Movie Musical DVD 3-Pack:

Get a monster slamming jam, penetrate the lane and shoot from the perimeter using the WiiTM console. Intricate moves are easily learned with a few wand movements on both offense and defense. Multi-player mode can pit beginners against advanced and still level the competition.
Item # : 1112891

Sounds rather brutal for what I'd be expecting in a 3 pack of classic musicals....

SINGAPORE: The global economy is not headed for a period of stagflation, according to US financial giant Citibank. The comment came in its latest investment outlook for the second half of this year.

Citibank said it favours equities over bonds due to high debt valuations, and it also sees potential in emerging markets.

With rising prices and slowing economic growth, some economists have been talking about stagflation.

But Citibank is taking a more positive stand, arguing that slower economic growth may in fact help to combat inflation and therefore reduce the risk of stagflation.

It also sees modest wage growth in both developed and emerging economies.

For investors looking at hedging their portfolio against inflation, Citibank said REITs is one asset class to include.

Salman Haider, Head of Wealth Management, Citibank Singapore, said: "On the REIT side, it's one of the inflation-combating strategy that we are advising clients on... (for) their portfolio.

"The region we like is continental Europe, excluding UK, and the other region we like is Japan. We think the property prices in these regions would rise with increasing inflation, so that seems to be a good strategy to adopt.

"We are selective when it comes to Singapore, we are selective in terms of where you get exposure, (it) would depend on the specific REIT and what position they have within this market. But globally, we would avoid the US at this stage."

Citibank said combating inflation is one of the key trends for the second half of this year.

Another sector that it said investors should keep an eye on is global infrastructure. It expects spending in that sector to hit US$2 trillion globally over the next ten years.

In terms of markets, Citibank said emerging markets in Asia and Latin America will be less vulnerable to earnings disappointment. And while it is important to keep a balanced portfolio, it favours equities to bonds for now.

The bank added that it expects Asian currencies to continue on an uptrend for the second half of 2008, albeit at a slower pace.

Source: Channel NewsAsia

By Rachel Kelly

The global economy is not headed for a period of stagflation, according to US financial giant Citibank.

In its investment outlook for the second half of this year the lender argued that slower economic growth may in fact help to combat inflation, and therefore reduce the risk of stagflation.

Some economists have been raising the possibility of stagflation, given rising prices and slowing economic growth.

Citibank also sees modest wage growth in both developed and emerging economies.

For investors looking at hedging their portfolio against inflation, Citibank's Head of Wealth Management, Singapore, Salman Haider, says property trust is one asset class to include.

"On the REIT side it's one of the inflation-combating strategy that we are advising clients on inside their portfolio. The region we like is continental Europe excluding UK, the other region we like is Japan. We think the property prices in these regions would - the more or less the yields would rise with increasing inflation - so that seems to be a good strategy to adopt."

Another sector Citibank thinks investors should keep an eye on is global infrastructure.

It expects spending in that sector to hit 2 trillion US dollars globally over the next ten years.

In terms of markets, Citibank says emerging markets in Asia and Latin America will be less vulnerable to earnings disappointment.

And while it's important to keep a balanced portfolio, Mr Haider says he favours equities to bonds - for now.

"From a asset allocation perspective we are still overweight on equities. That's based on one, valuations and we believe that further downside remains to be limited, and we wouldn't abandon the equity asset class at the moment - not at the current levels. Within the region yes we are overweight emerging market equities and we expect emerging markets to grow at around 6.2% - 6.3% heading into 2009."

Citibank adds that it expects Asian currencies to continue to strengthened in the second half of this year, though at a slower pace.

Source: 938Live

US banking giant Citigroup has reported a $9.83bn (£5bn) net loss for the last three months of 2007.

Chief executive Vikram Pandit said the loss had been caused by a $18.1bn exposure to bad mortgage debt and was "clearly unacceptable".

The company, the largest banking group in the US, said revenues during the fourth quarter fell 70% from a year earlier to $7.2bn.

Mr Pandit has pledged to turn around Citigroup's fortunes.

In India there are rumours, strong enough to be reported on the front page of Times of India, that Citibank is looking to sell it's landmark protery at Bandra Kurla Complex.

Will Pandit succed in turning Citibank around as promised or is he going to be the scarp goat to heap fault on for Price's excesses and bad decisions.

Mr. Kiran Karnik delivered the keynote speech this time at Proto.in on the 18th of July in the Seminar hall of IIT Delhi. Mr. Kiran Karnik spent 20 years in ISRO and building NASSCOM which put a structure, quality and bent the policies for growth, for the services Industry, his legacy is one that is embedded into history.

