Sure boh

You must be joking.

EPF still actively buying these 2 stocks.




This post has been edited by SKY 1809: Nov 24 2008, 11:03 AM

You should be banned for 3 days under the ISA.

This post has been edited by SKY 1809: Nov 24 2008, 11:06 AM

HONG KONG, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Asian share markets fell around 1 percent on Monday, with bank stocks leading the drop, and so-called safe-haven assets like the yen gained as investors cautiously eyed potential U.S. measures to prop up Citigroup.

Reports that U.S. New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner will be nominated as the new U.S. Treasury Secretary boosted Wall Street on Friday, but had less impact in Asia, which had already ended last week higher as investors thought recent falls to five-year lows were excessive.

Oil edged up as Geithner's appointment eased some uncertainty about the transition in U.S. economic policy, while expectations OPEC might cut output again as early as this week also helped.

Doubts about Citigroup's ability to survive remained a major factor for global markets, as the U.S. lender struggles with mounting losses from credit cards, mortgages and toxic debt.

"I don't think the news is going to change the overall environment. We are still very much in risk aversion mode," said Sharada Selvanathan, a currency strategist at BNP Paribas in Hong Kong, referring to a potential U.S. government deal with Citi.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks excluding Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 1.7 percent at 0230 GMT. Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.

Asian shares have dropped 61 percent so far this year, with the bulk of these losses accumulated after the collapse of Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in mid-September.

Banks in the region were among the hardest hit on Monday, including Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC (0005.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), South Korea's KB Financial Group (105560.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is looking at putting risky assets in a government-supported "bad bank" -- a step to reassure investors that the rest of its assets were safe, according to reports on Sunday. CNBC reported that the government's priority was to give Citigroup a $10-$20 billion equity infusion, but this would not preclude other actions to help the bank. [ID:nN23478485]

Shares in South Korea .KS11 slumped more than 2 percent. Shares in Hong Kong .HSI, Australia , Shanghai .SSEC, Taiwan .TWII and Singapore .FTSTI fell 1-2 percent. Continued...

This post has been edited by SKY 1809: Nov 24 2008, 11:12 AM

DJ future is up 34 pts.

Solutions for Citi in its way ???

---

Added on November 24, 2008, 12:51 pmCitigroup, Fed Said to Weigh Plan to Limit Losses (Update2)
By Bradley Keoun, Alison Vekshin and Christine Harper



Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. and U.S. regulators are in talks to limit the bank’s potential losses on more than $100 billion of toxic assets after the stock’s plunge last week sparked concerns about the company’s fate, four people familiar with the matter said.

The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have been locked in discussions with Citigroup and other regulators throughout the weekend and a deal may be reached as soon as today, according to the people, who declined to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. The plan under consideration calls for the assets to remain at Citigroup, with the government agreeing to assume losses beyond a specified amount, two of the people said.

The holdings that may be guaranteed are a portion of the $400 billion pile of mortgages, bonds, auto loans and corporate loans that Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit pledged in May to shed within three years, the two people said. While the amount to be covered under the plan is under discussion, the talks are focused on about $100 billion to $200 billion of the assets, they said.

“If anybody’s too big to fail from the financial system’s point of view, it’s Citi,” said Brian Barish, president of Cambiar Investments LLC in Denver, which manages about $6 billion and doesn’t own Citigroup stock. “The government doesn’t need to be in this to make money. If they lose a few bucks on this, but save the system, it’ll be worth it.”

Share Decline

Citigroup lost 60 percent of its market value last week as investor confidence in the New York-based company’s prospects faltered after four consecutive quarterly losses. Unless the bank takes steps to halt the slide, the share-decline may rattle Citigroup’s customers, counterparties and employees, threatening the operations of the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, according to a report by David Hendler, an analyst at CreditSights Inc. in New York.

“We sense that Citi’s board will also recognize the difficult chain of events which can be brought about by its low stock price, and prefer to take action,” Hendler wrote in the report yesterday.

Federal Reserve Board spokeswoman Michelle Smith and Citigroup spokesman Michael Hanretta declined to comment today. Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden and Chief Risk Officer Brian Leach are leading the negotiations for the bank, one person familiar with the matter said.

