Premarket Roundup:Mortgage Insurers,WaMu

NEW YORK (AP) Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' decision to slash credit ratings on four mortgage insurers is not surprising and will not likely affect their ability to write additional business, a Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst said Wednesday.

NEW YORK (AP) Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. slashed its price target on Washington Mutual Inc. on Wednesday, saying the national bank's recent $7 billion capital infusion does not provide enough to counter mounting credit losses.

NEW YORK (AP) An analyst downgraded shares of Layne Christensen Co., saying the shares are properly valued, a day after its stock jumped 22 percent on a strong fourth-quarter earnings report.

NEW YORK (AP) While investment bank Jefferies Group Inc. is among the best of its sector, the ongoing credit crisis and a difficult underwriting environment will likely hamper share growth, a Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst said Wednesday while initiating coverage.

NEW YORK (AP) An Oppenheimer & Co. analyst thinks graphite electrode maker GrafTech International will report a strong slate of contracts in 2008, and raised his rating on the stock.