On December 21st, I recommended everyone to invest within CitiGroup (C) based on several assumptions.  I believed that such a large brand could neverdissolve so fast.  Just check out these few basic numbers about CitiGroup.

1. Market Cap $78 Billion

2. Daily trading volume of 3 billion shares

3. Enough shares to give everyone in the world 4 shares, 22.86 billion to be exact

4. Billions of dollars in revenue the past 5 years

5. Stock price hovered around $50 from 06’ to 08’

All these numbers gave me faith in believing that Citi would rally sending the stock much higher.  Well until this week, CitiGroup has largely been a dissapointment doing very little in the past few months.  However this week the spark was finally ignited sending Citi up to a close of $3.96 today.  This was the kind of rally I have been looking for sometime and I don’t believe it will stop anytime soon.  Bearing any catastrophic bad news being released in the next few days I believe Citi will go well over $4.  Citi has made some strategic moves selling off bad assets to many various firms including Apollo Management. Cutting out the waste will only prove more beneficial for Citi in the long-run.  This gives Citi the ability to return to normal operations, which in most cases was very successful for 20 of the past 22 years. A 91% success rate, in my mind that’s all right. Now the key question is what is the government’s exit plan? Currently they hold around 7 billion Citi shares. With the recent surge I believe it would be a smart time to get out and allow Citi to not be beholden to the Government. There’s still a long way to go but I still have faith that Citi will continue to rise higher and higher.

Hey guys so finally the results are ready for the “Stocks On Wall Street / EZGreatLife Drop to the Top Challenge“. We are giving away some great prizes, so stay tuned. I will contact each winner individually to get more information. I want to thank everyone who participated within the concert and to thank John from EZGreatLife for helping out with this whole contest. So now lets release the prizes.

And The Winner is…

Our month long “Stocks On Wall Street / EZGreatLife Drop to the Top” contest came to an end on February 28th. Thanks to all who played along. John and I really appreciate it! We used random.org to pick the following winners:

** Winners please leave a comment in this post and I will contact you with details.

10,000 ec’s
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Just imagine if you could move your house’s energy source into your backyard.  Throw away those unhealthy emissions and simply put in a small little box. The future of the energy sector is here and it comes in the name of Bloom Energy.  Bloom Energy Corporation has come out with a revolutionary device known as the “Bloom Box.”  The idea is to get rid of the power plants and huge power grid the same way the laptop replaced the desktop. Already many Fortune 500 companies such as eBay (EBAY), Google (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO), and Bank of America (BAC) are using this device.  In fact, Google and eBay have claimed to of saved over $100,000 while using one of the twelve stealth tester boxes. So you might ask what is the Bloom Box? The Bloom Box can provide 100 kilowatts of energy using natural gas or biogas.  The price tag is $700,000 but after federal/state subsidies it costs around $0.09 per kilowatt per hour.  The payback period is around three years for this product.  This technology has been around though Bloom Energy is the first company to take it mainstream.  Their next goal is to make a smaller box for residential use.  Bloom Energy has virtually been in stealth mode for the past seven years not letting anyone in on their new secret new device.  With the release of this revolutionary new energy source however this company should take off.  They’re already getting the backing of many top “A-list” VC firms such as Klein Perkins who’ve already pledged $400 million towards Bloom Energy’s growth.  Kleiner Perkins’ CEO, John Doer, says Bloom Energy could be the next Google.  I say why not?  The U.S. energy sector is a $6 trillion dollar industry much larger than the Internet.  This new innovative “Bloom Box” sounds very similar to the Google’s “Search Bar.”  Don’t want to make any promises, but many believe in a short time Bloom Energy could become a $10 billion+ company. I don’t see why as this “little box” promises the world of opportunities. (Watch the 60 Minutes Clip below to learn more about this revolutionary product)

2009 and 2010 have been rough years for many business, one in particularly is the video-store rental giant, Blockbuster (BBI).  Blockbuster once dominated the video rental world yet now they are being build out by its main competitors Netflix (NFLX) and Redbox.  With prospects continuing to weaken for Blockbuster I doubt there is little the company can salvage or do to save face.

Lets listen to the bad news first.  US stores sales fell 16% and revenue dipped 18% in the fourth quarter.  The company is in great amount of debt and continues to lose money.  Their reaction, closing down the 500 weakest stores, which is supposedly supposed to reduce expense by roughly $200 million a year.  Adding to this they have cut huge amounts of staff and slashed advertising costs.  The company now is trying to move in a direction of digital downloads and vending kiosks though I think it’s too late.  Netflix and Redbox beat them to the bunch and already own the market share.  That’s why I believe it will be near impossible for Blockbuster to ever become profitable again.  Maybe the best call is a merger with these new market-leaders until then it will be a slippery slope down for Blockbuster.

To support my article I wrote the other day, Oil Consumption to Rise: Invest in Oil I have some graphs that I came across that will historically help point to why the energy sector is going to thrive within the month of March.  Check out the graphs below:

Looks good for Oil Stocks

Solid projections for Natural Gas

Finally good for Refiners as well

History usually tends to repeat itself and I see no reason why March will not live up to the expectations.  I think the energy stocks will perform well in March so keep invested within this sector.  Leave me a comment on what you think will happen within the energy sector in March.

