there are plenty of IPOs that are selling stock because they have reached a certain size and are seeking a way to fund growth. If they succeed in growing as they plan, investors could make very good money investing early on. A recent IPO that I think is worth watching is SandRidge Energy (SD), a natural gas producer run by Chesapeake Energy (CHK) co-founder Tom Ward.As I have written here before, I am a...
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Forget Writedowns, Bank of America Gets $16B Writeup!
2007-11-13 20:58:00
From the Financial Times:BofA set to gain $30bn on CCB stakeTuesday Nov 13 2007Bank of America (BAC) on Tuesday said it was sitting on a potential gain of more than $30bn on its investment in China Construction Bank, highlighting the paper profits some western banks have made on holdings in their Chinese counterparts. BofA paid $3bn two years ago for an 8.5 per cent stake in CCB and an option to increase to 19.9 per cent at a very low price. The bank plans to record a gain of about $16bn on its existing stake in the fourth quarter. "On paper we have a potential gain in excess of $30bn," said Joe Price, BofA's chief financial officer, adding that it would be able to cash in some of its holding over the next 2 to 3 years.Not only does BofA have less subprime mortgage and MBS CDO exposure than other big banks, but they also have done some smart things which will certainly help them weather the storm.Full Disclosure: Long shares of Bank of America at the time of writing

As Usual, Bill Miller's Letter is a Good Read
2007-11-12 15:04:00
I've been a follower of Legg Mason's Bill Miller for a long time. Having grown up in Baltimore, where Legg Mason is based, I was able to learn a lot about him and his investment strategy before most others did so via the publicity surrounding his stunning 15 straight years of beating the S&P 500 index. Miller is a contrarian, value investor, just as I am. And although I don't always agree with his stock picks, his insights into the market and long term investing are particularly well written. I even quote him on Peridot Capital's web site, because he is far more articulate that I am when addressing many important investment concepts. You can usually learn something by reading an article about him, or his actual letters to investors, which are published every 3 months.Last week, Miller's third quarter commentary was especially insightful, as it addressed many of the turbulent events of the recent past and explained how he views the current marketplace. I've provided a link ...
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Former Tech Highflier Lays Groundwork For A Turnaround
2007-11-07 16:20:00
Today I posted commentary on the second of five stock picks accessible on a third party web site I am testing out this month. Picks will be made weekly during November. This week's recommendation is a well known, former highflier in the technology industry that is setting the stage for a turnaround. If you would like to access my commentary (doing so could win you a free 2008 Select List report) you may follow the instructions below. Entries for the Select List drawing are automatic for anyone who subscribes to my picks on the site and gives feedback about the service on my page's wall.To sign up for the Peridot Capital Free Picks Portfolio, follow these quick steps: 1) Visit the Peridot Capital Free Picks Portfolio web page 2) Click on the "Subscribe to this Portfolio" button near the top of the page to register for the site3) Visit the portfolio page again and subscribe to the portfolio while signed in to complete the process and start receiving email notifications when picks an...
More About: Tech , Lays

Market Fails to Dismiss Double Top Scenario
2007-05-24 15:38:00
About a month ago I mentioned that it was possible the market could find resistance near the old highs on the S&P 500 index and perhaps make a seven-year double top. Interestingly, yesterday marked the third straight day the market could not register a new closing high on the S&P 500 (1,527 and change). I'm not really into short-term market predictions (You're better off just flipping a coin if you want to know what will happen in coming days), but we are setting up for a near-term top unless we can break through this level. Oddly, the all-time intra-day high is above 1,550. That must have been a wild day back in March 2000. Here is what the last decade looks like on the SPX:
More About: Market , Double , Mark , Scenario , Cena

