AIG Names 4 Banks as Lead Underwriters for Re-IPO

Goldman Profit Beats, but Profits Drop Sharply from Previous Quarter [CNBC] "Goldman Sachs reported a fourth-quarter profit that edged past Wall Street expectations Wednesday, but its quarterly revenue came in below forecasts as investment banking and client services revenue slipped. For the three months ended December, Goldman reported a profit of $3.79 a share, down from $8.20 a share in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue fell to $8.64 billion from $9.62 billion in the year-ago period."

Wells Fargo Reports in Line Earnings [CNBC] "Wells Fargo posted earnings that matched expectations Wednesday, though the bank topped Wall Street's expectations on revenue. The banking giant reported fourth-quarter earnings of 61 cents a share. Wells Fargo earned 8 cents a share during the same period a year earlier. Sales for the most recent quarter rose to $21.49 billion, up from $22.70 billion last year."

"AIG Names 4 Banks as Lead Underwriters for Re-IPO" [CNBC] CNBC'sKate Kelly reports: "The giant insurer American International Group has chosen four banks to be joint global coordinators of its expected secondary offering: Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase, according to people familiar with the matter. "

Goldman Windfall Ahead for Partners? [DealBook—New York Times] "Goldman Sachs executives have long been among the most richly paid on Wall Street in the best of times. They are now poised to reap a windfall that was sown in the dark days of the financial crisis in 2008. Nearly 36 million stock options were granted to employees in December 2008 — 10 times the amount issued the previous year — when the stock was trading at $78.78. Since those uncertain days, Goldman’s business has roared back and its share price has more than doubled, closing on Tuesday at nearly $175."

Apple: Big Questions about the Future [New York Times] Question about what Apple will look like without Steve Jobs for the forseeable future. "For years, and across a career, knowing what consumers want has been the self-appointed task of Mr. Jobs, Apple’s charismatic co-founder. Though he has not always been right, his string of successes at Apple is uncanny. His biggest user-pleasing hits include the Macintosh, the iMac, iBook, iPod, iPhone and iPad."

But Apple Also Posts Great Numbers [New York Times] Apple said its net income in the last three months of 2010 rose 78 percent from a year earlier to a record $6 billion, or $6.43 a share, from $3.4 billion, or $3.67 a share, a year earlier. Revenue soared more than 70 percent to $26.74 billion, from $ 15.68 billion a year earlier

Hu Jintao Heads to the White House [Wall Street Journal] "China's President Hu Jintao landed in Washington for a summit that will help to define a new relationship between the world's longtime superpower and its rising Asian rival, at a time when their bonds have been frayed by mutual suspicions and an ideological gulf."