The idea of an automaker bailout still has people upset, but as it turns out, the market just loves the idea of helping Citigroup.  After the government agreed to invest $20 billion in the financial giant late Sunday, the Dow went up by almost five percent today.

The government stated to explain its initial decision, “With these transactions, the US government is taking the actions necessary to strengthen the financial system and protect US taxpayers and the US economy.  We will continue to use all of our resources to preserve the strength of our banking institutions and promote the process of repair and recovery and to manage risks.”

Those resources, by the way, now technically include a great deal of preferred stock in Citigroup.  We’ll leave it to you whether the same stuff should be categorized as a risk.

The AFP notes, “Shares of Citigroup, a component of the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, have tumbled more than 70 percent since the start of the year, with the bank hit by hefty write offs linked to the US real estate crisis.”