By Relmor Demitrius -

The year 2008 proved to be a very educational one for the average investor.  Due to the stock market downtrend, bank failures, and emergency FED meetings galore, we learned some interesting diction during this economic downturn.  Stagflation, inflation, deflation, recession, depression, V shaped corrections, W shaped corrections, FED rates, LIBOR rates, and what the hell is a CDO?  What is the boom/bust cycle?  What are cyclical stocks?  Value stocks?  All these concepts and words were being thrown around by so called “experts” on every news TV show to every financial bog and newspaper in the country.  The amount of half truths, misinformation, and just plain fear mongering was staggering.  I think as time has passed, and a clear mind can now be used to refocus on some of these past events, terms, and concepts.  We can use this to better understand where to put your money a year from now, or even tomorrow.  But first, you have to understand the animal.

At the core of all of this is having a basic understanding of the economic and monetary rules that are applicable to today’s world.  At the very core, the first concept that must be understood is what is fiat currency, the current monetary system we are using today.

Fiat currency is a currency that is backed by nothing, and measurable only to other currencies.  This is where the term “floating currency” comes from, which means it is only “floating” in apparent value up or down in comparison to other currencies currently backed by nothing.  The Euro, Yuan, Ruble, and most major foreign currencies are indeed backed by nothing but a promise.  In effect they are not assets, they are simply a way to pay debt.  Since we live in a world of debt, they should always have a use, however.  In 1941, with the creation of the Taft-Hartley Act, which Nixon revoked, we were on a limited gold standard.  When the U.S. dollar was implemented as the worlds reserve currency, we promised that an exchange for gold would always be possible.  Well in August of 1971, Nixon said, No more.  The dollar can no longer be redeemed for gold.  Costly war expenses, innovations in modern banking, and other factors lead to a huge influx in the money supply.  There soon simply wasn’t going to be enough gold to give out, if so demanded. (more…)

By Steve Garcia

On April 6, 1998, the merger between Citicorp and Travelers Group was announced to the world, creating a $140 billion dollar firm with assets of almost $700 billion dollars. The chairmen of both parent companies, John Reed and Sanford Weill, were announced as co-chairmen and CEOs of the new entity, Citigroup (NYSE:C), Inc., although the huge difference in management styles between the two immediately presented question marks over such a setup.

Presented as a merger, the deal was truthfully more like a stock swap, with Travelers Group purchasing all of Citicorp shares for $70 billion dollars, and issuing 2.5 new Citigroup shares for each Citicorp share. By using this ratio, existing shareholders of each company wound up owning about half of the new merged one. The new company maintained Citicorp’s “Citi” brand in its name but adopted Travelers’ distinctive “red umbrella” as the new corporate logo, and it was used until 2007.

The remaining provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act ; enacted following the Great Depression forbade banks to merge with insurance underwriters, and meant Citigroup had between two and five years to divest any prohibited assets. Sanford Weill stated at the time of the merger that they believed “over time the legislation will change. We have had enough discussions to believe this will not be a problem”  The passing of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in November 1999 proved Reed and Weill’s views, opening the door to financial services conglomerates with a mix of commercial banking, investment banking, insurance underwriting and brokerage services all under one roof essentially. (more…)

By Steve Garcia -

As a precursor to covering Citigroup (NYSE: C) stock, I feel a little history lesson is due.  The history lesson will help to bring us up to today in terms of where they have been, and where the company is headed in the future.  I have been in and out of this stock several times over the years, and have family who have worked for and retired from the company.  There was a time when my family lived and breathed First National and Citibank; a time when this company showed genuine care and passion for what it did and its employees did.  The company no longer holds its employees in high regard, but that will be gone into more in future articles.  I believe it is important to know as much about the company you invest in as possible.  That was never truer than it is right now.  For now, let us look at the history of one of the largest Banking conglomerates ever.

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