Asset Management Tips

Updated from 5:23 p.m. EST Washington MutualWM posted a net loss that missed analysts' estimates as the troubled consumer-centric company safeguards its business from future loan losses and damage amid the sour mortgage environment. The bank's net loss of $1.87 billion, or $2.19 a share, was worse than the mean expectation of analysts polled by Thomson Financial by a whopping 83 cents a share. That compares to a profit of $1.05 billion, or $1.10 a share, a year earlier. Revenue of $3.41 billion fell short of analysts' mean expectation of a loss of $1.36 a share on $3.51 billion of revenue. WaMu attributed the quarterly loss to a $1.6 billion after-tax charge to writedown goodwill in its Home Loans unit as well as higher provisioning because of the housing market weakness. For the full year, the company recorded a net loss of $67 million, or 12 cents a share, as a result of the charges in the fourth quarter, it said. read more