Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL – News) announced today that it expects to offer and sell approximately $150 million of common stock in an underwritten public offering through Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and D.A. Davidson & Co.

The shares will be issued pursuant to a prospectus supplement filed as part of an existing shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form S-3. Western Alliance intends to grant the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the shares sold to cover over-allotments, if any.

Western Alliance intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including to increase liquidity and to provide for additional capital and growth.

Jacob Snow, Regional Transportation Commission
“Transportation, Stimulus Money & Traffic in Southern Nevada”
Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at McCormick & Schmicks 
335 Hughes Center Drive
11:30 AM Check-in, Speaker & Lunch 12 PM Cost: $35

MGM Mirage said today that it plans to raise $2.5 billion through stock and bond offerings to pay down a portion of its more than $14 billion in debt and that it is modifying an existing loan agreement to strengthen its balance sheet and meet liquidity needs.

The compnay plans to use approximately $1 billion in proceeds from an 81 million public stock offering and a $1.5 billion private placement of senior notes in part to pay off debt issued by its Mandalay Resort, that matures later this year, as well as debt issued in connection with its Mirage Resorts and at least $750 million of a credit line.

A newly amended senior credit agreement gives the company a little more breathing room. The amendment allows MGM to permanently waive any potential default from the inclusion of the term “going concern” in its 2008 and 2009 financials.

A going-concern qualification refers to the auditor’s assessment of a company’s ability to continue to operate for the foreseeable future.

Kirk Kerkorian’s Tracinda Group, which currently holds about 53.8 percent of MGM’s stock, plans to buy approximately 8.1 million shares from underwriters. MGM Mirage had about 276.6 million outstanding shares as of May 5, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The private placement will include two tranches due 2014 and 2017. The notes will be secured by a first priority lien on the Bellagio Hotel and Casino and The Mirage as well as a first priority pledge of the equity interests in Bellagio LLC and Mirage Casino-Hotel once the necessary gaming approvals are received.

The struggling casino operator, burdened with about $14.4 billion in debt as of March 31, has left investors and analysts speculating how it would resolve its liquidity problems but the company indicated last week that it was close to announcing its plans. Many assumed MGM’s game plan would include tweaking its existing debt agreements, raising capital and possibly some asset sales.

Last week the company recorded a hefty gain from the sale of its Treasure Island hotel and casino in Las Vegas in its quarterly report. The company also reached a deal last month with CityCenter partner Dubai World and the pair’s lenders to complete the $8.5 billion Las Vegas project.

The CityCenter agreement was welcome news, as some investors and analysts had feared MGM might be on the brink of filing for bankruptcy protection if it could not work out the remaining financing necessary to finish the development.

The number of U.S. households faced with losing their homes to foreclosure jumped 32 percent in April compared with the same month last year, with Nevada, Florida and California showing the highest rates, according to data released Wednesday.

More than 342,000 households received at least one foreclosure-related notice in April, RealtyTrac Inc. said. That means one in every 374 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing last month, the highest monthly rate since the Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure listing firm began its report in January 2005.

April was the second straight month with more than 300,000 households receiving a foreclosure filing, as the number of borrowers with mortgage troubles failed to abate.

The April number, however, was less than one percent above that posted in March, when more than 340,000 properties were affected. The March data was up 17 percent from February and 46 percent from a year earlier.

First-quarter home sales fell in all but six states — Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida, Virginia and Minnesota — where buyers have been able to grab foreclosed homes at discounts, the realtors group said Tuesday. Read the rest of this entry »

Employers initiated 3,489 mass layoff events in the first quarter of 2009 that resulted in the separation of 558,909 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both the number of extended mass layoff events and associated separations reached their highest first quarter levels in program history, with data available back to 1996, and both measures more than doubled from the first quarter
of 2008.

The number of separations reached first quarter program highs in 12 of 18 major industry sectors, all 4 geographic regions, and 32 states. Separations due to business demand reasons (especially slack work/insufficient demand) set a program high, while those associated with financial issues reached a high for the first quarter. Each category more than tripled over the year. Twenty-seven percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the first quarter of 2009 indicated they anticipated some recall of workers, the lowest proportion in program history. First quarter 2009 layoff data are preliminary and are subject to revision.

The national unemployment rate averaged 8.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the first quarter of 2009, up from 5.3 percent a year earlier. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, decreased by 3.1 percent (-4,342,000) over the year.