Bulgaria picked Citigroup (NYSE:C) Global Markets Inc. to advise the government on its fourth attempt in a decade to sell Bulgartabak Holding, the country’s dominant tobacco company. Citigroup won the mandate against bids from KBC Securities, Raiffeisen Investment AG and Renaissance Securities, the government’s Privatization Agency said on its Web Site. The Bulgarian government controls 80 percent of Bulgartabak, which has six units, including four cigarette makers and a trading division. The company sold four of its factories in auctions on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange in the last three years. –Bloomberg
Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) stock is trading slightly lower today after the company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $5.2 million, or 4 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, WYNN earned 8 cents per share on revenue of $809 million. Analysts had forecast a profit of 13 cents per share on revenue of $784 million. –Blogging Stocks
Despite the deafening buzz surrounding the launch of the iPad last month, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) faithful throngs of fan/shareholders have to face a fact. The shares have underperformed the market this year. (Down about 3% versus about 1% for the S&P.) The slippage mostly seems to be due to a selloff after the iPad’s launch as well as disappointment that there’s still no hard timeline for an iPhone for Verizon. –The Wall Street Journal
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) upgrades Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR) from Neutral to Overweight. Price target increased by $3 to $36. –Street Insider
The euro hit a session high after Bloomberg reported that Germany may buy Greek bonds through lender KfW Group. Reuters had reported on February 11 that Germany was considering using KFW to buy Greek debt. Greece has been at the center of the euro’s struggles the last few months, with its fiscal debt this year estimated at more than 120 percent of gross domestic product, the highest of any euro zone member. A rise in global stocks and commodities reduced safe-haven bids on the dollar and boosted commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars. -Reuters
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