Opening Bell: 4.18.08
[tags]General,,[/tags]
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Citi Reports First Quarter Net Loss of $5.1 Billion, Loss Per Share of $1.02
What’s another $10 billion or so in writedowns? After all, the company booked a 63 percent gain in transaction income and international revenues were strong. And it hardly needs mentioning that ex-writedowns, Citi actually turned in something like a $5 billion gain, which is actually a monster quarter. Pandit: “During the first quarter, valuations of our sub-prime related exposures in fixed income markets and leveraged finance assets have further declined and credit costs in our consumer lending businesses have increased.”
Citi beats doomsday scenario (Fortune)
Well, you’ve gotta start somewhere, and beating a doomsday scenario is better than beating nothing, so we’re sure they’re glad to take it. The $10 billion writedown was less than the most dire forecasts of an $18 billion write down (again, hats off).
Google Quiets Growth Fears (WSJ)
It was probably one of the most scrutinized quarters of all time, as analysts pored over morsel after morsel of Google data. And the general view was that it was going to be tough, with only an outside chance of a solid score. Well they did it, solidly beating expectations on the revenue and earnings front, while sending shares of comScore into a tailspin after hours — comScore being the traffic analysis firm that had been warning the loudest of a deceleration in paid clicks.
Iceland, a Tiny Dynamo, Loses Steam (NYT)
Wow, an article about Iceland in the NYT, and it’s not in the travel section (there’s someone over at travel who loves Iceland). Anyway, yeah, you probably know the story. The little mis-named island that could has been running into trouble (it probably means they’re going to have to put their plans to go 100 percent hyrdogen on the backburner). Anyway, maybe the island need to get its name back in the travel section some more — you know, to boost those tourism dollars.
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