Bad news at big banks has helped drag the stock market down over these many miserable months, so it's only fitting that some relatively good news from one of the beleaguered U.S. financial powerhouses helped spark an equity rally on Mar. 10. Citigroup (C) shares rallied 38% on Mar. 10 after news that the company's CEO, Vikram Pandit, sent a letter to employees that said that the firm was profitable through the first two months of 2009, and was having its best quarter-to-date performance since the third quarter of 2007. Pandit also said the preferred exchange announced nearly two weeks ago is expected to make the company the strongest capitalized large U.S. bank. as measured by tangible common equity and Tier 1 ratios.
How did Wall Street analysts react to the Citi news and other developments on Mar. 10? Here's a sampling of commentary compiled by BusinessWeek:
