Don't Miss the Week's Biggest Financial Stories
Keeping up with the latest news on your investments can be overwhelming. To make it easier for you, I've dug through the Fool's financial sector coverage over the past week to highlight a few stories that you don't want to overlook.
Read on for this week's highlights.
What Should You Do With Your Investments After the Election?
With many investors wondering what President Obama's reelection -- and the following few days of Dow slippage -- portend about the market going forward, Morgan Housel steps in with some reminders about post-election predictions from 2008. Hint: Many of them were just plain wrong. Before you think about fiddling with your portfolio in anticipation of the market's reaction to this singular event, give Morgan's two-and-a-half-minute video a listen.
Is Annaly's Acquisition of Crexus a Trojan Horse?
If you follow mortgage REITs, you've no doubt read about Annaly Capital Management's (NYS: NLY) purchase of Crexus Investment (NYS: CXS) , announced on Monday. John Maxfield puts the deal into perspective, noting that though Crexus' lack of debt and high yield may look good on the surface, folding the entirety of the smaller REIT into the larger "could very well change the entire risk profile of Annaly." Amanda Alix also wonders if the late Michael Farrell's successor, Wellington Denahan-Norris, is "pushing the mREIT in an entirely new direction."
Matt Koppenheffer looks at the acquisition from a shareholder's perspective, exploring a few pros and cons for investors thinking about moving from CreXus to Annaly.
This Mini-Berkshire Made a Brilliant Move
Annaly's wasn't the only acquisition getting a lot of attention this week. Leucadia National's (NYS: LUK) purchase of the rest of Jefferies Group (NYS: JEF) also grabbed headlines. Michael Lewis thinks the deal shouldn't be too much of a surprise, and he notes that Jefferies' improving balance sheet and the graceful merging of management -- thanks in part to a historically good relationship between the two companies -- should make the deal a sweet and smooth one.
Lewis praises Leucadia's long-term focus and solid financial position, suggesting the company's Berkshire-esque qualities make it an attractive purchase right now.
2 Main Reasons Bank of America's Capital Cushion Exploded
Whether you love it or hate it, there's evidence Bank of America (NYS: BAC) is trying to turn itself around; it's paying off debts early and widening its mobile banking strategy by offering merchants a mobile payment system. Amanda Alix takes a closer look at Project New BAC, pointing out that the trimming Bank of America is doing to bring in new cash now won't hold for the future. Once the bank is done with its yard sale, how will it continue to improve its earnings in more sustainable ways?
Always do your homework
Above the din of daily and weekly news is (hopefully) your overarching long-term investment thesis for each of your portfolio holdings. Have you studied up on Annaly? Annaly Capital Management has a history of paying huge dividends to shareholders. But there are some crucial issues investors have to understand about Annaly's business model before buying the stock. In this brand-new premium research report on the company, our analyst runs through these absolute must-know topics, as well as the future opportunities and pitfalls of the company's strategy. Click here now to claim your copy.
The article Don't Miss the Week's Biggest Financial Stories originally appeared on Fool.com.
Abbie Redmon has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America and Annaly Capital Management. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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