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Saving Citi From Itself; Iraq Withdrawal Plan; Are Race Relations Improving Among Today's Youth?; Dining Out in These Difficult Times

Aired February 27, 2009 - 10:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday, February 27th. And here are the top stories this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Checking credit cards, car loans, mortgages. Millions of Americans do business with Citigroup. Now American taxpayers will become Citi's largest shareholder.

Live this hour, from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, President Obama formally announces his plan to pull combat troops out of Iraq.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What am I cutting from my budget? Something sad, I'm sad about -- my car. I'm trying to sell it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wrestling with the recession monster. Your CNN iReports this hour.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, in a time when we talk in terms of billions and trillions, this won't cost you, the taxpayer, a dime. At least for now. The federal government out with a new strategy today to steady the financial giant Citigroup.

Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff is in New York.

And Allan, what's going on? And why are we, through our government, taking this step?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Tony, well, we're doing this because Citigroup and so many other banking companies are facing huge, huge problems over here. Let me just give a little illustration.

This basically is Citigroup, and this is the financial cushion that they've just been able to negotiate. This cushion is essential for the company right now.

What's going to happen here is that the U.S. government is converting $25 billion, up to $25 billion of preferred stock, into common stock. Now, that is important, because it's going to improve the cushion for Citigroup as it faces more losses coming down the line. Very important here.

So this is going to give us, the U.S. taxpayers, 36 percent of Citigroup. We have now got a big stake in that company -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. And Allan, what's the bottom line? What does it mean for us taxpayers?

CHERNOFF: Well, you know what? It means more risk for us.

We may not be taking more money right now to give to Citigroup, but we are taking on more risk, because the preferred stock that we had previously received in return for our bailout money, well, that was paying a dividend of 8 percent, a hefty dividend. We're still going to have some preferred stock, but the new common stock does not pay any dividend. Plus, that stock, the common stock, it can vary terribly. I mean, it has fAllan below $2 a share...

HARRIS: Tell me about it.

CHERNOFF: ... traditional Citigroup stock. So that's some serious risk that the taxpayers are now confronting.

We also should keep in mind here that it's possible Citigroup is going to have to come back for more money here. They're getting a stress test right now to see how they can handle a pretty dim economic scenario, and it's certainly possible that the Federal Reserve or the Treasury are going to say, you know what, Citi? You've got to go out and raise some more money, and some of that money could come from us.

HARRIS: Yes. It sounds like it.

Allan, good to see you. Thank you, sir.

The incredible shrinking economy. The government says the backslide across the last three months of 2008 was much deeper than thought. The gross domestic product, total output of factories and service industries, fell 6.2 percent. The initial estimate out last month showed a 3.8 percent decline.

Today's revision is the worst GDP figure since the early 1980s. Experts expect the gloomy trend to continue for at least the first half of 2009.

The troubled economy and the Internet mean the end of an era in Colorado. The "Rocky Mountain News" published its final edition today. The headline, there it is, "Stop the Presses." The paper is shutting down after almost 150 years in business. It is the latest and largest newspaper to fail due to the recession, competition from the Internet, and falling ad sales. The decision to close comes after months of speculation about the paper's future for employees. The reality is finally setting in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, professionalism takes over, and you don't think about the fact that you're about to lose your job. Well, now we have.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels like a death. And to say, you know, this is it, you know, this is -- that's it, it's really hard to finally come to grips.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So the end of the "Rocky Mountain News" leaves the city with just one major newspaper, "The Denver Post."

Some positive news from the auto industry. Ford Motor Company announcing this hour that is reopening its engine plant in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. The plant has been idle for almost two years. It will be the first site to build the new fuel-efficient, eco-boost engine, available on some 2010 Ford models. About 250 employees from existing plants at the site will work on the engine.

President Obama setting a date this hour to end the Iraq war and bring U.S. combat troops home. Here's where you stand on the issue.

