Business Highlights

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Citigroup to shed nearly $500B in assets

NEW YORK (AP) -Citigroup Inc.'s new chief executive, Vikram Pandit, plans to stick with a global banking model after months of intense review -but only after shrinking the company by about one-fifth first.

The three-year game plan, revealed Friday, includes getting rid of more businesses, mortgages, real-estate operations and jobs.

The bank aims to shed between $400 billion and $500 billion of its $2.2 trillion in assets and grow revenue by 9 percent over the next few years as it tries to rebound from massive losses tied to deterioration in the credit markets.

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Circuit City allows Blockbuster, Icahn to review books

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -Circuit City Stores Inc. on Friday gave in to pressure from activist shareholders, essentially putting itself up for sale and agreeing to nominate dissident directors to its board.

The electronics retailer announced it would open its books to Blockbuster Inc. and Blockbuster's largest shareholder, Carl Icahn. It did so after Icahn defused concerns over whether Blockbuster could finance the deal by saying he was prepared to buy the company if all else fails.

Circuit City said Icahn's letter answered some questions related to the potential transaction, and that it would allow the video-rental chain to conduct due diligence in its takeover bid of just over $1 billion with plans for creating a huge chain that would sell electronic gadgets and rent movies and games.