C - Citigroup - Page 2

But.. for a company of Citi's size, it may not be that big of a deal

Back from sunny vacations...

Way to start the week!

I will never understand the logic of bears. A good economy and a strong market is so much better for everyone.

I don't really have a definitive answer for you, but this might help:
http://www.slopeofhope.com/why-i-am-a-bear.html

I also believe a good economy and strong market is better.

However, I think bubbles should be allowed to burst hard and fast, bailouts and off-balance items shouldn't exists.

In any case, anything that moves the market in a profitable way is fine, such as these news. S&P futures already down 4 points.

Sounds too much like jealously for my tastes. Besides people who get hurt by a crash are not usually the super wealthy. And our market is only up a few percentage on the year, so I hardly see where the bubble is.

A market based on fake fundamentals is not good for anyone. How can a housing market based on ARM, subprime and no document loans good for anyone? How is that good for the average American? The answer is it's not. I don't make posts on negative info to just be a stupid bear, I report it because it's important and it shows what the housing market was based on and how it's an expanding problem. The market has to clear this mess or we can't move past it, we've been fighting with this crap too long when companies should have been totally transparent on what they have. Now, we have companies hiding their losses even further by moving these crap investments to non-reporting accounts, what kind of solution is that?

I think this is a great move that Citi is really trying to open its books and report its true losses because it will put us at a starting point and it will help end the guessing. Once the market starts to see the true losses (the government guessed losses would be $50-100 billion at most because of this mess, I think we are easily up to the $50billion at this point and we'll easily pass $100 billion) then we can get on with our lives and quit worrying about a financial crisis for another year.

I am talking more about the markets than about housing. There was a bubble in the housing market and it is coming down in a reasonable manner. Fianancials which offered questionable loans also should get punished. I just don't see a bubble in the overall stock market.

overall I don't either, lots of great companies to get into. The problem isn't a bubble overall, it's that reduced consumer spending and a weak dollar could create a double whammy against the markets and economy. Inflation is real and it's not pleasant: These are September 2007 numbers and it isn't pretty (I'm quoting these from somewhere else)

When basic necessities are rising like this then extra spending is getting hammered. We're really battling with a 4%+ rate of inflation considering these items listed compose the biggest part of a family budget. Now, with oil closing in on $100 a barrel you can be guaranteed that companies will be passing on the costs (PG already announced it), so the real purchasing power is down for the consumer and rolling into the holiday season like this is NOT good.

Stock market is going to be flat overall unless we can get closure on this financial mess. We're at 0% gain since May on the DOW and S&P and it's all because these companies won't be honest and open up.

C trading just under $40 in Japan tonite.
4586 yen = $40.00



http://quote.tse.or.jp/tse/quote.cgi...3&mode=T#chart

Prince out. Rubin in. This has to be a great candidate for a turnaround, but the only question is how much (if any more) lower will it go?

Wrong. Five year ARM worked great for me. When I purchased my home almost five years ago (Five years in July 2008 I think) I was making about $50,000.00 a year. My percentage rate for these past five years is 3.1%.

The max it can go up to is 8.1%. This year i'll make over $100,000.00 because ive been at my job longer and increased my salary through promotions.

I knew that was going to happen and planned for it. We wanted a home and that five year ARM made the home affordable in 2003 when prices were rocketing up.

We purchased our home for $312,000.00. If we were still living there our payment would "balloon" up from $1,200.00 a month to around $1,650.00. Instead, we sold it. We sold it for a profit at $399,000.00. At it's peak a house down the street from us sold at around $455,000.00 and it was pretty much the same house as ours.

So yeah, prices have gone down some but still up from 2003.

These loans are good for some people. Wise people who plan ahead. Don't say they aren't good for anyone. It allowed us to buy a home and i'm thankful for it.

Tim Knight is founder of Prophet.Net

he has written a book - (which is not bear related) on charting that is one of the easiest books to understand for a up and coming technician.
I highly recomend it.

I recomended it here a while back and got good feedback.
[Chart Your Way to Profits,]by Tim Knight

read the bio, I highly doubt he is jealous,
http://www.slopeofhope.com/about-tim-knight.html

PS you make more money in a "bear market" your profits come quicker than on the upside.

There are 3 sides to a market, and you need to know how to play all of them.

read the slope is recomended, at least once a week. (Friday) Not every stock is going up and he he is one of the best chart technicians out there giving you free advice. Even though it may be one sided in your view, it may alert you to your own stocks reaching dangerous levels and you could buy some insurance, (covered calls, puts)

I am not questioning the logic of bearish plays, it is the constant cheerleading for the economy going in the dumpster, for home prices to crash, for companies to go out of business, for the market to crash that rubs me the wrong way. None of these things are good things that people should be happy about because they make a few bucks. Being gleeful when you know other people have lost their jobs and lost their investment is the part I don't get. I know there are many ways to profit off that, but I am not going to jump for joy when that happens.

So after you make a bundle on a stock and you take your profit, where do you think that stock goes?
to a buyer, and when that stock takes a dump do you feel guilty or happy that you sold it?
there is a winner/loser to every trade. up or down.

This is business.
When you buy puts (alone) are you not wishing for a turn down?
or sell calls.

You cheer when the market goes up right, well in a bear market just flip the chart over.

The word Crash is used all the time to frequently, you will never know the meaning of that word until it really happens

these are not crashes.

They are opportunities to maybe get in on a stock you wanted for a better price and the next leg up.

Here is an amusing little fact which separates most. I never get e-mails or PMs until the market goes bad. ???

That only means most are trading one of the 3 directions.
Then they are a "deer in the headlights" waiting for the car to stop.
"Boom" they get hit. Dead.

Driving a car if you don't turn the wheel on the next curve, off the road.

The market has the same transmission, park, reverse, nuetral, and drive.
Your the driver.

The difference is you can hit and run and get away with it.

Best quote ever!

meant to say its not good for the average American because the average American is a dumb ass. ARMs have been in existence for a long time for people who would get bonuses at the end of the year and they needed flexibility and people who could plan ahead right (like you). The problem is the average American didn't do that.

anyone else wondering how much more of a beating C can take, before it turns around?

not sure how true any of this is,but here is a link i found with citibank references in it:

http://www.worldreports.org/news/91_..._citibank_boar

Hehe, a little far fetched I'd say. Apply now for the En-Citi-ron Mastercard!