Usually a Contrarian Investor, Kerkorian Takes Aim at Bellagio, City Center
2007-05-22 14:42:00
In recent years billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian and his investment company Tracinda Corp. have been focused on potential value in beaten down automobile companies like General Motors (GM) and Chrysler. However, despite a huge upward revaluation in Las Vegas properties during that time, evidently he still sees value in that area.Monday we learned that Kerkorian is interested in acquiring the Bella gio hotel and casino as well as a new development project, City Center , which is set to open in 2009. Kerkorian is the majority owner of MGM Mirage (MGM) with a 56% stake in the gaming giant, worth about $10 billion before his intentions were made public. MGM shares rallied 10 points in after-hours trading Monday to $73 per share on the idea that Tracinda might wind up taking MGM private at some point down the line.The announcement is interesting given Kerkorian's recent foray into domestic car companies at very depressed prices. MGM Mirage is not a cheap stock (about 12 times 2006 cash...
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Until Consumer Habits Change, Energy Stocks Should Continue to Shine
2007-05-21 16:47:00
It's amazing that gas prices hit $4 per gallon in Chicago and San Francisco even before the summer driving season officially started. There are several reasons why we are paying so much to fill up our gas tanks but the one that I think is most important is not talked about as much as it should be.There is no doubt that the Iraq war is contributing to high energy prices (oil production there is below pre-war levels), as is rising demand from emerging economies like China and India. However, the habits of the U.S. consumer is the largest contributor to our country's sky-high energy use, and as a result, record-high prices. After all, what we do in this country has a profound effect on the energy market. Despite only representing 5% of the world population, we consume 25% of its oil.The way I see it, the culprit is the rise of the sport utility vehicle in the United States. Many people who drive SUVs are quick to complain about paying $60 to $70 or more to fill up their tanks each we...
More About: Stocks , Energy , Change , Habits , Consumer

Web Site Review: YourCreditNetwork.com
2007-05-20 00:40:00
Credit card sites seem to be all the rage lately, but I guess that is not very surprising. Given how much Americans rely on credit cards for managing (or mismanaging) their personal finances, I can certainly understand why credit card information is in high demand on the Internet. There are even people who try and take advantage of the easiness of credit availability nowadays to engage in credit card arbitrage.For those of you who use them regularly and are always looking for the best credit cards based on your individual spending habits, a site that might be worth looking at is YourCreditNetwork.com. Like the many other sites out there, YCN compiles a database of every type of credit card available. A credit card offer can be sorted by company, type of user, type of rewards, etc. Each card in the database includes detailed information about the terms of the card and even comes with an assigned rating, using a scoring system of one through five. After you find a card you are interes...
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Microsoft Bid for aQuantive Signals Desperation
2007-05-18 16:30:00
This stunning bid for online advertising firm aQuantive (AQNT) by Micro soft (MSFT) seems to stem from simply missing out on deals that competitors have made and feeling the need to get something, anything, done. After talks with Yahoo! (YHOO) went nowhere and Google (GOOG) bought Doubleclick for $3.1 billion, Microsoft had two options if they felt they needed to keep up with everybody else; buy aQuantive or Valueclick (VCLK).Not only did they go with aQuantive, but they paid an astronomical price. Shares of AQNT were trading at $36 yesterday and that quote was pricing in a lot of buyout speculation already. Somehow they got Ballmer and Company to offer more than $66 per share in cash, an 85% premium. Such a bid puts Mister Softy on the hook for a cash outlay of $6 billion. In return it gets a business at 104 times trailing earnings, 86 times current year earnings, and a whopping 67 times 2008 earnings.Is it a good move, given the price tag paid? I can't see how it could be. Based o...
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Eddie Lampert Buys Citigroup Stake Over Last 12 Months
2007-05-16 14:05:00
Thanks to quarterly SEC filings, we learned Tuesday that Eddie Lamp ert, Chairman of Sears Holdings (SHLD) and General Partner of the hedge fund ESL Investments, has been buying shares of Citigroup (C) since early 2006. At the end of the first quarter Lampert had amassed more than 15 million shares worth about $800 million. The filings show that Lampert began buying Citigroup in the first quarter of 2006 at pricesin the mid to high forties. Today shares are jumping 1.7 percent in the pre-market to more than $53 each.The purchase makes sense given that Lampert is a value guy (Citi trades at a 10 P/E and yields 4%) and his hedge fund is big enough that large cap stocks are the only kinds of investments that he can really take a meaningful position in without buying an entire firm. I've seen various press accounts of the Citigroup purchase speculating that Lampert is planning on using his stake to put pressure on the company to make significant changes. However, those hoping for share...
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Was Senator Edwards Being Hypocritical by Working at a Hedge Fund?
2007-05-15 07:02:00
I'm curious what readers think about this. After coming up short in his bid to become Vice President in 2004, Senator John Edwards worked for Fortress Investment Group (FIG) as a consultant. Given that Edwards has been focusing his political campaigning on helping solve the poverty problem in our country, is he being a hypocrite by working for a hedge fund, whose main job is helping rich people get even richer?I'm not sure where I fall on this issue. At first blush it does seem like a questionable decision on his part. However, does the fact that he worked for Fortress really mean he is somehow abandoning the poor? Fortress is going to do what they do regardless of whether or not Edwards is there. There is no way his role at the firm had any financial benefit for Fortress clients. He might have given them a well respected politician in their corner, but he didn't boost their investment returns, so he didn't directly help the rich get richer. That is going to happen regardless.O...
More About: Fund , Edge , Bein , Ward

