dividends

How the Fed's dividend daze could backfire

It's all gravy for the bankers now. But the rest of us could still get stuck cleaning up if the pot boils over.

The Federal Reserve gave many of the biggest U.S. banks the go-ahead Friday to boost dividends and expand share buybacks. JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Goldman Sachs (GS) and U.S. Bancorp (USB) quickly responded with plans to spend more than $26 billion this year on dividends and MORE

Back to the bubble at Citi

Citigroup's headed back to a place it hasn't seen since 2007.

The bank said Monday it will do a 1-for-10 reverse stock split in a bid to push its stock price out of the single digits. With Citi (C) trading at $4 and change, the move is likely to push Citi stock back above $40 when it takes effect in May.

The last time Citi shares hit that level was Nov. 1, MORE

Goldman says goodbye to Buffett

Warren Buffett's Goldman gravy train has lurched to a halt.

Goldman Sachs (GS) said Friday it will pay Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) $5.6 billion to redeem the loan the investment bank took from Berkshire at the height of the financial crisis.

That's good news for Goldman, which paid Buffett's company more than $1 billion* in preferred stock dividends over two and a half years. It is bad news for Buffett, who will get a big check MORE

JPMorgan, Wells go dividend hiking

Big bank stocks took off after the Fed gave the nod to some long-awaited dividend hikes.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) was the first out of the gate, boosting its quarterly payout to a quarter from a nickel and setting up a $15 billion stock buyback plan to boot. Wells Fargo (WFC) and U.S. Bancorp (USB) quickly followed suit. Shares of all three rose 3% or so.

The rally came after the Federal Reserve said Friday it completed its MORE

Progressive's dividend: The way it ought to be

Instead of a fixed amount every quarter, the insurance company pays once-a-year based on performance.  The payout may not be consistent, but it's the right thing to do.

Progressive Corp. is best known for Flo, the irritating star of the ubiquitous TV and radio commercials the company uses to flog car insurance. But despite having a pitchwoman almost as over the top as the Geico gecko, Progressive itself is low-key when MORE

Fed caution favors Buffett over Goldman

A cautious Fed is going to mean more money in Warren Buffett's pocket.

Regulators have delayed signing off on Goldman Sachs' (GS) request to repay a crisis era $5 billion preferred stock investment, pending the formulation of new bank dividend guidelines, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The decision means Goldman will have to continue paying Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) $500 million in annual dividends for at least another quarter or two. Goldman MORE

Fed official kicks dividend hikes down the road

It looks like bank investors are going to be stuck with a lot of small change for a while.

Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo said in a speech Friday that he expects U.S. bank regulators to take a "conservative" approach in handling requests by big bank holding companies to increase their dividends.

The biggest banks have generally been paying just a penny or a nickel per share each quarter ever since the MORE

Bank stocks catch fire

Bank stocks are back, and in a big way.

Shares of the biggest lenders surged Friday, as investors cheered signs that the economy isn't on its death bed and that regulators may soon allow healthy banks to resume dividend payments.

Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) each jumped 4%, and the KBW index of regional bank shares gained 6% (see chart, right), reflecting big rallies in smaller lenders.

The buying action MORE

Freddie Mac sees no housing recovery soon

Freddie Mac lost $2.5 billion in the third quarter and said it will be a "considerable time" before the housing market recovers.

The McLean, Va., company asked the government for $100 million to shore up its balance sheet in its latest draw on its credit line with Treasury. That is the smallest sum Freddie has asked for since the government put it in conservatorship in September 2008.

Freddie (FMCC), which has been MORE

JPMorgan hopes for dividend hike

JPMorgan Chase expects to start raising its dividend early next year, CEO Jamie Dimon will tell investors this afternoon.

Dimon (right) is scheduled to appear this afternoon at the Barclays Global Financial Services conference in New York. "We intend to restore the dividend," presentation materials posted on JPMorgan's (JPM) web site say, "hopefully early 2011."

The comments are in line with the remarks Dimon has made over the past year, as investors have asked when MORE