The Reformed Broker, AKA Phat Albert, here with today’s Market Recap… A lot of churning in the markets this morning, but the resolution was clearly to the upside. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now at the highest point since the wheels fell off in early February. The consumer recovery plays were the winners today, with everything…
Citigroup
Market Recap: Bank Shorts Were Lunch Meat Today
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGMT99i00M4] The Reformed Broker, AKA Jackie Treehorn, here with today’s Market Recap… Plenty of traders put on bank stock shorts on the heels of last week’s positive pre-announcement from Wells Fargo (WFC). They didn’t like how the numbers were put together or thought the move was too much or both. Their money was confiscated today as…
Don't Blame the Repeal of Glass-Steagall…Blame Risk Management
Over on Breakingviews, Hugo Dixon is taking issue with those who believe bringing back some version of the Glass-Steagall Act would prevent the financial collapse we’re now fighting through every day. Why would anybody run a casino and a utility under the same roof? That is the supposedly killer argument of those who want to…
Ken Lewis: Even More Myths About Banks
Kenny Lewis, Chief Executive Undertaker at Bank of America, took the opportunity to write an op-ed piece in today’s WSJ. Some of the bank myths he aimed to dispel: The banks aren’t lending, The banks are insolvent, The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) hasn’t worked, Taxpayers have given the banks billions and won’t get…
Corporate Sponsors for the New Yankee Stadium?
Bank of America finally displayed an ounce of remorse when they recently decided to back away from buying the naming rights to the new Yankee Stadium (unlike the rogue bank that will go forward with the sponsorship of Citi Field). Taking a glance at the condition of many Fortune 500 companies, you’ll see that there aren’t many companies…
Will Visa Replace Citi in the Dow Jones?
I did a piece recently, New Candidates for the Dow Jones, and since then, things have gotten even worse for Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C) and a handful of other DJIA names. While the Index Editor who oversees the Dow, John Prestbo, has gone on record saying there won’t be any changes right now,…
Vikram Pandit: I Will Survive
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I] The New York Post is reporting that Vikram Pandit, current CEO of Citigroup Inc. (C) will survive in his position if the bank gets nationalized. Below is Vikram Pandit’s rendition of Gloria Gaynor‘s “I Will Survive“: _____________________________________________________________________________________ At first I was afraid I was petrified Kept thinking they would never let Our credit…
This Just In: Obama and Geithner Cost Average Down in Citigroup Investment?
Hooray for Capitalism! Citi is about to join such illustrious government institutions as the DMV and the Postal Service! The feds are said to be in talks with Citigroup (C) about possibly owning up to a 40% stake in the Courtney Love of Money Center Banks at this late hour. All this while the world…
Hot Links: Berkshire, UBS and the Microsoft Store
Hot Links for Weekend Reading Warren Buffett has had a tough year so far and an especially tough week. The Bespoke Investment Group shows us the ugly year-to-date evidence. Berkshire Hathaway common stock was demolished during a week that saw many of Buffett’s largest stock holdings plummet, for example Wells Fargo and US Bancorp. On…
Hot Links: Maxine Waters, Bailout Nation and A-Rod
Hot Links for Weekend Reading This week, we watched another episode of half-educated Congressional grandstanding. This time around, the focus of misguided indignation was how much TARP money ended up being paid out to executive compensation and bonus by the largest banks. The show-stealer was none other than Maxine Waters, the representative of California’s 35th…
