The Current Citibank Status Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Current Citibank Status - Essay Example One day the Dow Jones is up, the next day it plunges down. Those who are holding out for economic stability seem to be optimistic that the highly controversial and recent national cash infusion of $3.5 trillion approved by Congress is going to put at least a mild set of spare brakes on the ride. Its primary purpose is to move working people in to more updated and viable industries based on changes in today's world; and hopefully, to get them spending and borrowing again. The government is also underwriting the virtual flotation devices for lending money to cash-strapped small businesses until a stalled economy can get moving. The only remaining question is in whether or not the average consumer is going to risk borrowing (or spending freely) in order to restart the flow once a checked economy makes its next move. What was "up slightly" on March 31 became a "multi-year low" on April 1. The high road seems to be a willingness to take the middle ground approach and state that consumer confidence is "relatively pessimistic," according to Scott Andron of the Miami Herald.[1] Most important in the consideration are the investors, national and global individuals and smaller corporate conglomerates who put up the money that underwrites the tangible assets so that loans can be withdrawn and used to sustain the economy. Without them, no one wins. U.S. officials have pressed their European counterparts to spend substantially more public money in an attempt to revive economic growth and global trade. Some countries, led by Germany, have strongly resisted, predicting that such a path could lead to unsustainable debts and runaway inflation. Luxembourg's prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads a coordinating body of countries that use the euro currency, said European countries had already spent enough to jumpstart their economies. "The European stimulus plans are muscular, they are demanding, they are important in volume and in quality," Juncker said Wednesday in an interview with France's Europe 1 Radio. He said there was "no question" that the European Union would reject requests from Obama to spend more.[2] As recently as March of 2009, Citibank began to predict its own demise.[3] Michael Shedlock, a registered Investment Adviser for SitkaPacific stated [paraphrased] "Citigroup is essentially telling investors to bet against thema whole slew of financial stocks have been smashed to smithereens."[4] It is hard news to bear for a company that was once considered eternally solvent, particularly with all of the assets (and debts) that it acquired