NatCity Labeled 'Bear of the Day'

National City Corp., Cleveland, has been labeled the "Bear of the Day" for Aug. 7 by Zacks Equity Research, Chicago. Zacks said National City's second-quarter loss was "substantially worse than estimates," chiefly due to higher loss provisions and a noncash goodwill impairment charge of $1.1 billion. Credit metrics "deteriorated significantly" during the quarter and net interest income fell short of expectations, the research firm said. Although the company has undertaken initiatives to restructure its mortgage operations, "we continue to see elevated risks in NCC's mortgage and residential development loan portfolio and expect higher losses in the coming quarters," Zacks said. "We are maintaining our Sell rating with a six-month target price of $4.50 per share for NCC." The research firm can be found online at http://www.zacks.com.