Nav Ad Widget - Mobile

Collapse

Nav Ad Widget - Desktop

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Did we just buy Citi shares?!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Did we just buy Citi shares?!

    Citi stock falls under $1.55

    NEW YORK - ONE dollar could buy a cup of coffee, a pack of chewing gum, or a roll of bathroom tissue. For the first time, it could also buy a share of Citigroup Inc, once the world's largest bank by market value.

    The price of a Citigroup share on Thursday fell below US$1 (S$1.55) in a sign that investors are losing confidence that the lender, which operates in more than 100 countries, can be restored to health after US$37.5 billion of losses in the 15 months ended Dec 31.

    Shares fell as low as 97 cents, leaving the bank with a market value below US$6 billion -- down from more than US$277 billion in late 2006. The decline came even though Citigroup has gotten US$45 billion of taxpayer-funded capital since October, and despite federal efforts to stimulate the economy and lending.

    'It's nothing but bad news,' said James Barth, a finance professor at Auburn University and a senior fellow at the Milken Institute. 'One might have thought the stimulus from Washington would have had some positive impact, but nothing is turning around investor confidence. The concern is that there is a point at which the government looks at Citigroup and says, enough is enough.'

    Citigroup remains part of the Dow Jones industrial average DJI of 30 blue-chip companies. Naomi Kim, a spokesman for Dow Jones Indexes, which maintains that index, said: 'We are watching the situation closely.' Other banks in the index are Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    Vikram Pandit, Citigroup's chief executive, is trying to sell poorly-performing businesses and shed risky debt to cap losses, bolster capital and avoid the potential nationalization of New York-based Citigroup that many investors fear.

    The Obama administration and regulators including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have said they do not want the government to take full control of the nation's banks.

    In early afternoon trading, Citigroup shares had recovered some losses, and were down 8 cents at US$1.05. The New York Stock Exchange has suspended until June 30 a rule requiring delisting of companies whose share price remains persistently below US$1.

    'The loss of confidence is pervasive,' said John Schloegel, vice president of investment strategies for Capital Cities Asset Management in Austin, Texas. 'With it officially going to a penny stock, those last few institutions are throwing in the towel.'

    Worries about the banking industry are a prime reason that US stocks have lost more than half their value since late 2007, driving shares to levels last seen in the mid-1990s.

    'What's unusual today is that problems aren't contained to the US banking industry, but have been exported to other industries and countries around the world through securitisations and the capital markets,' Auburn's Mr Barth said. 'No one knows where the losses are or how big they will be.' -- THOMSON REUTERS
    I own a Rolex !

  • #2
    GIC Weighing Options on Citigroup Investment, WSJ Says
    2009-03-05 19:53:31.923 GMT
    By Heather Burke

    March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Government of Singapore Investment Corp. is considering options after it changed its multibillion-dollar investment in Citigroup Inc. into common stock from preferred shares, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

    GIC may gradually reduce its stake, the newspaper said. A decision may be far in the future and the fund may remain a Citigroup investor, the Journal reported, citing the unnamed sources.
    运筹帷幄 决胜千里

    Comment


    • #3
      heck lah... let's do a Group Buy here...

      Let's get together line up all our watches and take over Citigroup. I bet we can do a better job than the Cowboys sitting up there.
      The ArmchairEconomist

      Comment


      • #4
        Well.... nothing surprising... They like to dump Sg $ into overseas companies tat is already falling like dunno wat.... Rem Merril Lynch?
        *****************************
        A bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at the office.


        Just me and my NT...

        Comment


        • #5
          Today 6th March 2009

          Citibank 1.02

          Don't worry. Be positive and stay focused. It is a long term investment.

          Comment


          • #6
            "曾经有一份真诚的爱情放在我面前,我没有珍惜,等我失去的时候我才后悔莫及,人世间最痛苦的事莫 过于此。 如果上天能够给我一个再来一次的机会,我会对那个女孩子说三个字:我爱你。如果非要在这份爱上 加上一个期限 ,我希望是……一万年!"

            Should change the last words to 永远 or 永恒

            Comment


            • #7
              WSJ: Citigroup Hits 'Penny Stock' Realm Article
              By GEOFFREY ROGOW

              Citigroup Inc. briefly became something once unfathomable: a "penny stock."

              At one point Thursday, with the stock down 16 cents, Citigroup traded below $1 at just 97 cents -- the lowest level since the bank was formed in 1998 as a merger between Citicorp and Travelers Group. Shares ended down 11 cents, or 9.7%, to $1.02 in 4 p.m. trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Once the largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization, Citigroup traded as high as $57 a year ago.


              Bloomberg News
              Citigroup's stock traded intraday at just 97 cents—the lowest level since the bank was formed in 1998 after Citicorp and Travelers Group merged.
              Beset by a credit crisis that already claimed Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers as victims, Citigroup is increasingly encountering a wave of selling pressure without more support from Washington or on the charts in sight.

              "You can throw the technicals out at this point," said Ryan Detrick, a technical analyst with Schaeffer's Investment Research. "Zero is the only place of support right now."

              Asked about Citigroup's stock price dipping below $1 a share, a senior executive glibly responded: "Maybe the Citi finally sleeps." But he quickly added that customers don't appear to be fleeing and that the company isn't worried about the plunging shares causing serious business problems.

