The sheer volume and brazenness of this insider selling at Countrywide is staggering. Nearly $600,000,000 in sales, and $73,000 in buys. No, that's not a misprint.
And in the middle of this historic subprime / lending meltdown, instead of coming clean like HSBC and announcing the size of the write-off, Mozilo sends the CFO out yesterday to pump up the stock (so he can sell some more), having him say "We're a top-conditioned athlete" and that they have no problems, unlike all their competitors that are going belly-up.
So, why is the top conditioned athlete selling everything he has then? If times are so rosy ahead, wouldn't he be buying or holding instead?
Note: I'm gleefully short CFC.
Wall Street Journal: How Countrywide CEO Wins Amid Mortgage Mayhem
If you're looking for a big winner in the subprime-mortgage meltdown, try Angelo Mozilo.
The take-no-prisoners chief executive of Countrywide Financial sold $140 million of his personal holdings of Countrywide's stock in the past 14 months -- before last week's news that the delinquency rate on his company's subprime mortgages was soaring.
Even so, he expects shareholders to be grateful.
Mr. Mozilo's company didn't lead the subprime race-to-the-bottom in recent years, during which mortgage companies offered ever-easier terms to ever-more questionable borrowers. But he didn't slam on the brakes, either.
March 07, 2007
Countrywide's Mozilo takes $140,000,000 off the top - and sends the CFO out to pump up the stock yesterday (so he can sell some more)
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I hope this guy goes down in flames a la Enron... along with his company.
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GM delays reporting. Jesus H. Christ. How bad does it have to get before the permabulls wake up?
Only two possibilities here; either the buyers of CFC fancy themselves smarter than Mozilo, or Mozilo has a hand in directing OPM.
Countrywide is being set up to be taken over, either by a big bank or by the feds themselves.
This little blurb from the OTS is a clue to what is coming:
"OTS Approves Countrywide Application
WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) announced today the approval of an application from Countrywide Financial Corporation (Countrywide), Calabasas, California, to convert its national bank subsidiary, Countrywide Bank N.A., Alexandria, Virginia, to a federal thrift charter. The converted institution, Countrywide Bank, FSB (the FSB), will continue to operate out of its existing facilities and to engage in the primary business activities conducted prior to its conversion.
In connection with the agency's approval of Countrywide's December 6, 2006 application to convert the FSB, the OTS also approved the application of Countrywide and its subsidiary, Countrywide Financial Holding Company, to become savings and loan holding companies of the subsidiary institution. As a result of the transaction, the existing holding companies (formerly regulated as bank holding companies) and the subsidiary institution will now be subject to unified regulation and oversight by the OTS.
As part of its action on the application, the OTS is also approving the application by the FSB to exercise trust powers directly and through two operating subsidiaries. The trust powers approval includes approval to merge a non-depository national bank, ReconTrust Company, N.A., into ReconTrust Company, one of the resulting operating subsidiaries of the FSB.
The OTS received and reviewed several comment letters and input from various regulatory authorities, including the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in connection with the application. The OTS also imposed numerous conditions in connection with the application. The comments and regulatory input received and conditions imposed are summarized in the attached OTS Order approving the application.
A copy of the Order, signed March 5, 2007, is also available at the OTS website at www.ots.treas.gov."
(Butch): What this means is that Countrywide, coincidentally in the middle of a sub-prime lender bust, is now approved to change their charter to a federal institution.
This makes it much easier for them to be absorbed by another federally-chartered bank, or for the FDIC to take them over directly.
Furthermore, please keep in mind that approximately two years ago, CFC was also added to the "Primary Securities" list, which allows the Federal Reserve to buy their MBS directly.
can anyone recommend a good online stock trading site? I'm thinking about trade king. any comments?
OMG! If this is not a open and shut case what is?
In '04 a small builder put up some houses next to our property. Most were 2500SF, $300K stucco ranches, but one was a 3500SF two story, and the asking price was $495K. It sat for over a year with no buyers and finally the builder folded his tent and left town.