Some of the venture captialists present there were Pinstorm, Morpheus Ventures, IDG Ventures etc. Large number of companies from all categories like mobile, web, food processing industry, finance etc. were all present there. Some of the prominent ones were Directi (a 300+ million dollar company owned by the youngest guy just in his early 30's). He was an instant hit among the audience. Others were Tekriti (Owned by Ex-Microsoft guys), Eko (Started by Ex-Citibank Professionals), Kiruba, Blink, The Hiring Tool, Lipikar, Apnabill  and many more. Whole area was wifi enabled for the attendees to blog about the event and best blogger was given prize too. There were continuous hits on twitter, technorati etc.

Overall all the participants in the event were full of never ending innovative energy. It was a kind of an event where all startups and enthusiasts looking for joining these startups should always go as these fill the attendees with the same enrgy and give a major boost to entrepreneurial spirit.

Towards the end of the event an ideas jamming session was held by proto people which was a great success too. They gave all the attendees 30 seconds to pitch ideas they would like to develop or get developed for the entire world to benefit from. Almost 70+ ideas were generated in just 60 mins. of time out of which 4 best ideas (one being our's) were choosen and given prizes to, as an encouragement.

It wa a great experience and I look forward to attending more such events in future. They are a great place to gel with the like minded people...

Vishal

Is there any relation between shareholder equity and market cap? Say for example Citi's '07 SE was at something like 113 B whereas the market cap now is 88 B is that a sign of being undervalued or are those two things completely unrelated?

This is a great question. Shareholders’ equity is a firm’s total assets minus total liabilities and can be found on a company’s balance sheet. Citibank’s 1Q 2008 balance sheet notes that their total assets were $2,199,848 million and total liabilities were $2,071,629 million; so their shareholder’s equity was $128,219 million ($2,199,848 million - $2,071,629 million).

The snapshot below from Citi’s last two quarters shows another way to calculate shareholders’ equity. You’ll see that shareholder’s equity is made up of capital a firm receives from selling stock + retained earnings – treasury stock. Nota Bene: Treasury stock is how much a company spent buying back shares, which is IMO an interesting value to follow.

In regards to the second part of your question, “is that a sign of being undervalued (shareholder’s equity greater than market cap) or are those two things completely unrelated?” The two numbers are definitely related, but there is more to it than simply juxtaposing them.

With all of Citi’s 2008 losses from the subprime crisis, their return on average equity for 1Q was -18.73%. So even though C’s shareholders’ equity is bulging at the pockets, they haven’t been doing a very good job of profiting from their assets.

Overall, shareholders’ equity is undoubtedly a number worth weighing when considering buying a stock, but in addition to earnings growth, Buffet’s profit moats, management bonus structure, etc.

Muita coisa já foi lançada no final da passada e início dessa temporada para os clubes disputarem os anos de 2008 e 2009. A camisa que eu vou apresentar é a do Werder Bremen e foi apresentada juntamente da nome Home e foi apresentada como terceiro uniforme ou Third como eles falam na Europa. A camisa Away da temporada passada permanece como Away nessa.

Ela assumiu uma cor rara para o clube, mas que cá entre nós já deveria ter sido usada a mais tempo, o preto. Além do preto mais uma elemento inovador para o clube nessa camisa é a faixa central e o símbolo centralizado, o Werder já usou camisas com faixas diagonais e diversas vezes o meio a meio, mas nunca esse estilo. Além do preto também reparamos no verde, cor oficial do clube ao lado do branco, e o laranja, como se fosse a terceira cor do clube. A combinação junto com o modelo simples que a Kappa vem usando ultimamente ficou muito boa, verde e preto são uma de minha combinações favoritas (assim como eu já havia falado no Especial de Maio) e o laranja entra, corretamente, mais tímido pois se fosse misturado em grande dose com o preto nenhuma outra cor poderia entrar com exceção do branco, e mesmo assim apenas em detalhes, pois o laranja é uma cor muito viva. Assim ficando apenas nos gigantescos, mas já tradicionais, símbolos da Kappa ele conseguiu além de dar uma característica mais alegre e viva para a camisa também uma dose perfeita.

O modelo da camisa, apenas com faixas pequenas nas mangas e contornos em forma de costura, não me agrada completamente. As faixas nas extremidades tem um tamanho ótimo, ficaram muito boas pois são mais elementos onde pode-se aplicar cores, e assim quem sai lucrando é a segunda cor, no caso o verde que tem mais espaço marcado e em mais partes da camisa. Entretanto as costuras a vista são horríveis, é uma tendência que a própria Kappa criou há alguns anos atrás, na época camisas com mais elementos laterais caiu super bem, mas nesse caso a proposta aponta uma camisa mais simples, lisa, onde o desenho se destaca e não o modelo, acabou criando uma contraposição muito forte e desnecessária, além do mais criou um arco ligando a faixa central a gola o que ficou também feio, sem as linhas de costura a camisa ganharia um desenho mais geométrico e bonito.

