[With] the very small banks, this issue has sort of crept up on them in the last few months, and it's become abundantly clear that the resolution to this problem is extraordinarily expensive [and] time-consuming. And for banks that are looking over the horizon and seeing a possible sale in their future, they are questioning whether or not they want to push ahead with this. |
Once the dust settles, these companies become much more growth oriented, ... They in fact become healthier, more profitable, they have larger market capitalizations, which enable them to go out, buy other businesses which provide high returns and enable them to maintain a high- return profile. |
The knee jerk reaction is to say that when interest rates go up, these stocks go down, and that still pretty much holds. |
We would anticipate filing (for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) in the first half of 2007. |
You have to be ... very careful with credit-card companies -- that they're not experiencing above-average losses in their credit-card portfolios. Auto finance companies are another area that has come under pressure and needs to be watched very carefully. |