Allstate Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of twenty cents ($0.20) on each outstanding share of the Corporation’s common stock – on Fat “cat” Tuesday, no less! The dividend is payable in cash on April 1, 2009 to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 13, 2009. h/t ClS
Hopefully, Allstate didn’t tap whatever they might have set aside as a qui tam reserve. If the 5th Circuits recent Opinion in error does move the government to intervene in Rigsby and Branch, we do not yet have the change we need.
Sop just posted Insurers Kill the Rally Once Again over at the All finance board. See if you don’t agree this further begs the government’s attention.
Here we go again with the insurance crash. This time it is fueled by the slash in the Allstate dividend off of life insurance worries. It comes right after Lincoln National almost eliminated its dividend yesterday. We have to understand that the pressure from these companies — and they include Prudential and Hartford (oh, man, is that one down) — is now coming directly from these firms’ investing portfolios. We are now in the throes of a remarkably vicious circle, in that these companies cannot raise enough capital to offset their commercial real estate holdings, which seem to decline by the day. It looks like all of these companies had the same optimistic playbook. Right now the focus is on Citigroup and Bank of America and nationalization. I am far more concerned right now about a life insurer or an annuity company going bust….
Now, for the rest of Allstate’s announced April Fool prank. Continue reading “April Fool – the joke’s on Allstate”