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NEW YORK One-third of the 150 employees fired in Citigroup’s investment bank this week were in the cash equities unit, which had been struggling with an industrywide decline in trading volumes, two people familiar with the layoffs said Friday. Citigroup, already a major force in fixed-income trading, had been building its stock trading efforts in recent years just as volumes began to shrink. The latest round of layoffs affected about 6 percent of the 800 people who work in the cash equities unit – with most of the cuts occurring in the United States. In equities, Citigroup had been “staffed [...]

NEW YORK Analysts at Citigroup on Monday initiated research coverage of Apple Inc. with a buy rating and a price target of $ 675 a share, which implies a roughly 20% expected return. After a drop in the stock price that began on Sept. 21, Apple shares “have corrected consistent with the average” in the past and with companies that have shown similar deceleration, analysts noted. The analysts said their price target is 11% below the average among Wall Street analysts in a move to reflect “our perception that risks for Apple are increasingly coming into focus.” Citi’s analysts said [...]

DUBAI Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who has a stake in Citigroup , said on Monday the U.S. bank has great potential under new management following the departure of Vikram Pandit as chief executive. Alwaleed, speaking at a conference, said Pandit had done “a pretty good job” at Citigroup over the past several years and investors would need 2-3 years to see the results of the new management. Alwaleed also said he would stick with his investment in Apple . (Reporting by Mirna Sleiman; Writing by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Dan [...]

NEW YORK Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit has resigned effectively immediately, the company said on Tuesday in a statement from Chairman Michael O’Neill. Michael Corbat, previously chief executive for Europe, Middle East and Africa, was named to replace Pandit, the statement said. Chief Operating Officer John Havens, a long-time associate of Pandit, also resigned. Corbat has “demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities* (and) brings deep and varied operating experience across a broad spectrum of the financial services industry,” O’Neill stated. (Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

CHICAGO Netflix Inc. rose 6.4% Wednesday morning after Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney late Tuesday reiterated a buy rating on the stock citing “a highly reasonable valuation, a generally positive execution track record, and the still early market opportunity for Internet video streaming.”

Citigroup (C) downgraded chip makers such as Intel (NTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Thursday, citing a pessimistic outlook for PC sales in Asia and a weaker-than-expected response to new software like Microsoft’s Windows 8. The New York-based bank, which also downgraded Marvell Technology (MRVL), revised lower its 2013 estimate on PC growth, reflecting a decline of 1% compared with an earlier view of 4% growth. “The intermediate-term prospects for PCs do not look optimistic,” Citi analyst Glen Yeung said in a report. “Robbed of catalysts, we see limited likelihood PC-related shares will appreciate meaningfully in coming months, despite [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Shares of Intel Corp. , Advanced Micro Devices and Marvell Technology slipped in pre-market trades after Citigroup downgraded the three chip stocks based on worries of a weak demand in the personal computer market. Citigroup analyst Glen Yeung downgraded each stock to neutral from buy saying in a note that “the intermediate term prospects for PC’s do not look optimistic. Robbed of catalysts, we see limited likelihood PC-related shares will appreciate meaningfully in coming months, despite valuations.”

SAN FRANCISCO Groupon Inc. was downgraded to a hold rating by Citigroup on Tuesday morning. In a note to clients, analyst Mark Mahaney cited Groupon’s sequential decline in gross billings as well as its disappointing forecast following its earnings report late Monday. “Groupon is building out a large local mobile eCommerce platform, but the ROI (return on investment) and timing of the necessary platform investments won’t be known for some time,” Mahaney wrote. “And this management team doesn’t yet have an execution track record. And in the meantime, the core daily-deal business is sharply slowing.” He also slashed his price target on the stock to $ 9 from $ 19.