New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is demanding information from eight big banks on how they structured their payouts. The banks under order are: Bank of America (BAC), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), State Street Bank (STT) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

Cuomo's letter specifically demands: 1. "A description of all bonus pools for 2009, including a description of the process by which the pools were or will be established." 2. "A description of your bonus program to include cash, stocks and other incentive breakdowns, vesting periods, clawback provisions and any other provisions to tie compensation to performance."

The latest litigation has Intel Inside.

The State of New York is going after Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) over antitrust allegations. State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is accusing the largest chip manufacturer in the world that it is trying to secure a global monopoly for microprocessors.

For several years, Cuomo said that Intel has pushed the likes of Dell (NYSE: DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) to agree to the exclusive use of Intel's gear in exchange for billions of dollars in payments. The hefty cash outlays have given what Cuomo called a "stranglehold" on the market.

According to a Wall Street Journal report (subscription required) on Monday, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is set to choose an emergency chief executive officer (CEO) -- just in case Ken Lewis (the current CEO) is forced to step down thanks to legal issues. The decision was in the works before Lewis announced he would retire effective New Year's Eve, but the situation ramped up after New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo hinted that he may file civil charges against Lewis.

Five people comprise the committee that was formed earlier this year, with Bank of America Chairman Walter Massey leading the way. The committee was originally created to respond to concerns raised by U.S. banking regulators, but it has now shifted its focus a bit. The committee will give the choice to the full board for approval, but then the U.S. banking regulators will have to approve the choice, basically allowing the government to hand pick their choice. Once this process runs its course, the plan will then be shuttered until it is needed.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) CEO Ken Lewis has managed to survive a massive decline in shareholder value, two government bailouts, a raft of shareholder lawsuits, SEC investigations, civil fraud charges, and a wave of populist angst about the company's business practices.

But now CNBC reports that experts are questioning whether Lewis will be able to hang on as investigations of the company's acquisition of Merrill Lynch intensify. The FBI is reportedly taking a look, which suggests that criminal charges could follow.

Let's dive into the world of breaking news here, as the New York Attorney General's office has decided to mark the one-year anniversary of the financial meltdown by preparing charges against some Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) executives. Reportedly, the charges stem from the failure to disclose details about the company's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

The Attorney General (Andrew Cuomo) is likely to file charges against the executives because of their failure to alert shareholders to mounting losses and accelerated bonus payments at Merrill. Earlier, a federal district judge rejected a $33-million settlement between BAC and the SEC over the same executive bonuses. This settlement was in relation to the fact that BAC did not inform shareholders of an agreement to pay Merrill Lynch execs billions of dollars worth of bonuses, the deal was struck before BAC acquired Merrill.

Brokerage house Charles Schwab & Co. (NASDAQ: SCHW) is facing the wrath of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The state's top attorney sent a letter to Schwab last Friday, warning that he plans to sue the firm for civil fraud in relation to its marketing and sales of auction-rate securities (ARS). Cuomo added that he is open to a possible settlement, although Schwab must be willing to repurchase ARS from its investors who are still holding them.

In response, Schwab is defending itself. "The Attorney General's allegations are without merit," stated the brokerage firm. "They unfairly lay blame on our company for an illiquid market and improper behavior by the large Wall Street firms."

In order to end the two-year-old inquiry by New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo into its pension business, the Carlyle Group has agreed to pay $20 million and make broad changes to its practices. Carlyle, one of the world's largest private equity firms, will no longer use intermediaries, known as placement agents, to secure investment business from public pension funds, and it will curb its campaign contributions to elected officials who oversee pension funds.

"This is a revolutionary agreement," Cuomo said Thursday. "I believe it totally changes the way people operate: It ends pay-to-play, it bans the selling of access, it puts the political power brokers out of business."

An outspoken group of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) shareholders has been calling for CEO Kenneth Lewis's head lately, with investors none too pleased by the bank's near-disastrous acquisition of Merrill Lynch. However, testimony is hitting Wall Street today that indicates Lewis was simply following government orders by keeping hefty losses at Merrill under wraps.

Lewis testified under oath before New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in February, asserting "it wasn't up to me" to disclose Merrill's fourth-quarter losses toward the end of 2008.

According to Lewis, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pressured him to stay mum about Merrill Lynch's troublesome balance sheet. The regulators reportedly urged Lewis to proceed with the merger, warning that the deal's failure would "impose a big risk" to the nation's financial system.