Amgen Dependance on Aranesp Off-Label Use Greatly Exaggerated
2007-05-14 16:32:00
I touched on the issues Amgen (AMGN) is having with Aranesp a couple months back, but I decided to take a closer look at the numbers after the latest news that an FDA panel recommended further studies and label changes for the company's anemia drug franchise. Such recommendations should not have been surprising given that a label change was already in the works (albeit less severe) and companies do follow-up studies on existing drugs all the time to measure long-term effects.The main concern with Aranesp is that the drug is approved for patients with hemoglobin levels below 12. However, there is off-label usage going on at higher levels, and the FDA is concerned that such usage may increase cancer patients' risk of developing other health problems. Amgen stock has been crushed on these concerns, slumping from 77 to 56 per share in the last year. Is the company going to lose as much business as Wall Street seems to be pricing in? I decided to take a look.The media and Wall Stre...
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Google Stock Looks Cheap, Believe It or Not
2007-05-11 14:00:00
When looking for places to invest excess cash in an overbought market it is important to not only look at your upside potential, but also how much downside there is as well. If stocks are overdue for a drop, you want to make sure you aren't buying something that has a lot of air in it that could be let out quickly in a selling frenzy.I have been warming up to shares of Google (GOOG) more and more as of late because the stock has been dead money while the company's impressive growth continues. The result of that dichotomy has been a share price that is getting more reasonable on a valuation basis. On Thursday I began initiating Google positions in some of my accounts that had sizable cash reserves.Long time readers may know that this will be my second bullish call on Google since the company's IPO in August 2004. Like most people I sat out the IPO after the company indicated the stock would be sold well north of $100 per share. After the first round of their auction, the actual ...
More About: Stock , Believe , Cheap , Look

Financial Web Site Review - OEXoptions.com
2007-05-10 19:52:00
Site Name: OEXoptions.comWeb Address: www.oexoptions.comTopic: OEXoptions.com is a site dedicated to index options traders who specialize in online trading of the derivative for the S&P 100 index (OEX). Many people are familiar with the S&P 500. The S&P 100 is simply the largest quintile out of the S&P 500 index. The OEX is essentially the domestic market's mega-cap index.Features: Free articles about online trading of OEX index options, FAQ, options expiration and economic calendars, OEX options chains, various levels of subscriber services geared towards varying levels of experience, 15-day free trial offer.Summary: For those who are interested in getting started with index options trading, OEXoptions.com is a good place to boost your knowledge. The site has numerous articles aimed to help OEX traders maximize their profit potential. Topics include background information on OEX options, lessons for successful OEX trading, trading strategies, position sizing, money managem...
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Sub-Prime Mortgage Weakness Not Spreading to Other Credit Products
2007-05-10 16:16:00
Below is an excerpt from the first quarter earnings press release of a consumer lender that serves lower end customers, including some who would be classified as sub-prime borrowers, but is not involved in the mortgage:"Factors adversely affecting our first quarter results included lower than expected fee assessments due to lower than expected delinquencies."No, that is not a typo. For all of those people who were expecting the sub-prime mortgage mess to spill over into other areas of credit such as credit cards and student loans, it appears the worries (and subsequent share price declines) were unfounded. Delinquencies were lower than expected!It might seem baffling to many, but this is pretty good evidence that the sub-prime spillover effect is being greatly exaggerated, a theory I first rejected a month ago in a piece entitled Most Financials Dragged Down with Sub-Prime Lenders.
More About: Products , Credit , Mortgage , Ness , Gage

