• Merrill Lynch's top 10 earners in 2008—a list that Andrew Cuomo will be interested to take a look at—is out. Each made more than $10 million in cash and stock in 2008 as the bank racked up losses of $27.6 billion. [WSJ]
• The private sector lost nearly 700,000 jobs in February. [CNN]
• A UBS exec will address the Swiss bank scandal on Capitol Hill today. [NYT]
• Ben Bernanke yesterday: "If there is a single episode in this entire 18 months that has made me more angry, I can't think of one other than AIG." [BN]
• Bill Ackman's hedge fund dropped in February, Ken Griffin gained. [BN, NYP]
• More than 8.3 million mortgages are underwater, according to a report. [BN]
• Bernie Madoff has agreed to give up rights to his investment firm and company art collection. A hearing scheduled for today to look into conflicts of interest on the part of his lawyer, Ira Sorkin, has been postponed. [AP]

• The government is pumping another $30 billion into AIG, the insurance giant deemed "too big to fail." The company also reported a fourth-quarter loss of $61 billion, the largest quarterly loss in history. [NYT, BN, WSJ]
• Stocks moved lower on Monday morning following the AIG news. [BN]
• HSBC is cutting 6,100 jobs and raising $18 billion in capital. [Reuters, DB]
• Hedge funds are bracing for another wave of withdrawals. [WSJ]
• The third bailout of Citigroup last week? It may not be the last. [NYT]
• Investment banks pulled in $53 billion in fees in 2008, 39 percent less than the record $87 billion of a year earlier. JPMorgan took the biggest share. [BN]
• Consumer spending rose in January for the first time in seven months as shoppers took advantage of post-holiday discounts. [BN]

It looks like it's been a good year thus far for Phil Falcone, the hedge fund kingpin who resides in the ornate Guccione mansion, is the owner of a pet pig named Pickles, and made a fortune last fall betting against the British bank HBOS. (He also controls a big chunk of the New York Times, which probably won't go down as his best investment of the year.) Hedge Fund Alert reports that Falcone is now buying out Harbert Management, the firm that provided him with $25 million in start-up capital in 2001, a figure that blossomed into many billions before later crashing back to earth. Falcone is buying back the stake for an undisclosed sum and the deal will give him "100 percent control of the firm," which is precisely what "greedy pig billionaires" very much like. Or so we've heard. [NYT/Dealbook, previously]

• Citi chief Vikram Pandit is still working out the details of a rescue package that would turn over as much as 40% of the bank to the federal government. He'd really love to hang on to his job as part of the deal, though. [WSJ]
• In a last-ditch effort to raise cash, Citigroup is looking to sell off both its Japanese investment bank and brokerage. [Reuters]
• John Thain "sneaked in a side door" to answer Andrew Cuomo's questions for a second time on Tuesday, and provide more detail on the billions in bonuses Merrill Lynch handed out just before the firm was acquired by BofA. [NYDN]
• AIG is now facing two "distasteful" options: sell "prized assets to competitors or hand over a big part of its business to the federal government." [NYT]
• Connecticut is planning legislation to regulate the hedge fund industry. [DB]
• You can thank Ben Bernacke for the Dow's rally yesterday. [NYT]
• Existing-home sales tumbled to a nearly 12-year low in January, and prices took a double-digit drop. [WSJ]

• Stocks are down sharply today over concern about the deepening recession. The stimulus package last week? So much for it restoring confidence. [BN, WSJ]
• Need more proof of mismanagement at Citigroup? Chuck Prince was ousted as CEO 15 months ago but he still has an office and secretary at the company. So does John Reed, Citi's former CEO who left nearly nine years ago. [BN]
• The stimulus package that cleared Congress Friday includes hefty new restrictions on bonuses and perks at Wall Street firms. [WSJ]
• GM will file the largest restructuring plan of its 100-year history today. [DB]
• Hedge funds may lose as much as 35% of their assets this quarter. [Reuters]
• Citi is having a hard time finding anyone to buy their junky assets. [NYP]
• Banco Santander, Europe's second largest bank, is offering a generous compensation deal for clients who lost money to Bernie Madoff. [WSJ]

