Consumer Confidential: Bailout profit, consumer comeback, Venice vendors

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Here’s Monday’s roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- Taxpayers who helped bail out troubled banks during the financial crisis soon may see a profit from their rescue of banking giant Citigroup Inc. The Treasury Department announced plans to sell its 27% stake in Citigroup. At their current value, the government’s 7.7 billion common shares are showing an $8.2 billion profit, according to Business Week.

-- If sales of big-screen TVs are any measure, American consumers are coming out of their funk -- a promising sign for the economy. According to Bloomberg, retailers are starting to believe that the recent pickup in sales is going to last as consumers slowly return to what they do best.

-- Forget iconoclastic seaside setting. Think cutthroat vendors duking it out for prime retail space. Amid the weak Southern California economy, the number of people hawking their wares at the Venice boardwalk has soared, and so have clashes among vendors fighting it out for limited space along the walkway to set up their selling tables and displays.

-- Walter Hamilton