Tag - Kfs

i2 Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:ITWO), Revlon Inc. (Nasdaq:REV) and Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (Nasdaq:AGM) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (Nasdaq:BKD), Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (Nasdaq:KFS), Indiana Community Bancorp (Nasdaq:INCB), Papa Johns International Inc. (Nasdaq:PZZA), Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE) and Ambac Financial Group (Nasdaq:AKT).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Atlantic Southern Financial Group Inc (Nasdaq:ASFN), Arbor Realty Trust Inc (Nasdaq:ABR) and East West Bancp Inc (Nasdaq:EWBC) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Temecula Valley Inc (Nasdaq:TMCV), FirstFed Financial Corp (Nasdaq:FED), Sonic Solutions (Nasdaq:SNIC), KINGSWAY FINANCIAL SERVICES INC (Nasdaq:KFS), Midwest Banc Inc (Nasdaq:MBHI) and American Apparel Inc (Nasdaq:APP).

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:

Pacific Booker Minerals Inc (Nasdaq:PBM), United Community Bancorp (Nasdaq:UCBA) and Severn Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:SVBI) are among the new 52-week lows in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

KINGSWAY FINANCIAL SERVICES INC (Nasdaq:KFS), Lee Enterprises Inc (Nasdaq:LEE) and Pomeroy IT Solutions Inc (Nasdaq:PMRY) are also among the new 52-week lows.

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:

Kingsway Financial Services Inc (NYSE:KFS), Hardinge Brothers Inc (Nasdaq:HDNG) and Akeena Solar Inc (Nasdaq:AKNS) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

MCG Capital Corp (Nasdaq:MCGC), Ceco Environmental Corp (Nasdaq:CECE) and California Coastal Communities Inc (Nasdaq:CALC) are also among the biggest percentage losers.

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

After a brief opening bounce, small-cap stocks are down slightly from Wednesday, but have been mostly steady in Thursday’s session. At 12:03 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 0.02, or 0.17%, at 716.04.

After skyrocketing crude oil sent stocks earthward during Wednesday’s action, sturdy results from Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Costco (Nasdaq:COST) offered early encouragement to traders. In the midday session, Wal-Mart is up 1.3% while Costco is down 0.1%. Also supporting bullish sentiments was footwear maker Crocs Inc.’s (Nasdaq:CROX) offered a solid outlook for the remainder of the year. CROX is up more than 16% shortly before noon.

Soaring crude oil futures eased somewhat to $122.53 a barrel after touching a record-high of $123.93. The dollar is stronger against the euro at $1.5395 after . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) gained ground for the second day in a row as investors digested the latest financial news. The small-cap index advanced 2.07 points, or 0.27%, to 756.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) fell 25.20 points, or 0.19%, to 13,207.27.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 is down 3.97%, while the Dow is up 5.87% and the S&P 500 has climbed 2.57%.

Small-cap stocks went on a rollercoaster ride today but eventually came out on top as investors were unsure what to make of the latest financial news.

The day began with news that Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) swung to a fourth-quarter loss due to $9.4 billion in mortgage-related write-downs. The New York-based company responded by saying that it will sell as much as 9.9% of itself to a Chinese sovereign fund for a cash infusion of $5 billion.

The move is similar to the one made by a number of financial heavyweights that posted losses on investments in securities that contain subprime home loans and then turned to foreign investors for a cash infusion to boost capital.

The difficulties stem from the slump in the U.S. housing sector, which began in the second half of 2006 when home prices started to fall. That led to a wave of foreclosures and delinquencies that hit borrowers with subprime loans particularly hard and damaged the financial institutions that had purchased securities backed by those same loans.

As a global credit squeeze took hold, the U.S. Federal Reserve responded by lowering the federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, and creating a Term Auction Facility (TAF) program to auction term funds to depository institutions against collateral that can be used to secure loans.

The first of those auctions was on Dec. 17, and today the Fed announced that it gave $20 billion at an interest rate of 4.65%. The auction attracted 93 bidders that asked for a total of $61.55 billion, a sign that banks are hungry for money to improve balance sheets and boost liquidity.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) is little changed this afternoon. At 2:47 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had added 2.57 points, or 0.34%, to 756.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 30.24 points, or 0.23%, to 13,262.71.

The day began with news that Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) swung to a fourth-quarter loss due to $9.4 billion in mortgage-related write-downs. Like many of its peers facing similar circumstances, the New York-based financial services giant responded by saying that it will sell as much as 9.9% of itself for a cash infusion of $5 billion. In this case, help came from a Chinese sovereign fund.

Investors were apparently unsure what to make of the news, because the Russell 2000 opened with a decline but quickly moved higher, only to fall again at about 11:30 a.m. ET along with the Dow. At about 2 p.m. both indices rose again.

In other financial news, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced after the start of trading that it auctioned $20 billion in a special operation at an interest rate of 4.65%. The auction, which was held on Monday, saw 93 bidders ask for a total of $61.55 billion, a sign that commercial banks are thirsty for money to help their balance sheets and improve liquidity.

The auction was part of the Fed’s previously announced plan to alleviate the global credit squeeze with periodic lending of funds. Also participating are the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) is just above the flat line as investors react to the latest financial news.
 
At 10:41 a.m. ET, the small-cap index had added 1.98 points, or 0.26%, to 756.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 55.44 points, or 0.42%, to 13,287.91.

The futures were little changed this morning on news that Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) swung to a fourth-quarter loss due to $9.4 billion in mortgage-related write-downs. Quarterly net revenue was a negative $450 million, compared with a positive $7.85 billion a year ago.

The New York-based financial services giant responded by saying that it will sell as much as 9.9% of itself to a Chinese sovereign fund for $5 billion.

The move is similar to the one made by a number of financial heavyweights that posted losses on investments in securities that contain subprime home loans and then turned to foreign investors for a cash infusion to boost capital.

Today’s news once again highlights the wide reach of the contagion from the subprime mortgage crisis and its ability to infect the largest of financial actors. But the bulls will take solace in the fact that cash infusions will allow the wounded companies to continue their operations.

Elsewhere, a report by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that mortgage applications for the week ended Dec. 14 decreased 19.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The Market Composite Index was 653.8, compared with 811.8 a week earlier. The four week moving average, a more stable measure, is down 1%.

Stagnating home prices and tighter lending standards have made many Americans unwilling or unable to purchase homes, further contributing the slump in the U.S. housing sector. The ailing housing sector is one of the major factors dragging down U.S. economic growth.