According to the new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 29 percent of Americans want the president to keep the current number of troops in Iraq, 69 percent say he should remove most troops. When asked if the U.S. can win the war in Iraq, 60 percent of those polled say yes, 38 percent say no.

The commander in chief taking his Iraq deadline directly to the troops this hour. He is en route to the marine base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, right now, and our White House Correspondent Dan Lothian is on base.

And Dan, if it you would, give us what will be the headline from the president's speech today. I'm talking about the headline that will be in newspapers across the country tomorrow morning.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the headline that will come from the speech today here at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, according to senior administration officials is that the president will say, "Let me say this as plainly as I can. By August 31st, 2010, combat missions in Iraq will end."

And this is something we had been told on background yesterday by some senior administration officials, as well.

Now, 35,000 to 50,000 troops will remain on the ground in Iraq. They will carry out a mission of helping out the Iraqi forces, also civilian operations on the ground. They will also be involved in some counterterrorism, some targeted counterterrorism operations. But the administration, certainly the White House and the Pentagon at this point, not saying when the drawdown will begin, but giving us that out date of 2010.

Now, currently, there's 142,000 troops on the ground in Iraq that, as you know, Tony, there is this agreement between the Bush administration and the Iraqi government that all troops will be out. So it will be drawn down to zero by 2011, and the troops who will remain in Iraq, the 35,000 or 50,000, they'll be working to make that happen, as well, Tony.

Now, what's interesting about all of this is that the president had initially said on the campaign trail that he wanted to have these combat troops out of Iraq in 16 months. So 19 months, three months' difference there. So some Democrats certainly not happy with that. But what's interesting is that some Republicans, some key Republicans, are supporting this plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I believe the president's withdrawal is a reasonable one. I think the plan is reasonable. Given the gains in Iraq and requirements to send additional troops to Afghanistan, together with the significant number of troops that will remain in Iraq, and the president's willingness to reassess based on conditions on the ground, I am cautiously optimistic that the plan, as laid out by the president, can lead to success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Now, Tony, the reason that the president is here at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina is because 8,000 Marines will be headed from here sometime in the spring, going to Afghanistan. So the president wants to thank them for their service as he makes this announcement of withdrawing troops from Iraq -- Tony.

HARRIS: Dan, you don't know it, but your reporting walked us right up to the moment of wheels down for Air Force One.

Our White House Correspondent...

LOTHIAN: It was planned.

HARRIS: Yes, like we planned it.

Dan Lothian for us.

Dan, we appreciate it. Thank you.

And be sure to stay with us for live coverage of President Obama's announcement from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. It is set to begin at 11:45 Eastern, 8:45 Pacific. That's about 45 minutes or so from right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, it is important to point out, officials expect up to 50,000 U.S. forces to remain in Iraq indefinitely.

Live now to CNN Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence.

Chris, good to see you this morning.

And if you would, what will those remaining troops do in Iraq? CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Tony, primarily, they're going to be there for training and assistance. But let's get a little bit deeper and try to explain what we mean here.

Let's take you first to give you an idea of exactly where U.S. forces are operating in Iraq right now. And then let's zoom in to give you a little bit of historical perspective.

This is pretty much where U.S. forces were operating at the height of the surge in and around Baghdad. You can see it was a pretty extensive area. Over time, they have gradually pared back and moved back, mostly to the perimeter of the city, with the obvious exception of the Green Zone, right there in the center.

The troops that will remain after the drawdown will mostly operate out of larger bases outside the major cities, such as Balad. Now, those could include intelligence specialists, reconnaissance specialists, things like that, and all of their related equipment, which could include unmanned aircraft.

Now, those troops that remain behind will have three major missions. One, they want to continue to advise, equip and train the Iraqi army and police force. They will also be protecting U.S. civilian personnel and U.S. assets in Iraq. And they're going to be conducting counter-insurgency operations. And from what we've been told, those missions will be intelligence-driven, and they will mostly be led by the Iraqi forces, with the U.S. forces assisting them -- Tony.

