Citigroup on the mend?

Some good news from Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit: "I am most encouraged with the strength of our business so far in 2009," he wrote in a memo obtained by media outlets. "We are profitable through the first two months of 2009 and are having our best quarter-to-date performance since the third quarter of 2007." That's good news indeed.

Most analysts assumed the bank would lose money for most of the year. The CDS market had bid up the cost of protection against a Citigroup default to record level. If Citi were to somehow post a first-quarter profit, it could really change the whole bank bailout debate and perhaps rehabilitate Pandit's reputation.  

For more:
- here's a Reuters article 
- here's the email via CNBC

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