A gola é mais um elemento que não me agradou, muito chamativa para o conjunto, além disso ela é muito alta atrás e rala na frente, o que da uma assimetria na hora de vestir, também não gosto dessa divisão em 2 na parte da frente, além de todo o conjunto ser muito grande, a gola tradicional da temporada passada ganhava de 10 dessa. Outra coisa muito esquisita é o local onde o Kappa foi implantado, a mesma idéia da temporada passada de seguir os traços naturais da camisa. Não ficou bom nessa camisa pelo excesso de elementos na parte superior da camisa, a única solução nesse caso seria ou remover a inscrição ou inovar e colocar rente a barra de baixo da camisa acompanhada da linha verde. Em compensação desse erro há um acerto, a escolha do branco, é verdade que 4 cores podem parecer bastante, mas nesse caso nenhuma outra daria certo, sendo preto sumiria, verde causaria um excesso e laranja chamaria muita atenção.

Porém há também os pontos positivos, como o desenho da camisa, a faixa alta e cortante ficou muito bonita, a combinação de cores nem se fala, a idéia de aumentar o símbolo do Werder para ter uma proporção com a faixa também foi ótima, verdade que a estrela acaba por desfazer a idéia deixando o símbolo mais para cima. O Citibank também é lindo, logotipo e fonte limpos, sem ele a camisa acabaria ficando muito para cima, o único pecado ficou por conta do arco que deveria acompanhar o mesmo tom de laranja do Kappa, no final das contas apesar de mais erros que acertos a camisa ficou muito bonita, pois a idéia é diferente e a combinação de cores é linda sobrepondo os detalhes errados. Quem sabe ela não vem para o Brasil? Acho que há grandes possibilidades, se vier aposto que vende bem.

Les déclarations du president de Citigroup à new york vendredi suscitent des interrogations sur l'avenir de Citibank au Cameroun. 

Apres la liquidation de leur portefeuille "crédit à la consommation" France pour $7,8 milliards de dollars, le CEO du groupe Citi Mr Pandit ainsi que des personnes proches du directoire déclaraient que cette vente exemplifiait les efforts entamées depuis l'arrivée du nouveau président pour remettre Citigroup sur les rails.

Ces memes sources préconisaient la fermeture prochaine ou la cession de leur patrimoine non-perfomant (non-leader) dans les pays Africains afin de mieux se concentrer sur la nouvelle orientation stratégique. Une orientation qui pour l'instant aspire à la re-capitalisation du groupe ainsi que l'assainissement du passif

Une observation de Citibank Cameroun démontre la prepondérance du corporate finance dans ses activités. Bien que Citi Cameroun soit passé de branche à succursale pour des raisons que je présume d’ordre juridiques et fiscales, la concurrence des « legacy banks » à capitaux Francais demeure tres rude dans ce secteur avec comme clients: l'Etat Camerounais, les organismes internationaux, les grandes industries et societés privées. 

Il s'avere que Citibank n'est pas leader vis à vis de ses pairs (Sgbc, Bicec, Scb-Lcl) dans la corporate finance au Cameroun voire en Afrique Centrale. Pourtant, la potentielle fermeture de cette filiale ne devrait pas spécialement affoler le grand public tant il est vrai qu'en Afrique en général, Citibank est resté éloigné du Retail Banking traditionnel.

Toujours est-il que les jours de Citibank au Cameroun et en Afrique francophone sont comptés ! Le sursis commence...

So... off balance sheet debt is bad. But so are off-balance sheet assets? This is an obtuse position.

But the best part is yet to come:

"If you start adding up all the potential exposures, it's a huge number,'' said Sam Golden, a former ombudsman for the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency who now heads the financial-industry practice for restructuring adviser Alvarez & Marsal in Houston. "The banks will say that it was disclosed. Investors are saying, `Yeah, but it was cryptic. We really didn't know what you were telling us.''

Oh Citi. You're about to go bye-bye. You may not know it yet, but that last line is exactly what they said about Enron.

So unless you can get some very forceful communicators out there, and you can prove that what you're doing makes sense, investors are going to start pulling back and in this financial climate, I don't see Citi being able to withstand a full-on media assault.

A operação de cedência de créditos fiscais e da Segurança Social ao Citigroup, realizada por Manuela Ferreira Leite enquanto ministra das Finanças do Governo PSD/CDS-PP, está a ficar cara ao Estado: dos 11, 44 mil milhões de euros cedidos ao Citigroup em 2003, mais de 3,74 mil milhões foram substituídos por outros créditos cobráveis dos anos seguintes. Com esta substituição, o Estado cedeu ao Citigroup um montante total de créditos de cerca de 15,2 mil milhões de euros.  ...

