Citi Downgrades Countrywide Financial (CFC) to Hold

'This year, Countrywide has offered some outstanding opportunities for bearish investors. Despite the gathering storm of the subprime crisis (and even after that storm had hit!), Countrywide's management could be relied upon to provide cheerfully optimistic assessments and some investors were more than eager to either grasp at these straws or try their luck at bottom-fishing.'