U.S. banks post first quarterly loss in 18 years
Regulators said there were 252 banks in trouble at the end of 2008, up from 171 in the third quarter in this article from MSNBC.

Perceptions of  "zombie" national/international banks that are having difficulties and have received the bulk of the bailout money (and will likely receive more soon) compared with local financial institutions the will be gauged in the next Consumer Sentiment Study - A Local View that will be conducted in March.
More details about the next Consumer Sentiment Study will be sent after the mortgage program details are made available next week.  More information is below and on our web site bannonco.com.

Government Sets 'Placeholder' for More Bank Losses
Treasury Prepares to Absorb $250 Billion Net Hit From Possible Deployment of Another $750 Billion in Rescue Funds as reported in the WSJ.

U.S. Plans Bigger Stake in Citigroup
The federal government plans to take a substantial ownership stake in Citigroup, launching the Obama administration's new strategy to prevent the failure of any more large banks, according to sources familiar with the matter says the Washington Post.

Obama Budget Plan Boosts Resources to Combat Mortgage Fraud
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development would get more funds to crack down on mortgage fraud under the fiscal year 2010 budget according to this WSJ article.

The Uncertain Trumpet
This is an issue where everybody wants benefits they don't pay for, where perverse incentives have created an expensive system that doesn't deliver results.  David Brooks' thoughts.

Climate of Change
Paul Krugman says "And these new priorities are laid out in a document whose clarity and plausibility seem almost incredible to those of us who grew accustomed to reading Bush-era budgets, which insulted our intelligence on every page. This is budgeting we can believe in."

Obama Dons the Presidential Cloak
On Tuesday, he seemed fully in command according to Peggy Noonan in the WSJ.