Sonya notes

Spreads on Bank of America Corporation (reporting today) have widened 108% over the past three months. Similarly, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , (also reporting today) has seen CDS spreads sell off considerably, coming out 126%. 'Market concern over the continued impact of a slow economic recovery is intensifying pressure on BofA and Goldman,' said Allmendinger.Similarly, CDS on Morgan Stanley (reporting Wednesday) sold off 123%. Additionally, CDS liquidity for Morgan Stanley has increased to trade in the first regional percentile. 'Credit protection on Morgan Stanley is pricing higher than for the other major US banks, likely on growing concerns over the firm's exposure to European debt,' said Allmendinger.Companies reporting earnings this week are as follows:American Express Company (FINANCIALS/General Financial)Credit spreads have widened over the last three months, with the five-year point widening from 89 bps to 117 bps, an increase of 32%. The liquidity score on American Express Company decreased from 7.07 to 6.7 over the three-month period, causing a decrease in liquidity from trading in the seventh percentile to the eighth percentile.Bank of America Corporation (FINANCIALS/Banks)Credit spreads have widened over the last three months, with the five-year point widening from 169 bps to 364 bps, an increase of 114%. The liquidity score on Bank of America Corporation decreased from 6.62 to 6.55 over the three-month period, causing a decrease in liquidity from trading in the second percentile to the fourth percentile.

Following complaints by banks about earlier proposals on reporting gross positions, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said that investors will only have to report net short positions that exceed 0.02 percent of the issued share capital of the company, or HK$30 million ($3.86 million)."In view of the feedback, requiring the market to report short positions on a net basis would be the more pragmatic course of action to progress the SFC's goal in enhancing its ability to access data on short positions and monitor short selling activities in the Hong Kong market," Ashley Alder, the SFC's chief executive, said in a statement.A net position would be the difference of an investor's long and short positions.The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong had in the past resisted tighter controls on short selling, such as during the 2008 financial crisis. However, responding to calls from market participants, the SFC opened consultations on the subject in May 2011.Some regulators in Europe and South Korea have instituted outright bans on short-selling despite academic studies and empirical evidence suggesting such bans often do little to stop falling stock prices or dampen volatility.Only short positions in the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index , the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index and other financial stocks specified by the SFC will be subject to the new reporting requirements.Currently the Hong Kong stock exchange releases short-selling data twice a day that tracks the percentage of daily turnover that is sold short.However, purchases to cover short positions are still reported as simple "buy" orders making the total outstanding short position on a particular stock at any given time difficult to estimate.The SFC said it was inviting further comments from interested parties on the proposed rules till November 4. ($1 = 7.777 Hong Kong Dollars)

* White House Counsel says won't provide more documentsBy Roberta RamptonWASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department took a hard line on last-ditch government rescue efforts for Solyndra in August, questioning the solar panel maker's financial projections and the motivations of private investors who were offering new cash, emails released on Friday showed.New internal Treasury emails released by the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday showed skepticism about two plans floated by the Energy Department as it sought to help the company, which had run out of cash.The emails shed new light on concerns by officials outside the Energy Department about the risk of the $535 million loan to Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 6, and was raided by the FBI.Republicans who are spearheading a probe of the loan have criticized the Obama administration over the Solyndra loan and have noted that investors in the company had contributed to President Barack Obama's election campaign.They have obtained more than 70,000 pages of emails in their probe so far. While the Energy and Treasury departments and Office of Management and Budget will continue to provide documents, the White House said it would not."There is nothing in the documents ... that the White House intervened in the Solyndra loan guarantee to benefit a campaign contributor," White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said in a letter to the committee on Friday.Republicans said their investigation is not over, and plan to ask Energy Secretary Steven Chu to appear at a hearing.RESTRUCTURING DEBTBy December, Solyndra had defaulted on one of the terms of its loan guarantee, and the Energy Department agreed to a plan to restructure its debt.That plan allowed $75 million in private investment to be ranked ahead of the government in the event of bankruptcy.But by June and July, the company had run out of money and was selling inventory and accounts receivable to its investors to generate cash, documents in bankruptcy court show.A new restructuring plan was pitched, with a second infusion of $75 million from unnamed private investors on the condition that more of the government's debt be subordinated -- a condition Treasury officials did not think was allowed."The proposed restructuring is clearly favorable to the other investors," said an official from Treasury's Office of Environment and Energy in an Aug. 17 email.After that plan failed, top government officials from the White House and the Treasury and Energy departments considered a $10 million bailout by private investors on Aug. 28, days before the company shut its doors."I think DOE should be thinking through whether the proposed deal is just giving the investors more time to extract more value from the firm before bankruptcy," a Treasury official said.The Energy Department evaluated "a number of proposals" in August when it became clear Solyndra faced bankruptcy, but ultimately ruled out advancing more funds, a department spokesman said.ENOUGH SKIN IN THE GAME?At a fractious Capitol Hill hearing on Friday, where Democrats and Republicans accused each other of creating a media circus, two career Treasury officials said the department had only limited involvement in decisions on Solyndra.Treasury first heard about the Solyndra project on March 10, 2009, when the Energy Department asked for its assessment. Treasury provided the the low-interest loan to build a new factory, but the Energy Department evaluated the project.The company provided only 27 percent of the money for the project, but Treasury felt Solyndra should have at least a 35-percent stake, said Gary Burner, chief financial officer of Treasury's Federal Financing Bank."It was felt that it was a better risk to the government if there was more equity in the deal," Burner told lawmakers.After Solyndra defaulted on one of the terms of its loan in December, the Energy Department agreed to a restructuring plan, saying it would be the best option for taxpayers.Energy Secretary Steven Chu has "broad authority to take action," according to the department's legal justification.But Treasury officials felt the department should have sought an outside opinion. "I thought it would have been wise for them to go to the Department of Justice" to discuss the legalities of the restructuring plan, Burner told lawmakers.