NASDAQ, AMEX, NYSE Stocks Discuss ABK - Ambac Financial Group, Inc. in the Stock Market Forum forums; We need a thread for this stock IMO. It's an $80 stock that plummeted from the subprime debacle. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (Ambac) is a holding company whose subsidiaries ...

**BadThad** · #1 02-04-2008, 05:16 PM

We need a thread for this stock IMO. It's an $80 stock that plummeted from the subprime debacle.

Quote:

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (Ambac) is a holding company whose subsidiaries provide financial guarantee products and other financial services to clients in both the public and private sectors around the world. The Company and its subsidiaries operate in two segments: financial guarantee and financial services. Ambac provides financial guarantees for public finance and structured finance obligations through its principal operating subsidiary, Ambac Assurance Corporation. Through its financial services subsidiaries, the Company provides financial and investment products, including investment agreements, funding conduits, interest rate, currency and total return swaps, principally to its clients of the financial guarantee business.

AMK on Google Finance

Chart

Today's Price: $11.39

**BadThad** · #2 04-23-2008, 10:41 AM

Down a lot since my post.....larger than expected loss in earnings report. Trading around $4.43 this morning and dropping.

Where you at Shortzilla? LOL

**BadThad** · #3 04-23-2008, 04:43 PM

Whoa.....down as low as $3.08, but moving north! I'm in at 3.39.....looking for a small bounce.

Skydaemon · #4 04-24-2008, 01:48 AM

ambak rate cut possible?

**BadThad** · #5 04-24-2008, 03:13 PM

Yea....great bounce...I'm out with green!

**BadThad** · #6 06-09-2008, 04:01 PM

Time to reenter? New low set today on this news. It's down over 12% today to $2.05!

Quote:

Bond-insurer downgrades to force bank write-downs: analyst
9:38a ET June 9, 2008 (MarketWatch)
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Oppenheimer & Co. analysts led by Meredith Whitney on Monday said the recent ratings downgrades of bond insurers MBIA Inc. and Ambac Inc. could hit some Wall Street firms. In January, Oppenheimer had estimated financial institutions would incur more than $40 billion in write-downs as a result of the potential downgrades. To date, Citigroup Inc. , Merrill Lynch & Co. and UBS have together taken close to $10 billion in mark-downs against their monoline exposures, the analysts said. "Today, with increased disclosure from the companies under our coverage, we believe that just for Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, and UBS, the collateral damage could be in excess of an additional $10 billion; however, we note that such an estimate remains a moving target due to the volatility inherent in the credit markets," they wrote in a research note Monday.

**BadThad** · #7 06-09-2008, 04:03 PM

Down grade news:

Quote:

NEW YORK (AP) - Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's said Thursday it cut the financial strength rating on bond insurers MBIA and Ambac Financial Group to "AA" from "AAA," a day after Moody's said it was considering doing the same thing.

S&P said it cut the crucial ratings because the pair face a decline in new business and financial flexibility. Fitch Ratings has already downgraded both MBIA and Ambac to "AA."

Some analysts suspect that without a "AAA" rating from at least two of the ratings agencies, the bond insurers will go into a status known as run-off — collecting payments and making claims on existing policies but writing no new business. Insurers in run-off can remain in business for many years, depending on the size of their book of business.

Ambac said in a statement it was "disappointed" by the downgrade and "frustrated" by changing criteria needed to maintain top-tier financial strength ratings. Earlier this year, S&P affirmed the "AAA" rating of Ambac.

Ambac said it was pursuing the creation of a new entity with a "AAA" rating that would insure only municipal bonds.

MBIA said it plans to discuss the downgrade with S&P to better understand the action and will work with its board in the coming weeks to examine its options.

"Despite the difficulty in managing to changing and uncertain rating agency standards, we remain confident of our capitalization, liquidity and future prospects," MBIA Chairman and Chief Executive Jay Brown said in a statement.

Downgrades to bond insurers can make it more expensive for municipalities and other institutions to borrow money for an array of projects from building new schools to sewer systems. Bond insurers essentially back a bond by agreeing to pay principal and interest if the bond issuer misses payments. In return for the insurance, a municipality typically will be able to use the insurer's "AAA" rating to get a lower interest rate and thus save money.

Without that "AAA" rating on a bond pledged by the insurer, investors will charge municipalities more to borrow money. Those higher costs are often passed down to taxpayers in the form of higher taxes.

The problem for Ambac, MBIA and others has not come from municipal instruments but from products like residential mortgage-backed securities. Rising defaults on mortgages has ratings agencies worried there will be a spike in claims payments in the coming months, as bonds backed by those mortgages are likely to default. The rise in claims would severely cut into cash reserves for some bond insurers and potentially put others out of business.

S&P did say in a statement the insurers currently have "sound claims paying ability."

Since late 2007 when ratings agencies began to review bond insurers business, companies like MBIA and Ambac raised new cash in an effort to shore up their capital positions to avoid downgrades.

Since December, MBIA has raised about $2.6 billion to help ensure it has enough money to pay out a potential spike in claims, while still maintaining enough excess capital to maintain a "AAA" rating. Ambac raised about $1.5 billion in March hoping to achieve the same goal.

Only Assured Guaranty Ltd. and Financial Security Assurance Inc. have been able to avoid being downgraded by any of the three ratings agencies.

S&P also placed MBIA and Ambac on a negative credit watch, meaning there is a 50 percent change the insurers will be downgraded again in the next three months.

S&P said a resolution to the credit watch will be dependent on the ability to determine the ultimate potential losses tied to potential claims, as well as the insurers' ability to book new business.

Both stocks plunged in the minutes after S&P's statement was released, but they ultimately reversed course to trade sharply higher in the market's last hour.

**BadThad** · #8 06-09-2008, 04:10 PM

I'm in at 2.04, let's see what happens.

**BadThad** · #9 06-10-2008, 04:57 PM

Arrgggg....down the toilet after a run up this morning. $1.86

**BadThad** · #10 06-12-2008, 12:46 PM

Looks like the run-up of MBI partially transferred over to ABK! ABK is up over 15% to $2.19 this morning!