The Morning Methadone Shot $BAC $AIG $OZRK

· Foreclosure settlement in the works between banks and the largest AGs?  The 5 largest loan servicers may be the first to settle foreclosure claims w/the 50 state AGs according to Iowa AG Tom Miller.  Miller said no settlements had been reached yet.  “What we’re looking at is five separate agreements with the five largest servicers,” Miller said. “We’re still a ways away” from reaching agreements, he said. “We’re working very hard to figure out what should be in the settlement.”  Bloomberg 

· BAC – WSJ Heard on the Street cautions against getting too excited; BAC still faces repurchase risk from private investors and monoline insurers.  Meanwhile, there is still some repurchase risk left from Fannie.  WSJ   http://on.wsj.com/hZhsua

· BAC’s settlement w/Fannie and Freddie could provide a template for other banks and pave the way for more resolutions.  Bloomberg 

· Ally Financial – the Treasury may sell as much as $2.5B of Ally TRUPs this month; Treasury may look to sell $1B of the securities after earnings in Feb – Bloomberg 

· AIG – a local Taiwanese insurer has proposed running AIG’s Taiwan business jointly w/the giant US insurer instead of pursuing an outright sale.  Taiwan Secom Group said it has proposed jointly running Nan Shan with the U.S. insurer and listing the unit in Taiwan.  Reuters 

· Lenders shifting some new costs related to the Dodd-Frank legislation onto borrowers; a number of corporate borrowers have warned in recent days that they could face higher borrowing costs going forward.  WSJ    http://on.wsj.com/fjXFe0

· Bank borrowing continues to tick higher - Borrowing by small U.S. businesses jumped in November to the highest level in more than two years – Reuters 

· Office market showing “signs of life” according to the WSJ; occupancy levels rose in Q4 (for the first time in nearly 3 years); average rents rose 0.2%, the first increase since Q2:08.  WSJ  http://on.wsj.com/gANAkH

· OZRK – the co announced a small (.01/6.25%) increase in its dividend to 0.17/shr. 

· RE - has acquired the business and operations of Heartland Crop Insurance, Inc. (“Heartland”), a managing general agent, for $55 million plus the agreed upon value of the net assets of the agency, with an additional contingency of up to $13.5 million based on future performance.

· HOMB – the co announced Mon night that it may post a loss in Q4 (which would be its first qtrly loss in 2 years) due to some charges taken on a couple portfolio loans.  HOMB will be holding a conf call on Tues to discuss its Mon night announcement.  CC 11amET 877-317-6789

· Dark pools take market share from stock exchanges – private markets accounted for ~33% of US stock trades in ’10, a record high, as dark pools take more share from stock exchanges.  WSJ  http://on.wsj.com/eRyU9L

· WFC to ramp up mobile payment service via cellphone – the co is trialing a new service w/200 employees in its San Francisco office and could roll out a new feature nationally.  The proliferation of services like these will lead to a surge in NFC handsets.  Business Week.  http://bit.ly/dWxIED

· JTX - Jackson Hewitt Regains Compliance With NYSE Minimum Share Price Requirement