It seems extraordinary, but in the end Citigroup needed a bailout from the Government. One of the largest banks in the world saw it's share price collapse last week after worries about black holes appearing in their balance sheet related to the financial crisis.
In early trading on the German market, Citi shares gained 40%, reflecting the markets confidence in the bailout.
Lets hope its a signal for the broader market, and perhaps a return to more confidence going forward. Perhaps we saw the bottom of the market last Friday; only time will tell.....

The bailout that the big 3 automakers in the US have lloked for has stalled for the time being, adding to the uncertainty in the stock market. Stocks plunged to their lowest closing levels in 11 years on Thursday.
The question is, should the big 3 be bailed out at all?
Well, my opinion is that they should not. At least not all 3 of them. They clearly had bad management and a bad business model. Otherwise they would not be in this position. A compromise, which will likely be very unpopular, is that 1 of the 3 should be let fail. Then put in the necessary resources into the surviving 2. Shake up the management and boards, and streamline the businesses. These companies need to compete in the global marketplace against the Japanese automakers for example. They have clearly been a step ahead in terms of building energy efficient cars. This has to be the future, and the US auto industry need to catch up. NO MORE GAS GUZZLERS !

The US markets closed at their lowest level for over 5 years yesterday at continuing fears over the economy, and fear that GM will go bankrupt without a government bailout.
Citibank fell over 20% in the session to a 11 year low.
The US futures are open lower this morning, as jitters continue to weigh on the markets.

Well, we have moved on from the bank bailout, and onto the big 3 US auto makers, who are looking for a financial bailout.
What next?
I would like a financial bailout from my property investments. Who will bail me out? .......

Well it does not look good on the jobs front for the banking industry, as Citigroup announces it will cut 53,000 jobs.
JPMorgan may well follow suit.
For once perhaps, investment bankers won't be so worried about the size of their bonus this year, rather whether they'll actually have any job at all.

Hi,

Welcome to my brand new website called www.LearnAboutWallStreet.com

I welcome your comments about the site. Check out the financial dictionary with explanations of many financial buzzwords. This will be added to over time.
There is also a section detailing the history of Wall Street. There is a Wall Street Jobs section that has yet to be developed, but when it is, it will detail the main jobs available on Wall Street with an explanation of each.
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