HARRIS: Awesome.

All right. Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon for us.

Chris, thank you.

And turning from the Pentagon to the war zone. CNN's Arwa Damon joins us live from Baghdad.

And Arwa, a phased withdrawal from Iraq had already been decided. How is the president's announcement to remove combat troops in 19 months likely to be received in Iraq?

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, it's going to come as absolutely no surprise. And we have historically heard the Iraqi government say that it does support a U.S. withdrawal, as long as it's being done responsibly and not unilaterally.

The Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, himself saying that he does believe that his own security forces, the army and the police here, are ready to take over the mission of protecting their country from both internal and external threats. The reality, though, is that no one really knows how the Iraqis are going to be able to perform without that constant support of the U.S. military. They have never been truly tested.

Yes, they have found themselves in a number of very fierce firefights, but it's always been with the support and the knowledge that they have America's might behind them, which is exactly why we're hearing talk of a phased and cautious withdrawal. Everybody says that the security gains here are fragile, and a mistake when it comes to the timing of drawing down U.S. forces could very easily reverse those security gains.

And basically, the U.S. military does not want to make yet another mistake, because it has been fighting for the last six years to try to reverse the mistakes in the Bush administration's policy when it came to Iraq, from coming in without a proper post-war game plan, to disbanding the Iraqi security forces that then made up the bulk of the insurgency and paved the way for al Qaeda and other Iranian-backed militias to gain a stronghold here. So there is a certain sense of optimism that the U.S. military is beginning to draw its troops down, that perhaps things here could be coming to an end, but there still remains so much uncertainty -- Tony.

HARRIS: In Baghdad, CNN's Arwa Damon for us.

Arwa, thank you.

And once again -- Roger (ph), do we have the picture of Air Force One on the ground?

We want to show it to you again, because we are just minutes away, obviously, from the president deplaning, President Obama, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Also traveling with the president today, National Security Adviser Jim Jones; David Axelrod, top adviser to the president; and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. All traveling with the president today.

The president arriving, as you can see, in Cherry Point, North Carolina. And from here, about a 20 to 30 minute trip to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The president's Iraq speech is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Eastern Time.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, racism. Is it becoming less of an issue with young people? They answer my questions. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And pictures from just moments ago. President Obama -- OK, live pictures now.

You can see Defense Secretary Gates there, just behind him, arriving in Cherry Point, North Carolina. Now it is on to Camp Lejeune, about a 20-to-30-minute trip, we understand. The president's Iraq speech is scheduled for 11:45 Eastern Time.

The president to announce at that time that he is planning to pull all combat troops out of Iraq by August, 2010. You'll remember that during the presidential campaign, the president, Mr. Obama, candidate Obama at that time, promised to bring all combat forces home within 16 months. That timetable now extended by three months.

And after the combat troops are out of force, anywhere from 35,000 to 50,000 support troops -- all right, shaking hands. I don't know if this was part of the plan or totally impromptu, but here we go.

A force of anywhere from 35,000 to 50,000 support troops will remain in Iraq to train the Iraqi police and military. All U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by December 31st, 2011, under the agreement between the Bush administration and the Iraqi government last year.

So a lot of questions still to be answered. Will Iraq be ready for the pullout? What will the support troops do in Iraq?

And our correspondents, our Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon, our White House correspondent, Dan Lothian, taking on those questions and getting those answers. And, of course, Arwa Damon in Baghdad.

When the president's speech begins, we will, of course, bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, outside of the economy, race is fast becoming the conversation Americans want to have. I spoke with my "Class in Session" young people about the impact of racism on their generation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Welcome to my world.

Do you believe that race relations in this country will continue to improve during the Obama years?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.

HARRIS: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it spoke wonders for our country that he won by the margin that he did.

HARRIS: How do you explain that? How do you explain...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know, because...

HARRIS: Forty-odd years ago, we were talking about, can we pass a Civil Rights Act? How do you explain...

