Citigroup tops forecasts, but caution lingers
NEW YORK (AP) -- For big
banks like Citigroup, the first quarter of 2009 may turn out to be the best of
the year.
Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan
Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. all
impressed investors over the past week with earnings reports that were better
than Wall Street analysts anticipated.
Citigroup posted a
first-quarter loss to common shareholders of $966 million, or 18 cents per
share, narrower than the 34 cent forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson
Reuters. But before paying dividends to preferred stockholders tied to a
private stock offering in January 2008, the bank earned $1.6 billion, while
revenue doubled from a year ago to $24.8 billion.
Stocks edge higher after
Citi, GE earnings beat
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street
found enough in the latest earnings reports to keep its six-week rally alive.
Stocks ended another winning
week with a modest advance Friday as earnings from Citigroup Inc. and General
Electric Co. came in ahead of the market's meager expectations.
The numbers weren't great by
normal standards but were good enough to extend a rally that began on early
signs that the economy was finding some stability. The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 5.90, or 0.1 percent, to 8,131.33.
Finance unit woes lower GE
earns 36 pct
WASHINGTON (AP) -- General
Electric Co.'s first-quarter earnings fell 36 percent as profits tumbled at its
troubled finance arm, but the results beat Wall Street forecasts in a glimmer
of good news for the struggling company.
While GE Capital remains a
major drag on the conglomerate's profits, GE's strategy of weathering the
economic slowdown by relying on its big industrial businesses appears to be
paying off, at least for now.
GE reported net income of
$2.74 billion, or 26 cents per share, after paying preferred dividends. That
was down from $4.30 billion, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier.
GM CEO says bankruptcy
probable but not preferred
DETROIT (AP) -- General
Motors Corp. Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said Friday that a bankruptcy
filing is "probable" because of the restructuring goals GM must meet
to get more government loans, but that isn't the company's preferred option.
In a conference call with
reporters, Henderson said GM is working on two parallel plans: one that
involves bankruptcy and one that doesn't.
Henderson also said GM will
need more government aid sometime in the second quarter, although the timing
has yet to be decided. In its viability plan filed Feb. 17, the company said it
would need $4.6 billion in the quarter, and that hasn't changed, he said.
Bernanke: financial
innovation needs regulation
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that financial innovation is good for
the economy but must be accompanied by proper regulation.
New financial products, such
as subprime mortgages and structured investment vehicles, have become symbols
of the economic crisis. The challenge for the government is to come up with
regulations that protect consumers without stifling innovation, the Fed chief
said.
New pollution limits seen
for cars, big plants
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cars,
power plants and factories could all soon face much tougher pollution limits.
The government took a major
step in that direction Friday, concluding that carbon dioxide and five other
greenhouse gases "endanger public health and welfare" under federal
clean air laws, that they help cause climate change, or global warming and pose
an enormous threat "in both magnitude and probability."
It is the first time that the
federal government has said it is ready to use the Clean Air Act to require
power plants, cars and trucks to curtail their release of climate-changing
pollution, especially carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.
Obama's auto adviser linked
to NY pension probe
NEW YORK (AP) -- An
investment company run by the head of the Obama administration's auto task
force has been accused of paying more than $1 million to an aide to New York's
former comptroller in a bid to win a lucrative deal with the state pension
fund.
Steven Rattner was an
executive at the Quadrangle Group, a private equity firm, until he left this
year to lead President Barack Obama's efforts to fix the U.S. auto industry.
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that Rattner met with
two now-indicted men to try to win state pension fund business.
Investors see safety in oil,
prices above $50
NEW YORK (AP) -- The best
thing going for oil producers is that the world still needs millions of barrels
of it everyday.
Even as factories shut down
and consumption falters, investors continue to buy crude stocks on the
expectation that the world's petroleum appetite will eventually return.
Benchmark crude for May
delivery on Friday added 35 cents to settle at $50.33 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. With the May contract ending next week, traders focused on
crude stocks with a later delivery under the June contract.
UPS, DHL end talks over
airlift agreement
ATLANTA (AP) -- UPS Inc.
said Friday that talks with DHL about carrying some of its air packages have
ended, scuttling a venture that originally was expected to generate up to $1
billion in annual revenue for the world's largest shipping carrier.
Spokesman Norman Black told
The Associated Press that the two companies agreed to terminate their
negotiations. He did not elaborate.
But the move was expected by
many analysts after DHL decided that it would no longer offer U.S.
domestic-only air and ground services.
Chrysler CEO says new board
coming with Fiat deal
DETROIT (AP) -- If Chrysler
LLC and Fiat Group SpA can work out an alliance in the next two weeks or so,
Chrysler would be run by a new board appointed by the U.S. government and Fiat,
Chrysler's top executive said in a message to employees.
Chief Executive Robert Nardelli,
in an e-mail sent late Thursday, told Chrysler's 54,000 workers that the
majority of directors will be independent and not employed by either Fiat or
Chrysler.
The new board, Nardelli
wrote, would pick a CEO "with Fiat's concurrence," casting doubt on
his own future as head of the struggling Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker. The
e-mail obtained by The Associated Press did not say if Nardelli plans to stay
with the company should it join with Fiat.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 5.90, or 0.1 percent, to 8,131.33.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index added 4.30, or 0.5 percent, to 869.60, while the Nasdaq composite
index rose 2.63, or 0.2 percent, to 1,673.07.
Benchmark crude for May
delivery on Friday added 35 cents to settle at $50.33 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
Crude for June delivery also
increased 31 cents to settle at $52.47 a barrel.
In other Nymex trading,
gasoline for May delivery gained 1.84 cents to settle at $1.4927 a gallon and
heating oil rose less than a penny, settling at $1.4225 a gallon. Natural gas
for May delivery increased 13 cents to settle at $3.729 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent prices
gained 29 cents to settle at $53.35 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.