Recent financial news relates that Citibank has written down $14-billion of assets, eliminated 9,000 jobs in 1-Qtr-08. "We're not happy with these results," said newly-appointed CEO Vikram Pandit during a Wall Street conference call [yuh don' say]. On 'tother hand, analysts/traders view Citibank as "padded" by its global consumer and wealth-management operations, which compensate for sub-prime losses plus tens of billions of dollars vanished into thin air via "derivative" transactions which no-one at Citi even pretends to understand.
Meantime, as search-engine-of-record, Google Corp. recorded a 30% leap in profits from Dec-07 through end-March 2008. In context, Google shares have dropped 35% on a $75-billion "evaporation of shareholder value" over that same period. Google closed Thursday, 17 April 2008, at $449.54 per share (10:1 split, anyone?). The company's founders jet about in custom-fitted 747s, comparable to Saudi princes' low-end conveyances.
Anyone care to bet where the U.S. economy is headed, or markets either: Great Depression (Soros), slow-growth re-adjustment (Bernanke), lingering recession (unanimous press verdict, until a Democrat takes office)? Strange how pessimism regarding D-rat political prospects --Obama and MzBill-- correlates with investor optimism. Seems ye olde Consumer Confidence is also picking up.
"Hey-hey, ho-ho, prosperity has got to go!" Over to you, Karl.
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