by Calculated Risk on 6/25/2010 06:24:00 PM

Peninsula Bank
Ringed on three sides by water
Way out blocked by Feds

Savannah shut down
Sheila's Summer season starts
Sad situation.
by Soylent Green is People
From the FDIC: Premier American Bank, Miami, Florida, Assumes All of the Deposits of Peninsula Bank, Englewood, Florida

As of March 31, 2010, Peninsula Bank had approximately $644.3 million in total assets and $580.1 million in total deposits. ...

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $194.8 million. Compared to other alternatives, ... Peninsula Bank is the 84th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the fourteenth in Florida. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Bank of Florida – Southwest, Naples, on May 28, 2010.

From the FDIC: The Savannah Bank, National Association, Savannah, Georgia, Assumes All of the Deposits of First National Bank Savannah, Georgia

As of March 31, 2010, First National Bank had approximately $252.5 million in total assets and $231.9 million in total deposits. ...

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $68.9 million. Compared to other alternatives, ... First National Bank is the 85th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the ninth in Georgia. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Satilla Community Bank, Saint Marys, on May 14, 2010.

by Calculated Risk on 6/25/2010 04:45:00 PM

Just a BFF (Bank Failure Friday) preview. It looks like surferdude808 will be busy updating the Unofficial Problem Bank list today ... the FDIC released their May Enforcement Actions.

There are eight Prompt Corrective Actions (PCA) for last month ... and that seems especially high.

by Calculated Risk on 6/25/2010 12:59:00 PM

From the American Trucking Association: ATA Truck Tonnage Index Fell 0.6 Percent in May

The American Trucking Associations’ advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.6 percent in May, which was the first month-to-month drop since February of this year. This followed an upwardly revised 1 percent increase in April. The latest reduction put the SA index at 109.6 (2000=100).
...
Compared with May 2009, SA tonnage increased 7.2 percent, which was the sixth consecutive year-over-year gain. In April, the year-over-year increase was 9.5 percent. Year-to-date, tonnage is up 6.2 percent compared with the same period in 2009.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that truck freight tonnage is going to have ups and downs, but the trend continues in the right direction. “Despite the month-to-month drop in May, the trend line is still solid. There is no way that freight can increase every month, and we should expect periodic decreases. This doesn’t take away from the fact that freight volumes are quite good, especially considering the reduction in truck supply over the last couple of years.”

This graph from the ATA shows the Truck Tonnage Index since Jan 2006 (no larger image).

This index has only shown a gradual increase since December.

Rail traffic was also soft in May.

by Calculated Risk on 6/25/2010 11:33:00 AM

On the conference call this morning, Jeffrey Mezger, president and chief executive officer of KB Home said the month of May was "particularly challenging" for the housing industry.

Paraphrasing ..

What KB Home saw in May - historically a strong month - was that home buyers stepped out of the market. Post tax credit traffic dropped like a rock in May.

Not having any problem closing by June 30th. No need to extend tax credit closing date.

Tax credit has added additional uncertainty to the mix. A lack of predictability in sales could impact profitability this year (CR translation: expect more losses).

Q&A just started ...

On the current quarter (ended May 31st) from MarketWatch: KB Home shares fall on 'disappointing' results

by Calculated Risk on 6/25/2010 08:32:00 AM

The Q1 real GDP rate was revised down again (third estimate) to 2.7% from the 2nd estimate of 3.0%.

Consumer spending was weaker in Q1 than originally estimated. PCE growth (personal consumption expenditures) was revised down to 3.0% in Q1 from the previous estimate of 3.5%.

Some more from Reuters: Economy Grew Slower in First Quarter than Expected, Up 2.7%

... business spending, which only rose at a 2.2 percent rate instead of 3.1 percent as reported last month. This was as a spending on structures was revised down to show a slightly bigger decline than reported last month. Growth in software and equipment investment was also lowered to a 11.4 percent rate from 12.7 percent.
...
Another drag on growth came from exports whose growth was eclipsed by a rise in imports, resulting in a trade deficit that subtracted from GDP.

... real final sales to domestic purchasers, considered a better measure of domestic demand, rose at a 1.6 percent rate instead of the 2.0 percent pace reported last month.

The "Change in private inventories" was revised up to a contribution of 1.88 percentage points from the previous estimate of 1.65. So inventory adjustment accounted for over two-thirds of the GDP growth in Q1 - and the inventory adjustment appears over. This is a weak third estimate.