VERNELL WOODS, FRESHMAN, COMPUTER ENGINEERING: My mom went to a segregated school.

HARRIS: Your mom went to a segregated school? WOODS: I mean, I remember stories, not just my mom, but my grandmother. I remember sitting -- me hearing stories of just one generation, two generations away of not even having something that doesn't seem real to me. It doesn't seem real to not be able to be at a school and sit next to her. It doesn't seem real to me.

Him being elected president did a lot. But it not only -- it did a lot for me personally, because when I was younger, my parents always had this thing where they said, OK, you can be whatever you want to be. You can grow up to be -- you can be president. You can be whatever...

HARRIS: And you didn't really believe it, did you?

WOODS: You never believe. I mean, you have it in the back of your mind, but it's not realistic.

HARRIS: You figure it capped off, topped off somewhere; right?

WOODS: All I had seen was the same type of guy, the same type of people, running everything in the world. And it seems to me like, OK -- I know it's kind of far-fetched.

HARRIS: White people are running the world?

WOODS: Exactly. White males.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: White males.

WOODS: Old white males.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: We're going today straight talk here.

WOODS: I did a lot of mentoring, a lot of middle school kids. And if I would have asked any of them, can you actually be president, what they wanted to be was basketball players...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.

WOODS: ... they wanted to be football players.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rappers.

WOODS: They wanted to be rappers.

HARRIS: Top engineer didn't factor into the equation? Being the president of the United States, in a real way, didn't factor into the equation?

WOODS: It wasn't real.

HARRIS: Folks of a certain age continue to say and be struck by the fact that race doesn't appear to be the hang-up for this generation that it's been for our generation. Is that true? CHRISTINE LIU, FRESHMAN, INDUSTRIAL DESIGN: This whole generation has kind of become more open-minded about everything because everything has just kind of -- our world has shrunk so much, and so we're forced to interact with people -- well, not really forced. We are interacting with people who are going to be gay, who are going to be a different gender, who are going to be Asian, black, white, you know. Like, they're going to come from different countries, they're going to come from different religious backgrounds.

NICK WELLKAMP, SENIOR, INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING: We grew up with diversity. I mean, I went to an integrated public school in Kentucky.

HARRIS: I was wondering when I was going to hear that word, "diversity."

WELLKAMP: Yes. And we see it here at Georgia Tech. I mean, more so than anywhere else than I've been. You interact with all sorts of different backgrounds. It brings to you an appreciation. I think part of the problem with the previous generation, they didn't understand one another. The different groups didn't understand one another.

HARRIS: What do you mean we didn't understand?

LAURA STILTZ, SENIOR, APPLIED MATHEMATICS: But I don't -- but I don't think -- for me, it's not my parents' generation, it's my grandparents' generation. I grew up -- I mean, my grandfather was a racist. There were plenty of things that we were not allowed to see, like, with him, because there were African-American in it. And because of my grandfather's attitude, my mother's attitude was very different.

And she -- both she and my father instilled in me this tolerance. You might not agree with someone, but you can get along with them and you can work with them. Although I grew up in an area that might not be considered very diverse, my mom made a point to make sure that we were friends with everyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Now, how hard was that for her to say?

Hear the rest of that frank discussion. Our racism talk gets even more revealing next hour. That's noon Eastern, 9:00 Pacific, right here in the NEWSROOM.

Tens of thousands of dollars in debt? What do you do? Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: It is Friday. CNN's personal finance editor has been sifting through your e-mails all week. Gerri Willis in New York to answer your money questions.

Good to see you, Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good to see you.

HARRIS: Good Friday to you.

WILLIS: Hallelujah.

HARRIS: How about that?

You know, the first e-mail we're going to read to you, it is absolutely on fire; OK? It's from JoAnne, and JoAnne is angry. Here it is.

She writes, "How much longer are we going to accept" -- Gerri -- "credit card companies gouging customers in good standing with higher fees and interest rates?"

