Wachovia

Wachovia, "Worry Free" Banking
"A housing-driven recession is mathematically impossible."
LOL


2008-04-14: Wachovia's California nightmare
Wachovia investors are paying through the nose for the bank's ill-advised California gold rush. Shareholders in Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia were rocked Monday by a nasty one-two punch: a sudden (and dilutive) sale of common and convertible preferred stock, and the bank's first quarterly loss since 2001. Wachovia swung to a $350 million loss in the first quarter, reversing the year-ago $1.2 billion profit, as the bank posted weak numbers across its businesses. The breadth of the bank's losses stunned Wall Street, sending shares down 10%.

2008-04-14: Wachovia to Receive Big Infusion of Capital
Wachovia Corp., which barreled into adjustable-rate mortgages with the huge acquisition of Golden West Financial Corp. near the peak of the housing market, could announce as soon as Monday that it is getting a capital infusion of several billion dollars from outside investors, according to people familiar with the matter.

Final terms of the deal were being hammered out Sunday night, but it appeared likely the fifth-largest U.S. bank in stock-market value would receive $6 billion to $7 billion. In return, the investor group would get shares priced roughly $23 to $24 apiece -- a 15% discount to Wachovia's share price Friday.

2008-01-22: Wachovia Customers Just Walking Away
(Calculated Risk)

2007-10-19: Wachovia: Increasing Credit Troubles Ahead
(Calculated Risk)

2006-06-27: Housing Driven Recession Impossible
(Calculated Risk)
'A housing-driven recession is "mathematically impossible," said Wachovia Bank senior economist Mark Vitner, because housing is derived from the rest of the economy and construction is actually a smaller portion of the U.S. economy than during the housing boom of the late 1970s. Even if home values soften in expensive markets, many homeowners are still sitting on substantial home equity cushions.'