| Citigroup gets a black eye in Rusnak caper
JUST WHEN you thought it was safe to walk down Wall Street again without two Dobermans to repel the white-collar muggers, Allied Irish Banks brings new allegations of misdeeds against Bank of America and Citigroup.
OK, the purported transgressions took place a few years ago, before the big New York financial houses were cleansed and absolved by St. Eliot. It's only the revelations of supposed wrongdoing that are new.
But the claims made by Allied Irish last week in a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, if true, offer new evidence that Wall Street operatives always have and always will act in the interests of 1) themselves and their bonuses 2) their firms and 3) their customers. In that order.
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Humiliated chancellor takes Rock public
Now the taxpayer will bear the full risk of lending £100 billion of mortgages in an uncertain housing market. We will not back nationalisation. We will not help Gordon Brown take this country back to the 1970s."Robin Ashby, of the Northern Rock Small Shareholders Group, said he was "shocked and appalled" by the decision. He added: "I thought that there was a good offer made by the management of Northern Rock as recently as Friday and that seems to have been brushed to one side with this rush into macho politics, which is going to do irreparable damage to Britain's reputation as a financial-services sector."The failed bidsTHE new boss of a Virgin-run Northern Rock (NR) would have been Jayne-Anne Gadhia, 46, the chief executive of Virgin Money, who is based in Edinburgh. The Virgin brand was seen to be a major benefit of the bid – the Northern Rock brand was set to be ditched in favour of Virgin Money, as the NR brand would have been damaged by the fiasco.
MONDAY, FEB. 12
The operator of American Airlines put a damper on buoyant expectations late last month by warning that weather-related flight cancellations had driven up its unit costs, leading analysts to predict a quarterly loss. That said, AMR is still likely to post its first annual profit in six years amid improving industry fundamentals. See article. Earnings Outlook: Analysts polled by Thomson First Call forecast a loss of seven cents a share; before AMR's update, it was expected to turn a profit of 53 cents a share. In 2005's fourth quarter, the company posted a loss of $3.49 a share, including more than $1 a share in one-time charges. Revenue Outlook: Analysts expect $5.5 billion, up from $5.17 billion a year earlier. Key Issues: • Cancellations: Snow in Denver and fog in London hampered airlines late in the quarter.
Isilon Systems' listing on Nasdaq falls under review
Isilon Systems, the Seattle data-storage company, is out of compliance with requirements for continued listing on the Nasdaq because an internal investigation has delayed the company's third-quarter report. The company said Friday it plans to request a hearing before a Nasdaq panel, and its shares will continue trading on the exchange until the panel makes a decision. Isilon's audit committee is reviewing some sales to resellers and other customers "to determine whether commitments were made that have an impact on the timing and treatment of revenue recognition and whether the company's internal controls relating to revenue recognition were sufficient." In October, the company's chief executive and chief financial officers were sacked. Isilon said it will not file its quarterly report until after the review is completed.
Mason says 'few' jobs will be lost
"Few" jobs will be lost as a result of the agreement announced yesterday between Citigroup Inc. and Legg Mason Inc., Legg Mason CEO Raymond "Chip" Mason said yesterday.
In fact, Citigroup may open an operations center in Baltimore, Mason said in an interview - though he said the final decision would be Citigroup's. A Citigroup spokeswoman declined comment.
Citigroup's consumer lending division, CitiFinancial, has a large presence in Baltimore.
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