Wall Street is supposed to be a support function -- helping CEOs come up with cash to make investments. But since Ronald Reagan, Wall Street has become the tail that wags the economic dog.

Today, Paul Krugman highlighted this by pointing out that in the 1960s, Wall Street accounted for 4% of GDP -- a figure that rose to 8% by 2007. Reagan began a process of deregulating Wall Street and in 2004, the SEC let financial institutions borrow way too much. The result is an unprecedented economic catastrophe, including an American International Group (NYSE: AIG) bailout that will cost another $1.6 trillion.

After days of rallying, the market decided that bank stocks had gone much too far. With no first quarter earnings out, the fact is that the current quarter could still be tough. Financial shares could still reset lower. The market reacted accordingly.

The unofficial numbers for the day broke out like this:

Dow 7,278.38 -122.42 (-1.65%)
S&P 500 768.54 -15.50 (-1.98%)
Nasdaq 1,457.27 -26.21 (-1.77%)

TOP ANALYST CALLS

A report today in the New York Post suggests that shareholders are anxious to oust Kenneth Lewis, CEO of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC). The paper says that a group of angry investors, spearheaded by Jerry Finger, has compiled a list of demands to present at the bank's next annual meeting. Finger and his irate mob will request that the roles of CEO and chairman be split, and the outspoken investor said it's safe to assume that a brand-new chief executive is also high on his wish list.

Finger made headlines last month by filing a class-action lawsuit against B of A, alleging that its merger with Merrill Lynch failed to protect shareholders' interests. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is now investigating that very same matter, and reports say that the AG may demand the return of $4 billion in bonuses to Merrill employees that were rushed through prior to the merger's completion.

It takes quite a bit to make our new president angry, but a New York Times report saying that Wall Street paid $18.4 billion in bonuses last year as companies teetered on the brink of collapse did the trick.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, President Obama seemed livid at the financial services industry. He called the payouts "the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful."

Wall Street might want to forgo bonuses for everybody. That's Obama's view and it is probably shared by the majority of the American people. Vice President Joe Biden told CNBC that he wants to lock up Wall Street bad guys.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner already had to twist Citigroup Inc.'s (NYSE:C) arm to "change its mind" about buying a corporate jet. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch before its acquisition by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). Then, of course, there are the shenanigans at American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG).

Isn't it finally time to put someone in charge of the SEC who really cares about investors?

There are many well qualified candidates. Here are a few suggestions:

William Galvin: The highly respected Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He has taken on the industry and recovered millions of dollars of damages for aggrieved investors.

Joe Borg: Executive Director of the Alabama Securities Commission. Mr. Borg has a stellar record of protecting the interests of investors in Alabama.

Andrew Cuomo: The Attorney General of New York. He knows the industry and has shown great tenacity in exposing the recent fraud involving Auction Rate Bonds and other misdeeds.

Mary Schapiro, who is President-elect Obama's choice, has spent her career protecting the securities industry from investors.

Executive pay is like the weather. Everyone complains about it but no one does anything to change it. That is until New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo tangled with AIG (NYSE: AIG).

Cuomo, the son of a former New York governor who reportedly wants the job himself one day, convinced the embattled insurer to suspend payments from a $600 million bonus fund as well as a $19 million payoff to its former chief executive Martin J. Sullivan, according to The New York Times.

This is good news for taxpayers for a number of reasons. First, the thought of executives at a firm that was bailed out by taxpayers the tune of tens of billions of dollars getting bonuses was galling. Sullivan and his colleagues were supposed to be rewarded to creating value for shareholders, which they obviously failed to do. Cuomo also set a precedent that might apply to executives at other failed companies such as Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER).

Bullish comments from Warren Buffett and better-than-expected earnings from Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) may not help boost the stock market. Futures were down because of lingering concerns about consumer confidence. Markets in Europe are rallying and were mixed in Asia. President Bush also is scheduled to give a "pep talk" to investors today.

Writing in the New York Times, Buffett said he is buying American stocks. "Let me be clear on one point: I can't predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven't the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month - or a year - from now., " he writes. "What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up."

Here is a look at other news which may interest investors:

• OPEC called an emergency meeting as oil slipped below $70 a barrel
• Small businesses are feeling the effect of the Wall Street layoffs
• According to the Wall Street Journal, lenders are eager for General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) and Chrysler LLC.
• Companies are finding it difficult to get financing when they are in bankruptcy.
• New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo reached a deal with American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) to review compensation paid to former executives.