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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Vosilla who wrote (58897)	4/20/2006 2:06:51 PM
From: shades	Respond to of 110194

MoneyGram Up; 1Q Beats Street, Raises FY06 EPS View (MoneyGram's money transfer business, which grew 46%, - Vosilla you see a lot of those money transfer places in West Palm? - Sending the money home to latin america eh?) By Josee Rose Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of MoneyGram International Inc. (MGI) rose as much as 12% Thursday, reaching a new 52-week high, after the company boosted its full-year earnings and net revenue outlook, and reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street's view. The Minneapolis payment service company's net income rose 11% to $30.9 million, or 36 cents a share, from $27.8 million, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 16% to $263.7 million from $227.9 million. According to Thomson First Call, on average, analysts expected earnings of 30 cents a share on revenue of $250 million. Analyst Robert Dodd of Morgan Keegan & Co. said first-quarter results were driven by "strong growth" of money transfer revenues and higher-than-expected investment income. For 2006 MoneyGram expects earnings of $1.36 to $1.41 a share, up from $1.25 to $1.30, while Wall Street expects earnings of $1.30. MoneyGram raised its net revenue outlook, which excludes commission, to $565 million to $590 million, from $535 million to $560 million. As a result, Craig Peckham of Jefferies & Co. raised his rating on MoneyGram to buy from hold, raised 2006 and 2007 earnings estimates and increased his price target to $38 from $27. Peckham raised his 2006 earnings projection to $1.43 a share from $1.27, and thinks the company's guidance "remains conservative." For 2007, he expects $1.55, 10 cents higher than his previous prediction. In 2005, MGI earned $1.31 a share. Peckham upped the company to buy from hold since first-quarter results and 2006 guidance "assuaged our concerns over the yield curve and valuation." Peckham said "signs of yield curve steepening and a Fed rate cycle that appears to be near an end are positives." Dodd expects 2006 earnings of $1.39 a share and net revenue of $583 million, which factors in "higher net investment, overhead expenses and money-transfer revenue growth." He increased his 2006 operating earnings view to $1.31 from $1.27 a share. MoneyGram's money transfer business, which grew 46%, "significantly outperforms its peers and we expect marketing investments to drive growth in excess of industry averages for the next several years," Dodd added. MoneyGram shares were recently up $3.05, or 9.5%, at $35.08. Earlier, shares reached a new 52-week high of $35.00. The previous 52-week high was $32.04, reached on Wednesday and the 52-week low was $18.11, reached a year-ago today. Volume is 1.03 million shares, compared with average-daily-volume of 435,284. -Josee Rose; 201-938-5400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 20, 2006 12:05 ET (16:05 GMT) Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 12 05 PM EDT 04-20-06

To: John Vosilla who wrote (58897)	4/20/2006 2:09:40 PM
From: shades	Respond to of 110194

NY AG Spitzer: Man Indicted In $1.5M Identity-Theft Scheme (He defrauded citi and JP - free money baby - this is seriously under reported - there is much more FRAUD than the bankers are letting on) By Chad Bray Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--A Queens, N.Y., man has been indicted for his role in an identity-theft scheme that defraud several financial institutions out of more than $1.5 million, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said Thursday. In a press release, Spitzer said Fayyaz Ahmed, 39 years old, has been charged with six counts of grand larceny in the second degree; 17 counts of identity theft in the first degree; two counts of a scheme to defraud in the first degree; 19 counts of forgery in the second degree; and 11 counts of money laundering in the fourth degree. He faces up to 15 years in prison on each second-degree grand larceny charge, Spitzer said. Prosecutors have alleged that Ahmed fraudulently obtained about $1.4 million from a variety of financial institutions through home-equity loans and lines of credit using the personal identification information of two Staten Island residents. The institutions included units of Washington Mutual Inc. (WM), Wachovia Corp. (WB) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC). The government also has alleged that Ahmed purchased more than $180,000 in goods and services by using stolen identities to obtain credit cards. The cards were obtained from a number of credit-card providers, including units of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Citigroup Inc. (C) and American Express Co. (AXP). There was no phone listing for Ahmed in Queens and his lawyer couldn't immediately be located Thursday. -Chad Bray, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-227-2017; chad.bray@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 20, 2006 12:37 ET (16:37 GMT) Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 12 37 PM EDT 04-20-06

To: John Vosilla who wrote (58897)	4/20/2006 2:17:41 PM
From: shades	Respond to of 110194

