Word is that the United States government is forcing nine major banks to partially nationalize. According to Seeking Alpha "The U.S. Treasury will reportedly invest about $125B in preferred shares of nine banks: $25B each for Citi (C), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), and Bank of America (BAC) (including Merrill); $10B each for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS); $3B each for State Street (STT) and Bank of New York Mellon (BK), plus a still unspecified amount for Wells Fargo (WFC)."
This morning's press conference will lay out the details of so called "Market Stability Initiative" before the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange. True performance art.