WILLIS: "Just because they can?" is the end of that, JoAnne asked.

And, you know, look, JoAnne, you are right to be miffed. We understand your anger. And the thing that can save you from this is what's going on with credit card reform.

Here's where we are with it right now.

Back in mid-December, the Federal Reserve passed requirements that card issuers must give you 45 days notice before interest rates increase, and it makes disclosures more prominent. Here's the catch though -- that doesn't become law until July 2010. OK?

So also, Senator Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, held hearings on his own on credit card reform. He has a bill that has many of the same consumer protections as the Federal Reserve proposal. And consumer advocates hope this bill will become law as early as this spring or summer.

In the meantime, though, the best advice, watch your credit card statement carefully, as credit card companies are raising rates, reducing credit limits, even on good customers. That's the outrage. So you've got to read the fine print to avoid fees. Keep your eyes open. And, you know, the best thing to do right here, if you can get away with not using that credit card, most of the time you're better off.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

And Gerri, this next e-mail is from Bob in Ohio. And he has got his taxes ready to e-file. But here's his question. He asks, "Are there going to be any new deductions or credits since the new stimulus package has been passed?"

Should he wait, Gerri, or go ahead and e-file? WILLIS: In all likelihood, Bob in Ohio, go ahead and hit the "send" button, because most of the tax advantages in the stimulus package, they're not going to show up until next year's tax return, when you file '09 taxes. Now, unless you bought a house already this year. In that case, you'll get an $8,000 tax credit.

Though, in the meantime, gather your receipts for any home energy improvements you make this year, since you can claim them on that '09 filing. And if you buy a car this year, you can exclude the sales and excise taxes on next year's filing.

HARRIS: And this last e-mail, I just don't know how this happens. I know it does, because you see these e-mails all of the time, but I'm startled by this.

Ana in Tennessee, Gerri, owes $100,000 in credit card debt. She says, "The late fees and high APRs" are killing her.

So, Gerri, should she try debt consolidation or a debt settlement program? What are your thoughts on this?

WILLIS: Well, Ana, first of all, $100,000 in credit card debt? Really?

HARRIS: Come on.

WILLIS: You know, look -- understand that the average house in Tennessee costs $118,000.

HARRIS: Boy.

WILLIS: For what you've done, you could have bought a whole house. OK?

So, I'm not going to lecture too long here. But, you know, we've got to deal with your problem at hand. And I would say, forget the debt consolidation or settlement companies. They're in business to make money. Normally, we would advise you trying to get on a debt management plan, and you pay your debts off in three to five years, but paying off 100 grand is going to be difficult in that time.

The reality is, you're probably going to have to consider bankruptcy. A good first step for you, go to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling - got a great website, nfcc.org - and they'll probably direct you to a bankruptcy attorney.

In the meantime, layoff the plastic. And if you have any questions, send them to me at gerri@CNN.com.

We see this all of the time, though, Tony. It's really sad.

HARRIS: It really is.

"YOUR BOTTOM LINE" this weekend, give us a preview, Gerri, before we let you go. WILLIS: Well, Saturday, 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, tune into "YOUR BOTTOM LINE," we'll break down President Obama's state of the nation address. Plus, we have tips for college students entering the job market, because that is really tough right now.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

All right, Gerri, have a great weekend. Thank you.

WILLIS: You too. Great to see you.

HARRIS: And good to see you.

And as the most serious credit crisis in decades rocks your finances, cnnmoney.com has some advice. Answers, of course. Check out our special report. We update it all of the time. Constantly. America's money crisis, again that's at cnnmoney.com.

From Iraq to Myanmar to the Middle East, an astonishing 14 million people have fled their homes because of war or persecution. Only a small percentage of these refugees are ever resettled. This week's "CNN Hero" is helping legal refugees in the United States get back on their feet one family at a time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is "CNN HEROES."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an explosion in Tower Number One. There's smoke all over the place.

