Winners And Losers: Weill's Change Of Heart, Zynga's Shrinking Profits

Sanford Weill (Reuters)

WINNERS

Sanford Weill

Weill, the architect of megabank Citigroup (NYSE: C), made a stunning reversal on CNBC, saying he now believes banks have grown too large. Despite being the "Shatterer Of Glass-Steagall," Weill said he supported the separation of investment and retail banks in the post-financial crisis world. The impact of his statement won't likely lead to it, however.

KKR & Co. LLP

The private-equity giant (NYSE: KKR) navigated the turmoil in the financial markets with a 73.4 percent increase in second-quarter earnings. Much of the gain was attributed to the Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) purchase of a stake in KKR's Alliance Boots GmbH. Aside from that, the company's portfolio was relatively flat, but KKR's stock still rose 11.3 percent during the week to close at $14.28.

London

The Olympic Games, opening Friday, may provide an economic boost for the U.K., bringing in tourism money and possibly boosting the value of the British pound. Olympics organizers are hoping that the games will provide enough of a tourism bump to compensate for the cost of the games and provide some profits by 2015. The 2012 Olympic Games will cost an estimated $14 billion, though, according to the Economic Times. The U.K. has already experienced a 7 percent gain in tourism since January.

LOSERS

Ford

The Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) lost big this week when it reported second-quarter profits were down $1.36 billion, or 56.63 percent, to $1.04 billion, mostly due to terrible performance in Europe where sales are at a 20-year low. Everyone saw it coming, so the loss isn’t a real surprise, but it has begun to raise questions about whether Ford has a future in Europe or whether it’s time to call it quits.

Pennsylvania State University

Penn State is getting a big dose of bad karma in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal as Moody’s Investors Service warned of a downgrade and official football sponsor State Farm said it was withdrawing. Penn State currently holds roughly $1 billion in debt, and the NCAA’s penalties against the school won’t help the situation. The NCAA fined the school $60 million, and the school will likely suffer $13 million in lost Big 10 revenue.

Zynga Inc.

The maker of social-media games reported disappointing profits in the second quarter and lowered its outlook as fewer players bought items. The concerns spread to Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), which takes a chunk of Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA) profits and whose results disappointed investors, as well. During the week, Zynga's stock plunged 35.7 percent, closing at $3.09 on Friday.