BlackRock CEO Favors Equities Over Debt

Shawshank, VA 9/14/2011 (PennyPayDay) – BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) Chief Executive Laurence Fink said beaten-down European equities and stocks that pay dividends are still a good bet during current tumultuous markets.

At the same time, it might be prudent for investors to avoid low-yielding U.S. debt and some European debt as Europe battles its worsening debt crisis, the head of the world's largest asset management firm said on Wednesday.

Fink said tough steps are necessary in Europe but he is confident moves will be made to prevent the common currency union from collapsing.

"We are going to find a solution in Europe, and Germany will have to play a major role," he said in New York at the Delivering Alpha conference sponsored by CNBC and Institutional Investor.

However, there will be uncertainty for some time, and it might make more sense to invest in stocks instead of bonds, he said. "You could still be buying European equities," Fink said. "The companies have been beaten down and they will be fine."

At a Barclays Capital conference on Tuesday, Fink recommended some beaten-down European blue chip stocks like conglomerate Siemens AG (XETRA:SIEGN.DE), insurance giant Allianz (XETRA:ALVG.DE) and food maker Nestle (VTX:NESN.VX).

At the Delivering Alpha conference, he said the U.S. housing sector is still weighing on economic growth, but he forecast the sector would recover in a few years.

"The housing picture is improving but it will still take two or three years to fix," he said.

In the precious metals area, Fink said gold stocks could still be profitable, particularly as they have not yet fully reflected the rally in the metal's price.

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Fed Declines AIG Offer

Oxford, MS 3/30/2011 (Penny PayDay) – In the below press release announced today by the New York Fed:

The Federal Reserve today announced that it has declined American International Group’s (AIG) offer to purchase all of the assets in Maiden Lane II LLC (MLII).

After careful review, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (New York Fed) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) judged that the public interest in maximizing returns from any sale and promoting financial stability would be better served by an alternative approach to realizing value that is also more consistent with normal market practice.

In light of improved conditions in the secondary market for non-agency residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS), and a high level of interest by investors, the Federal Reserve believes that conditions are right for ML II to begin more extensive asset sales while taking appropriate care at all times to avoid market disruption. In light of this decision, the New York Fed has changed the investment management objective for ML II consistent with such sales.

The New York Fed, through its investment manager, BlackRock Solutions will dispose of the securities in the ML II portfolio individually and in segments over time as market conditions warrant through a competitive sales process. There will be no fixed timeframe for the sales and at each stage the Federal Reserve will only transact if the best available bid represents good value for the public.

Offering the Maiden Lane securities for sale individually and in segments rather than as a single block will give a larger set of investors opportunity to bid for the assets. The Federal Reserve believes that this will maximize sale proceeds while also reducing the likelihood that any one institution ends up with concentrated exposure to these assets.

BlackRock Solutions will offer the securities for sale using the standard bid list process in the secondary market for RMBS securities. The bid list process involves marketing a list of securities from the portfolio via multiple broker dealers to obtain the best available price for each security.

Over time, the Federal Reserve will also entertain investor inquiries to acquire specific parcels of securities where these offer superior value, though no such bid will be accepted without being put into competition with other interested investors. In such cases, investors may submit offers for parcels of securities directly (without necessarily going through a dealer.)

BlackRock Solutions is expected to circulate the first bid list sale early next week. Inquiries relating to the sales process can be made at ML2inquiries@blackrock.com. In keeping with the Federal Reserve’s commitment to enhanced transparency information will be released as soon as is practicable, while preserving the effectiveness of the asset disposition process.

The New York Fed already publishes on its website a list of all the securities in its portfolio. In order to allow the public to track progress on asset dispositions, the New York Fed will provide monthly updates on portfolio holdings and a list of the securities sold within the prior month. In addition, it will provide quarterly updates on total proceeds from sales, and the total amount purchased by each counterparty. Finally, the New York Fed will provide further details regarding these transactions, including an account showing the acquirer and the price paid for each individual security three months after the last asset is sold, ensuring timely accountability without jeopardizing the ability to generate maximum sale proceeds for the public.

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