CAROLYN MANNING, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: My brother-in-law was killed in Tower One on September 11th. After September 11th, I saw a picture of an Afghan family who had also lost a family member because of the Taliban, and they had to flee their country.

Our family has five kids. We lost a family member, too. We've just naturally went from that to let's show the refugees that we welcome them.

My name is Carolyn Manning, and I started the Welcome to America Project to help refugees in Phoenix, Arizona. The families we help come from places where there has been war and genocide. Some refugees have never lived with indoor plumbing, and they've never flushed a toilet.

The Welcome to America Project is the community and it operates by community volunteers. My husband and I, many a time, have been out here pulling furniture in before work, after work. This is our life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, very much. For all of your help.

MANNING: All right, let's go to the next family.

When they step foot in the United States, they have been invited here. I want the refugees to feel that this is their home. Welcome to America.

And that's what America has been built on. It's our history, it's who we are. And they're part of it.

ANNOUNCER: Tell us about your hero at CNN.com/heroes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Just another quick update for you. President Obama on his way to Camp Lejeune. He should be there within the next ten, maybe twelve minutes or so. The president's Iraq speech is scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m. Eastern time. And, of course, when the speech begins we will bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Your job, your home, your money - how you're changing your lifestyle to save money. We are showing your iReports here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: One report says, "things got ugly." Under subpoena from New York's attorney general, Bank of America's CEO, Ken Lewis answered questions about Merrill Lynch bonuses for four hours Thursday, but didn't answer the question, which Merrill employees walked away with the loot? Lewis reportedly offered to reveal names if they were kept confidential. The bonuses went out just days before Bank of America finalized its purchase of Merrill.

In Houston, the chief investment officer at Stanford Financial Group is set to go before a federal magistrate at this hour. Laura Pendergast Holt is the first person arrested in the Stanford fraud investigation. The FBI's criminal complaint contends she lied to the SEC during its investigation. Her attorney says otherwise. The SEC alleges the Stanford Group bilked 30,000 investors out of $8 billion.

On Wall Street, a done deal between the government and Citigroup. After much speculation, we now know the government is taking a bigger ownership stake in the bank. How are investors reacting? Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details.

Susan, good morning.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

Well, the government is, as expected, increasing its stake in Citigroup from about eight percent to up to nearly 40 percent. But it won't cost taxpayers a dime. Or at least an additional dime. CEO Vikram Pandit says that, "In the end, our business is about confidence."

Confidence in short supply here on Wall Street today. Citi's shares have plunged nine percent in the past year. Today, they're down another 33 percent to under $2.00 a share.

The goal here was to improve Citi's balance sheet, stock price and, hopefully, get the bank to boost lending. But the problem for current investors is that the government's expanded stake dilutes their own in the company. And that's hitting stocks, along with the revised GDP report showing the recession at the end of last year was far worse than earlier estimates. The economy contracting the fastest pace in a quarter century.

The Dow right now off its lows down 62 points. At its lows, flirting with 7000. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, down about half a percent - Tony.

HARRIS: Are you kidding me? The mighty, mighty Citigroup, the financial supermarket to the world, trading at what was that? Was it under $2.00 a share?

LISOVICZ: Yes. You know - well, there's a couple things going on there, Tony. One is that we - really, this is not a surprise. We have been talking about this half the week. And so there's often the buy in the rumors-sell-on-the-news kind of mentality on the street.

But the other thing is, you know, there's more risk for the government. You know, the government taxpayers, we give up those dividends. They're gone. And the - as Allan explained, you know, earlier in the program, you know, the common share price is a lot more volatile.

HARRIS: Yes. Well, I've got to ask you, Susan, with the recession getting worse, is the deal with Citigroup something that we might see more of?

LISOVICZ: Well, we have already seen it. I mean, we saw with AIG, that was an outright takeover. And we've seen lots of changes.

