Credit card debt often experiences higher charge-off levels than most loan products, and those can spike during a downturn.

Firm releases portfolio update Continue reading...

Moody's downgrades the outlook of Capital One (COF) to negative from stable on the expectation that the virus outbreak will lead to deterioration in the bank's credit quality.

After dismal performances during the first three days of the week, these stocks are finally heading higher.

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Ally Financial, Capital One, East West Bancorp, New York Community and Synovus Financial

S&P; 500 gains 1.15% Continue reading...

H&R; Block, Capital One Financial, and United Airlines sell 30%, 40%, and even 70% below what they cost at the start of the year.

Capital One (COF) reported earnings 30 days ago. What's next for the stock? We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues.

Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) has affirmed the ratings of Capital One Financial Corporation (CapOne) and its bank subsidiaries, Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., following the affirmation of the a3 standalone baseline credit assessments (BCA) of the bank subsidiaries. CapOne's senior long-term unsecured debt is rated Baa1 and the bank subsidiaries have long-term senior unsecured debt ratings of Baa1 and long-term deposit ratings of A1.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT: XLF) was up by about 1.5%, outperforming the market, but not exactly by a huge margin. On the other hand, Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) was higher by more than 5% on the day. The reason: The difference between Capital One and other major banks is that it is largely focused on credit card lending.

Capital One Financial Corp told staff on Tuesday that the bank's offices in the United States, the UK and Canada will remain closed to all non-essential staff due to the outbreak of the coronavirus through at least Sept. 7, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. In the memo, bank founder, chairman and Chief Executive Richard Fairbank said staff will be notified of any changes in the bank's "remote work approach" at least six weeks in advance.

Dow Jones gains 2.21% Continue reading...

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- If you want to know someone’s secrets, look at their trash. That’s true for their whereabouts, too. For most people during the coronavirus pandemic, that’s been at home. And the recent batch of results from the biggest U.S. garbage haulers shows how more people sheltering in place has taken a toll on their businesses.Republic Services Inc. and Waste Management Inc. both noted steep volume declines in late March and April on the commercial side of their business when they reported first-quarter results this week. With many restaurants, gas stations and strip malls seeing virtually no business and office buildings depleted of their garbage-producing employees, customers are seeking to pause their trash service or reduce the frequency of pickups. Waste Management also cited a downturn in industrial volumes.These are the most profitable customers for trash haulers so the loss of business is having an outsize effect on margins. At Republic, overall decremental margins — a measure of earnings power that looks at how much profit is lost for each dollar of sales (a lower number is better) — trended at around 40% in April. That’s steep for a company that’s considered relatively resilient in downturns. The pandemic shaved about 40 basis points off of Waste Management's Ebitda margin in the first quarter.The trash is piling up at household curbsides, however. But if you’re wondering whether all those extra bags of trash and recycling you are producing at home under lockdown are providing much of an offset to the commercial slump, they aren’t. While commercial contracts tend to have some flexibility when it comes to volumes — and the trash haulers are incentivized to make allowances on this once-in-a-lifetime event to protect long-term relationships — the majority of residential trash pickup is based on a fixed contract, says Jefferies analyst Hamzah Mazari. Your city usually negotiates with companies for a certain level of service, say two times a week, and then the cost stays the same even if you lugged 10 bags of trash to the curb last week rather than your usual two. As a result, the pandemic has had a limited effect on sales in the residential part of Republic and Waste Management’s business, although the cost of processing and disposing of all the trash we're now creating at home is increasing. The good news is that some in the corporate world think their rubbish containers may soon be a little less empty. At Republic, some of the customers that cut back on their service are already re-engaging and planning for a restart of their business. Last week, service increases fully offset requests for reductions. “The worst is behind us,” CEO Donald Slager said on a call late Tuesday to discuss Republic’s results, sounding a tone of optimism that has been largely absent from other industrial companies this earnings season. While the company officially pulled its guidance, Slager said the lower end of its prior free-cash-flow outlook of $1.175 billion to $1.225 billion may still be possible depending on how the recovery shakes out. Republic is taking a “wait-and-see" approach to capital allocation, but indicated its plans to spend $600 million to $650 million on M&A this year remain intact, with the remainder of free cash flow going to shareholders. Only those manufacturers with pristine balance sheets have been willing to make similar commitments.It remains to be seen if this optimism is justified. Just hours before Slager’s upbeat tone, Bloomberg News reported Capital One Financial Corp. is preparing office-based employees in the U.S., Canada and U.K. to work from home at least through the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 7. Waste Management was notably more cautious in its earnings press release on Wednesday, warning of a “significant decrease” in 2020 revenue and announcing plans to temporarily suspend share repurchases. But Republic president Jon Vander Ark said few of the company’s customers have closed for good at this point, even as he acknowledged many are still sorting through the chaos, and few are seeking to renegotiate the pricing of their contracts. “They’re eager to get back to business,” Vander Ark said. “Their first point of interest is not the price point of their waste and recycling service. It’s getting their employees back safely and working and getting customers in their door.”Speaking of getting employees back safely and customers in the door, I would be remiss if I didn’t call attention to Republic and Waste Management's efforts to take care of their own workers. Waste Management is guaranteeing 40 hours of weekly pay to all full-time employees during the pandemic. Republic is launching a $20 million initiative that among other things provides front-line employees with weekly onsite meals and dinners for their families purchased at local establishments, as well as $400 worth of gift cards for small businesses. “They perform an essential service and it’s a noble purpose. Unfortunately, society doesn’t do a great job of recognizing them all the time, and this is their moment,” Vander Ark of Republic said. “Customers obviously are looking for some cost relief, but what they really need is revenue, and we’re allowing our people and empowering our people to go support local small businesses that are our customers.” As we think about a recovery, this mentality toward corporations’ role in the community may play a key role. I can think of a lot of companies that would do well to follow the lead of their trash collectors. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Brooke Sutherland is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday hears arguments in a major showdown over presidential powers arising from President Donald Trump's attempts to prevent Democratic-led congressional committees and a New York City prosecutor from getting his financial records. Three months after Trump avoided removal from office in a Senate impeachment trial, Trump's lawyers want the Supreme Court to endorse their expansive view of presidential powers that would severely limit the ability of Congress to conduct oversight of presidents and of prosecutors to investigate them.