One day last Spring I answer the door and here stands this little guy who starts hammering me with questions about the "big house". I told him I didn't know anything except it was for sale, and he gives me sh_t like I'm holding back on him and commments that we sure are "good neighbors". He gets back in his white Escalade and as he drives off I'm thinking "What an asshole".
A month later Mr. Asshole moves in to the big house and the RE listing in the paper says he paid $494K for the place. I'm thinking the guy was crazy to pay that much since it sat empty for over a year. There's no landscaping around his stucco palace, just dirt, so the first thing he does is hire a crew of Mexicans with a bobcat to level the back yard and throw down some sod. The Mexicans start digging on my property so I go over to talk to him. He's dressed up like some RE agent and gets dirt all over his spit-shined shoes while I politely point out the property marker pins and how his Mexicans are digging past the lot line. He's all agitated now because he assumed the property line was the fence and then cops an attitude demanding to see my "survey". It just happens that we had an easement vacated the year before, so I go back to my house and get the drawings from the survey. Now he's really pissed, puts his sunglasses up on his head, and jabs a finger at the drawing saying he knew all along where f---king lot lines are! At this point I decide the guy is borderline psycho so I thank him for taking the time to talk with me and I leave.
Last week I found out he's a regional manager with Countrywide!
cool graph!
also short cfc.
just a few weeks ago they traded at an ath...
amazing!
God, I live for the day when that sob wears a differant set of strips. That tan will look so good against his white wedding outfit when he marries Bubba in cell block D.
Just more evidence of the on going re-distribution of wealth taken from the middle class and passed on to the Uber Rich, imo.
If he leaves the company, which will be a "Mutual" decision, not because of the obvious reasons, he will get another 200 million in severance pay.
Then watch the PPT in action.
Nothing to see here. But Florida and Gov. Christ need to change Florida's state song, it is too outdated. Now that is MSM NEWS!
Looks like the Tan Ranger is going to ride off into the sunset.
He expects shareholders to be grateful?
Of course he does. When these people realize that a good portion of their stated profits were actually never collected, they will be very happy indeed.
They will also 'celebrate' the same way Mozilo is. Too bad this pirate gets to load his boat first.
He deserve it, so shut up, he is smarter than the rest of us.
That buys a lot of "Ladies of the night".
yo lost cause,
GM is a dead company. They make garbage cars that nobody in their right mind would buy. The company deserves to be taken out behind the barn and shot and actually should have been shot about 20 years ago.
The fact they are surprise, surprise going to have bad earnings means nothing.
On and CFC is up another 1% today. Hmm maybe the 7% increase in mortgage apps has something to do with it. Nahhh that would be too easy. It's some insider manipulation, yeah that's it.
When you stop & take a good look at what happened in the 80's with the Savings & loans & FDIC, it started much the same way. Remember, the Resolution Trust? Hang on! 'nough said?
Hello from Dublin today... read an article on the way over that CFC not only has that massive subprime exposure (no matter what their cfo spouts) but they're also big-time with the "pay option" timebomb.
I'll post details as a thread later - but if any HP'er can today, read the article in the WSJ paid online edition or print edition and give us highlights
thanks!
Now I'll see if I can figure out why a 1-bedroom in Dublin should go for $800,000
The cabbie on the way in talked about people he knows (dubliners) selling at the peak over the past 2 years and renting
HP'ers worldwide!
He said the dumb money is the money getting in now - fundamentals make no sense, renting is much much cheaper than owning, ponzi scheme, the hole deal.
I wish I had recorded it.
are these 'delayed' reporting's normal? did this always happen? seems like every week some company is delaying their numbers, you know, b/c the numbers are so much better than the market expects, right?
+++This makes me sick and IT IS WRONG. There should be laws enacted that will force "pump and dumpers" like this to jailed and their "takings" confiscated to pay off all debts of the company.
GM is not a bad company, they just got behind on the trends that were forming. As for their cars being crap, I'm the proud owner of a Chevy Malibu and a Buick Lucerne, both of which are far superior to anything I've seen in the same price range from Japan in the past ten years. Snobs who wish for GM to die obviously don't realize that if GM hadn't been such a good manufacturer in the industry, then Japanese cars would still be ugly little boxes with no style and comforts (and in the case of the Scion xBs, still are).