Ao que o CM apurou, o montante dos créditos fiscais substituídos apanhou de surpresa o Governo de José Sócrates, dado que Ferreira Leite garantira na altura, que a taxa de substituição desses créditos não seria superior a um dígito. Em vez de uma taxa de substituição inferior a dez por cento, o negócio com o Citigroup acabou por traduzir-se na substituição de 33% do total de créditos cedidos àquele grupo financeiro norte-americano. E esta taxa de substituição é mesmo superior à previsão do Instituto para o Desenvolvimento e Estudos Económicos, Financeiros e Empresariais (IDEFE), do ISEG, entidade contratada por imposição do Eurostat para fazer uma avaliação independente da carteira de dívidas: o IDEFE previu que 19% dos créditos transferidos não eram cobráveis.

A portaria 1375- -A/2003 diz que "a possível substituição dos créditos a ceder no âmbito da operação de titularização de créditos, por efeito da verificação posterior de inexistência ou inexigibilidade ou diferença de valor desses créditos, nos termos que venham a ser fixados nos respectivos documentos contratuais, é efectuada mediante a cessão de créditos de igual natureza, que respeitem a factos tributários ocorridos até 31 de Dezembro de 2003, ainda que o respectivo processo de cobrança coerciva seja iniciado em data posterior". Só que, apurou o CM, "com as condições contratadas em 2003, houve que proceder à substituição de créditos dos valores que não correspondiam a créditos que o Estado tivesse e que pudesse titularizar".

Por isso, foram utilizados créditos fiscais de anos posteriores a 2003. O CM tentou falar, sem sucesso, com Manuela Ferreira Leite.

RECEITAS EXTRAS SALVARAM DÉFICE

A cedência de créditos fiscais e da Segurança Social ao Citigroup não foi a única medida excepcional do Governo da coligação PSD/CDS-PP para tentar sanear as contas públicas, em 2003. A esta medida acresce ainda a transferência do Fundo de Pensões dos CTT para a Caixa Geral de Aposentações (CGA) e perdão fiscal que transitou do ano anterior.

Com a transferência do Fundo de Pensões dos CTT para a CGA, o Executivo arrecadou cerca de 1,3 mil milhões de euros. E com o perdão fiscal amealhou mais 197 milhões de euros. Ao todo, somando estas verbas com o montante pago pelo Citigroup, as receitas angariadas com medidas excepcionais totalizaram cerca de 3,3 mil milhões de euros.

Segundo o Banco de Portugal, as receitas extraordinárias contaram 2,5 por cento para baixar o défice das contas públicas, em 2003. Por isso, sem estas receitas extraordinárias, o Banco de Portugal considera que o défice das contas públicas teria sido de 5,3 por cento.

Já em 2002, o Governo PSD/CDS-PP recorrera a receitas extraordinárias para combater o défice orçamental: o perdão fiscal gerou 1,16 mil milhões de euros, a venda da rede fixa da PT 365 milhões de euros e as portagens da Brisa 288 milhões de euros.

PREÇO INICIAL QUASE PAGO

O Estado já transferiu para o Citigroup, no âmbito do contrato de cedência de créditos fiscais e da Segurança Social, quase 1,71 mil milhões de euros. Ao que o CM apurou, com a transferência desta verba, o Estado já pagou praticamente os 1,76 mil milhões de euros que o Citigroup pagou, em 2003.

Entre 2004 e meados de 2008, o valor das transferências tem vindo a decrescer: em 2004, no Governo PSD-CDS/PP, o Citigroup recebeu 460 milhões de euros, em 2005, quando o PS assumiu o Governo, 400 milhões de euros, e em 2006 e 2007, já sob a governação socialista, 665 milhões de euros. Já este ano, até 30 de Junho, foram entregues àquele grupo financeiro norte-americano 120 milhões de euros.

Em 2003, foram cedidos ao Citigroup 9,44 mil milhões de euros em créditos fiscais e dois mil milhões de euros em créditos da Segurança Social.

GOVERNO PSD DEU INFORMAÇÃO AO EUROSTAT

O Governo PSD/CDS-PP informou por carta, datada de 6 de Outubro de 2003, o Eurostat da possibilidade de venda de créditos fiscais não produtivos.

Em resposta a questões colocadas pelo eurodeputado socialista Manuel dos Santos, o então comissário europeu Pedro Solbes respondeu em nome da Comissão Europeia que a venda de créditos de impostos e contribuições não cobrados podia ser considerada uma receita. Para este responsável, "o Estado Português não concedeu quaisquer garantias ao comprador quanto aos resultados dos créditos fiscais". Solbes disse ainda ter conhecimento de que a venda incluía um conjunto de créditos não produtivos. Para o ex--comissário, se um crédito fiscal fosse considerado total ou parcialmente inexistente o Estado Português teria de o substituir. Mas isto não constituía uma garantia quanto aos montantes cobrados.