Citing FHFB Proposal, FHLBank Suspends 2 Housing Programs . (where will grandma live now?) WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati said its board elected to suspend temporarily two voluntary housing programs, citing a rule proposed by its regulator as the reason for the suspension. The Cincinnati Bank said Thursday that this action was taken in response to a rule proposed by the Federal Housing Finance Board, the Federal Home Loan Bank System's regulator, that would require it to reduce its outstanding excess stock and increase its retained earnings. The Bank said its preliminary estimates indicate the proposed rule would require it to increase retained earnings by at least $109 billion and to buy back at least $421 million in members' excess stock. "Good corporate governance will not allow us to continue funding the multi-million dollar voluntary housing programs until we are in a position to know the full extent of our retained earnings shortfall and the negative impact this proposed regulation would have on our business model," said Charles ("Bud") Koch, chairman of the Cincinnati FHLBank and chairman of Charter One Bank, Cleveland. "Our FHLBank board is deeply disappointed to temporarily suspend two successful, innovative programs that were effectively meeting affordable housing needs of residents in our FHLBank District," Koch said. The suspended programs were identified as the New Neighbors and American Dream Homeownership Challenge programs. The Cincinnati Bank is one of 12 regional FHLBanks comprising the FHLBank System, a government-sponsored enterprise created to assist housing. -By John Connor, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9273; John.Connor@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 20, 2006 12:56 ET (16:56 GMT) Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 12 56 PM EDT 04-20-06

To: John Vosilla who wrote (58897)	4/20/2006 2:19:49 PM
From: shades	Respond to of 110194

Rato: IMF Needs New Sources Of Finance Over Long Haul (BWAHAHA - I don't even know where to begin on this - maybe they can run tv commercials begging for cash like the childrens christian fund - this is the citi jpm problem Russ talkes about on a larger scale eh?) WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The International Monetary Fund has to look for new ways to finance its operations, as income from lending has fallen, IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato said Thursday. "The more successful the Fund is in helping to prevent crises and persuading members to adopt good policies, the less its income is likely to be because borrowing falls," Rato said in a prepared speech to be delivered at a conference on IMF reform at the Institute for International Economics. For the past 30 years, the IMF has funded its day-to-day operations, including surveillance and technical assistance, through the charges it puts on loans to its members. Early repayment of credit last year by Argentina and Brazil, though welcomed by the IMF, shut off one source of income, Rato noted. "There are things we can do, including restraint in our operational budget and setting user fees for some of our technical assistance," Rato said. "But if members want the Fund to continue work that we have been doing in many areas - and they tell me repeatedly that they do - we will need to broaden the Fund's income base." Rato said he has some ideas on how to raise financing, but he didn't elaborate. He proposed establishing a committee independent of the IMF to make some recommendations. Though the need for IMF lending has dropped sharply, the global financial system probably won't remain as tranquil as it is now amid strong economic growth and low interest rates, Rato said. "These conditions will not last forever, and while many emerging markets have strengthened their policies, some vulnerabilities remain," he added. "There will be financial crises in the future, in current emerging markets or in those that have yet to emerge." -By Elizabeth Price, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9295; Elizabeth.Price@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 20, 2006 13:19 ET (17:19 GMT) Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 01 19 PM EDT 04-20-06

To: John Vosilla who wrote (58897)	4/20/2006 2:26:26 PM
From: shades	Respond to of 110194

Atlanta Airport Shutdown Due To Computer Glitch -Official (did you see WARGAMES - WOPR computer blew up the whole damn world) ATLANTA (AP)--The U.S.'s top security administrator said Thursday the bomb scare that shut down security checkpoints for two hours Wednesday at one of the world's busiest airport was the result of a computer glitch on testing software. Transportation Security Administration Director Kip Hawley said a screener at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport spotted what looked like an explosive Wednesday on an X-ray machine. She pressed a button that should have signaled a routine security test was being conducted but it failed to respond, Hawley said. As Hawley put it, "The software should have sprung up on the screen, `This is a test."' The screener notified her supervisor of the suspicious image on the X-ray machine monitor at 1:15 p.m. EDT As a result, officials closed security checkpoints for two hours. By the time checkpoints reopened at 3:40 p.m., no planes had departed for more than an hour and all arrivals were delayed by at least 90 minutes. The shutdown came at peak travel time and at least 120 flights were affected. Hawley apologized for the delays that affected passengers. But he said he is pleased with the performance of the TSA screeners in Atlanta. The screener acted properly in what should have been a routine drill, he said. Hawley was at the airport Thursday for a round-table discussion with news reporters, but the session turned into a meeting about the airport shutdown. (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 20, 2006 13:02 ET (17:02 GMT) Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 01 02 PM EDT 04-20-06