Citigroup (NYSE:C) CEO Vikram Pandit will testify before the congressional panel charged with overseeing the government’s bank bailout. He plans to tell U.S. taxpayers that he’s grateful for the $45 billion bailout that helped stave off a deposit run at the bank in 2008, according to a Bloomberg story which cites a person close to the company. In other news, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) was the top investment bank in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) was No. 2 in total fees and No. 1 in mergers and acquisitions, having advised Schering-Plough on its completed $47 billion sale to Merck (NYSE:MRK), among other transactions. Total investment-banking fees for all firms rose 13% in 2009, to $59.8 billion. –Daily Finance
Finance Minister Naoto Kan’s readiness to debate Japan’s first sales-tax increase since 1997 signals the risk of a fiscal crisis may be weighing heavier with policy makers than dangers to economic growth. A government tax panel convenes in coming weeks to review changes and hear recommendations of a private-sector board, after Kan last month urged discussing the sales levy. He had previously focused on spending cuts, and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pledged not to alter the 5 percent tax for four years. -Bloomberg
U.S. nonfarm businesses were more productive in the second half of last year than previously reported, slashing hours by 1.3% even as they boosted their output by 2.5%, the Labor Department reported Thursday. In the fourth quarter, productivity increased at a 6.9% annual rate, revised up from the 6.2% reported a month ago. The surge in productivity explains how the economy could grow at a 5.9% pace in the fourth quarter without creating any jobs. -MarketWatch
The Greek government’s offering for a 10-year bond attracted around €14.5 billion ($19.86 billion) in bids and the books have closed, the head of the country’s debt-management agency said Thursday. "We are very happy with the bid because the re-entry into the market is always challenging. It went very well," Petros Christodoulou said. The government aimed to raise €5 billion from the offering but it was heavily oversubscribed. The offering—timed to coincide with an improving market for Greek government debt in the wake of tough budget cuts announced a day earlier—is a move to help cover short-term funding gaps. –The Wall Street Journal
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