Worst May Be Yet to Come for Citigroup

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/business/14place.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Citigroup, which a decade ago set out to rewrite the rules of American finance, is bracing for still more pain now that a recession is at hand. Loans that the financial giant made to consumers in good times are going bad in growing numbers. For the moment, profits seem as elusive as ever, analysts say.

Once the most valuable financial company in America, Citigroup is withering along with its share price, which this week sank into single digits for the first time in a dozen years. The company is also shrinking in another painful way: by cutting, and cutting, and cutting jobs. Another round of pink slips is expected next week.

As Vikram S. Pandit completes his first year as chief executive, many analysts say Citigroup has lost its way. Insiders say the company is racked by office politics at a critical moment in its history.

Mr. Pandit is struggling to regain his grip on the company, which operates in scores of countries, after his attempt to buy Wachovia was upended by Wells Fargo. That misstep left Citigroup grasping for a new strategy to lure deposits and build up its branch network in the United States.

“Citi doesn’t have a credible management team, they don’t have a credible board,” said Christopher Whalen, managing partner at Institutional Risk Analytics. “If you look at their loss rate, it is almost inevitable that Citi is going to be asking the government for more money next year.”

[PM Martin]

1. This Naomi Wolf is interesting.

Thanks for the links.

:kick:

[femrap]

2. One of those wealthy Saudi princes is invested

in Citi and was demanding layoffs many months ago. Hey, maybe Citi can buy American Express or why not buy McDonald's....they're making some money! Or maybe McDonald's should buy Citi?

What is happening in the financial world is absolutely UNPRECEDENTED! I just sit in awe at what the rich white boys day after day...and NO ONE does a thing about it.

They are robbing us blind and here we sit.

So what's on TV tonight?

[DJ13]

3. Or maybe McDonald's should buy Citi?

Free credit card in every Happy Meal!

[femrap]

14. Good one...

It would be a great fit.

eta: great article

http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/11/The-End-of-Wall-Streets-Boom

[Jack Sprat]

10. We don't even get to hold any collateral.

It seems to me since we, the public, is being forced to buy the private debt, we should be given public ownership of the oil companies and healthy institutions in the meantime. It only seems fair. If you're going to saddle the public with bad paper, then give them something solid to hold onto as collateral. I want Exxon myself. Had my eyes on Standard Oil since I started walking.

[femrap]

15. I'll take a ag biz...

I like to eat! Or maybe Nestle's or Kraft.

eta: great article

http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/11/The-End-of-Wall-Streets-Boom

[mymessageboardid]

12. Yes, he is invested heavily

in Citi. Bush and Paulson will take care of them for sure :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:

[femrap]

16. Great article about the Bust

http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/11/The-End-of-Wall-Streets-Boom


Pass it around...best I've read so far.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. When you build a house of cards, it does not take much of a breeze to knock it down..

[Raschel]

5. Imagine replacing your name with Citibank: "I" don't have a credible plan or

anybody credible on board, and when you look at my loss rate, it's almost certain I'll be asking the government for MORE money next year!!!!

[ben_meyers]

6. I wonder what occurred a decade ago?

Only the repeal of Glass-Steagall and passage of new financial services legislation (the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999), Signed by the Big Dawg and setting aside most of the regulations put in place after the "Great Depression" to prevent a repeat.

Now I'm certain that Clinton had know idea what he was signing, but his advisors must have had some notion.

What scares me about the insane 700 billion dollar bailout is that Obama voted for it and I imagine his economic advisors told him to.

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. The thing is the Saudis were major players back then too

and even bigger players now.

I never expected this house of cards to collapse so soon.
I gave it around 2010. The media hasn't caught up on this crap
or is unwilling to do so. I now see news items on this on national circuits.

I was one the first on the internet to trace the LOANS from the feds
to Banks 2 years ago, to pump up the market, I traced it up
to trillions of unaccountable money but guess what?

Free Traders said it was paid back, even though they could
produce no evidence of the pay back on the net.


Now the feds are saying those loans are unaccountable.

I'm willing to give the historical data on those posts.

[Selatius]

7. If they want a bail out from the Fed, then they need to sack their executive managment entirely.

On top of that, if they miss payments on their debt obligations to the government, then they should have their interest rate jacked up to 29.99%.

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. Just do a search..... twenty fricking pages.

http://search.us.reuters.com/rsearch/rcomSearch.do?blob=Fed+added++in+temporary+reserves+to+the+banking+system+&site=US&srch_Tab=&srch_Results=&srch_MoreResults=

[TheWatcher]

11. Inconsequential. Market rallied almost 600 today and had a 900 point turnaround

So everything is fine. (All based on "normal" market action, of course.)

This article is just more conspiracy kookery, designed to make us feel bad and lose confidence in the Matrix, um I mean System, which has seen it's problems, but is recovering now, thanks to The Bailout and other helpful measures from The Fed and the other Criminals, um, I mean officials who are working their tail ends off for the American People.

Why aren't you reporting any of the positive news that will make us feel good and manage our perception so that negative thinking doesn't cause the problems we have to manifest themselves and become real, like happened with the Stock Market Crash and the "almost" recession we have now?

:sarcasm:

Seriously though SLAD, Thanks for posting this. It's just another piece of the puzzle that reveals all the rot lying just below the surface, that they so desperately want us to ignore.

in complete contrast to all this, take a look at the interesting piece of fiction posted on the Yahoo Finance front page just after the Market closed today, with it's miracle rally.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081113/wall_street.html

Not on DU, but elsewhere I have been taking heat for calling today one of the biggest official sector interventions in the Market's history. This was a completely futures driven, bullshit power move by TPTB. The idea that this was millions of "savvy investors" jumping on the Bottom at the same time to get in at "Bargain Prices" is nothing more than Goebbels like pablum. All day long the floor on the NYSE was a MORGUE. Dead Calm. News was bad all around and never got better. But that didn't matter. All of a sudden the Gates Of Heaven Opened and Mana for all. To Quote Dr. Evil:

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Take a look at this Futures chart for the Dow. Note the action starting exactly at 1PM. Does this look like normal Market activity to you?

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=CBOT_YM.Z08.E

Keep in mind the economic news that had just come out a few hours earlier and yesterday.

Again:

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

If you can find a chart from October 10th, take a look at that and ask yourself: "Haven't I seen this Movie Before?"

Like Morpheus told us in 2001- "No one can tell you what The Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself."

But hey, everything is fine, nothing exists, nothing is real, The Fed is good and loves you, The Bailout has saved the system, Paulson is a true Patriot and American hero, The Banking System is recovering, Houses are cheap, stocks are cheap, GM and Ford will come screaming back in the 1st Quarter of 2009, and of course, Citi, has a bright future.....

As a newly acquired entity of JP Morgan.

Peace Be, my friend.

[Buns_of_Fire]

13. Pandit completed one full year at Citigroup? That's worth a bonus, for sure!

For that matter, all the directors who appointed him need to be rewarded for their keen business sense, too!

Heck, just deduct it from their U.S. Treasury Express Gold Card ("Don't Leave Your Mansion Without It").

:sarcasm:, in case it was needed.