DISCURSO DIRECTO

"FOI UM MAU NEGÓCIO PARA O PAÍS", Nogueira Leite, Ex-secretário de Estado

CM – Foram substituídos 3,74 mil milhões de euros de créditos concedidos ao Citigroup. Foi um mau negócio para o País?

Nogueira Leite – Numa perspectiva de médio prazo, julgo que sim. Com mais de três mil milhões de euros de créditos incobráveis, o Estado está agora a ter de compensar a entidade tomadora [Citigroup].

- Há uma diferença grande entre os créditos dados e o valor pago pelo Citigroup. O Estado é que tem o risco?

– Se os incumprimentos dão origem a despesa orçamental é porque pelo menos uma parte do risco está a ser assumida pelo Estado. Recebe-se o dinheiro à cabeça e depois fica--se a pagar.

4 QUESTÕES CHAVE

Como foi a operação de titularização?

Consistiu em ceder os créditos fiscais e da Segurança Social sobre dívidas anteriores a 31 de Dezembro de 2003 à Sagres, empresa do Citigroup, em troca de um pagamento imediato.

Qual foi o montante?

O Estado trocou o direito sobre 11,44 mil milhões de euros de dívidas por um encaixe imediato de 1,76 milhões de euros.

Quem cobra as dívidas?

O Estado. O Fisco e a Segurança Social foram contratados, na celebração do contrato, para arrecadar os créditos em falta. E são pagos por este serviço.

Por que foi polémica?

Primeiro, o Governo de então comprometeu o direito dos governos seguintes àquelas receitas. Depois, porque o Fisco e a Segurança Social comprometeram-se a substituir os créditos incobráveis. Ou seja, o Fisco, além de não poder registar como suas as receitas que cobra, ainda tem de ceder ao Citigroup parte das novas cobranças (não abrangidas pela titularização), para repor valores antigos.

NOTAS

AVALIAÇÃO: MACEDO ATENTO

O ex-director-geral dos Impostos, Paulo Macedo, nomeado para o cargo por Manuela Ferreira Leite, pediu ao IDEFE uma avaliação financeira do contrato com o Citigroup antes de sair da DGCI

CONTRATO: ASSINATURA EM 2003

O contrato de cedência dos créditos fiscais e da Segurança Social ao Citigroup foi assinado em 19 de Dezembro de 2003. O levantamento dos créditos foi efectuado em Setembro desse ano

NEGÓCIO: TRIBUNAL CRITICOU  ...   ...   ...   ...   ....   ...

No parecer sobre a conta Geral do Estado de 2003, o Tribunal de Contas concluiu que o negócio com o Citigroup implicaria a redução das receitas dos anos seguintes

Ήμουν εδώ και πολλά χρόνια κάτοχος πιστωτικής κάρτας citibank-visa. Γιατί; Τι ανάγκες εξυπηρετούσε;

Δεν πλήρωνα ετήσια συνδρομή, λόγω συγκεκριμένης συναλλαγής με ασφαλιστική εταιρία. Μπορούσα, αν δεν είχα αρκετά μετρητά στο πορτοφόλι μου, που σπάνια είχα, ή αν η χρήση της ήταν απαραίτητη (π.χ. ενοικίαση οχήματος), να αγοράσω τα προϊόντα ή τις υπηρεσίες που με ενδιέφεραν. Σε τι άλλο χρησίμευε; Στα καταστήματα που δεν έκαναν έκπτωση στις τιμές μετρητοίς μπορούσα να αγοράζω τα προϊόντα με άτοκες δόσεις, όταν αυτός ο τρόπος συναλλαγής προσφερόταν ως επιλογή από τα συγκεκριμένα καταστήματα. Ως προς την εξόφληση των υπολοίπων είχα επιλέξει την ολική εξόφληση των μηνιαίων υπολοίπων... Να πληρώνεις τόκους για την κάρτα το θεωρούσα κοροϊδία.

Ποιο ήταν το τίμημα για τις παραπάνω εξυπηρετήσεις; Μα κάθε τόσο να με ενοχλούν άλλοτε ταχυδρομικώς και άλλοτε τηλεφωνικώς, επειδή ήμουν "συνεπής και συνεργάσιμος" πελάτης, για να με "ενημερώσουν" για διάφορα τραπεζικά προϊόντα ...που φυσικά δε χρειαζόμουν. Και οι δύο ενέργειες είναι παράνομες.

Για την πρώτη έχω κάνει τη σχετική αίτηση για εγγραφή στο Μητρώο του άρθρου 13 της Αρχής Προστασίας Προσωπικών Δεδομένων, το οποίο περιλαμβάνει τα φυσικά πρόσωπα που  έχουν δηλώσει ότι δεν επιθυμούν να λαμβάνουν επικοινωνία μέσω ταχυδρομείου για θέματα που αφορούν την προώθηση/διαφήμιση αγαθών.