Meanwhile, the auto unions are killing the profit margin at GM. Exorbitant, Enron-style pension funds and healthcare bonuses are draining money from GM, while Toyota and Honda are keeping unions at bay by placating their workers. If the UAW had any sense, they'd see the best way to keep their workers happy is to stop demanding exorbitant benefits. This is America, not the Land of Oz.
Hey Keith .. any idea who the big subprime lenders are in UK ??
the bubble seems to be much more lively over there still ..
enjoy your blog and coverage of the market over there ..
I just sent him a check to help with his future legal fees, I hope Bush pardons him along with all the others.
Chart of FUSEX (S&P500 index fund) vs. the gold and silver index for the past year.
http://tinyurl.com/22g2hh
ME: Dumb, gullible, walmart shopping, fox news watching, FB sheep foolishly investing in US equities......up 8%.
YOU: Walmart hating, Whole Foods shopping, latte drinking, NY Times reading, sophisticated apartment dwelling financial geniuses investing in gold and silver, down 3%.
And yet here you all are gloating and patting yourselves on the back.
Why?
Uhm al-qweefer. He's 68. There have been rumors about him retiring swirling around.
If I were 68 and had as much stock as he does, I'd be selling too and get it all taken care of before I'm gone.
Not everything is a conspiracy dude.
And since when do you read the WSJ? I thought that was nothing but an arm of the right-wing/Bu$hco and shold be ignored at all costs. Unles they agree with you in which case they're OK.
"The cabbie on the way in talked about people he knows (dubliners) selling at the peak over the past 2 years and renting
HP'ers worldwide!
He said the dumb money is the money getting in now - fundamentals make no sense, renting is much much cheaper than owning, ponzi scheme, the hole deal."
Well, you know what they say, once cabbies and shoe shine boys start offering financial advice and hot tips, it is time to start doing the opposite.
Darn, I guess it's almost time to jump back in. And I thought we had a few more years left on this trainwreck....
How can you blame the guy for selling a little stock? He has grown CW from the ground up and has been such a positive role model in the industry. He is close to retirement as well....who can blame the guy.
Mozilo sells, barclays, vanguard, etc. buy, toll sells, they buy, they buy and hold no matter what. Asset managers don't give a rat's a$$ about their clients, it's just a boys club spanky.
RE: that post about the Regional Manager's attitude buying a house and yelling about lot lines.... I have a feeling his initials are R.F. and I bet he was chewing tobacco.
Unbelievable he made Regional. It is so true to say that "Everyone is promoted to their own level of incompetence!"
I from Ireland. Yeah I see what you mean about Irish prices being over the top. All the way lies were told, profits were reaped, idiots were paid complements. Celebrities were employed to sell houses, and the whole property thing was the coolest thing ever. The property craze became the fad or disease of the last ten years. And the media exaggerated the whole thing, and made loads of momey also. It is always the people in regular jobs who have to carry the bill. In Ireland the market has peaked. Houses are still selling but the Irish market is at the stage that the US was in 12 months ago. Irish property makes US property look like good value. The US is now in the middle stage of an inflation bubble. Wages will have to rise to keep the real estate bubble from bursting. This is happening. The trick is to have inflation in the US underreported, before all the non-Americans holding dollars cop on to what is happening. When they find out they will drop the dollar. Then interest rates will go up to 19% and the Euro Central Bank and Bank of Japan will facilitate the US in restoring the dollar. This is the real safe landing. The Chinese are preteding to be idiots, but really all China wants is to be able to build up it's infrastructure, and own enough of the world's resources to be able to dominate East Aisa. If this occurs then the Chinese Communist party will stay in power for decades. The US property bubble is a distraction, that is paid for by China and which greatly assists China in this objective.
