What time of day am I most likely to have a heart attack? Answer, per a Harvard study, is that the most dangerous times for heart attack, and for all kinds of cardiovascular emergency, are the morning and during the last phase of sleep. The risk averaged 40% higher of having a heart attack between 6AM and noon, but if you calculate only the first three hours after waking, this relative risk is threefold. Fortunately I get up before I am awake in order to get this commentary out every day.
National City posted a $1.76 billion loss, hurt by soaring losses on mortgage and real estate construction loans and a write-down for acquisitions. It is the fourth straight quarterly loss for the Cleveland-based company, one of the nation’s 10 largest banks. Excluding the goodwill write-down, the loss was 94 cents per share, far above analysts’ forecasts of 20 cents per share.
How many billions are there out there? I don’t know, but Ford Motor Co., the world’s third- largest automaker, just lost another $8.7 of them in the second quarter, and said it will convert three truck factories to produce small cars as rising gasoline prices sap US truck sales.
Credit Suisse posted a smaller-than-expected fall in second-quarter earnings. The Swiss bank’s earnings beat analysts’ forecasts, despite falling 62% to $1.16 billion because of smaller asset write-downs than expected and as its investment bank, private bank and asset management business all posted profits.
Minimum-wage workers, now paid $5.85 an hour, will begin receiving $6.55 today. The minimum wage, increased to $5.85 last July, will increase to $7.25 an hour next year on July 24, the end of the three-year cycle of increased minimum wages. Speaking of the minimum wage, the Mortgage Bankers Association yesterday announced appointment of former chairman John Courson as chief operating officer, effective Aug. 1. Courson will assume the position of president of MBA effective Jan. 1, 2009, replacing Jonathan Kempner, who will leave his $1.2 million per year MBAA job in December.
Mortgage prices are doing very well this morning – better by .5 in price – after the Housing Bill made headway and Jobless Claims jumped 34,000. The number rose to 406,000 in the week ended July 19, from a revised 372,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said. It was the highest reading since late March. The four-week average of new jobless claims, a better gauge of underlying labor trends because it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose to 382,500 from 378,000 the week before. The 10-yr, which had a strong close yesterday, is down to 4.10%, although we still have Existing Home Sales ahead, along with a $21 billion 5-yr note auction. It defi