Citigroup Claims Progress Made

Citigroup,one of the world's largest financial institutions,claims it is making good progress towards recovery.CEO Vikram Pandit,in a letter to shareholders,summed up recent events,saying the company has been reorganized to best make use of its strengths.Citicorp focuses on providing best-in-class products and services to grow the franchise profitably,reduce volatility,and take advantage of its competitive advantages in more than 100 countries.We are making excellent progress divesting and exiting businesses from Citi Holdings,the non-core assets,Mr.Pandit indicates.We have significantly reduced our expenses and risk.Our balance sheet has been reduced by 25%.Our cost structure is also down by one quarter.We have also reduced our risky asset categories significantly.Our direct subprime exposure is down 65% year-over-year and highly leveraged financial commitments are down 75% year-over-year.
We still have a lot of work to do,Mr.Pandit admits,but we are continuing to build on the progress made in the past 18 months by focusing on our strategic priorities.We remain focused on managing costs and maintaining positive operating leverage and generating long-term profitability and growth from Citicorp,which comprises our core franchise,to benefit you,our shareholders,Vikram Pandit concluded.A reverse stock split may occur by June 30,2010,which means that several shares of Citigroup would be combined to form fewer,more highly-priced shares.The ratio of the split has not been determined yet.

Commercial Real Estate Needy

Dan Tischman,whose businesses are involved in construction,hospitality and realty,says it's refreshing the government is getting concerned about commercial real estate.The roll-over is going to have to be refinanced,and the capacity just isn't there.The Term Asset-backed securities Loan Facility,or TALF,needs to be extended.The total outstanding is 3.4 trillion dollars,while in a good year there was only about 40 billion available for lending.
Overall,Mr.Tischman observed,it's still a good time to build because of lower costs.Real estate investment trusts are actually doing quite well.Most of the major REITs have done money-raising to meet their obligations.I suspect there was a bubble of values created by an over-eagerness of lending.We're certainly not gonna see the values come back in a year or two or three,Mr.Tischman feels.

Aspirin May Prevent Diabetes

A study published in the American Journal of Medicine indicates that taking aspirin regularly may help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.In the study,22,000 men were followed for 22 years.Those who took aspirin were 14% less likely to contract type 2 diabetes.Men are up to 2.5 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women.Consuming 25-38 grams of fiber a day may also ward off the disease,as well as cardiovascular problems.Cereal,whole grain bread and oatmeal are good sources of fiber.

Midwesterner Garners Barron's Distinction

Don Dewaay of Dewaay Capital Management in Clive,Iowa,was the first Iowan named to Barron's Top 100 Financial Advisors,coming in at #58.The competition for the honor was formidable,Mr.Dewaay noted,and Midwesterners are too often overlooked for recognition,which made this honor all the more special.Dewaay Capital Management provides wealth portfolio management services to affluent clients,corporations and charitable foundations,managing over 650 million dollars for clients throughout the U.S.Mr.Dewaay was one of only 10 independent advisors named to the list,which is dominated by large national wire house firms.Independent advisor firms are a breed apart,Mr.Dewaay said,and he believes they represent the future of the industry.Unlike the large wire house firms,these professionals are driven entrepreneurs who built their practices with personal vision,principals and passion.That is rare in an often stodgy industry.I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to represent the universe of independent advisors across the country,Mr.Dewaay remarked.
Honors are nothing new to Don Dewaay.He was also named to Barron's Top Iowa Advisor list;was the only Iowan on Medical Economics Magazine's Top 150 Advisors for Doctors 2009;made the 2008 Forbes Magazine Goldline Research's Top 10 Most Dependable Advisors in the Midwest;and received the Better Business Bureau Integrity Award.

Money Manager Leans Private

In the view of Don Dewaay of Dewaay Capital Management,we've had two 45% declines in the past 10 years,and that's changing the way people save and invest.It's anyone's guess where this market is going in the next six months-or six years.Everything's been stress-tested,Mr.Dewaay observed.There's opportunity in the equity markets,but we focus on direct ownership of businesses and real estate.People have gotten farther away from their money,it seems to Mr.Dewaay.
Many investors are indeed taking advantage of the lower home prices,distressed properties and lower mortgage rates the financial crisis has resulted in.These will not last forever.KB Home,for instance,has resumed operations in the D.C. Metro area,feeling more optimistic than it has in some time.It had suspended construction and sales in late 2007,but plans to call construction workers and sales staff back to work,offering more moderately-priced homes for wary consumers.KB Home cited rising home prices and declining inventory levels as the reasons for its decision.

Stimulus Funds Cancer Projects

Some of the U.S. government's economic stimulus package will be used to fund four cancer projects by Science Applications International Corporation,or SAIC,for the National Cancer Institute in Fort Detrick,Maryland.The funding will be an estimated 302.5 million dollars for the Cancer Genome Atlas;Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments,or TARGET;NCI Community Cancer Centers Program;and the Cancer Human Biobank.These projects will further genomic research on tumor samples;create mini-cancer centers for clinical trials and research specimen collection and storage in local communities;and develop standardized procedures that are evidence-based for biospecimen collection and processing,storage and distribution for research,while creating a publicly-accessible database.
SAIC has been an NCI contractor for many years.It was founded in 1969 by a small group of scientists led by J. Robert Beyster,Ph.D.A FORTUNE 500 company,SAIC and its subsidiaries have about 45,000 employees in more than 150 cities worldwide.SAIC specializes in addressing complex and critical technology-related needs,such as national security,energy,the environment,health and critical infrastructure.

Coalition Fights Food Taxes

President Barack Obama has promised that health care reform will be deficit-neutral.A coalition of trade groups,businesses,unions and other organizations,as well as individuals,have banded together to resist proposed new taxes on food and beverages to partially fund the reform.In an open letter to the U.S. Congress,the coalition said they support the reform,but new taxes on food and beverages,especially those that single out a single product such as juice and soda,have no place in it.Such taxes,they say,will only burden working families already struggling in the trying economy.They will not make people healthier,teach children healthier lifestyles or change anyone's behavior.Only education and support for physical activity programs will do that.
Among those signing the letter were the National Taxpayers Union,the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,the League of United Latin American Citizens,the American Beverage Association,the National Retail Federation,Teamsters Local Union 812(New York,NY),the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association and the Wisconsin Grocers Association.The coalition,known as Americans Against Food Taxes,consists of nearly 400 groups,businesses and organizations,plus 60,000 individuals.