♦ Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have won approval to become bank holding companies, which will give them greater access to federal funds and also put them under tighter oversight and regulation. [WSJ, NYP]
♦ After suspending talks with Wachovia over the weekend, Morgan Stanley announced this morning that it is selling a 10-20 percent stake to Japan's largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ. [WSJ, Bloomberg]
♦ The proposed $700 billion bailout package turned into a political football this weekend. [WSJ, NYT]
♦ Nomura will pay $225 million for Lehman's Asian operations. [WSJ]
♦ After last week's wild ride, everyone is bracing for another eventful week on Wall Street. [NYT]

♦ Barclays has set aside $2.5 billion to pay bonuses at Lehman. But much of it may end up going to retain a small group of key execs. [NYP, UK Times]
♦ The financial crisis has been tough on GE, and the company is now exploring a variety of ways to shore up operations. [NYT]
♦ Legg Mason is considering taking itself private. [NYP]
♦ Despite the pain on Wall Street, banks are still financing movies in Hollywood, albeit on a smaller scale. [NYT]
♦ The market has been so chaotic and irrational, even fast-moving hedge funds can't keep up. [NYT]
♦ How John Thain saved Merrill Lynch. And how Richard Fuld lost Lehman. [NYT]