[Falconoffury]

The United States will guarantee up to 306 billion dollars of assets, according to the agreement reached today.

Citigroup Bailout Agreement (pdf warning)

The first 29 billion will be absorbed by Citigroup. That leaves 277 billion. After that, 90% will be absorbed by taxpayers, and 10% will be absorbed by Citigroup. That leaves about 249 billion dollars in taxpayer guarantees for Citigroup alone.

Note that this covers less than half of their balance sheet, and they still have around 1.2 trillion dollars in off-balance sheet SIVs. Also note that management will not be changed at all. Out of 350,000 Citigroup jobs worldwide, 53,000 will be layed off. My opinion, based on all of Citigroups problems, is that 150,000 would be a closer number to what they need in order to restore profitability.

This is even more disgusting than the AIG bailout. They should be forced to mark everything to market, including off-balance sheet vehicles. Citigroup should be forced to liquidate everything that is unprofitable. If that means selling assets for pennies on the dollar, then so be it. If they don't do that, than these bailouts will solve nothing. They will just need even bigger bailouts in 2009. If they remain unprofitable, they will just need to be bailed out over and over again. This goes for all banking institutions that accept bailout money.

Roger Moore said it best. They are creating an "inflation holocaust". I hope anyone reading this has plenty of gold, food, and water, because paper will not be worth much if this keeps up.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')ANILA (MarketWatch) -- Citigroup Inc. (C: 5.95, +2.18, +57.8%) plans to expand and hire 1,000 more workers in the Philippines next year despite the thousands of jobs it plans to cut overseas, the Manila Standard Today newspaper reported Monday.

"We're investing in systems and processes, and next year we will have another 1,000 (workers)," Citigroup's country business manager Mark Jones was quoted as saying.

He added that the new jobs to be created in the Philippines would be for Citigroup's call center and financial reporting operations.

[ohcomeon]

So we're bailing out a company who's laying off workers here so they can hire workers in the Phillipines. Dumbest thing I ever heard of... surely we're not that stupid...

[Sixstrings]

Yup, that's about the size of it. Notice this was announced AFTER the bailout. It's like, "thanks for the cash, we're heading for the islands."

[jasonraymondson]

That is fucking loverly

[Homesteader]

It is "sink or swim" time folks. Best to recognize how the game is being played and act accordingly.

So what are you going to do?

[Carlhole]

The Real Truth behind the Citigroup Bank Nationalization
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('F. William Engdahl ', 'O')n Friday November 21 the world came within a hair’s breadth of the most colossal financial collapse in world history according to bankers on the inside of events with whom we have contact. The trigger was the bank which only two years ago was America’s largest, Citigroup. The size of the US Government de facto nationalization of the $2 trillion banking institution is an indication of shocks yet to come in other major US and perhaps European banks thought to be ‘too big to fail.’

[Novus]

This crisis is on the scale of the fall of the Roman Empire. It is just not the dollar that is in trouble. It is the whole world that is in trouble. Not even gold is safe. The entire international banking system is facing an extinction level event. Everyone tied to this system including: the US government, various European governments, the Japanese government, and China have all tried to bail out this dying system. They will now go down with the ship into the abyss.

[Ayame]

It's now also trickling down into the retail sector.

Woolworths, a well known long-established retailer (approx 100 years trading) in the UK has now just today gone into administration with 30000 jobs hanging on the line. MFI, the UK's biggist furniture retailer has also just gone administration with 1000 jobs on the line.

I am just sitting here wondering who will be next.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')his crisis is on the scale of the fall of the Roman Empire.

[ReverseEngineer]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')his crisis is on the scale of the fall of the Roman Empire.

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he scale of the hidden losses of perhaps the twenty largest major US banks are so enormous that if not before, the first Presidential decree of President Barack Obama will likely have to be declaration of a US ‘Bank Holiday’ and the full nationalization of the major banks, taking on the toxic assets and losses until the economy can again function with credit flowing to industry once more.

[angrybill]

I see Citi group as a strong survivor through the turmoil of the once financial melt down. The market bottom for Dow and Nasdaq has already happened. There won't be anymore new lows.

[cipi604]

Because you said so!

Dow will bottom at 1-2000 at the curent value of gold in the end of 2009, 2010 spring.

Try to listen to Peter Schiff and Max Keizer to get a dose of reality.

[Arsenal]

I don't think we have seen the low yet but everyone has an opinion and no one can see into the future.

[Ludi]

The poor poor Citi executives are not getting bonuses this Christmas nor are they getting raises.

Poor things.

[lateStarter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'T')he poor poor Citi executives are not getting bonuses this Christmas nor are they getting raises.

Poor things.

[angrybill]

There seems a great disparity between what companies are government targets for rescue packages. Saving companies that our government has contracts and vested interests seems to be the pattern. Anyone else know of companies the government has large contracts with?

[the48thronin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('angrybill', 'T')here seems a great disparity between what companies are government targets for rescue packages. Saving companies that our government has contracts and vested interests seems to be the pattern. Anyone else know of companies the government has large contracts with?

[angrybill]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('the48thronin', '
')even better is companies with "black" connections LOL
AIG furnished information wholesale to ...XXX agency