Tim Catts, Daily Finance

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) - Tim Catts at Daily Finance

Feinberg, the U.S special master on compensation, already slapped pay limits on the 25 executives with the richest total compensation at seven companies that received "exceptional" assistance from regulators, a group that includes the firms affected by Friday's rulings as well as Bank of America ( BAC ), Chrysler and Chrysler Financial. Bank of America escaped the limits this week after repaying $45 billion it received from the Treasury Department's bank rescue fund, while Chrysler and its financing arm were unaffected because they had no executives making above $500,000 who weren't affected by the earlier caps. About a dozen executives, including several at AIG, will be exempted from the limits. 

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) - Tim Catts at Daily Finance

Which bank will follow the trail blazed by Bank of America ( ) and be next to exit the government's bank rescue program? Probably not Citigroup ( ), where taxpayers' own a 34% stake that the Treasury Department . Then there's Wells Fargo ( ), recipient of $25 billion in assistance, a bit more than half of the $45 billion Citi and Bank of America each got. 

East West Bancorp, Inc. (EWBC) - Tim Catts at Daily Finance

Instead, the FDIC chose East West Bancorp ( EWBC ) to assume UCB's 63 branches and $7.5 billion in deposits. Though it's certainly an expensive match, it also seems to be a good one, since both companies cater to Chinese American communities and Chinese regulators have cleared East West to take over UCB's branches there. "Chinese authorities are working hard to meet the standards that would allow them to buy banks in the United States, but these things take time," Fed sources told the Financial Times. 

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) - Tim Catts at Daily Finance

Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest men and CEO of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway ( ), once proclaimed that "the banking business is no favorite of ours." The comment came in one of his famous missives to Berkshire's shareholders by way of explaining that financial companies were too risky and opaque for the über investor's tastes. But that was in 1990. 

Diedrich Coffee Inc (DDRX) - Tim Catts at Daily Finance

Peet's Coffee & Tea ( ), ( ), said Monday to buy Diedrich Coffee ( ), a big seller of java in single serving cups for home brewing. So what's the big deal? After all, small companies buy each other for a few hundred million dollars all the time. 

Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. (PEET) - Tim Catts at Daily Finance

Peet's Coffee & Tea ( ), ( ), said Monday to buy Diedrich Coffee ( ), a big seller of java in single serving cups for home brewing. So what's the big deal? After all, small companies buy each other for a few hundred million dollars all the time. 

The Travelers Companies Inc (TRV) - Tim Catts at Daily Finance

Thus far, Caterpillar ( CAT ), DuPont ( DD ), General Electric ( GE ), IBM ( IBM ), Intel ( INTC ), Coca Cola ( KO ), McDonalds ( MCD ), AT&T ( T ), Travelers ( TRV ) and Wal Mart ( WMT ) all reported surprising strong quarterly profit along with disappointingly weak sales. Out of Balance Results. The figures for the S&P 500 are similarly skewed. 

American Express Company (AXP) - Tim Catts at Daily Finance

Don't look for American Express ( )'s , announced Thursday, to presage a turnaround for other big card issuers. Most are getting socked by mounting loan losses, as cardholders contend with rising unemployment and falling home prices. And as consumers deleverage, they're spending less on credit cards and paying down balances, which means less revenue from interest and fees. 

Morgan Stanley (MS) - Tim Catts at Daily Finance

Not so for Morgan Stanley ( ), which reported its first quarterly profit in 12 months on Wednesday. Higher fees from underwriting stock and bond issues and real estate investments that swung to a gain played a big part in helping Morgan Stanley post net income of of $757 million, or 38 cents a share, compared with a loss of $159 million, or $1.37 a share, a year ago, the company . Like its Wall Street peers, Morgan Stanley also posted strong results in fixed income trading.