The government said Thursday it will net $1.54 billion in selling the stock-purchase warrants it received from Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) in exchange for multibillion-dollar emergency loans during the financial crisis. The auction, completed Wednesday, ranks as the Treasury Department’s most lucrative warrant transaction since sales began last summer. Recent estimates from the Congressional Budget Office suggest Treasury will roughly break even on its loans to banks, though support for housing and the auto industry are still likely to result in substantial losses.–CNN Money
TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO) won a major victory Thursday as a federal appeals court affirmed a district court’s earlier finding of contempt in a years-long patent infringement case against EchoStar Corp. (SATS) and its sister company, Dish Network Corp. (DISH). TIVO shares closed up 61.9% on Thursday, but are continuing to climb in premarket trading, up another 6.5% on an upgrade from J.P Morgan. In other news, Sony (NYSE:SNE) is developing a new lineup of handheld products, including a smart phone capable of downloading and playing video games, to compete with Apple’s (AAPL) products, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. –Daily Finance
Stocks and commodities climbed while Treasuries retreated and the dollar erased gains after a smaller-than-estimated decrease in U.S. jobs added to evidence the global economic recovery is accelerating. Global stocks extended their advance after a U.S. government report showed the country’s unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent in February as the nation lost 36,000 jobs. Economists on average had forecast a decrease of 68,000 and a gain in the unemployment rate to 9.8 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey. –Bloomberg
Hedge funds tracked by consultant Hennessee Group climbed in February, leaving them ahead of benchmark equity indexes, but lagging bonds so far this year. The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index advanced 1.2% in February, leaving it up 0.6% year to date, according to early estimates. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.9% last month, leaving it down 1% in the first two months of 2010. The Barclays Aggregate Bond Index gained 0.4% in February, leaving it up 1.9% year to date, Hennessee said. –MarketWatch
Shares of BB&T (NYSE: BBT) are modestly higher today as an analyst at Sandler O’Neill has upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy. The firm also boosted its price target on BB&T shares from $29 to $32. With the stock now up 1.6% to around $28.26, Sandler O’Neill’s new price target suggests potential upside of about 13%. -Street Insider
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