Market Update: Citigroup (NYSE:C), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Tesco (LON:TSCO), E*Trade (NYSE:ETFC)

To start news for the day, we have positive developments on the home front.  Job openings were up for the first month of the new year about 7.6 percent.  That’s roughly 2.7 million jobs that have been created, a good sign that companies are starting to recover from the economic downturn of 2009.  Even better, some economists are predicting that the economy will add approximately 300,000 jobs this month, continuing the positive trend.  The jobless rate was unchanged last month at 9.7%.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) is up today based on a report indicating there was healthy demand for their recent two billion dollar trust offering.  The mega-bank has announced it has plans to double its staff in the US within the next couple years, which is a further indication of good health.  The bailed-out Citibank also saw its stocks rise based on speculation of future profits after a prominent fund manager publicly stated that the banks shares were undervalued.

In other banking news, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) put out a press release today stating that it will no longer be pursuing overdraft fees for debit card customers who overdraw their account.  These charges, which generate approximately $1.8 billion for the bank annually, were due to be banned by the Federal Reserve in July.  It looks like B of A is ahead of the curve, and trying to generate good will amongst its customers. –MSN

OPEC has announced that it’s raising its global demand forecast for 2010 by approximately 85 million barrels, which is another good sign that spending is up.  Retailers are indicating that the month of March is shaping up to be positive, despite the negative 0.2% overall forecasted growth rate.  The Commerce Department today stated that sales were up in January 1.3%.  This is the sixth straight monthly gain in sales for stores that have been open for more than a year.

Those who bet with Buffet will be interested to learn that the billionaire has recently increased his holdings in the British supermarket Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO).  While the FTSE has been up recently, some are speculating that Buffet’s buy-up of the mega-grocer is merely a safety move.  Still, it’ll be interesting to watch what the big guy does with these holdings.

E*Trade (NYSE:ETFC) is being sued by troubled starlet Lindsey Lohan for ten million dollars over use of her name.  Ms. Lohan is claiming that the financial corporation’s SuperBowl commercial (Click here to view), which insinuate that a Lindsay is a “milk-a-holic”, is actually about the celebrity and defames her (Ms. Lohan’s) character.  Time will tell how vigorously this legal action is really pursued, but in the meantime I think we can all sit back and admire a well played publicity stunt