              The consensus within Citigroup is that the stock is getting battered as hedge funds and others buy the company's preferred stock and short its common shares. For the past week, hedge fund and other active investors have been trying to move around the conversion of what could be roughly $27.5 billion of preferred Citigroup stock and trust preferred securities into common stock by the federal government. These arbitrage players are seeking to exploit the difference between the premium the bank is paying for the conversion and the current stock price.

              More
              U.S. to Take Big Stake in CitiCiti Board Revamp Faces HurdlesMixed View for Citi BondholdersStatements: Citigroup | TreasuryMr. Detrick and other traders say Citigroup's shares are driven largely by the perception of what the government is going to do to support the New York bank and whether nationalization is still on the table.

              Late last week, the bank reached a deal in which the U.S. government would boost its stake in the company to as much as 36%, and included a stipulation that the U.S. stake also came with increased influence from Washington.

              With Citigroup trading at levels that in prior years would have gotten it kicked off the Big Board (a recent, temporary rule change allows sub-$1 stocks to stay), and the government tempting further control at each turn, market veterans say there is more reason to continue trading the bank even as it drops.

              The slightest upticks can provide handsome profits for those willing to take the risk.

              Stephen Kay, a managing director with Knight Equity Markets LP, said that more than ever, those trades are coming from retail clients. "Our value used to be finding a small cap where it was just so hard to find liquidity," he said. "But our volume is now concentrated in Citi and some bank ETFs."

              Meanwhile, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. is considering a number of options following its decision to convert its multibillion-dollar investment in Citigroup preferred shares into common stock, including a gradual reduction of its stake, according to people familiar with the matter.

              These people cautioned that a decision is likely far off and that the sovereign-wealth fund, known as GIC, could continue to remain a Citigroup investor or even invest more. A Citigroup spokesman in Hong Kong declined to comment.

              GIC's decision to convert came last week as the U.S. Treasury agreed to convert up to $25 billion of its own preferred stock to common. The fund's deliberations reflect the uncertainty surrounding investors of the bank. Investors in its common shares could be hit if the U.S. government steps in again to help the company.

              In January 2008, GIC invested $6.88 billion in preferred Citi shares, which came with a 7% annual coupon, paying a dividend of about $481.6 million. The investment now is valued at about $2 billion.


              —Costas Paris and David Enrich contributed to this article.
              Write to Geoffrey Rogow at geoffrey.rogow@dowjones.com
              运筹帷幄 决胜千里

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by psee View Post
                GIC Weighing Options on Citigroup Investment, WSJ Says
                2009-03-05 19:53:31.923 GMT
                By Heather Burke

                March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Government of Singapore Investment Corp. is considering options after it changed its multibillion-dollar investment in Citigroup Inc. into common stock from preferred shares, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

                GIC may gradually reduce its stake, the newspaper said. A decision may be far in the future and the fund may remain a Citigroup investor, the Journal reported, citing the unnamed sources.
                my guess is GIC will increase the stake if US govt ends up investing more...
                I can resist anything but temptation. - Oscar Wilde

                Current collection
                A.Lange & Sohne Grand Langematik
                Audemars Piguet ROO
                Blancpain Fifty Fathoms (Dark Knight)
                De Bethune Titan Hawk (DB27)
                Habring2 Pilot Time Date
                Harry Winston Midnight Big Date
                Hublot Aerobang Skeleton
                IWC Portuguese Perpetual Calendar
                Panerai 270
                Patek Philippe 5711/1a
                Rolex 116610LV
                Vacheron Constantin Overseas

                Comment


                • #9
                  From e Citi dat never sleeps now to Citi dat sleeps - think will be under 90 US cents. Won't be surprised, can buy.
                  "夫君子之行:静以修身,俭以养德;非淡泊无以明志,非宁静无以致远。" - 诸葛亮

                  One should seek serenity to cultivate the body, thriftiness to cultivate the morals. Seeking fame and wealth will not lead to noble ideal. Only by seeking serenity will one reach far. - Zhugeliang

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    My target is 50 cents

                    Originally posted by Nooch View Post
                    From e Citi dat never sleeps now to Citi dat sleeps - think will be under 90 US cents. Won't be surprised, can buy.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by 116520 View Post
                      My target is 50 cents
                      Wah so low?? Can hoot a few lots.
                      "夫君子之行:静以修身,俭以养德;非淡泊无以明志,非宁静无以致远。" - 诸葛亮

                      One should seek serenity to cultivate the body, thriftiness to cultivate the morals. Seeking fame and wealth will not lead to noble ideal. Only by seeking serenity will one reach far. - Zhugeliang

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        i bought mine at $11.50, $3.50 few mths back....

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I going to buy aig and citi for my retirement fund..

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by WSOPTH View Post
                            i bought mine at $11.50, $3.50 few mths back....
                            You did better than me, $13.30 and $4.00.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              maybe i should start buying S$1.65 i start to buy
                              [U]Currently wearing[/U]:
                              [SIZE="1"]TT Datejust with diamond dial - sold!
                              Blue 6694
                              Seiko SD-lookalike[/SIZE]
                              [U]"My collection"[/U]:
                              [SIZE="1"]Blue 6694; TT DJ w diamond dial.[/SIZE]

                              Comment

                              Footer Ad Widget - Desktop

                              Collapse

                              Footer Ad Widget - Mobile

                              Collapse
                              Working...
                              X