Improved corporate earnings from selected stocks outside the financial sector lifted barometers in Wall Street Friday. Some of these firms include Google, Inc. & Caterpillar, Inc. which generated results that exceeded analysts' estimates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) zoomed 228 points at 12,849.36 (+1.8% day-on-day), while the Nasdaq Composite Index improved 61 points at 2,402.97 (+2.6%). Around 4 stocks were up against one that declined at the main board.

Considered as the biggest US bank in terms of assets, Citigroup, Inc. incurred $5.11bn in losses for 1Q08, less than what most analysts estimated. The bank also announced to cut 9,000 jobs, sparking a rally on its shares & the dollar. Citigroup said they made $16bn in trading writedowns & raised bad loan reserves on loans extended for housing, automotive & credit card payments.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller believes the agency's probe into sub-prime lending could uncover financial crimes committed by hedge funds & private equity firms. FBI agents opened 19 criminal cases on firms in connection with the lending crisis, focusing on accounting fraud, insider trading & allegations of deceptive sales practices. Mueller sees more to come as housing prices continue to fall, adding FBI does not take these investigations lightly.

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