But aside from this, the whole property is driven by greed. And this greed is expressed in the sales commission incentive culture of employment of the financial services sector. Real estate agents, Investment managers, bank lending agents, all have this incentive, which results in them screwing every customer they find. In effect capitalism in the US is failing because the consumers are niave !! This is the same in the US, Britain, Ireland, wherever. Our friend, Mr. "A " above is a total example of the type of people in the community that drives this sort of madness. In many ways I compare the housing market to the Norwegian Lemming. (check it on wikipedia - there are humorous parallels).
The whole property thing is a distraction to how hollow, empty, selfish, and artificial our society has become. People have replaced Churches and Community halls, with shopping centres. Human virtue has been replaced with pretension. Strength of character has been replaced with brand labels, group membership labels (like "I play golf, don't you know", expensive holidays to celebrity destinations. Savings accounts have been replaced by credit card debt. Hard work has been replaced by office politics, which I am sure Mr. A knows about only to well.
The next generation will inherit a bankrupt, corrupt, polluted land. But the biggest curse will be that they will be too delinquent, too hurt, too stupid to know it, and too poor in spirit to be able to do anything about it.
Hey "anonymous" CFC Cheerleaders: Didn't expect you to eat your words so soon, sorry...
But hey, the stock is up, so keep pumping your hard-earned cash into it so Mozilo can beef up his Swiss bank account......
“In another sign the mortgage crunch is spreading, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. announced it is cutting the ratings of Countrywide Financial Corp...."
http://washingtontimes.com/business/20070305-100109-9969r.htm
This is the key to the Ireland (or China, etc.), it is also the key to our (USA) downfall.
From the Malcolm Glawell article at
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060828fa_fact
This relation between the number of people who aren’t of working age and the number of people who are is captured in the dependency ratio. In Ireland during the sixties, when contraception was illegal, there were ten people who were too old or too young to work for every fourteen people in a position to earn a paycheck. That meant that the country was spending a large percentage of its resources on caring for the young and the old. Last year, Ireland’s dependency ratio hit an all-time low: for every ten dependents, it had twenty-two people of working age. That change coincides precisely with the country’s extraordinary economic surge.
March 7 2007: 3:21 PM EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Luxury home builder Toll Brothers said on Wednesday it could "burn off" its inventory in many markets in four or five months if its lower cancellation rate persists, suggesting the weak U.S. housing market may be at a bottom.
When every other management in the industry was bullish Mazillo was the only one who predicted--on a conference call--that the business was topping. Was it nine months ago that he said that his company was cutting back on risky loans and "fifty years in the business and I haven't seen a soft landing yet"? He warned everyone. He tried to sell his company. Not his fault if you stayed too long at the party.
CFC up again, even on a generally down.
Why?
6% mortgage rates, lowest in a year. Another up day for bonds today, we should see rates below 6% soon enough. Lots of on the bubble foreclosures will be refied into low rate fixed loans.
Foreclosures down from all time highs in December.
Mortgage apps up 7% today. Whether new or refi, Countrywide makes money on issuing new loans.
I'm sticking to my prediction that CFC is in positive territory YTD by end of this month. Hell even DHI was flat today after the CEO said 2007 is a total write-off. Except for the eternal pessimists on HP, people are realizing the death spriral is over for housing.
anonymous at 3:44:
GM isn't delaying their filing b/c of their shitty cars, they are delaying it because of accounting problems with their shittier mortgage assets from (i believe) rescap, a subsidiary of thier GMAC finance unit.
Keep drinking the Koolaid!
Only one reason this is all happening.
WALMART.
how many times will this story be written?
Smart, ambitious man starts company. Creates billion dollar success story. Profits handsomely from his work.
Socialists cry that it's no fair. He shouldn't make any money. He should give all the money to the poor.
Keep crying comrades.
Stupid question here, but uhh, isn't insider trading illegal?
If Countrywide is now under the OTS, I wonder if their examiners will be pleased at the sheer volume of REO the ALREADY HAVE on their books. I checked the usual suspects, Colorado, Florida, and (OMG!) California:
http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp
What a screaming sell!
