By William Patalon III
Executive Editor
Money Morning/The Money Map Report
When it comes to the U.S. financial crisis, it’s tough to know just what to think or who to believe these days.
If you want an example, just look at yesterday (Tuesday). Citigroup Inc. (C) Chief Executive Officer Vikram S. Pandit revealed that the embattled banking giant was having its best quarter since 2007, and said that he’s confident about Citi’s capital strength - statements that unleashed a flood of speculation that the worst of the banking crisis is over.
Citi’s shares zoomed more than 38% yesterday, and put a charge into U.S. stocks in general: Rebounding from a 12-year low, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index soared 6.4%; The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 5.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index roared nearly 7.1% for the day.
At the same time, however, a media report stated that several of America’s largest banks - Citi, Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Inc. (JPM), - still faced “potentially catastrophic” losses from their derivative holdings, if the …
Hot Stocks: Coke’s $2 Billion China Play Will Add Fizz to its Profits
KUZEY....
By Jason Simpkins
Managing Editor
Money Morning
The Coca-Cola Co. (KO) said Friday that it would invest $2 billion in China over the next three years.
That’s 25% more than the $1.6 billion Coke has invested in China during the past 30 years.
As Coke’s third largest market – trailing only the United States and Mexico – China is already a centerpiece of the company’s global growth strategy. When the company announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter results last month, it reported that China jumped 29% last year, while U.S. sales actually fell by 1%.
So it’s no surprise that China will overtake both Mexico and the United States to become the company’s largest market by 2018, Coke President and Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent told The Financial Times.
The $2 billion …