With crude oil climbing back over $80 a barrel in the past several days many investors are speculating where it will head next. I for one have always been a strong promoter of oil stocks and am not going to stop now. Expect crude oil to continue to rise. Why? Well recent OPEC reports stated that energy demand will continue to increase throughout 2010. Global oil consumption could possibly rise to as much as 1.4 millions barrels a day. Crude oil prices will rely heavily on the global economic situation however I am optimistic that we will continue to see improvements within the economy. We have yet to see the surge in oil prices yet I think its coming soon. I believe oil is undervalued and consumption will only continue to rise. I expect demand to greatly increase in BRIC countries around the world. I speculate we will see oil rise in the coming weeks being supported by strong economic data. I think this surge will help lead to higher oil prices throughout 2010. Main point, invest in oil stocks. My favorite are Petrobras (PBR), Noble (NE), and Exxon Mobile (XOM).

It is inevitable that you may need cash for emergency purposes; however, you have limited income resources. Fortunately, easy payday loans are available to aid you in fulfilling financial obligations that transpire unexpectedly. Easy payday loans are short-term loans that can be repaid until your next payday. These loans can be availed of quickly because the approval period takes only a short time. The process for both application and approval is quick and simple.

If you avail of easy payday loans, you can obtain a loan amount that ranges from $100 to $1000. Most lenders of these types of loans offer larger loan amount to people who have high monthly income. Thus, the loan amount you can avail will be based on your monthly income.

On the other hand, since easy cash advance loans can be availed in no time, most lenders may charge you with high interest rates. This is because lenders want to earn as much interest as they could in a span of 30 days or as soon as you get your pay check. However, you should not worry too much on the high interest rate since no easier way of getting money is available than obtaining such loans. The high interest rates can also be lowered if you are able to find reputable lenders offering reasonable loan packages.

In addition, these loans do not require collateral. Unlike other types of loans necessitating for collateral, these loans only require borrowers to issue a post-dated check in the amount of loan agreed upon plus any other charges that may be incorporated with the loan. The lender will present the post-dated check to your bank and draw the money you have loaned. More so, borrowers with poor credit rating or bad credit history can also avail of these loans. This is because the lenders are secured as the borrowers need to present a post-dated check.

When applying for easy payday loans, you should make sure that you consider several factors. Do not rush to avail these loans. You need to make sure that the check you will issue has adequate funding so that you may not get into any kind of trouble both with the lender and the bank. More so, it is important that you do not avail of any amount of loan beyond your capacity to repay.

You should also compare the rates of interest offered by various lenders. Choose a lender that offers a reasonable rate of interest and loan package. Make sure the one you choose suits you the best. In addition, when availing of any type of loan, you should ensure you can handle your responsibility. It is important that you comply with the terms and conditions provided by the lender. Thus, you should also make sure to read the terms and conditions of the lender thoroughly so that you would not be committed to anything against your preferences. Check if there are any hidden costs or fees and make sure you comply with the agreed schedule of repayment.

So today I was reading the usual various articles and came across an interesting chart from Reuters.  The chart is an analysis of the world’s largest 18 banks and how much the CEO’s get paid.  It’s an interesting comparison to see how much these guys are making.  Do you think they deserve so much money to run these billion dollar corporations? Let me hear your thoughts by leaving a comment.

With banks slowly improving their stature within the financial world we have to look at who has the most recongizble brand and is one of the strongest buys. I say Goldman Sachs (GS) wins hands down and here’s why you should buy. My five reasons to own GS.

1. I feel Goldman is a very attractive opportunity right now and it is undervalued compared to what it should be pegged at. I feel that its 12-month price target should be roughly around $250.

2. Goldman’s business ventures should start to take off. We have started to see a pickup in M&A and IPO activity, which should help strengthen their Equity Capital Markets division. With huge M&A backlogs along with a strong demand for restructuring advice and improved IPO markets Goldman will be a big beneficiary.

3. Expect Goldman’s fixed-income, currencies and commodities business to continue to soar. Analysts say these divisions are up 99% year to date, don’t expect them to slow down anytime soon especially in 2010 where we should see a more upbeat, stable market and improved global economy. Expect for equity markets to rebound and for their fixed income market to open up proving for an improved operating environment for Goldman to capitalize on.

4. With recent protest from investors and Washington, compensation expenses will be lower. Bonuses are not being handed out in the form of stock options rather than cash. This is a rather cheap option at 11 times estimates it will be beneficiary. It is now projected that around 42% of revenues will be handed out as compensation against the 46%, which was originally projected. That 4% difference should be a nice bonus to investors.

5. Goldman has an advantage over its peers due to its high stature. Many analysts consider it to be a premium when valued against its peers due to its operating leverage, global power. Strong client relationships, and healthy balance sheet. The fact that it doesn’t carry as much baggage as the other financial institutions and has a relatively clean balance sheet should prove well and allow it to recover faster than the rest.

Some might claim that Goldman is the root of all evil and fear that Goldman has the game rigged, even if no one can ever prove how, not just because of its political connections but also because of its immense size and power. Think what you want but looking at the fundamentals of it all, Goldman is too good of an investment opportunity to pass up. 12 months from now I believe it will be trading at roughly $250 a share, quite a sizeable return. Enjoy!!!

Watching the Superbowl, I was very pleased to see the New Orleans Saints upset the Indianapolis Colts and take home the championship. Overall it was a great game, commercials were a little lacking but there were still some great ones in the bunch. Here were my two favorite ads:

Google

The commercial is the tale of a romance told by a series of typed-in search entries. It is so effective as you easily follow along with the strong and subtly Google demonstrates all the things that make its search engine so powerful. Google is clearly the market leader and continue to hold their place.

Doritos

This commercial wins for me as not only was it hilariously funny but also virally effective. It was talked about the most on Twitter, Facebook, and other social medias and clearly was worth the big paycheck.