|
|
|
|
| BondsOnline.com: instant access to and extensive coverage of over 3.5 million stocks, bonds, indexes and other securities covering major and emerging markets and exchanges across the globe. |
|
|
| Bonds Online |
|
|
| 5/10/2013Market Performance |
| Municipal Bonds |
|---|
|
S&P National Bond Index
|
3.00% |
|
|
S&P California Bond Index
|
2.96% |
|
|
S&P New York Bond Index
|
3.13% |
|
|
S&P National 0-5 Year Municipal Bond Index
|
0.70% |
|
|
| S&P/BGCantor US Treasury Bond |
400.09 |
|
| More |
|
| Income Equities: |
|---|
| Preferred Stocks |
|---|
|
S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index
|
848.03 |
|
|
S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (CAD)
|
636.26 |
|
|
S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR)
|
1,701.05 |
|
|
S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR) (CAD)
|
1,276.26 |
|
|
| REITs |
|---|
|
S&P REIT Index
|
174.07 |
|
|
S&P REIT Index (TR)
|
425.30 |
|
|
| MLPs |
|---|
|
S&P MLP Index
|
2,469.58 |
|
|
S&P MLP Index (TR)
|
5,428.50 |
|
|
See Data
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Goldman's Big Bond Earnings |
Forbes.com - Oct 13, 2009 - by Matthew Craft
Buoyant bond markets spell more good news for Goldman Sachs.
When Goldman Sachs reports third-quarter results on Thursday, it's expected to have the surging bond markets to thank for the bulk of its profits.
Fixed-income trading may seem like tedious work from the outside. The picture is of bond traders pinching fractions of a penny from each transaction, piling up their golden crumbs. But in a recession, these desks often power banks and brokerage firms' performance, says Brad Hintz, a senior analyst at BernsteinResearch and a former Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers executive.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast Goldman to post quarterly earnings of $4.24 per share, or $2.3 billion in net income, more than double the $1.81 per share in the same period a year ago. BernsteinResearch projects $10.9 billion in revenue, with $5.2 billion coming from fixed-income sales and trading -- a 226% rise from last year -- though the big jump is to be expected since the bond markets have recovered so heartily since last year.
By that estimate, the fixed-income group would contribute $9.11 per share before expenses. That could nearly match Goldman's largest cost, its well-paid employees. They took home $6.6 billion in the second quarter and are expected to have received $5.24 billion in compensation in the third. Michael Duvally, a spokesperson for the bank holding company, declined to comment on Goldman's compensation expenses.
Shares in the bank dropped 1.5% on Tuesday, after bank analyst Meredith Whitney lowered her grade on Goldman to "neutral." Whitney argues that the bank's shares, up 121% this year, are fully priced.
On Wall Street, a credit-led economic recovery has a predictable life cycle, Hintz writes in a recent report. When it looks like central banks can't cut interest rates any further, investors usually move their money into high-grade corporate bonds. When the economy looks better, investors take on more risk and buy longer-dated bonds. Each move gives Wall Street a trading opportunity, through buying and selling for large institutions and betting their own cash ahead of the shifts.
In such an environment, nobody stands to benefit more than the top institutional trading house. "With all the major bond houses bankrupt or merged out of existence, Goldman Sachs ( GS - news - people ) is more leveraged to a continuation of the credit recovery than Morgan Stanley or to any of the competing universal bank competitors," Bernstein researchers write. They crown Goldman the premiere bond-trading house -- not Barclays ( BCS - news - people ), which bought Lehman Brothers bond operations.
Investment banking, equity trading and asset management thrive at other points in the cycle. As the economy regains its footing, growth resumes and unemployment falls, and the most profitable banking businesses – equity underwriting and advising on mergers -- begin to pick up. That should lift earnings in the banks that dominate these areas: JPMorgan ( JPM - news - people ), Morgan Stanley ( MS - news - people ) and, yes, Goldman Sachs. Economists and analysts don't expect to see such growth until perhaps late next year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Partner Market Place |
|
|
|
| Stuff to look at |
Yield and Income Newsletter: A must have for income investors. subscribe NOW
S&P Commentary and Newsletters: S&P
|
|
| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
Keep up with monthly, in-depth coverage of fixed income market strategies, commentary, and insights as seen by our sources. Sign up for the free BondsOnline Advisor now!
Unsubscribe here [+] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
