Baltimore — (TFN): I am starting to sound like a broken record, bashing the actions of our government every day for the last week, but I don’t care. What these ignoramuses are doing is simply criminal.

It is becoming more and more apparent that today’s breed of politicians is good at only one thing, getting elected.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Chief Executive Officer John Mack will step down and be replaced by Co-President James Gorman, who has been running the company’s brokerage and overseeing its merger with Citigroup Inc.’s (NYSE: C) Smith Barney unit.

Hey… how ‘bout this rally!

European shares were down in afternoon trade today, Wednesday, with banks leading the decline after quarterly results from U.S. banks Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo disappointed investors.

Bellwethers Report Disappointing Earnings; Morgan Stanley on the Hunt for Regional Banks; NYT Reports Loss; Pentagon Computers Hacked; FDIC Ready to Replace Pandit; TARP Faces Fraud; Financial Institutions Lost $4.1 trillion; India Cuts Rates

Ghosts of the fourth quarter haunt global financials… so begins the second act of the credit saga… Even the IMF needs a loan… $150 billion to back up struggling emerging markets… Not so fast, says Mayer… emerging markets will remain drivers of global growth… Jim Nelson with an industry likely to boom in 2009… Wayne Burritt’s short-term trading advice… with S&P 500 price targets… Plus, Russia-Ukraine gas dispute not yet over… a reader provides firsthand account.

Indexes drop 3 percent; All 30 Dow stocks lower… Financials lead slide on outlook concerns… Dec retail sales fall signals spending contraction

Morgan Stanley (MS) and Citigroup Inc. (C) are about to launch a joint venture of their brokerage units in a move that may be motivated as much by a desire to placate impatient government overseers as by financial imperatives.

Dollar plunges to 13-1/2 year trough vs yen, below 88… European, U.S. government debt touch fresh historic lows… Morgan Stanley’s, PNB Paribas’ losses lead stocks lower… Oil slips; OPEC’s record cut doesn’t offset demand slide

Toyota Motor Corp. (ADR:TM) may not need a government bailout, but it’s hurting badly. The world’s top automaker said it will announce a revised 2009 sales forecast at its end-of-the-year news conference Dec. 22. The company is expected to slash at least 1 million cars from its original forecast of 9.7 million units, Reuters reported.