• Citigroup and Morgan Stanley may announce a joint venture combining their brokerage divisions as early as today or tomorrow. The firms have already agreed to set aside $2 billion and $3 billion to retain top brokers. [WSJ, NYP]
• The joint venture isn't giving Citigroup or its CEO, Vikram Pandit, much of a boost. Shares dropped 17 percent yesterday as investors grew concerned the deal was prompted by Citi's desperation more than anything else. [NYT]
• Close to 2,000 former Merrill Lynch employees in London have been laid off by new parent Bank of America. [Times UK]
• AIG is expected to sell its Canadian life insurance operations to Bank of Montreal to repay government loans. [BN]
• Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke says a fiscal stimulus won't be enough to spur an economic recovery. [BN]