if revenues were down 77% in the first quarter,where does that  leaves
us ???????????????

praying

Second quarter should be 33% lower from last year.  Revenue is flat,
but if the write downs are bigger they will have to take more in
reserves.  Good luck

I think we hit the low.  Unless LEH goes bankrupt, which I doubt, they
said they 40 billion in cash and they have access to the discount
window.  So if we can go a couple of days without any bad news we
should get a bounce one of these days.

BAC set another 52 week low today...this can't be the low.  There is
still alot of weakness left in the financial sector and any type of
news puts severe pressure on this stock.  Until the balance sheet is
clean and accurate...they won't be able to rally...

that wont happen until CFC drama is understood or BAC walks from the
deal.

It was profit, not revenue, that was down 77%. Profits can swing
wildly without as much concern as revenue swings.

Therefore, that leaves you needing to learn a little about financial
statements before investing.

LOL...that was a good one....

We are in uncharted territory from a technical perspective...On slip
up...or at this point 1 rumor and the stock can tank.  If S&P cuts the
rating or the lovely Meredith Whitney (I love her) whispers that they
are going to cut the dividend...well...you know the rest.

Do you think the auditors of BAC are sloppy?  What do you mean balance
sheet clean and accurate?  Do you think they were liberal on thier bad
debt accruals?  Would this be allowed in a highly regulated Banking
and SOX environment?

Hey, if they're intent on keeping the dividend stable, then I would
love nothing more than to see the stock drop considerably from here.
At $30, your yield is currently 8.5%. At $25, your yield is over
10%!!! You can't get that in any BofA savings account or CD!!!

Let the bears take it down! I'm ready to double, even triple my
position.

There is no way to mark or value the assets...doesn't matter what the
auditors price it at.  Nobody can price that stuff...

The houses are declining assets...the mortgages are declining
assets...CDO's...MBS's...SIV's...are all declining assets...most of
them cannot be accurately priced.  Why do you think the Fed keeps
"suggesting" that they raise more cash?  That is why the ratings keep
getting cut...these banks will never return to the profit and levels
that they were at...it doesn't work that way.

The other shoe still hasn't dropped...bad enough BAC had those on
their balance sheet but now they have CFC's on their too...

thank you for the correction,sir

I heard all those same gloom and doom arguments after the Internet
bubble popped. "You'll never see Internet companies making money.
Technology will never be where it was."  Seven years later, we see
they were all fools. Amazon and ebay are huge marketplaces, and half
the country owns Apple iPods or a Blackberry. It just took some time
to recover from the mess.

This is nothing more than a big pothole in the road that caused a flat
tire. The spare tire will be put on. We'll drive a little slower until
we get to a service station. The flat tire will be fixed. We'll
eventually be driving at the same speed again. "This ain't Nothin'",
right?

Does a flat ever run as good as the original?  It's "Balance" will be
thrown off by the plug...

This is not gloom and doom...this is basic boom and bust.  Good
analogy you used...

And also...are Ebay's and AMZN's stock price anywhere near what they
were then?

Hmmm....

A blown out tire is generally replaced with a new one. Anyhow, you
still have three other tires that aren't blown out, don't you? If the
flat is fixed, it will run just as well as it did if fixed properly.
This has always been my experience.

The thing that separates the EBAYs and AMZNs of 2000 from the BACs and
Cs of 2008 are the valuations. Those companies were running extremely
high negative PEs, along with P/S ratios in double digits. Those
companies also never paid a single dividend. BAC and C are running
multiples at or below historical averages and BAC is paying a premium
dividend right now. The comparison I made to the Internet bubble was
not perfect. It was meant more to point out the ridiculous and
hysterical comments of bears and bashers.

This is a correction, not a bust. Perhaps a young one like yourself is
not old enough and experienced enough to know about economic cycles.
Each time we hit the low end of one, all the Chicken Littles come
running out of the woodwork saying it's all over - BUST! This will
recover. You'll see plenty more of these in your life, too. I
guarantee it.

BAC's Current P/E is based on what?  The Current Assets...that are
declining...and at risk to be cut again...

If BAC takes on CFC...that does what to the P/E?

Do not test me nor use my age and I am not bashing...I am stating
numbers...you can speak when BAC is off of it's 52-week low.

Thanks and the sky is falling...

I listened to Ken's webcast the other day and he basically said people
are confusing cash with earnings.  They are basically running above
where they need to be in liquidity but under what they would "like" to
be at.   Because they are stuffing so much cash away to be where they
would "like" to be, they can not count that cash as earnings.. It
doesnt mean they all of a sudden they stopped bringing in money..
quite the contrary.   Once all the write downs are over you are going
to see a HUGE jump in earnings.  That is the reason they are not
cutting the dividend.   Basically they can cut the dividend and get to
their liquidity levels faster BUT they feel they can still get there
eventually without cutting the dividend.  They are trying to balance
their liquidity growth and keep a dividend they have had since 1903.

I agree, I think this is way overblown, the problem we face now we
have a lot of negative momentum.  BofA earns 20b a quarter before
CFC.  They are gaining huge market share in the mortage business.
Guys this is a 2 year bump, BofA is putting away HUGE sums of money
right now in reserves and you know what they can afford it.  I keep
saying it and have been saying it and practicing what I preach.  This
is a great time to buy.  BofA at 31, this is nuts, we have not seen
these numbers in years, consider it a gift.  Did you see GM, can you
believe it is so low, like you have to go back to the 70's to see it
that low!  Buy the stock and don't look.

Hey all,  CFC will be SCRUBBED OUT squeaky clean.  Everything
including the kitchen sink will be written off before BAC puts any
mortgages on the BAC balance sheet.  BAC is not being managed by
idiots, UNLIKE the brokers who imagine fraud, corruption and moral
turpitude will be monetized as assets and capitalized on BAC's balance
sheet.  How moronic, but thank you very much for the excellent buying
opportunity.

CFC has another earnings report before acquisition in the 3rd Qtr,
more crappy, sub-prime slime mortgages will be flushed down the CFC
toilet.  I'm buying more BAC because they are giving BAC away.  As
Cramer likes to say about the FED, "THEY KNOW NOTHING!!!".

Don't buy any BAC because of anything I typed.  Do your homework.  BAC
is an even better bargain than WB.  I have a big buy limit @ 31.50 so
wait until I get filled before you buy.  I have a fat dividend
reinvesting in BAC and would I would love to see BAC in the 20's.
Everyone overlooks BAC's fat investment in China Construction Bank
which is worth nearly 5 times CFC, Chuckle.

Good luck everyone,

Best Regards,

Kurt

I agree.  Eveyone says, "run," but they are not looking to the long
term.  CFC is a good buy for BAC...Ken Lewis wrote the book on
strategic acquisitions.

He also wrote the book on overpaying. He does make some good long-term
decisions, but usually overpays. I'm not sure he's overpaying this
time for CFC, but with everyone else expecting him to lower the bid,
and even the public accepting it, why not help current BAC
shareholders out and DO it.