Citigroup's Big Comeback?

Are things at Citigroup getting better or worse? The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal carry conflicting reports on the question: According to the Times, CEO Vikram Pandit told employees that Citigroup has had its best quarter-to-date since 2007 in the first two months of 2009, generating more than $19 billion of profit. According to the Journal meanwhile, barely a week after Citigroup’s third rescue, “U.S. officials are examining what fresh steps they might need to take to stabilize the bank if its problems mount.” The talks are just preliminary and in-case-of-emergency, and include, as these talks always do, discussions of creating a “bad bank.”