U.S. bank shares in better position than tech after bubble burst

Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:01:23 -0400

U.S. bank shares in better position than tech after bubble burst

U.S. bank stocks have a better shot at recovering from their recent
collapse compared to how technology issues fared in their comeback in
the wake of the dot.com bubble burst, some analysts say.

CITI RISES AS PANDIT PLUGS PROFIT

Shares of Citigroup rally, scoring gains as Chief Executive Vikram
Pandit tells employees that the hard-hit provider of financial
services firm was profitable during the first two months of the year
and calls its capital position "strong."

HIRING PLANS SINK TO LOWEST LEVEL IN MANPOWER SURVEY HISTORY

The job market may get worse before it gets better, according to the
latest Manpower survey of U.S. employers' hiring plans. For the first
time since the survey started in 1962, the seasonally adjusted net
employment outlook -- the number of firms hiring minus those firing
workers -- turned negative.

THE RATINGS GAME: CITIGROUP DOWNGRADES WAL-MART TO HOLD ON UNIONIZATION CONCERN

Citigroup expresses concern that legislation intended to make it
easier for employees to unionize would raise the retail giant's labor
costs and hurt its competitiveness.

CHINA FEBRUARY CPI FALLS 1.6%, STOKES DEFLATION FEAR

China's consumer price index drops for the first time in six years in
February, stoking fears of a deflationary trend in one of the world's
fastest growing economies.