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WP: Wells Fargo projects record profit in 1st qtr; other economic news


PiLfan

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Wells Fargo Co. said Thursday that it expects record first-quarter earnings of $3 billion, easily surpassing analysts' estimates and providing an encouraging sign for corporate profits.

Wells Fargo is the first bank to provide a forecast for first-quarter results, and the unexpectedly upbeat news gave an immediate boost to stock futures. Several pessimistic forecasts about potential loan losses have jolted the market in recent days, and investors have been anxious as Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. all report next week.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040901312.html?hpid=topnews

The WP is also reporting that new jobless claims fell more than expected. Also, sales in the retail industry showed signs of stabilizing in Feb and March and the trade deficit declines as demand for exports increase overseas (but also to slumping demand for imports).

...maybe the world's not coming to an end? :paranoid:

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I don't believe that funds derived from loans constitute income under GAAP and, as a result, the TARP monies would not affect their profits/losses.

yeah, that's what most rational minded accountants would think, but apparently they may be classified as "permanent equity" on the balance sheet. not sure if i agree with that one.

http://fincriadvisor.com/2009-03-30/TARPaudits

Banks that have accepted TARP funds may be in for a big and unpleasant surprise when they go through their next external financial audit. The reason: TARP should not be classified as a liability, even though the gut instinct of nearly every CPA would be to do so.

Wait a second: The bank essentially has received a government loan, which is a liability, right? Wrong, according to James Kroeker, Deputy Chief Accountant at the SEC, in an opinion letter to Treasury signed also by Russell Golden, Technical Director at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

However, Kroeker was not definitive in his response, stating that he "would not object if the [TARP] Warrants ... were to be classified as permanent equity under applicable U.S. GAAP." He even hedged on the need for shareholder approval, noting that it's necessary... or not, as long as "the issuer takes the necessary action to secure sufficient approvals prior to the end of the fiscal quarter in which such Warrants are issued."

Consider what TARP funds actually are: special issues of preferred stock (5% dividend, rising to 9% after five years) bundled with warrants that function like call options. In other words, TARP is "debt with an equity skin around it," writes accountant Jack Ciesielski, publisher of the Analyst's Accounting Observer and the AAO weblog. It should be classified as a liability, such as subordinated unsecured demand debt. Treasury is a lender, not an investor, he says.

Does the SEC's opinion that it "would not object" to the equity interpretation mean that a bank also could classify TARP as a liability without issue from SEC, FASB or an independent CPA? "From a strictly semantic point of view, I suppose that a bank could call it a liability on that basis," Ciesielski says. "I don't think that there will be a bank in the country that would do so, given the SEC's statement, however."

What was SEC and FASB thinking? The idea is that the TARP warrants are "permanent" equity because the bank can't issue additional shares. It only can redeem the equity from Treasury. Thus, the correct thing to do is classify it as equity - equity that can't be redeemed for at least three years, has no voting rights and restricts dividends on junior preferred stock or common stock.

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