• More details about President Obama's plans to limit Wall Street pay are emerging. So is plenty of criticism. "I don't think the president should paint everyone with the same brush," says JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon. [BN, WSJ, BN]
• Wells Fargo has scrapped plans to host a employee conference in Las Vegas after the bank was pummeled with criticism. [WSJ]
• A dozen top bankers from Merrill-BofA have defected to Deutsche Bank. [TD]
• Lazard's fourth-quarter profits dropped by 50 percent. [DB]
• Daniel Och is doubling down on his hedge fund, Och-Ziff. [WSJ]
• Both Citigroup and the Mets say they're standing by their stadium plan. [NYP]
• Bloomberg LP is laying off staff. [Clusterstock]
• The House will hear testimony about Bernie Madoff today from Harry Markopolos, the investigator who tried to blow the whistle on him. [NYT]

Who is Dan Loeb, the rich guy who flew NonSociety egobloggers Julia Allison and Meghan Asha home from Davos in his private jet? He's a widely hated surfer, yoga enthusiast, and hedge-fund manager!

Here's comforting news for investors in Dan Loeb's hedge fund, especially those who may have been under the assumption the hedgie's been hard at work to make up for his disastrous performance in 2008: Loeb spent time at the World Economic Forum in Davos hanging out with fameseekers Julia Allison and Meghan Asha, and kindly flew the duo back to New York aboard his (rentable!) Gulfstream jet. We're sure his pleasant-sounding wife is positively delighted. [Gawker]

• Andrew Cuomo may demand the return of $4 billion in bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch just before it was acquired by Bank of America. [BN]
• U.S. GDP shrank 3.8% in the fourth quarter, the most since 1982. [BN, NYT]
• Two senators have introduced legislation to regulate hedge funds. [NYT]
• A handful of ex-Merrill execs were victims of Bernie Madoff. [WSJ]
• More layoffs at Morgan and Goldman are in the works. [Dealbreaker]
• A silver lining to the recession (at least for non-lawyers): Corporate firms are dropping rates and looking at "alternative billing practices." [NYT]
• "Private equity is not dead," says Henry Kravis. Glad to hear it! [DB]

Peter Thiel, so-called visionary, is working CNBC hard at Davos. Why would that be the case? His hedge fund is $5 billion smaller than it was six months ago.

• UBS will make a fourth round of job cuts and is closing several divisions. [BN]
• A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Bank of America for failing to disclose the risks associated with the acquisition of Merrill Lynch. [Reuters]
• More BoA-Merrill trouble: It seems the bank accelerated bonus payments last month so it could hand out the cash before the bank changed hands. [FT]
• The SEC has filed charges against missing hedge funder Arthur Nadal. [NYP]
• Win Bischoff's goodbye email to Citigroup employees. [Deal Journal]
• A record $152 billion was pulled from hedge funds in the fourth quarter. [DB]
• In other bad news, Microsoft is cutting 5,000, Intel is laying off 6,000, and Sony says it lost $2 billion more than expected last year. [WSJ, CNN, BN]

A hedge-fund customer is born every minute. A money manager who promised incredible returns is on the lam. Bernie Madoff? No, it's Art Nadel of Sarasota, whose clients think he stole $350 million from them.

With bonuses slashed, investment bankers are starting to turn on their own. The year money forgot saw a handful of opportunistic contrarians stack up the tall dollars. Now they're getting cut down in the press.

Time for an up-to-date roundup on the nifty story of Bernie Madoff, the Wall Street titan accused yesterday of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Bathrobes! Big shots! And plenty of broke Jews, below!