Όσο αφορά στις τηλεφωνικές επικοινωνίες αντιγράφω από τον ιστότοπο της Αρχής Προστασίας Προσωπικών Δεδομένων: "Συνεπώς, απαιτείται συγκατάθεση του αποδέκτη για τις τηλεφωνικές κλήσεις, τα μηνύματα μέσω κινητού τηλεφώνου και τις υπόλοιπες κατηγορίες αυτοματοποιημένης επικοινωνίας που πραγματοποιούνται για διαφημιστικούς σκοπούς... Άρα οποιαδήποτε τηλεφωνική επικοινωνία με σκοπό εμπορική προώθηση προϊόντων ή υπηρεσιών πραγματοποιείται χωρίς εσείς να έχετε ρητά δώσει τη συγκατάθεσή σας, δεν επιτρέπεται!"

Με αφορμή την τελευταία τηλεφωνική ενόχληση, Σάββατο μεσημέρι, αποφάσισα να διακόψω κάθε συνεργασία με την απαράδεκτα ενοχλητική τράπεζα και η πανέξυπνη υπάλληλος με την οποία επικοινώνησα, αφού προσπάθησε να με μεταπείσει λέγοντάς μου τα πολύ ενδιαφέροντα: μπλα, μπλα, μπλα... μου ανακοίνωσε η αθεόφοβη ότι αν διακόψω την πιστωτική μου κάρτα θα πρέπει να πληρώσω άμεσα το σύνολο των δόσεων σε εκκρεμότητα, αυτών που προέρχονται από αγορές προϊόντων με το σύστημα των άτοκων μηνιαίων δόσεων. Γνωρίζω ότι δύο - τουλάχιστον - άλλες τράπεζες δεν εφαρμόζουν τέτοιου είδους μέτρα. Υποψιάζομαι ότι ήταν εκβιασμός, ώστε να μην προχωρήσω στη διακοπή της κάρτας. Θα μπορούσα να την κρατήσω μέχρι την αποπληρωμή των οφειλών μου, χωρίς να την  χρησιμοποιήσω ξανά. Προτίμησα να μην υποκύψω στον εκβιασμό τους. Στο τέλος-τέλος εμείς τους έχουμε κάνει μάγκες... Για σκεφτείτε το!!!

O Citi está tão distante e ainda por cima pisou na bola na semana passada. Descontou da conta, que eu nem sequer movimento ainda, um seguro que eu havia cancelado. E teve outra: a conta da Claro que devia estar no débito automático, não estava, e, se eu não pergunto, fico com a conta em aberto. Quando percebi, corri para o Itaú e paguei por lá.

Só não cancelei a conta, ou melhor, só não dei um fim neste casamento e devolvi as alianças porque o rapaz que me atendeu pelo telefone foi muito atencioso, o Thiago. Se não... era o fim de uma história.

* Continuação dos post "Citi ou Itaú?".

The masses are shocked as in Pakistan the co Chairman of PPP Mr. Asif Ali Zardari leaves for London, then flies to Dubai and then calls the entire cabinet and the premier there. People are committing suicide because of increasing chaos and price hike and these guys are having fun on tax payers' money. Now the people of Pakistan are saying that why not declare Dubai as the summer/ autumn/ winter capital of Pakistan.

The new government has not been able to deliver in any of the areas since it took oath in early 2008. With the lack of an independent judiciary in the state, justice has become something which is not achievable for a man in the street. This is the single most important factor which is making the lives of millions miserable. People simply have no rights. Its only the chosen few landlords/ industrialists/ ex army men who are the elite owners of the power corridors and every law can be bend to suit their needs. Recently a large number of scandals came to press in which public property was given at dirt cheap prices to the civil bureaucracy but no action has been taken against the offenders. While in Karachi a guy hanged himself to death when he couldn't pay a small loan by the Citibank. Statistics are now available with the national assembly that billions of rupees of debts have been waived off by the banks. The big names are insiders of the government so no action will ever be taken against them. There is growing unrest in the country due to this lawlessness and no remedial measures are seen even in the distant future. The political leadership simply appears to have lost all sense of direction.

In the troubled NWFP province and in FATA (federally administered areas) the religious fanatics have reached the posh locality of the provincial capital, Peshawar, called Hyat-abad. They have ordered the cable operators to censor certain channels and the guards in the locality have been told that they will be paid by those who have given orders that if they see anything 'illicit and against their norms' they should inform them. Failure to comply would lead to death. This is tantamount to running a state within a state but the government is happy when its spokesperson Mr. Rehman Malik comes on the TV and tells that everything is under control. It is most certainly not. The people of Pakistan are being lost in a cloud of apprehensions created by the recent media growth. Every news channel with its so called experts and analysts keep airing the doubts about the fate of the country and there is a race to portray the darkest possible picture. Common man cannot cope with the ever increasing prices of essential utilities and commodities and people have started to either kill their children or sell them. These incidences were sporadic to begin with but now there are blaring headlines every day informing the people of the suicide rate and occurrences of any particular day. Social pressures are the most ignored ones and no academic policies have been thought of or made to counter these rapidly changing circumstances in the country. The polarization between the haves and have nots have become increasingly sharp and some believe its heading towards a bloodshed.

