Sunday: J.P. Morgan plans thousands of job cuts: report – Lay-offs also said coming from U.K.’s Wolseley, Experian – .. follows Citi, Goldman, Fidelity, BT – MarketWatch 

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has a list – Team Obama – While we wait to find out who becomes Treasury Secretary, here’s what Obama’s economic advisory board might say about some more specific corporate-finance issues. – Tim Reason – CFO.com

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GSE chief says mortgage aid plan should be model – U.S. mortgage finance companies should soon adopt a foreclosure prevention plan developed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to ease loan terms for troubled borrowers, the companies’ overseer said on Thursday.  “I have talked to servicers in the last couple of days. They are telling me that it is important that this standard was set because it gives them a lot more cover and they are going to be more aggressive in modifying loans,” said James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. – Reuters

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1.  Wachovia gets just one top spot at Wells Fargo – Current capital management chief will become Charlotte bank’s lone presence on Wells Fargo leadership team. Five top execs will leave once deal closes. – By Rick Rothacker and Christina Rexrode – Charlotte Observer

2.  Wells Fargo CEO announces direct reports for combined company after Wachovia merger – (The following announcement is from Wells Fargo.) – WBTV.com  
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Reverse Review – November 2008 Edition – John Yedinak – The November edition of The Reverse Review is now available online.  This month’s feature article is about REO flipping schemes targeted towards seniors.  Read this and other articles … – Reverse Mortgage Daily 

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The State of the Bailout - Treasury Secretary Paulson gave a press conference yesterday and indicated that things had changed…that the focus of the bailout effort would not be on the purchase of ‘toxic assets’ but would be aimed to assist the capital needs of financial institutions and consumer finance. This ‘shift’ in focus has been duly noted by the press. Is the ‘bailout’ program having any success? – John Mason – MASE Blog 

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Bailouts Must Be Odious – David Merkel – (Alternate Title: Be a Bank; Or, Just Look Like One.) – There has been a significant shift in bailout psychology over the last week or two.  The grand shift has been to make the cost of receiving money from the US government smaller, which gets “banks” to line up for cheap money, and non-banks like CIT and American Express to become banks.  Insurers with Thrift arms can be “banks” as well.  The hurdle for help is low. – The Aleph Blog 
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FREDDIE MAC RELEASES THIRD QUARTER 2008 FINANCIAL RESULTS – – Freddie Mac reported a net loss of $25.3 billion, or $19.44 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, compared to a net loss of $1.2 billion, or $2.07 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.  As a result of the net loss, at September 30, 2008, the company’s stockholders’ equity (deficit) totaled $(13.8) billion. – Press release at Freddie Mac   -  thanks Marty Rosenblatt
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Weekend Warriors – Brian Wingfield -  Don’t let the all-star cast at the G-20 gathering fool you. Some good may get done – Forbes 

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Foreclosure Mess: Two Different Plaintiffs Claim to Own Same Mortgage – Posted by Amir Efrati  – Wall Street Journal Blogs

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Markets Pricing in 84% Chance of 50 bps Fed Cut – CEP News – Montreal

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1.  good summaries – 7 Ways for Obama to Save the Housing Market – U.S. News & World Report 

2.  us news capitol   401(k) Foe Teresa Ghilarducci, the Most Dangerous Woman in America - …  In an interview with my guy, Kirby Wilbur of KVI 570 AM in Seattle, Ghilarducci says one of her goals is—you guessed it—to “spread the wealth.” Go about 12 minutes into the interview to hear it for yourself, gang. … – U.S. News & World Report