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Non-Tech : Banks--- Betting on the recovery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (677)	3/8/2010 12:47:02 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1428

I'll let you know Cramer's response to this article. I am sure he will have one.;-)

To: Road Walker who wrote (677)	3/8/2010 4:37:46 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1428

And here is his response: Unloved Citi Could Do Wonders for Your Wallet By Jim Cramer RealMoney Columnist 3/8/2010 3:59 PM EST Citigroup's (C - commentary - Trade Now) making its move ... again. This is a stock that seems to have crept up to near where it announced it would do a big TARP payback. I think this is a major move -- this company's probably in better shape than it has been in years. That's right, this one's gotten better because it keeps raising capital and keeps getting more global. People lump all banks together, thinking there is nothing more to them than the mortgage and commercial real estate markets. They just presume that they have no international operations because the banks have worked assiduously to get rid of them. Not so for Citigroup. It just added former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo to the board -- so important because of Citigroup's fabulous exposure in Mexico. The company announced last week that it is going to expand its Turkish bureau. It has great reach in Asia, Europe and Latin America. In the meantime, all people do is focus on nasty comments from Elizabeth Warren -- a professor who has become the hectorer in chief of Citigroup, edging out Sheila Bair from the FDIC. That is, when they aren't bemoaning the loss of Gary Schedlin from Citigroup's investment banking group. We are led to believe this is a huge loss. Citigroup remains unloved in the press and unforgiven by the politicians. It is a great cover for the franchise's improvement and a chance to buy more before it leaves the $3 range.

To: Road Walker who wrote (677)	3/8/2010 4:40:20 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1428

Some more Cramer comments re. the banks: Little Banks Don't Get a Fair Shake By Jim Cramer RealMoney Columnist 3/8/2010 2:58 PM EST These heartland banks are leading the charge higher for the bank groups, and they are doing it quietly and methodically. I looked at the group today because Fifth Third (FITB - commentary - Trade Now) was downgraded by an important firm, FBR Capital Markets, and yet it failed to go down at the opening. That's real strength. But there is strength across the board in this group. Regions Financial (RF - commentary - Trade Now) of Alabama and Huntington Bancshares (HBAN - commentary - Trade Now) of Ohio keep creeping higher, although always with little bounds of profit-taking like today. I think HBAN is adequately capitalized for growth. I would love to see Regions raise more capital so they can get more aggressive if the FDIC lets them buy up some banks. Key's (KEY - commentary - Trade Now) slower going but it too is pushing higher. FirstMerit's (FMER - commentary - Trade Now) been steadily strong -- just an excellent Akron-based bank that never got in trouble. But the two that most impress are PNC (PNC - commentary - Trade Now) and Comerica. PNC's been locked in a disappointing range since its equity offering, but it has now definitively broken out of the range. Comerica's just been a monster, up 188% year over year, as the Dallas bank has made a major comeback. We keep hearing about the coming collapse in small community banks and the problems the FDIC is going to have in placing loans and offloading heartland community banks. The press loves to make a fuss of this issue because it is sexy and no one can get his arms around how big the problem is. Excuse me for being skeptical, but I would like to point out that all of these healthier banks could be naturals to help out with the problem -- when we see these smaller banks go under every weekend, you almost never see these banks get a stake in them. Why? As always, everything the FDIC does remain a mystery, as if it is some sort of private organization that answers to no one. Strange, but it is a tribute to the excellent press relations that Sheila Bair has courted. She's golden. So the policy stays unscrutinized.