The News: Washington Gets In Your Face

Obama To Create A 'Pay Czar' [Clusterstock]

FDIC Pushes Purge at Citi [WSJ]

It's Bair vs. Pandit, with other federal agencies reportedly contesting FDIC's move to assert more control over Citi. The story indicates federal officials asked ex-U.S. Bancorp CEO Jerry Grundhofer about taking Pandit's job.

SEC charges Countrywide executives [FT]

Charges against Mozilo and two lieutanants are the first brought by the SEC against any current or former chief executive in the sub-prime mortgage market.

Job Losses in the U.S. Slow, Signaling Recession Is Abating [Bloomberg News]

Venture Capitalists Head for the Door Citi [WSJ]

People:

Greg Curl Named Chief Risk Officer at Bank of America [Bank of America, via PRN]

LifeTech Capital Group Joins Jesup & Lamont [Jesup & Lamont Inc., via PRN]

MFC Global Investment Management Appoints Jean-Francois Courville as CEO [MFC Global Investment Management, via PRN]

Charles Reardon Joins Carl Marks' Investment Banking Group [Carl Marks Advisory Group, via PRN]