♦ The events of the past few months signal that "there is no more Wall Street," according to Ace Greenberg, the former chief of Bear Stearns. [Bloomberg]
♦ Hedge funds dropped another 2.7 percent last month. [WSJ]
♦ Morgan Stanley's new bonus plan has a "claw-back" provision. [NYT]
♦ The hedge fund Copper River Management has closed its doors. [WSJ]
♦ Cowen Group has rejected an unsolicited takeover offer. [MW]
♦ In corporate layoff news, Sony plans to cut 8,000 full-time workers and the same number of part-timers. Other companies cutting back today: Wyndham Worldwide and Danaher Corp. [Bloomberg, CNN]
♦ Citi may be keeping its high-priced sponsorship of the new Mets stadium, but a holiday toy-train exhibit wasn't quite as lucky. [Bloomberg]

We've reported on a number of companies (Citigroup, Travelers, Bristol-Myers) that have been looking to unload their expensive corporate jets in recent weeks as the U.S. heads into a deep recession. Dan Loeb, the prickly hedge fund manager best known for castigating CEOs for their profligate spending, demonstrates another path to reducing costs in these challenging economic times: He's renting his plane out to other people. Yes, for $5,800 an hour, you can take 12 of your closest friends for a ride on Loeb's Gulfstream IV-SP, a fact you'll be reminded of every time you look out of the window since the "TP" stamped on the tail reflects the name of his hedge fund, Third Point. (You can contact Key Air if you're interesting in making a reservation.) After the jump, a few photos of the interior and the creamy leather seats where Loeb sits in front of his laptop and drafts those vicious letters of his.

♦ With shares down 26 percent yesterday, Citigroup is now weighing all of its options, including possible selling the firm. The board meets today to discuss the " range of scenarios that were unthinkable only weeks ago." [WSJ]
♦ The market bounced back in early trading after historic sell-offs in recent days. [MW]
♦ Hedge funds contracted by 9 percent in October, the lowest level in two years. [Bloomberg]
♦ A bailout of the auto industry won't be taking place just yet. Talks between Detroit and Washington collapsed with lawmakers saying the industry lacked credible plans to return to profitability. [WSJ]
♦ The city's securities industry shed about 16,000 employees in October. [DB]

It's not just Ferrari dealerships and private clubs that are feeling the pain as hedge funds wither: Property owners in Midtown are now seeing a record number of finance tenants pull up stakes. Ramius Capital spent $22 million on marble office space at 599 Lexington Ave eight months ago and is now now looking to sublease one of its three floors. Old Lane, which was co-founded by Vikram Pandit and sold to Citigroup in 2007, has put 20,000 square feet at 500 Park Ave on the market. The Carlyle Group's Blue Wave fund is unloading its space at 1177 Sixth Ave. Over at 9 West 57th Street, which is home to Henry Kravis's KKR and Leon Black's Apollo Management, there is 30,000 square feet available on the 26th floor now that the Clinton Group is downsizing. And it turns out that Scott Bommer, the founder of SAB Capital, isn't just looking to dump his apartment at the Ritz-Carlton. His hedge fund is looking to dispose of 9,000 square feet at the GM building, too.

♦ Things may be about to get worse at Citigroup: The Times reports that the bank may be forced to lay off another 25 percent of its workforce as it deals with continued losses, a plunging stock price, and a lack of investor confidence. [NYT]
♦ In a show of faith, Citi CEO Vikram Pandit and three deputies bought a total of 1.3 million shares yesterday after the stock fell below $9 for the first time in 12 years. [Bloomberg]
♦ Is the $700 billion bailout working? Not so much: More than a month and nearly $300 billion into it, "many of the nation's financial arteries seem nearly as sclerotic as they were before. Some of them, in fact, appear to be hardening more." [NYT]

It was another roller coaster of a day on Wall Street. After falling more than 400 points this morning, the Dow rebounded in the last three hours of trading, closing up 552 points, making it the third best single-session point gain in history. (Both the S&P and Nasdaq were up more than 6 percent.) Don't let the momentary boost get your hopes up: The outlook is still pretty bleak, as the hedge fund kings who turned up on Capitol Hill today made clear. And there's always the stream of layoffs to remind us. Dow Jones said today it plans to lay off an unspecified number of employees, the law firm of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe let 40 lawyers go, National Geographic cut staff, Entertainment Weekly dismissed 25 staffers, and one in ten employees at Morgan Stanley were given notice today. Any good news? Not really. But Dick Fuld didn't seem too depressed when he was spotted buying some yogurt and granola for breakfast this morning, if that's any consolation.