MBIA Reports Positive Second Quarter Results

MBIA reported a profit of $1.7 billion for the second quarter. This is largely from the widening of spreads and is largely meaningless to anyone other than an accountant. It posted an operating income of $287 million (versus $285m in 2007) so things are holding up. Most importantly, MBIA did not post any additional impairments in their insured portfolio (actually there was a tiny change but it's negligible.)

Overall, the numbers are really good in my opinion. They are far better than Ambac, which actually took a $1 billion (real) loss. According to MBIA, its book value is around $16.67 and its adjusted book value is $39.63.

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