Wall Street Not Worried About Citi - shares edge up

At a Barclays' investor conference,Citigroup's Chief Financial Officer,John Gerspach,said that Citi's Q3 revenue would probably fall by 15% on the year.Barclays' own analyst,Jason Goldberg,had forecast a 12% drop in Citi revenue,so Mr.Gerspach wasn't saying anything the Street didn't already know.The decline is related to lower market volatility,meaning people are trading less often,being more confident in their positions as US presidential election and Brexit fears have abated.*
Mr.Gerspach also expressed optimism about Citi's investment banking business.As well,he is pleased that regulatory reform is on the table in Washington,although the talks are going more slowly than he would like,with several finance-related government posts being vacant.*
Citigroup shares were up 1.54 on the day as of press time,or 2.33%,to 67.71,with the yield at 1.89%.*
Citigroup,Inc (C)

Asia This Day:Asian Earnings Vaguely Disappoint

More than half of Asian firms have reported disappointing Q2 earnings so far.Of the companies in the MSCI Asia-Pacific index,54% disappointed,as compared with 50% in Q1.Nonetheless,Asian shares rose decisively in early Monday trading,cheered by an uptick in US hiring and hopeful sounds from Greece.
In the Chinese technology sector,Alicia Yap of Barclays said Baidu is definitely a buy because of its market dominance.She also likes NetEase,Inc.Tencent's margins are of concern to her.In general,large customers are being cautious with their pocketbooks.
At the London Olympics Sunday,China still led the medals count,with 61 total and 30 gold;the US stayed second with 60 total and 28 gold;Great Britain ranked third with 37 total and 16 gold;Russia held fourth with 37 total and 4 gold;and Japan came in fifth at 27 total and 2 gold.Jamaica's Usain Bolt retained his 100 meter sprint title;Sanya Richards-Ross became the second US woman in history to take the gold in the 400 meter race.
Romanian gymnast Sandra Izbasa secured the gold in the women's vault final with a steady showing,upsetting media favorite McKayla Maroney of Team USA,who was awarded silver when she landed on her backside.Maria Paseka won the bronze medal.
NetEase,Inc.(NTES),Baidu(BIDU),Barclays(BCS)

BlackRock Viewpoint

Consumers spent a little more money last month,feeling a little better about the jobs they hold,notes Bob Doll,Vice-President and Chief Equity Strategist at BlackRock.We're seeing an improvement in business conditions,improving revenue and will add some jobs soon,but we've got to get past the tightening concerns,the Greek problem.There are more bad debts out there,and that means a sub par recovery.It will be slower than normal:two steps forward,and one step back.
The economy and markets can handle small rate increases.There are political worries,but manufacturing is doing pretty well and inflation is contained.We need to see some job growth.That would be the next step in a normal recovery.The rising price of oil is a sign of global economic recovery.
I've been impressed by the recent mergers and acquisitions,and I think there are a bunch more to come.It will spread lots of different places.I think we'll see continued mixed data,but leaning to the positive.My view is that European growth will be slow.They've got some punching to do to get out of the mess,Mr.Doll believes.
BlackRock,which acquired Barclays' iShares funds,has more than a trillion dollars under management.

BlackRock To Enlarge

BlackRock is purchasing Barclays Global Investors,which is comprised of the iShares investment products.BGI manages about 1.5 trillion dollars-or about half the exchange-traded fund industry.When the deal is consummated,BlackRock will be the largest money manager in the world,with more than 2.7 trillion under management.That is more than the Federal Reserve manages.Consolidation of financial firms is a typical response to crises.
Barclays PLC,the British bank which owns BGI,will hold on to a 20% stake in it.BlackRock is itself part-owned by Bank of America and PNC Financial Services Group.Laurence Fink is CEO of BlackRock.

A Joint Response

Money Center banks have pooled their resources to ease the financial crisis.An international consortium of 10 of the big banks,including Citigroup(C),Barclays(BCS),Credit Suisse(CS) and Deutsche Bank(DB), have each put seven billion dollars U.S. into the fund.Any of them are allowed to borrow up to a third of the 70 billion to shore up their balance sheets and avoid ratings downgrades.