“Citigroup Inc.” on The Daily Caller

Regulators have now set their sights on Morgan Stanley as the Wall Street bank is reportedly being investigated by federal prosecutors over whether or not it misled investors about mortgage-related deals it helped design and sometimes took a bearish stance against. (more)

End of the financial reform stalemate. Republicans announced that they had achieved resolution of bailout loopholes on the financial regulatory reform bill Wednesday afternoon. “Now that bipartisan negotiations have ended, it is my hope that the majority’s avowed interest in improving this legislation on the Senate floor is genuine and the partisan gamesmanship is over,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, in a statement. After failing to move forward on Monday and Tuesday on the financial reform bill by the exact same vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, scheduled another vote on Wednesday which was promptly defeated as well. The count Wednesday was 56-42 with Senator Nelson, Nebraska Democrat, and Reid voting against the measure. Reid’s “no” vote allows him to bring it up again. A vote later Wednesday, after Democrats threatened to hold an all-night session, succeeded in getting Republicans to drop their filibuster. (more)

In his recent speech on Wall Street, President Obama tried to delegitimize any criticism of his proposed financial regulations and taxes. He said, “What’s not legitimate is to suggest that somehow the legislation being proposed is going to encourage future taxpayer bailouts, as some have claimed. That makes for a good sound bite, but it’s not factually accurate. It is not true. In fact…a vote for reform is a vote to put a stop to taxpayer-funded bailouts. That’s the truth. End of story.” (more)

Somebody spilled the beans Tuesday, telling the truth about the financial reform bill being debated in Congress. But most media ignored it. (more)

First Senate Move on Financial Reform Defeated – Despite control of the White House, the House and the Senate, and almost 70% of the country supporting financial reform, the Democrats could not prevail on a crucial financial services vote Monday.  The first vote to move along the financial reform bill was defeated 57 to 41, with 60 votes needed.  While the press today is full of attacks for Republicans voting (as did the Democrats) along party lines, a major cause for the loss was the fact that Democrat Ben Nelson (D-Neb) voted with the Republicans against the financial reform bill. (more)

Discrimination is not a partisan issue. As leaders of the National Stonewall Democrats and the Log Cabin Republicans—the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans in the nation’s two major political parties—we share a commitment to full equality for all Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. While we disagree on matters of elections and political leadership, we agree that now is the time for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to become the law of the land for all Americans. (more)

After nearly two years of being drenched in red ink, Citigroup provided the strongest signs yet that the much-troubled bank is beginning to recover as it reported a $4.4 billion profit in the first quarter. (more)

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A source close to the Bloomberg administration confirms the Times’ report that Deputy Mayor for Operations Ed Skyler is departing his post. (more)

The Treasury Department announced plans Monday to sell its 27% stake in Citigroup (C: 4.31, 0, 0%) “over the course of 2010” in a deal that will likely amount to a windfall for taxpayers. (more)

WASHINGTON — There is no U.S. government guarantee to protect the largest financial firms, a Treasury Department official said Thursday, as a congressional watchdog criticized the $45 billion in government aid provided to Citigroup Inc. (more)

Citigroup is in talks to sell its private equity, real estate and hedge fund investment arms, which together manage about $20bn of assets, as the bank presses ahead with plans to sell $900bn of non-core assets to repay debt. (more)

President Obama is now saying that “we’ve recovered most of your money already, but we want all our money back.” Does anyone really know how much money is out and how much is back? Is there money left on the table? (more)

It’s almost too bizarre to believe, but banks that received taxpayer money because they had toxic assets on their books have actually been buying more toxic assets from other banks, to sell back to the very government that provided them assistance. (more)