1. Two former Bear Stearns hedeg fund managers were acquitted of securities fraud. The accusation was of lying to investors - telling them they were optimistic about their funds, but privately worrying they were all but dead.
Bear Stearns collapsed in 2007, and was bought by J.P.Morgan Chase & Co.
The acquittal is a setback for the US attorney's office, which along with other offices is investigating Wall Street for possible criminal wrong doing stemming from the credit crisis.
2. Robert Benmosche, CEO of government controlled AIG insurance has threatened the board that he is considering stepping down. The executive is chafing under constraints imposed by AIG's government overseers, particularly a recent compensation review by the Obama administration's pay czar.
3. The world's central banks are likely to be net buyers of gold in 2009 after two decades of selling, sparking a race among analysts to figure out which country will step in with the next big purchase.