Whereas prior credit cycles saw flare-ups in certain industries with spillover effects into others, the forced economic shutdowns to limit the spread of coronavirus were different—swiftly impacting multiple industries at once. “Investors and bankers do not know the full extent of the impact from the COVID-19 coronavirus,” Gerard Cassidy, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note Friday. Cassidy analyzed the loan portfolios of the nation’s largest banks to see which had the largest exposure to “total elevated-risk loans” such as energy loans, leveraged loans, and other Covid-19-exposed areas.

(Bloomberg) -- Capital One Financial Corp., potentially setting a standard for the U.S. financial industry, plans to keep most employees working at home at least four more months as it waits for the coronavirus pandemic to ebb.The lender’s offices in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. will remain shut to all non-essential staff at least through the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 7, Chief Executive Officer Richard Fairbank wrote in an internal memo. He promised employees that the McLean, Virginia-based firm will give them at least six weeks’ notice once it decides to reopen those sites.That’s one of the strongest signs yet that legions of industry employees using makeshift work stations at home may have to wait much longer to return to their offices, even as many states begin lifting restrictions on public life. Capital One, which earns most of its revenue from its massive credit card business, said in late March it had more than 40,000 people doing their jobs remotely online, accounting for more than three-quarters of its workforce.Many major financial firms have yet to publicly set dates for reopening offices as they grapple with numerous challenges, such as how to help employees safely commute, ascend elevators and navigate shared workspaces. And those that have weighed in on the topic have expressed caution. At Citigroup Inc., for example, President Jane Fraser said last month that the firm will conduct its own analysis of risks and won’t necessarily reopen offices just because local authorities issue all-clears.Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executives told employees on Tuesday the firm is “carefully thinking about a gradual ‘return to office’ framework” for operations around the world, noting staff in Hong Kong, mainland China, Stockholm and Tel Aviv have started going back. Credit Suisse Group AG employees were told to expect to return in four phases.Jefferies Financial Group Inc. CEO Rich Handler and President Brian Friedman said this month that employees had proved they can work efficiently at home and should have the final say on whether to return. On that basis, “our offices will not be open and full again when the president, governor, mayor or the two of us say they are,” the executives wrote in a memo. Working from home, they noted, is hardly a break.“Each day blends into the next,” they wrote. “Each of us are running at a million miles an hour, without ever leaving our home-office caves. We recognize this reality and are deeply appreciative.”Capital One, for its part, has spent years investing in technology and was among the first U.S. banks to announce it would transition to cloud computing. Those moves helped the firm operate more effectively during this crisis, Fairbank said in the memo.Decisions to return will vary by location, dependent on local conditions, he said. Meanwhile, most of the lender’s branches have remained open, serving customers with drive-thru or from behind glass.(Updates with other banks’ plans from the fifth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Their selections aren’t the “elephants” that the Oracle of Omaha hunts, but they could pay off big-time. Among them: Keurig Dr Pepper, TransUnion, Wells Fargo, Capital One Financial, LTC Properties, Ares Capital, and Dow.

The first-quarter earnings season has revealed how quickly companies are embracing digital and automation strategies, as they shift to dealing with consumers who are complying with stay-at-home rules and other restrictions on movement during the coronavirus pandemic.

CEOs and representatives from more than 330 businesses, including Capital One, General Mills, Microsoft, Nike, Salesforce, Visa and others are calling on bipartisan federal lawmakers to build back a better economy by infusing resilient, long-term climate solutions into future economic recovery plans.

Dow Jones gains 2.17% Continue reading...