Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) will close 376 branches and cut as many as 720 jobs at its CitiFinancial consumer-lending businesses in the U.S. and Canada, under a plan to make the units more attractive to potential buyers. The job cuts, disclosed by CitiFinancial Chief Executive Officer Mary McDowell in an interview, represent about 6.4 percent of the unit’s total staff in the two countries. CitiFinancial will also convert 182 U.S. branches into “servicing centers” catering to customers who might need loan modifications or other debt restructurings, she said. Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit has been trying to sell CitiFinancial since January 2009, one of at least 21 businesses the New York-based bank tagged for sale or liquidation after its $45 billion bailout in 2008. The bank, which has sold U.S. and Japanese brokerages, had signaled consumer-lending units saddled with loan losses might be tougher to sell. -Bloomberg
Automakers, including General Motors, Ford Motor (NYSE:F), Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) and others will report May vehicle sales Wednesday. Analysts expect sales overall to be better than in May of last year, when the country was mired in recession. Edmunds.com expects Ford, Chrysler Group, Hyundai Motor and Honda Motor (HMC) to post gains of 22% to 28% above last year’s sales. Still, last month’s volatility on Wall Street is expected to have affected sales to some degree, forcing some consumers to the sidelines until stock prices stabilized. In other news, Russian oil-giant Lukoil reported its net profit in the first quarter more than doubled to $2.05 billion, up from $905 billion in the year-ago quarter. The privately held company, which is 20% owned by ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), credited higher crude prices for the gain, but said rising transportation costs and taxes weighed on profits. –Daily Finance
Shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) were up 6% at $53.84, the morning after it announced it has won U.S. regulatory approval for its drug Prolia for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Last October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve Prolia until it received more supporting information. After submitting the information, regulators said they would issue a new decision by July 25. Prolia’s approval has been considered key to Amgen’s future growth, with some analysts estimating sales of the product could reach $2 billion a year. –MarketWatch
U.S. pending home sales rose in April beyond expectations as buyers signed contracts to collect a government tax credit. The National Association of Realtors’ index for pending sales of used homes increased by 6.0% to 110.9 in April, the industry group said Wednesday. The gain was the third in a row. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected pending home sales would climb in April by 5.0%. First-time home-buyers rushed to beat the April 30 deadline for the tax credit. –The Wall Street Journal
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