Tip: When Engaging in Insider Trading, Be Discreet!
2007-05-09 16:21:00
Evidently a Hong Kong couple thought the rest of the world was asleep. Listen to what they did before their brokerage accounts were frozen, preventing them from pocketing an estimated $8.2 million. Tell me if you think their broker, Merrill Lynch (MER), might catch on that something was a bit suspicious.In early April the couple's account was worth $1.2 million, consisting of mostly fixed income and commodity investments, along with a small position in Intel (INTC) stock. All of the sudden, they wire $10 million into their account and borrow $5 million on margin to buy 415,000 shares of Dow Jones (DJ) for an average price of $35.14 per share.Just days later Dow Jones gets a $60 cash offer from News Corp (NWS) and the couple tries to sell all $23 million worth, netting a profit of $8 million. How on earth do people really think Merrill Lynch isn't going to notice this? Regulators often do investigations after M&A deals are announced to try and uncover illegal activity, but this cas...
More About: Trading , Inside , When , Aging , Side

Dow Winning Streak Longest in 80 Years
2007-05-09 13:57:00
It has truly been a breathtaking run, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising in 24 of 27 sessions, the longest streak since eight decades ago in 1927. Unfortunately, Tuesday's four point drop snapped the streak. How should investors play this? Many are stuck between two prevailing ideas, either ride the momentum to ensure not missing it, or wait for a pullback and buy on the dip. The problem is, there aren't any dips. We got a 7 percent correction a couple months ago but it was so short-lived that many didn't have time to get back on the train before it left the station again.I am sitting on an above-average amount of cash right now, due to an overbought market that I am uninterested in chasing, coupled with a seasonal inflow of deposits. Since I'm a value investor, not a momentum trader, I am content with sitting on cash and waiting for an excellent opportunity. With the broad market rallying so strongly, such a dip might only occur in select names, as opposed to a widesp...
More About: Years , Long , Longest , Winning , Year

I'm Not Holding My Breath for a Dell-RadioShack Deal
2007-05-08 08:15:00
I get a kick out of some of the ridiculous deals that are rumored on the Street. Did anyone really think Sears Hold ing s (SHLD) would buy Anheuser Busch (BUD)? The latest story comes to us from Business Week, speculating that Dell (DELL) could buy RadioShack (RSH) in an attempt to reinvigorate its business after Hewlett Packard (HPQ) has kicked their butt for a while now.How does this rumor get published? There is no evidence whatsoever that Dell would even consider buying an electronics retailer. Did RadioShack shares really jump 6% Monday on this story? It's insane. Remember the Gateway Country store concept? Huge bust. That was nearly as bad as waltzing into large corporations trying to sell computers in cow boxes.The current market environment is very conducive to spreading M&A rumors. After all, the sheer volume of deals right now is astounding. That said, don't put stock into the stories that don't really make any sense. If you are looking to sell some stock, use these t...
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Renting versus Buying a House - A Contrarian View
2007-05-07 15:22:00
I'm often posed with the question, "Given that interest rates are low, why shouldn't I buy a house instead of throwing money away by renting?" In recent years, buying a home has been all the rage. With interest rates around 6% for a 30-year fixed mortgage and the housing market booming, I've been amazed at how many people who have no real need for a house (young singles) have bought one. As someone in the investment management business, whenever I am asked my opinion about buying a house, I look at it from two perspectives. The first one ignores the financial aspect (assuming the buyer can afford the home) because if you are getting married and starting a family, there are reasons to buy a house that have little to do with return on investment or anything like that. However, for those single people out there who don't have a true need for a house of their own, I suggest looking at the possible purchase as an investment and running the numbers accordingly.I have made many spreads...
More About: House , Buying , View , Versus , A House