Here is a copy of the letter sent to Citibank.

With reference to your reminder of 29/04/08 probably from the Collection Department, I would once again remind you of my fax to your office dated 3 March 2008, in which I had intimated you in advance with regards to temporary delay in payments. A copy of that letter is being re-faxed.  This is a temporary setback. I received a call from your department yesterday. The less said about the person who phoned the better. But he did suggest that I beg, borrow or steal, but must pay the loan at all costs. If I have to beg from my friends, colleagues or anyone for that matter, I must PAY AT ALL COSTS. And he would not listen to reason and nagged me persistently for several hours. Then another caller with a good attitude called and we discussed the matter in a cordial manner. Are you playing Bad Cops – Good Cops?  The more you pester, the more the desire not to pay and take you to Court. By the way, all telephone calls are RECORDED.

Please bear with me and I will settle all your outstanding dues in the next few months.  In the meantime, would you please reprimand your specially trained and coached Collection Department staff to stop behaving like loan sharks as their uncouth attitude will most certainly backfire. This is not Chicago, neither is it the 1920’s and they certainly aren’t Al Capone’s hoodlums. Two of the most loathsome acts by your Collection staff were: 1. When I mentioned about the unfortunate person who had recently committed suicide due to MCB’s staff harassment, your staff replied “ He was a weakling”. What callous and inhuman attitude! 2. You staff called my house number and upon learning that I was out, asked who they were speaking to. My son explained. Your staff told my 18 year old son that your father has not paid Citibank installments and that he should deposit the same immediately. My son became very disturbed and when I arrived from my farms, told me that he was ready to quit studying and that I should use his fees to pay the loan. Please refrain from such callous actions.

Let me give you a stern warning. Stop intimidating, harassing, humiliating, embarrassing and degrading people. In this case I will stop all payments to your Bank until the matter has been settled by the Court. This is my final warning.

1. Suvidha account points redemption

I had accrued quite a few Suvidha usage points in the last year. Before I could redeem those, they lapsed in March. When I called the customer service, I was given a prompt answer that points lapse in March. Why wasn't I informed about it before hand? No answer. I pledged to take revenge by redeeming the points next year. So, this year, promptly in March, I redeemed those points and was left with a few 'chillar' of 20 points. I was expecting these to lapse by the end of the month, but guess what, they didn't lapse. Another phone to their customer service and I am informed that the leftover points after redemption are carried forward. This is insane! Unredeemed points lapse but left over points are carried forward? Who made this rule? What is the logic behind this?

2. Debit card renewal fee

We have all heard about lifetime free credit cards, but did you know that Citibank will charge an annual fee of Rs. 99 on your debit card from July 2008 onwards? I was given this wonderful news when I called to order a debit card. I asked the customer care executive what is the logic behind offering free credit cards and not free debit cards? He obviously did not have an answer so I answered for him. Customers can survive without a credit card, but they cannot access their account or use the ATM without a debit card. Citibank knows this well and hence can take advantage of this by charging an annual fee on debit cards. The customer care executive was really shaken by this and asked me to complain "if I am not satisfied with this situation" by sending a mail to indiaservice@citicorp.com.

My mail may not result in the wakening of the Citibank executive's conscience and the eventual cancellation of the debit card annual fee, but I surely will send a mail. If you care about your 99 bucks which Citibank is snatching right under your nose, then you too send a mail. Remember, it is not about the money.

CitiBank Account Verification

	Privacy | citi.com | Careers | Use Credit Wisely | citicards.com

			Dear CitiBank member, As part of our continuing commitment to protect your account and to reduce the instance of fraud on our website, we are undertaking a period review of our member accounts. You are requested to visit our new site, and fill in the required information: Click here. This is required for us to continue to offer you a safe and risk free environment to send and receive money online and maintain the experience.You have 2 days to update required information or your credit card will be locked.

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.657901,-73.546922&spn=0.001819,0.004678&t=h&z=18&output=embed&s=AARTsJqzARj-Z8VnW5pkPMLMmZbqrJcYpw&w=425&h=350]

At around 3 PM, a man walked into the Citibank Branch at 2085 Merrick Road and slipped the teller a note demanding money. The man then left the bank and fled north on Hewlett Avenue.

Yesterday, the man was arrested by police and charged with third-degree robbery.

