Citigroup Trumpets Results On Their Website

Reaction the news has been relatively muted.  Share prices have already declined steeply in pre-market trading.  Whether this condition will worsen as the day goes on remains to be seen, although it seems likely. As the saying goes, some of ‘the bad news is already priced in.’  Citigroup has been ensconced in a multi-year turnaround that has not gotten much of a break from the overall economy.  The company has improved on its’ bad loan numbers, but revenues remain under serious pressure for the global banking company.

Net income for “C” was 38 cents a share, which was way off from the 49 cents that analysts predicted.  No matter how you slice it, this was not an earnings report that could have been pleasant to hear for most Citigroup bulls.  We might just see a flurry of analyst downgrades and selling once people begin to react to the news.

This could be a tough day for Citigroup longs.

What is your take on Citigroup as an investment?

P.S.  I included a screenshot of Citigroup’s home page.  I thought it was interesting how upbeat their take on the quarter was compared to everyone else

UBS’s Asian distributor channel checks indicate PC demand has rebounded 20-50% month-over-month, aided by Intel price cuts. The analyst believes their Q4 Intel flat sales estimate could have upside. Shares are Neutral rated with a $19.50 price target.

In related news, Intel will receive a grant to expand Kiryat Gat fab, Globes reported.

Intel will reportedly receive a grant of NIS678M by Israel’s Ministries of Industry, Trade, Labor and Finance to expand its Kiryat Gat fab. Globes reports that the grand will be spread over eight years and Intel will hire hundreds of new employees at the expanded fab plant.

EBay will be forced to pay less in a suit over sales of counterfeit goods because of the latest ruling from a French appeals court in its fight with LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (PINK:LVMUY).

The French court went ahead and reduced the fines for eBay to EUR5.6 million from almost EUR40 million, but declined to give a reason for the decision.

eBay, as the world’s largest online auction marketplace, has been accused by several companies of harboring counterfeiters.

Motorola’s ratings may be raised by Standard & Poor’s to investment grade from its current BB-plus rating.

S&P cites the company’s potential to reduce debt and improving liquidity for the potential upgrade.

In all, Motorola is expected to invest $3.5 billion in the phone and set-top box units it plans to spin off next year.

Carl Icahn increased his buying of Motorola stock this week. He purchased $86.2 million of stock this week, giving him a 10.6% stake in the company.

The service, known as “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity,” will be available by year end.

“Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” will give music lovers access to millions of songs stored and synchronized through the cloud.

“Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” will initially be available across Sony’s 2010 models of network-enabled BRAVIA TVs, Blu-ray Disc players, Blu-ray Home Theater systems, as well as PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems and VAIOs and other personal computers, and will become increasingly available on a range of Sony’s portable devices.

SKECHERS USA announced that an independent review Board said that Skechers Shape-ups advertising claims are accurate, truthful and “prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and society.”

In a related development, Skechers further announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office this week issued Skechers a utility patent on its unique Shape-ups midsole technology, the part of the shoe which is key to imparting fitness benefits to users, including “muscle strengthening and toning, better posture, improved cardiovascular health, less stress on joints, and improved circulation.”

On August 10, 2010, the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority stated in a ruling that “the claims in the Shape-ups advertisement regarding muscle tone, posture and weight loss had been substantiated by Skechers and therefore were not likely to mislead or deceive consumers.”

This is the second time in recent months that independent panels have made favorable rulings relating to the claims that Shape-ups tone muscle, improve posture and promote weight loss.

Apple is reportedly close to an agreement with Disney to offer rentals for some ABC television shows through iTunes, the Wall Street Journal said.

The move is the longest in an attempt by AAPL to reshape the television business around its devices.

However, sources say the proposed deal is already facing resistance from big TV companies like NBC Universal, News Corp, Viacom and CBS.

Apple is also said to be working on a new device that would allow users to stream video to their TV sets, a source with knowledge of Apple’s plans went on the record as saying.

Kaufman Bros is bullish about Apple TV moves.

They say Apple TV could be a multi-million unit seller.

After conducting checks, Kaufman Bros. said they believe Apple’s move to rent TV shows is logical and could increase iTunes volume.

The firm said it maintains a ‘Buy’ rating on Apple.

Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, has purchased 30,000 shares of company stock at around $13.03 each, Dow Jones reported.

Moynihan took over the helm at Bank of America at the beginning of the year from the embattled Kenneth Lewis.

Since then his takeover has taken root, but has failed to return the type of returns that Wall Street has looked for. This insider purchase could help signal that Moynihan is very confident about his turnaround plan.

Bank of America is still struggling with loan defaults and high unemployment due to being the country’s largest mortgage holder.

RadioShack Corporation announced that it has entered into accelerated share repurchase agreements with Bank of America N.A. (NYSE:BAC) and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (NYSE:WFC), to repurchase an aggregate of approximately $300 million of RadioShack common stock.

This repurchase will be made under the $500 million share repurchase program that was previously authorized by its Board of Directors. The ASR Agreements provide for final adjustments generally based on the discounted average of the volume-weighted average prices of the company’s common stock during the valuation periods of the respective ASR Agreements, which adjustments will affect the total amount expended by the company or the aggregate number of shares it repurchases.

Share buybacks are generally considered to be a good thing for investors because they cause the share price to rise over time.

For more information: please see The benefits of stock buybacks.

Reflecting important changes in how Americans view breakfast in their lives, The Quaker Oats Company, which is a division of PepsiCo, announced a broad new direction for growth focused on products and programs designed to help people lead healthier lifestyles.

Quaker Oats Company will introduce two new hot cereal varieties and improvements for its category-leading instant oatmeal in stores nationwide this week.

Quaker Hearty Medleys Instant Multigrain Hot Cereal and Mix-Up Creations expand the hot cereal leader into new dimensions with products for both adults and kids.