Gordon Gekko Coming Back?
2007-05-05 22:38:00
The movie Wall Street starring Michael Douglas as a greedy corporate raider in the 1980's is a classic and although two decades old, it appears the film will be making a comeback. According to a New York Times source, Gordon Gekko is back. Edward Pressman, the producer of the original film, has signed on to make a sequel entitled Money Never Sleeps. Other movies have tried to duplicate Wall Street's success, Boiler Room comes to mind, but none have really been able to do so. Sequels are rarely as good as the original, but this project is definitely something that has the potential to be a pretty solid film.
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Microsoft and Yahoo! Have Little to Lose in Tying the Knot
2007-05-04 21:57:00
There are plenty of reasons why the rumored deal that would have Micro soft (MSFT) acquiring Yahoo ! (YHOO) for $50 billion is not a good idea. In general, large tech deals rarely work. The history of failures is very long; Compaq-HP, AOL-Time Warner, Symantec-Veritas to name a few. Company cultures in Silicon Valley are typically very hard to mesh. Going from evil competitor to lifelong companion doesn't happen overnight too easily. In fact, for AOL Time Warner it never worked. The two sides hated each other from the start and the result was, according to many, the biggest failed merger of all time.Add to that Microsoft's preference against big deals and an outright merger of the two companies seems pretty unlikely. Not to mention a price of $50 billion is outrageous and would be extremely dilutive. However, given where they both are right now, I can't help but think that there would be nothing to lose. Sure, the odds are high that the deal would never bear the kind of fruit that ...
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Could the Bancroft Family Reject a 67% Premium for Dow Jones?
2007-05-02 16:27:00
One of the things I look for when picking stocks is high insider ownership. The logic goes that you want people running the company you own to have their interests aligned with yours. Who is more likely to act in the interests of shareholders, someone with a guaranteed salary and bonus or someone with a large stake in the company and performance-based compensation?However, few companies do fact have high insider ownership, so finding examples that fit the bill can be difficult. If a CEO gets options that are priced below market and vest immediately, he or she will likely sell them right away and not see any meaningful ownership maintained for the long term.In the case of media company Dow Jones (DJ), you have very high insider ownership (the Banc roft family controls 64% of the voting rights), so you might think they have shareholders' interests at heart. However, we get news that News Corp (NWS) has offered $60 per share for DJ, a premium of 67 percent, and yet reports have surfa...
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Another Take on RadioShack
2007-05-01 20:03:00
A client of mine passed this amusing RadioShack story along from The Onion. Skeptics appear to be plentiful, even outside the financial community.
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RadioShack Earnings Prove Naysayers Wrong Again
2007-04-30 17:49:00
Despite bearish stories out of Barron's and the Wall Street Journal in recent weeks, electronics retailer RadioShack (RSH) shook up those betting against the stock this morning by reporting first quarter earnings that more than doubled analyst estimates. Shares are up nearly 10% this morning.As I have written about before, RadioShack is imitating the Sears Holdings model of ridding itself of unprofitable sales. Over the last three months, RSH has shrunk its business from 6835 retail locations to only 5205. The result of closing underperforming stores has been declining sales, as one would expect, but gross margins jumped to 52% from 48% last year and earnings soared to $0.29 per share, more than doubling the consensus forecast of $0.14 per share.If this sounds familiar, it is exactly what has propelled shares of Sears Holdings (SHLD) from $15 to more than $190 each. Analysts, reporters, and industry experts will always sound the warning bells when they see overall sales declines, e...
More About: Earnings , Again , Wrong , Rove , Adio