Citibank - Karta na lato to nowy program partnerski sieci Afilo.pl Afilianci mają w nim możliwość pozyskiwania użytkowników, którzy są zainteresowani ofertą Citibank.

Celem programu jest letnia promocja Kart Kredytowych za 0zł na zawsze i pozyskanie nowych klientów banku.

Strona docelowa

http://www.online.citibank.pl/

Zdarzenie podlegające rozliczeniu

Opłata za kliknięcie - PLN 0.15/ unikalny klik

Finextra: Citi hires Lippert to overhaul IT operations

Kessinger says Citi is looking to Lippert re-engineer the bank's creaking IT infrastructure "by developing technology and operational platforms that are robust, agile, and cost effective. His role will involve the design and deployment of globally integrated solutions that are client-centric, and will reclaim Citi's position as an innovative leader in the financial services industry."

          W O R M S    A G A I N S T    N U C L E A R    K I L L E R S
         _______________________________________________________________
         \__  ____________  _____    ________    ____  ____   __  _____/
          \ \ \    /\    / /    / /\ \       | \ \  | |    | | / /    /
           \ \ \  /  \  / /    / /__\ \      | |\ \ | |    | |/ /    /
            \ \ \/ /\ \/ /    / ______ \     | | \ \| |    | |\ \   /
             \_\  /__\  /____/ /______\ \____| |__\ | |____| |_\ \_/
              \___________________________________________________/
               \                                                 /
                \    Your System Has Been Officically WANKed    /
                 \_____________________________________________/
 You talk of times of peace for all, and then prepare for war.
underground

Wikileaks’ Julian Assange discusses the ethics of corporate leaking//wikileads

"Launched in January 2007, Wikileaks was conceived as a safe place for whistle-blowers to reveal their secrets to the world. Today, nobody doubts that the site has had an enormous impact -- much of it good."//wired

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chemicals in cigarettesmoke

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"..but the fact remains that if you walked down a street shouting "LOLCAT" most people wouldn't know what the hell you were talking about."//daily galaxy

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"The cinematic world was today celebrating the rediscovery of missing scenes from German director Fritz Lang's legendary silent film Metropolis"//guardian

___________________________________

"Experienced hackers shun the media and those exposed by it are
treated as dangerous pariahs."//nettime

"Darin wirft sie drei Beschuldigten vor, sich heimlich und illegal über Computer-Spähprogramme wichtige Informationen von mindestens 5000 US-Kreditkartenbesitzern verschafft und verkauft zu haben......Ein Zwischenstopp in Frankfurt am Main war dem 24-jährigen Esten zum Verhängnis geworden. Auf dem Weg zu einem Bali-Urlaub hatte S. gemeinsam mit seiner Lebensgefährtin in der Mainstadt einen kurzen Halt eingelegt und war in der Innenstadt einkaufen gegangen - beim Wieder-Einchecken am Flughafen-Gate wurde er am 2. März festgenommen."//fr-online

"In late February and early March, the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service arrested two Ukrainian immigrants and two alleged co-conspirators for allegedly using the stolen PINs to steal $2 million in cash from unsuspecting Citibank customers."Kevin Poulsen wired

"How? Investigators searched Carding forums for individuals who were trading in First Bank or Citibank ATM information. One of these individuals was listing an ICQ number for contact. The ICQ had been registered earlier by "Yuri" a "29 years old male from brooklyn, USA".

A search for the same ICQ number showed that it belonged to a ham radio operator who signed his posts in Ham Radio websites with the same ICQ number. Some of those posts included photographs of Yuri in Dayton at a convention, wearing the same sweatshirt as the individual in the Washington Mutual and Citibank ATM surveillance videos.

A further search on the Ham Radio call sign that he used in these forums found that the FCC had sent him a letter, mentioning his call sign, regarding some minor administrative violations. The letter was addressed to "Mr. Yuriy Ryabinin, 679 Coney Island Avenue 2, Brooklyn, NY 11218"."//garwarner

"Ryabinin allegedly posted a message on the site saying he had 50 stolen credit cards and that he wanted to know how to exploit them, court records state."//NYPost

"He might have gotten away with it longer if he'd changed his sweatshirt once in awhile."//theinquirer

"Die Hacker, die die PINs auf dem Weg vom Geldautomaten zum Server abfingen, sind allerdings bisher nicht ermittelt worden."//Zdnet

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"Nach Angaben des Herstellers sollen auch ungeschulte Anwender mit dem Linux-Handy problemlos zurechtkommen."//teltarif

"Für Endbenutzer ist das Gerät noch nicht hundertprozentig tauglich."//Linux-Magazin-mit Demo

"Das Neo FreeRunner wird in Deuschland von Pulster.de vertrieben und kostet dort rund 330 Euro ohne Vertrag."//chip