D.R. Horton CEO: 2007 Is Going to 'Suck'
Ignorance must be bliss for all of you, I have traded CFC for 15 yrs. and I love this giant money making machine!!! so let me show all of you the error of your ways: why the change in the Charter?... this will allow any of their Retail locations to originate loans in any state without having to have each loan officer licensed. (big $ savings) instant increase in production!, CFC has too much in assets they can not be bought by another Bank because federal Regulations prohibit any one bank from owning (holding) more than 10% of all US moneys. #1 mortgage lender in the world!, Guy that founded it (Angelo) still runs it, it's his baby (MSFT, Dell, ring a bell anyone?)when the stock dropped 7% yesterday I did a little dance and bought some more, because the fundamentals are solid, basic trading 101 you SELL into Strength and buy in weakness. Now you ignoramuses can short it, go by puts or what ever I don't care, this stock as gone up over 20,000% in the last 25 yrs, (yes 20k%) and they consistently have adapted to every market change I have ever seen, better than anyone (#1 for a reason) so if you do some homework you will see that Angelo has always sold his stock options since 1985 he has gotten them every year, he is just exercising the same right he does all the time. I remember when Gates was building his tecno-house on the lake and people were freaking out because he sold some of his stock (over $300 million if I remember right) look people, this is same song different dance. Angelo is set to retire after 2010 and remain on the board after that so he is not going anywhere until he dies. Now in closing CFC was the only lender that posted a very good profit for the 2006 yr and 4th Qtr 06 in fact every other Mtg. lender had a loss, even Wells Fargo sucked eggs! BTW I am heavy long CFC, long MSFT, no Dell, short Wells.
i bought an arse-load of CFC Apr07 $35 puts today.
So Mizlo cashes out so much money while his fucking employees sweat it out and work their asses off. What a dick.
Did Keith have to much to drink at the guiness factory?
Who in their right mind is buying the mortgage lender stocks??
Fremont and New Century are about to be shut down, and the stocks are going up.
My theories:
1) Buyers hoping for one of these guys to be bought out.
2) Big bag holders like Goldman pumping and dumping. Buying a small amount of shares at a high price, enticing suckers in then dumping a much larger "bag holder" position.
3) I'm underestimating the stupidity of investors.
If the fed buys up stocks in the marketplace to keep the dog and pony show intact; and most companies become fed majority owned; isn't that communism, or is that fascism in order to keep the huge military machine apperatus intact and well funded?
Ah, the bush built scheitt sandwich continues, and the sheeple lap it up with glee!!!
More, more they cry out with utter contempt for any desire of independant thinking whatsoever.... LOL, free markets my ass, in a free marketplace fannie mae would be shut down for not reporting in the last two years; but no, not in the US marketplace where gaming the fix is SOP.
I don't know how much I buy into this...Just take a look at GOOG.
$0 buy, $8,032,108,574 sale!!!
I don't know what that means, but I highly doubt it's inside trading. Hell, Eric Schmidt sold $1,078,424,916 worth of shares up until 27 Feb 2007!
Countrywide will Enron
Markus, not if you grease the correct palms. He knows exactly what he is doing.
I read an article about this in the WSJ, he indicated he was selling his shares because he is at retirement age and is not getting any younger. He wants to be able to enjoy what time he has left. He also set up a $10M pension fund for himself. I'm not sure if that was annually or a total value pension package.
What I don't understand is what kind of fun and needs does he have in mind with $140M? Also, we all want more money, so if the business was booming what the heck is the point of selling a boatload of stock now? Shouldn't the value of the stock appreciate and be worth more in the future with real estate going up up up? Especially with the famed "spring buying season" soon to be upon us.
As far as I'm concerned, I'll believe the exact opposite of what comes out of his or any industry experts mouth.
After his payout, I would love for him to say something like, "hey I got my money, real estate is done; run for the hills." I would offer him money to do this but I suppose he has enough.
You know, if the mortgage thing doesn’t work out for Angelo, I heard that The Tan Company was looking for a spokesperson.
Most of you are f'n idiots. He started this company and owns billions in shares in options and stock. He discloses his sales to the SEC LONG before they happen. He has plenty more to sell. He's been selling for yeats BUT the stock continues to outperform. If he was truly just selling before an "enron" then he should have sold a few weeks ago with the BofA rumors and the stock was $10 more.
