For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 17, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Citigroup Inc. (C), Liberty Global Inc. (LBTYA), Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) and Vodafone Plc (VOD).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Citi to Sell Stake in Bellsystem24

Citigroup Inc. (C) announced that it will sell stake in Bellsystem24 to U.S. private equity firm, Bain Capital Partners, in a deal that values the Japanese call center operator at $1.1 billion.

The company announced on Sunday that it

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Citigroup Inc. (C) announced that it will sell stake in Bellsystem24 to U.S. private equity firm, Bain Capital Partners, in a deal that values the Japanese call center operator at $1.1 billion.   The company announced on Sunday that it will sell its 93.5% controlling stake in Bellsystem24 − which it held through its Citigroup Capital Partners Japan Ltd. − to Bain Capital Partners through a tender offer. The tender offer is expected to start on or before Nov 20 and be completed on Dec 30, 2009. Under the terms of the deal, Citi will receive 93.5 billion of yen ($1 billion) in cash.   Following the completion of the deal, Citi Holdings’ assets will be reduced by $1.2 billion. However, Citi’s net income and capital ratios will not be significantly impacted by this stake sale, the company said.   Citigroup, once the largest U.S. bank by assets, fell

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Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts!

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DrStockPick.com Watch List!

My Picks for Monday November 16, 2009 are:

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GE, General Electric Co.

GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE, is a world-leading provider of jet engines, components and integrated systems for commercial and military aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings.

GE Aviation and AVIC Systems of China have agreement on forming a new joint venture company to develop and market integrated avionics systems for commercial aircraft customers.

The joint venture is based in China but will target the U.S. and the global market as GE Aviation and AVIC Systems work together to achieve mutual

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Citigroup Inc. (C) could be compelled to sell its profitable and highly rated Mexican subsidiary Banamex due to a probe expected this week by Mexico’s Supreme Court. A group of senators has objected that Citigroup’s Mexican subsidiary is in breach of national law since the US government bail-out of the company. National law of Mexico bans foreign governments from owning a stake in domestic banks. Banamex, or Banco Nacional de Mexico, is one of Citigroup's brightest jewels, and accounts for over $20 billion, or 15% of its global profits. A number of other foreign-dominated banks operating in Mexico also remain exposed to the same risk, as many foreign governments own stake in them following the global financial crisis. These banks include American International Group, Inc. (AIG), Bank of America Corporation (BAC) and Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK), as well as ...

Citigroup's (C) third quarter 2009 loss from continuing operations of 23 cents per share was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This compares favorably with a net loss of 72 cents in the prior-year quarter. Results for the quarter included $8 billion in net credit losses and an $802 million in net loan loss reserve build. GAAP net income in the third quarter of 2009 was $101 million, compared to a net loss of $2.8 billion in the prior-year quarter. On a per share basis, however, the company reported a GAAP net loss of 27 cents per share, based on an average 12.1 billion shares outstanding. This compares to a net loss of 61 cents in the prior-year quarter. Results for the quarter were impacted by an incremental net loss of 18 cents per share related to the completion of Citi’s previously announced exchange offers. ...

Barclays Plc (BCS) is contemplating to spin off a £4 billion portfolio of complex credit assets as part of the initiative to clean up its balance sheet and alleviate shareholder concerns over its risky investments.  The move is similar to the transaction it undertook last month with a £12.3 billion portfolio. The portfolio is made up of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). CLOs are instruments that repackage portfolios of loans into tranches of different risks and returns.  Barclays could choose between two options for the sale of £4 billion of its toxic assets. It could either make a deal similar to the Protium deal which means that Barclays traders would leave the portfolio, or it could divest the whole to a third-party buyer.  Barclays seems more interested in a third-party transaction as CLO valuations have leapfrogged in recent months. A number of other banks worldwide − ...

The management team of Citigroup Inc. (C) received a positive review in an outside appraisal but some shuffling of senior executives could be on the anvil. The review was conducted this summer for Citi's board by recruiting and consulting firm Egon Zehnder International. It was triggered by the government's stress tests on top banks. Companies found to be in need of additional capital were required to conduct assessments of their management and report the findings to federal regulators. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), which had concerns about the qualifications of Chief Executive Vikram Pandit and his top management team, required Citigroup to hire an outside firm to perform the review. The report, delivered to Citigroup's board on last Friday, gave strong overall marks to Citigroup's management team and to CEO Vikram Pandit in particular. The review, however, gave less-favorable reckonings to at least two ...

Citigroup Inc. (C) has completed the sale of its Japanese brokerage Nikko Cordial Securities to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group as it continues to discard its non-core assets to come out of its liquidity crunch. The transaction has a total cash value of $8.7 billion or ¥776 billion (at an exchange rate of ¥89.60 to US$1.00 as of Sept. 30, 2009). This includes a purchase price for the transferred business of ¥545 billion, equity securities held by Nikko Cordial Securities worth ¥30 billion and ¥201 billion of excess cash derived through the repayment of outstanding indebtedness to Citi. Citi's Institutional Clients Group advised Citigroup on this transaction. Citigroup will record an immaterial after-tax gain during the fourth quarter of 2009 as a result of this transaction. Citi has also signed a strategic alliance with Sumitomo Group to build upon the long-standing partnership between Citigroup Global Markets, ...

Citigroup Inc. (C) has completed the sale of its Japanese brokerage Nikko Cordial Securities to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group as it continues to discard its non-core assets to come out of its liquidity crunch. The transaction has a total cash value of $8.7 billion or ¥776 billion (at an exchange rate of ¥89.60 to US$1.00 as of Sept. 30, 2009). This includes a purchase price for the transferred business of ¥545 billion, equity securities held by Nikko Cordial Securities worth ¥30 billion and ¥201 billion of excess cash derived through the repayment of outstanding indebtedness to Citi. Citi's Institutional Clients Group advised Citigroup on this transaction. Citigroup will record an immaterial after-tax gain during the fourth quarter of 2009 as a result of this transaction. Citi has also signed a strategic alliance with Sumitomo Group to build upon the long-standing partnership between Citigroup Global Markets, ...

Citigroup, Inc. (C) has sold off a part of its Diners Club credit card processing business to Elavon, a subsidiary of US Bancorp (USB), as it continues to rid itself of unwanted assets. Elavon acquired Citibank's Diners Club Card merchant-location portfolio in Western Europe, which represents more than 75,000 merchants. Small and mid-size businesses that accept Diners Club cards in the region will now process their transactions through Elavon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Separately, Elavon has also signed an agreement with Diners Club International, a unit of Discover Financial Services (DFS). The agreement will enable Elavon to provide processing, funding and customer support services for merchants that accept Diners Club International cards in the U.K., Ireland, France, Switzerland and Germany. Citigroup, once the largest U.S. bank by assets, fell behind last year after a series of acquisitions by rivals. The ...