You know, here at the NYSE, for instance, Tony, a plan is in the works to relax the rules in stocks that trade under $1.00 for 30 consecutive days. That - when that happens, it often leads to delisting, but there's are so many stocks now - including AIG, by the way - that the NYSE wants them to continue to trade.

And also, news from our parent company this morning, Tony, Time Warner. It's doing a reverse, one-for-three stock split. So if you own three shares, it will be converted to one, but it'll be worth three times the share price. The goal is to boost the share price. Time Warner's shares right now trading at under $8.00 a share, so half of its 52-week high. I mean, we're seeing a lot of that, obviously.

HARRIS: OK. Susan, thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

HARRIS: The recession stretches far beyond the United States. Much we've got a sobering assessment of the global crisis from an interview on CNN's "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, )

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": I've been reading your columns, and I've been struck by the fact that you've been very critical of the Obama team and their plan. Explain in a nutshell what's the problem?

MARTIN WOLF, FINANCIAL TIMES: Well, first of all, I think we have to recognize this is a very serious problem we are now in. We are in a major massive global downturn with a real prospect of getting out of hand. Everything is going very badly. The shrinkage of world output is terrifying. And I think this is an event which can only now be compared with the '30s.

Against that background, we - I suppose this was maybe a fond expectation - hoped that the new team, very intelligent people, completely free from the taint of the past, would take hold of the situation and take action so decisive, so comprehensive, so ruthless, that it was clear that on the worst-case scenario, it was going to be turned around. I fear now that this tremendously important opportunity to turn things around has been lost, and that means we may have a really dreadful situation in the world economy, and in the world, therefore, politically, as well, over the next few years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow. You can see the entire interview and more inside analysis on "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" Sunday 1:00 pm Eastern only on CNN.

So let the pundits debate the trillion-dollar spending bill. Our iReporters are taking things into their own hands. Let's take a trip to CNN.com iReport desk and check in one of the guys helping us run things down there at our iReport operation - "Tyson's Corner," as we like to call it - Tyson Wheatley.

Tyson where are you? What are you doing here? Oh! Where are you? Is that a new smart board there?

TYSON WHEATLEY, CNN.COM PRODUCER: Yes, that's right. We've got a new toy.

HARRIS: OK.

WHEATLEY: This is actually really close to my desk, so I only had to walk a few feet. I've been sort of dying to use this. I just want you to see more of our awesome website here, iReport.com.

HARRIS: Nice.

WHEATLEY: So as you mentioned earlier, you know, while we've got politicians at D.C. debating this $3 trillion-plus budget, we took a different approach on iReport.com. We wanted to know how - you know, we wanted to know about your budget, specifically if you're cutting anything out of your budget. And we've been getting a great response.

Let's take a look at one. I'm going to kick things off here with Johni Redd, and she is a web developer from Louisville, Kentucky, and she basically started aggressively attacking several of her monthly bills, and she says, it all adds up.

Let's go ahead and listen to what she has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNI REDD, CNN IREPORTER: Well, I knocked $90 off my cable bill per month. I just went down to the basic. So that I could have my news channels and good TV reception.

I also dropped the house phone, so that knocked 70 bucks a month off my bills, and I now just use my cell phone, which I also streamlined by 50 bucks a month. And in order to connect to people, what I've done is kept my Internet very nice so I can talk to people in Google Talk, Google Chat, and Skype, which are free ways to connect online, plus social media sites, like Facebook.

And the other thing that I did was, I moved closer to work. I was living in Aaron, 20 minutes away, now I'm four miles from work.

So, here we go. Monthly, I saved myself $330.00 a month; and yearly, $3,960.00. That sounds like a nice principle mortgage payment to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHEATLEY: All right, Tony, so I think, you know, I think a lot of our viewers can probably relate to Johni there.

HARRIS: Yes.

WHEATLEY: These are some very practical things that she's doing to her budget, and it looks like it's paying some great dividends.

