Citi Profit Memo Boosts Stocks

After a memo from Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit saying that the company was profitable in 2009 (thus far), the bank's stock is up 27% to...$1.34! But that news is enough to help other bank stocks rally and the Dow is up by about 250 points. Pandit said of Citigroup, which did receive $45 billion in TARP bailout money, "We are profitable through the first two months of 2009 and are having our best quarter-to-date performance since the third quarter of 2007." But he did add he was disappointed in the company's low stock price. Additionally, the Wall Street Journal reports, "U.S. officials are examining what fresh steps they might need to take to stabilize the [Citigroup] if its problems mount."

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By Jen Chung in News on March 10, 2009 11:04 AM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

Citi needs its own police force to deal with all this Panditry.

captainblackout

I would assume that this "profitability" is also based on some basic assumption about the value of Citi assets that most people would look at and think "wow, this is waaaay off base."

Zyskandar A. Jaimot

Be aware - the STOCK MARKET is only a small part of 'the OBAMA's EECHONOMIK MORASS. A PURT UP OR DOWN IS NOT INDICATIVE OF THE 'HEALTH' OF THE USA. Note how the arbitrage of money (dollars v. other currencies) greatly affect/effect the ratio of imports/exports. This 'MARKET' should 'recover' in the last quarter of 2010 as stated by myself and others several months ago. The 'wreckage' 'the OBAMA' has created with his SHITTY STIMULUS SCHEMES and lurch to MARXIST/SOCIALISM is incalculable!!! All hail our new STALIN='the OBAMA'. hA.

ed_Extinct

is that the trick? Just say you're profitable?

Politburo

It's always in the details. Citi is currently profitable... before taxes and 'special charges'. The media clips out the fine print. Even the CNBC piece doesn't explicitly mention it (there is one passing reference buried in there).

In contrast, the AP article on this has it explicitly stated in the opening paragraphs.