I've been hinting for the past couple of days that I was considering a bearish play on Citigroup given its anemia. I've decided to do nothing for now after careful consideration of what I don't know about C's future.
I don't know whether further bailouts are in the offing, providing future artificial pops to its share price.
I don't know whether it will be the target of a takeover attempt by either Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley, the two most oft-quoted names. Those former investment banks are looking for retail deposits to shore up their own balance sheets, and an ailing commercial bank looks good to them.
I don't know whether Citi will sell off pieces of itself to leave a rump commercial bank that's more viable than a disintegrating "universal" bank.
So, no uncovered calls or short sales on C for now.
I don't know whether further bailouts are in the offing, providing future artificial pops to its share price.
I don't know whether it will be the target of a takeover attempt by either Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley, the two most oft-quoted names. Those former investment banks are looking for retail deposits to shore up their own balance sheets, and an ailing commercial bank looks good to them.
I don't know whether Citi will sell off pieces of itself to leave a rump commercial bank that's more viable than a disintegrating "universal" bank.
So, no uncovered calls or short sales on C for now.
