Financial Biz Review: Citigroup SKIMPS on Shareholders, Facebook JOINS Russell 3000

Citigroup (NYSE:C) chooses to not return additional capital to its shareholders in 2012, for fear that the Fed would disapprove and thus harm the confidence of its investors. Sterne Agee calls the decision a ‘positive move.’ Investors think otherwise as shares fall today.

The Russell 3000, which covers approximately 98 percent of domestic equities in terms of market capitalization, will have three new members: Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Splunk (SPLK), and EverBank Financial (EVER), all fresh from their new initial public offerings. Some observers feel that FB will also be included in the S&P 500 fairly soon.

Don’t Miss: Will Bruised UBS PUNCH Facebook?

The sovereign downgrade in Spain last week has necessitated Fitch to move Banco Santander S.A. (NYSE:STD) and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) from an A rating to BBB+. The upside is that both the large banks still boast ratings that are a bit higher than for the Kingdom of Spain, due to their “geographical diversification, strong financial performance, and a proven capacity to absorb credit shocks”.

SunTrust (NYSE:STI) says that it will redeem $1.19 billion in trust preferred securities, following the Fed ruling last week that such holdings would no longer qualify as Tier 1 capital beginning next year.

Investing Insights: BUY the Company That RULES THE WORLD at 2-Year Lows.

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