Monday, November 19, 2007

Goldy No Likey Citi

WHEEEEEEEEEEEE:

NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs & Co analysts downgraded Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to "sell" and said the largest U.S. bank may have to write off $15 billion for debt losses over the next two quarters, and it placed it on "Americas Sell List."

The report by analysts led by William Tanona came shortly after Citigroup's own chief U.S. equity strategist, Tobias Levkovich, upgraded the nation's banking sector to "overweight" from "market weight," calling selling pressure "overdone."

Goldman's projection for a Citigroup write-off compares with the $8 billion to $11 billion that New York-based Citigroup on Nov. 4 said it may need to write off this quarter for a $43 billion CDO exposure tied to subprime mortgages.