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♦ News of the government's rescue package for Citigroup provided the market with boost yesterday, but Citi CEO Vikram Pandit (who still has his job for the time being) has many long days and nights ahead if he's going to turn the bank around. "This is a reprieve, but it's not a complete pardon." [WSJ]
♦ On CNBC, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the bank's biggest shareholders, expressed confidence in "Mr. Vikram" while "stroking a strand of beads and wearing red-tinted glasses." Then he blamed the bank's problems on Chuck Prince. [NYP]
♦ Tim Geithner may be the man of the hour, but shouldn't he be shouldering some of the blame for the government's missteps thus far? [NYT]
♦ Banks are concerned they may have a credibility problem on their hands. You think? [Reuters]

♦ Goldman Sachs plans to sell $2 billion of new debt. [DB]
♦ Wachovia says its 10 most senior executives are entitled to $98.1 million in severance pay after the bank is acquired by Wells Fargo. [Reuters]
♦ Even Warren Buffett is not immune. There is growing concern about Berkshire-Hathaway's losses related to derivative bets. "It is truly an extraordinary sign of the times that people appear to have lost faith in Buffett’s investing acumen and conservative nature," says one hedge funder. [NYT]
♦ BlackRock has cut some staff. [NYP]
♦ The Fed is trying to unfreeze credit for homebuyers, consumers and small businesses with an additional $800 billion. [Bloomberg]