Of course, the conversation always continues, and we want to hear from our viewers. You know, what are you doing? What are you doing to slash your budget? Are you cutting anything out? Is it something that's a luxury or is it something basic? Tell us about it. Go to ireport.com and share your story.

HARRIS: Terrific.

Tyson, have a great weekend. Thank you, sir.

WHEATLEY: All right. Take care, Tony.

HARRIS: All right. You're looking at live pictures right now of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, home to the Marine Expeditionary Forces and Readiness. Hey, they're getting ready for their new commander in chief to arrive. And we will bring you this event live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, we're going to get to Rob Marciano in a moment for an update on difficult weather conditions in the south, but before we do, just a reminder that the president's Iraq speech scheduled to begin any moment now, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. When it does, we will take you to that event live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. (WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: So, let's start with the ladies. OK, ladies, forget about Tom Brady. He is off the market. And you guys, strike supermodel Giselle Bundchen off your list. "US" magazine reports the two were married last night in Santa Monica, California. Last year, the couple paid nearly $12 million for a home building site in a ritzy, gated L.A. neighborhood. This story, one of the most popular at CNN.com.

All right, live pictures now. We are just moments away from President Obama's address to the largest U.S. Marine force in the eastern part of the country.

You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Again, we are just moments away from President Obama offering his Iraq speech and the timetables therein to the largest U.S. Marine force in the eastern part of the United States. And when this event begins, of course, we will bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

In this economy, can you really have your cake and eat out, too? Maybe so. You know, a lot of restaurants are responding to the recession by dishing up deals and slashing menu prices.

The story now from CNN's Jason Carroll in New York.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, restaurant owners were asked in a survey about their top ten chAllange. One out of two, a record high, said staying open during these bad economic times. But it's a chAllange that has actually inspired some new restaurant owners.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's going to prep the cocktail menus.

CARROLL (voice-over): It's opening night for Jason Denton and his new restaurant. Actually, a re-opening of sorts. This used to be his old restaurant, Bar Milano, an expensive eatery that folded in a withering economy. Now, a new name, Inoteca, and a different menu.

JACON DENTON, OWNER, INOTECA: Our decision overall was to take the fancy restaurant and go back to more of an inexpensive style restaurant.

CARROLL: It's a restaurant recession strategy slash menu prices.

TOM COLLICCHIO, CHEF OWNER, CRAFT RESTAURANT: We're creating something now for the recession.

CARROLL: Other hot spots like Craft Steak in New York promote two ways to eat for less. COLLICCHIO: One is the most famous Frugal Friday, there's nothing over $10 on the menu.

And we also offer craft steak, we create half steak and there's nothing on the menu over $14.50.

CARROLL: According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurants are the nation's second largest employer with roughly 13 million workers. Over the past six months, some 100,000 jobs were lost due to the economy.

RIEHLE: This is the most challenging period for the restaurant industry in several decades.

CARROLL: Restaurants have been shutting down in nearly every major city from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh to Minneapolis. But some are opening and succeeding.

ALEX RAIJ, CHEF/OWNER, TXIKITO: I think it's always scary to open any restaurant because you're, I mean, obviously, you're exposed to debt.

CARROLL: Txikito has been around for just a few months and owners cut their prices even before opening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can take a few things and share them with your friends and it's pretty affordable.

CARROLL: Customers here have fallen for the inexpensive vast menu.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nice to come in and have little snack and have a glass of wine and not kill your budget.

CARROLL: Another key to their early success, there are just 28 seats here.

RAIJ: Being small helps and there is also the privilege that comes with this economy which is actually being able to get to know every single one of your customers.

CARROLL: Keep it small. Keep it cheap or both. Tips to help keep the doors open during tough times.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Another important point, all of the restaurant owners we spoke to say, another key to their success is just because they're cutting back on prices, does not mean they are cutting back on their quality - Tony.

HARRIS: Jason, thank you.

We are just moments away from President Obama's address to U.S. Marines at Camp Lejeune. The president will announce plans to pull all troops out of Iraq by August 2010. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.