Citigroup's (C - commentary - Trade Now) sale of debt today without FDIC backing is still one more signal that the government's time to extricate itself from the situation is now. The one-third stake that the government has in the bank was not meant to be a home run; it was meant to be a short-term bridge to be sure that Citigroup didn't fail.
I keep thinking that the government will get it: we do not want the government to be in business, we don't want it to do anything but shrink, and we want business people to run businesses.
Why this hasn't dawned on the government, which is free to trade its stake, is beyond me. If Citigroup doesn't need the government, as this note deal shows, why does the government need Citigroup? This morning, I did a video with Alix Steel about Citigroup in which she questioned me about my short-term outlook on the stock. I punted. I said that it will trade up to $5.60 (current book value) over time, but without some insight into what the government's going to do with its stake, we have a "beats me" situation.
That's not what I want to pay up 20 cents for -- not in this market.
Random musings: Yahoo! (YHOO - commentary - Trade Now) is one of those companies I think people are paying up for because it simply can't stay down this low. It is a rising-tide stock.... Reader question answered: I am worried about the relentless market share loss by the New York Stock Exchange. It can't make it up with new listings because there haven't been many. Frankly, I don't know what I would do if I were running the NYSE to stem the tide of trading share.
P.S. Will you be there when Cramer makes his next move?
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Jim Cramer Blog I'm Done Buying 9/17/2009 2:35 PM EDT This market is just too darn high for me -- I'll circle back after a bit of a dip.
Jim Cramer Blog A Lot of Pluses for Nucor 9/17/2009 11:20 AM EDT It's the best steel company in the world, and it's a screaming buy.
Jim Cramer Blog Don't Forget the Nat Gas Angle in APC 9/17/2009 12:59 PM EDT The big splash yesterday in oil is nice, but the turn in natural gas is really driving here.
At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in the stocks mentioned.
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