Your all stupid and poor losers.
Who are these people trying to convince me GM cars are not complete pieces of shit. Look at JD Power, look at Consumer Reports, look at Car & Driver, look anywhere and you will see over and over GM along with Ford and Chrysler are making garbage.
Put your BUY AMERICAN rhetoric away and judge this independetly. American cars suck, end of story.
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GM delays reporting. Jesus H. Christ. How bad does it have to get before the permabulls wake up?
March 07, 2007 8:15 AM
GM is in bad shape. Their subprime wing, Residential Capital, is in bad shape.
Sub-prime defaults may cost GM $1 billion
On and CFC is up another 1% today. Hmm maybe the 7% increase in mortgage apps has something to do with it. Nahhh that would be too easy. It's some insider manipulation, yeah that's it.
March 07, 2007 3:44 PM
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that just proves this planet is populated by idoits!
As for their cars being crap, I'm the proud owner of a Chevy Malibu and a Buick Lucerne, both of which are far superior to anything I've seen in the same price range from Japan in the past ten years.
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AAAAAAAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Wait it the odo goes past 10,000!
Meanwhile, the auto unions are killing the profit margin at GM.
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Right, right, right. blaime the working guy. How else can he afford a house???
Anonymous said...
i bought an arse-load of CFC Apr07 $35 puts today.
March 08, 2007 3:26 AM
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And you've lost an arseful of money already.
Investigate the sales!
hope all this sub-prime alt a and all the other loser loans all meltdown and these scum goes bankrupt.
did i leave anyone out?
Your all stupid and poor losers.
---------------------------------
I suppose that comment is a product of your intelligence?
Come back and play when your old enough.
He founded the company. He owns gajillions of shares. He's been selling on a regular basis for years. You're way off on this one dude.
Below is a sample of his sales from 2005. Do you see a pattern? Every week he sold about 100,000 shares. And guess what the share price went up $10 a year later....boy he really screwed over the shareholders right?
And now? Well every week he sells about 120,000 shares. Hmmm it must be a conspiracy of sorts!!
No. This is what CEOs do Keith, they sell their shares. That is the whole point of getting options, so that one day you can sell them.
2005-05-06 52,500 $35.32 $1,854,300 2005-05-03 52,500 $36.11 $1,895,775 2005-04-29 52,500 $35.76 $1,877,400
2005-04-26 52,500 $32.40 $1,701,000 2005-04-18 52,500 $31.96 $1,677,900
2005-04-08 52,500 $33.21 $1,743,525 2005-04-01 52,500 $33.01 $1,733,025
2005-03-30 6,260 $31.94 $199,944
2005-03-29 52,500 $31.78 $1,668,450 2005-03-25 52,500 $31.59 $1,658,475
2005-03-21 52,500 $32.51 $1,706,775
See all his sales here:
http://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/
1181599-3.htm
Fixed it for you.
"how many times will this story be written?
Moron buys real estate. House prices go up. Moron has no idea what inflation is and assumes it's "fundamentals". HELOCs money out of house and spends it all on crap.
Finally, glut of supply and tightening lending standards mean that house prices stop going up and moron can no longer refinance. Becomes a socialist and cries that it's no fair. Renters shouldn't make any money. They should give all their money to homedebtor morons.
Keep crying comrades."
....CFC was the only lender that posted a very good profit for the 2006 yr and 4th Qtr 06..........
Enron posted very VERY good quarters up until they went belly up.
Stock manipulation in this country dates back to the Buttonwood Agreement.
Wall Streeters have manipulated stock prices/earnings/profits for their own benefit for more years than anyone on this forum has been alive.
Don't expect Sarbanes-Oxley to keep everything on the up and up, they say figures don't lie but liars can figure, and liars can figure a way around the Wall Street laws too.
Good for him. He's a smart guy. He was warning about the mortgage crisis prior to this and no one was listening. I listed to him speak two weeks prior to this. He told us it was coming.
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