What happens when a sector loses a key bull, even if it is temporary?  Often nothing, but if it is a big enough market pundit then it can have an impact.  That is what we are seeing today in the money center banks.  Rochdale Securities’ Richard Bove said that the fundamentals of the ... Read more

As banks and credit unions stop accepting California IOUs, a market for the securities has sprung up on eBay and Craigslist. Not so fast... California Sets Terms on IOUs as Questions Arise . As California continues to issue "IOUs", more controversy is brewing over their use. On one side, ... Read more

So here's an incredibly interesting options trade. The June 5 Reverse Conversion has gone ballistic, in the words of a friend. 227,000 puts and 240,000 calls have traded as I type. But that's not what's most noteworthy, open interests are monstrous in C. No, it's the fact that the combo went ... Read more

Citigroup (C) announced the upcoming appointment of four new directors. I believe the press release was issued from Citigroup and not a federal regulator of some description. The four new guys are the former chairmen of U.S. Bancorp (USB) Jerry Grundhofer and Bank of Hawaii (BOH) Michael O’Neil ... Read more

Citigroup plunged 39% on Friday to $1.50, a price last seen in 1992. The plunge was in response to a Citigroup U.S. Accord on a Third Bailout that will convert the government's preferred shares to common, thereby diluting existing common shareholders and exposing US taxpayers to more losses. ... Read more

Citigroup (C) apparently is now 36% controlled by Uncle Sam. Everyone is singing the blues but no one has an alternative. The interesting side tidbit is that Singapore and Prince al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, will also swap up to $27.5-billion worth of preferred shares for regular stock. This ... Read more

Citigroup (C) and other banks in negotiations with the financial cavalry apparently will be giving up voting control and equity positions within the banks that are supported. The voting control was all but gone a long time ago. When the Fed and Treasury has to bail out problems by the hundreds of bi ... Read more

The Wall Street Journal says that the federal government is in talks to put more capital into Citigroup (C) and may end up owning 40% of the big banks. According to the paper, “While the discussions could fall apart, the government could wind up holding as much as 40% of Citigroup ... Read t ... Read more