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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...cc4&refer=news
Scorecard summary:
BMY: $275M to $417M written off of portfolio of $811M
CIEN: $13M written off of portfolio of $46.9M (SIV)
LWSN: $4.2M written off portfolio of $90.6M; $57.2M FAILED AUCTION
MSFT: 10% of portfolio, $3.19B in MBS. But no losses expected as they "avoided lower quality securities" like the AA and AAA Lawson ones. Yeah right.
Scorecard summary:
BMY: $275M to $417M written off of portfolio of $811M
CIEN: $13M written off of portfolio of $46.9M (SIV)
LWSN: $4.2M written off portfolio of $90.6M; $57.2M FAILED AUCTION
MSFT: 10% of portfolio, $3.19B in MBS. But no losses expected as they "avoided lower quality securities" like the AA and AAA Lawson ones. Yeah right.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s $275 million writedown on subprime investments shows the mortgage crisis is spreading from Wall Street to the drug, technology and mining industries, where companies are posting losses on assets once rated AAA.
Bristol-Myers, maker of the anti-clotting pill Plavix, reported a fourth-quarter net loss yesterday after writing off $275 million in investments in auction-rate securities, some of which had subprime mortgages as collateral. The writedown may increase to $417 million, officials said.
Bristol-Myers has invested in AAA/Aaa-rated auction-rate securities ``for nearly a decade'' and had $811 million worth at the end of 2007, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Bonfield said yesterday. Deteriorating credit markets left it unable to sell some of the investments, he said.
Ciena, a Linthicum, Maryland-based maker of networking equipment, had considered its investments ``conservative,'' said spokeswoman Nicole Anderson. Then, last quarter, it wrote down $13 million for commercial paper issued by two structured investment vehicles, SIV Portfolio Plc and Rhinebridge LLC, after they failed to make payments.
`SIV-Related'
After the Oct. 31 writedown, Ciena had $33.9 million in assets related to the securities, which are no longer being traded. That is probably all the company's ``SIV-related exposure,'' Anderson said.
Lawson, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, had $90.6 million of auction securities on Aug. 31. Auctions on $57.2 million failed, and the company took a charge of $4.2 million the following quarter. The software maker said the securities were rated AA or AAA. Spokesman Aaron Pearson declined to provide an executive to comment.
`SIV-Related'
After the Oct. 31 writedown, Ciena had $33.9 million in assets related to the securities, which are no longer being traded. That is probably all the company's ``SIV-related exposure,'' Anderson said.
Lawson, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, had $90.6 million of auction securities on Aug. 31. Auctions on $57.2 million failed, and the company took a charge of $4.2 million the following quarter. The software maker said the securities were rated AA or AAA. Spokesman Aaron Pearson declined to provide an executive to comment.
Microsoft had $3.19 billion, almost 10 percent of its investments, in mortgage-backed securities in its most recent fiscal year. Since then, Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said the Redmond, Washington-based company has lost ``virtually nothing'' because it avoided ``lower-quality securities.''
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