‘Breathing Room’

The aid plan under consideration would give Citigroup “a little bit of breathing room, but long-term things may deteriorate” in areas of the company that wouldn’t be covered, said Peter Kovalski, a portfolio manager at Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC in Purchase, New York, which manages $8 billion including Citigroup stock. “The Achilles’ heel with Citi also is their exposure to emerging markets and what’s going to happen when emerging markets turn down, as they’re doing now.”

Pandit, 51, told employees on a Nov. 21 conference call that he doesn’t plan to break up the company. He and Crittenden said they don’t expect to sell the Smith Barney brokerage unit, two people who listened to the call said at the time.

Citigroup’s board, led by Chairman Win Bischoff and independent director Richard Parsons, met the same day to discuss the bank’s options.

Citigroup issued a statement last week saying the company has “a very strong capital and liquidity position and a unique global franchise.”

Interventions

The proposal under consideration is a variation on a theme that has played out in government interventions during the past year, including JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s purchase of Bear Stearns Cos., Citigroup’s failed effort to buy Wachovia Corp. and the Swiss government’s rescue financing of UBS AG. In each case, the government required the bank to absorb initial losses and agreed to guarantee deficits beyond that amount.

JPMorgan took the first $1.15 billion of losses on a $30 billion portfolio of Bear Stearns’s devalued assets, with the Fed agreeing to finance the rest.

In September, Citigroup agreed to suffer the first $42 billion of losses on Wachovia’s loan porfolio, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. taking the rest, in a deal that was canceled after Wells Fargo & Co. stepped in to buy Wachovia.

The Swiss government required UBS in October to inject 6 billion Swiss francs ($4.91 billion) into a special purpose vehicle backed with $54 billion of central bank loans to allow the bank to carve off about $60 billion of assets.

To help shore up Citigroup, the FDIC could provide loan-loss support or the U.S. Treasury could contribute money from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program passed by Congress in October, Hendler’s report said.

Credit Ratings

“The FDIC does not comment on open and operating institutions,” Andrew Gray, a spokesman for the agency, said in an e-mailed statement today.

Citigroup’s debt remains on review for downgrade by both Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s. Moody’s rates Citigroup’s senior unsecured debt Aa3, while S&P has an AA- rating. A downgrade to A1 by Moody’s or to A+ by S&P is possible as the bank’s falling stock price could be deemed to hamper the company’s “financial flexibility,” the report said.

A single-A rating at the parent-company level should be manageable as long as the company’s banking subsidiaries maintain double-A ratings, CreditSights said. JPMorgan, now the biggest U.S. bank by assets, managed to endure with single-A ratings earlier in the decade, the report notes.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bradley Keoun in New York at bkeoun@bloomberg.net; Alison Vekshin in Washington at o avekshin@bloomberg.net; Christine Harper in New York at charper@bloomberg.net.

This post has been edited by SKY 1809: Nov 24 2008, 12:51 PM

MMC' boss got some many companies under privatisation.

Do not know the money comes from where, loans from EPF ???

double post

Citi,

Is it stone or gold ???

This post has been edited by SKY 1809: Nov 24 2008, 01:44 PM

Perhaps Bush should retire early, no point just to occupy seat, and let the whole world collapses with him.

That is called " management ". leaked out bad news to CEOs , so that they panic.

Yes, so long there is no toxic in our banking system.

Sifu Adam could be busy buying Citi shares

Meant for experts like you.

We do not have the crystal balls to see the future

he was the boss of " Repco" second board stock, with share price of more than RM 100 , more than 10 years ago.

So how dangerous if he might want to push up KNM to RM 10 just joking.

Judge your own.

This post has been edited by SKY 1809: Nov 26 2008, 02:11 PM

4D - third prize, KInstel

It is cheaper if your remiser could provide some ekor numbers

5000 shares looooooong term

Just joking. Do not take it seriously.

It is more dangerous than buying wrrants. just joking.

When share price goes up , he says he only got 2000 shares.

When share price comes down, he would say he got 200,000 shares.

Very dangerous.