Finding the Next Starbucks - Part 3 - Compound Interest
2007-04-27 14:37:00
"Compound interest is the eight wonder of the world." - Albert EinsteinThe above quote leads off chapter two of Michael Moe's book, "Finding the Next Starbucks : How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow." Although we learn about compound interest and the Rule of 72 in our high school math class, sometimes it takes some financial related calculations later in life to really drive the point home, enough so that it will have an effect on our saving and investment habits during adulthood.Moe uses two compound interest examples that are worth repeating here. Although both cases are impossible to be recreated in the real world today, the dramatic numbers should at least intrigue people enough to run the numbers on their own individual financial plans. The results will still most likely be surprising for many of you.Example #1Purchase price for Manhattan Island in 1626 by Dutchman Peter Minuit: $24Value today if invested at 5.0% annual rate of return: $2.7 billionValue...
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Finding the Next Starbucks - Part 2 - Definition of Risk
2007-04-26 16:06:00
Before I delve into some of the specific investment concepts that Michael Moe covers in his book, "Finding the Next Starbucks : How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow," I want to talk about one of the passages that appears in the first 10 pages that sets the stage for finding a great growth stock. Despite Moe's focus on growth, he does an excellent job balancing that objective with a value-oriented, contrarian approach (which is a big reason why I think the book is worthwhile for a value investor as well). Consider the following excerpt from Chapter 1. I want to drill down on one sentence in particular, but these three paragraphs are very important for any investor, regardless of what types of investments they are looking for.“Ultimately, in sports, gambling, investing, and life, there is little value in knowing what happened yesterday. The largest rewards come from anticipating what will occur in the future. As Warren Buffett once said, ‘If history books were ...
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Finding the Next Starbucks - Part 1
2007-04-25 14:06:00
I just crossed another book off of my Amazon Wish List and got the idea to feature monthly book reviews on The Peridot Capitalist. It might be a stretch to pin myself down to reading a new book each and every month, so I won't make any promises. But let's just say that I will plan on sharing positive reading experiences with you all in the future. I won't commit to a specific review frequency in order to ensure that I make suggestions because they are worth your time, not just because the calendar flipped to a new month.Anyway, I just finished "Finding the Next Starbucks : How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow" by Michael Moe, founder and CEO of ThinkEquity Part ners. At first I was leery of the book simply because of the title. In my opinion, many investors obsess over finding the next Microsoft or Google, when in reality, the odds of doing so are close to zero. The end result is people getting caught up in "story stocks" without any regard for the stock's valu...
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A Site for the Chartists Out There
2007-04-25 02:15:00
There are a lot of people who rely solely on charts for their stock trading. If you watch Fast Money weeknights on CNBC, you know Eric Bolling is a great commodities trader who looks to the charts more often than not when making a decision about a stock that lies outside his area of expertise. For the most part, I'm a "fundamentals come first" investor, not a short-term trader. When I use charts, which is not very often, it is just to find a good entry point for a stock I want to own for fundamental reasons. In fact, after I wrote about Capital One earnings on Monday, I realized that the stock actually looks very good from a technical perspective as well. COF shares bottomed that day and rebounded $1.70 on Tuesday on strong volume. Looks like a nice double bottom if the support level holds.That said, I'm far from an expert at reading charts. As a result, if you are a chartist you won't find much technical analysis here (after all, I didn’t even look at the COF chart before I...
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Capital One Reduces Guidance on Mortgage Weakness
2007-04-23 21:50:00
Frankly, I prefer my headline above to the one I saw atop an Associated Press piece on Friday that was quite a bit more frightening:"Capital One 's Mortgage Woes Lead To Profit Plunge"It's a shame that whoever wrote that article didn't really do much research before writing about the company's first quarter earnings report last week.First, the facts:1) Capital One's first quarter earnings fell 43% to $1.62 per share from $2.86 in the year ago period.2) Capital One reduced 2007 earnings guidance from $7.60 to $7.20 per share.What about mortgage woes leading to a profit plunge? Why isn't that fact number three? Well, that's not really what happened. The year ago comparison was affected by one-time gains in 2006, so profits really didn't fall by 43 percent on an apples-to-apples basis, despite what many articles have stated.The weakness in the mortgage market was the main reason Capital One reduced guidance for the year by 40 cents, but it was not a large contributor to the wid...
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