WaMu Gets Waiver From Shareholder TPG on Anti-Dilution Accord http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atepKeJe7jq4&refer=home thats the kind of thing that makes me leery of shorting very low priced stocks. in capitalism the system is designed to make the short seller lose money. I think they go under or get nationalized the problem is to stay short and solvent till then
Thanks for the post Daal. Reuters have a similar article: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN1720034220080917?rpc=44 Although WM has a low price, its market cap is over $3b, so it's still relatively safe to short. I am unhappy that TPG decided to waive the death spiral provision, however I notice that the stock has been unable to maintain its initial rally on the news. One way to stay solvent while remaining short WM: Short the $2.50 or $3.00 calls instead of shorting the stock.
This might sound a little too much like a conspiracy theory, but I'll post it anyway: Did govt (Fed / OTS / whoever) call TPG and ask them to remove the death spiral provision? Especially since we now know that the govt is looking for someone to buy WM?
There is some merit to my conspiracy theory: http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/09/15/daily52.html?ana=yfcpc As for who would be silly enough to buy WM, maybe BAC wants to waste some more money with another ridiculously expensive acquisition?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 2:11 PM PDT Washington Mutual on the auction block Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal - by Mark Calvey Washington Mutual appeared closer to finding a new owner Wednesday. The Seattle bank (NYSE: WMU) hired Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to explore a possible sale, while news reports said federal regulators recently approached Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and others about a possible buyout should WaMu fail. Goldman reportedly has been shopping the bank around for several days and has approached Wells Fargo, HSBC, Citigroup (NYSE: C) and J.P. Morgan Chase, among others, about a possible deal. WaMu has lost more than 90 percent of its stock-market value over the past year, and some analysts donât expect the bank to turn a profit until mid-2010 -- an eternity in todayâs environment. http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/09/15/daily64.html?ana=yfcpc
S&P cuts WaMu to 'poor quality' of 'CCC' http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/sp-cuts-wamu-poor-quality/story.aspx?guid={1687BCB8-8E63-48BE-BB97-67C8F2542744} SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Wednesday lowered Washington Mutual Inc.'s WM 2.74, -0.46, -14.4% counterparty credit rating to "poor quality" of CCC/C from BB-/B. "The downgrade was due to the increased likelihood that a potential sale of the company may not involve the whole company, which increases the risk of default for holding company creditors," said Victoria Wagner, an S&P credit analyst. S&P also lowered WaMu's preferred stock rating to "most speculative" grade of CC from B- to reflect the risk of default of these securities but affirmed Washington Mutual Bank's counterparty credit rating of BBB-/A-3. The outlook remains negative.
And in the middle of this bail out purgatory. You'd think they could wait a day or 2 until this bail out BS is closer to being done to see what they makes them look like vs. kicking them in the nuts for no good reason. If the bail out looks like it'll be a saving grace for them, the S&P better come out and upgrade them like a MOFO.