Everyone was expecting a big loss. But $10 billion? And a 41 percent dividend cut? Meredith Whitney's legend grows. Combined with the $12.5 billion stake sold to the Kuwait Investment Authority and the likelihood of massive job cuts, this strikes me as an attempt by Vikram Pandit to make a definitive move to get the bad news out and begin the process of rebuilding. But the mortgage situation may not cooperate. The fact is that additional writedowns--beyond the $18 billion written down for the fourth quarter--are likely, and some think the bank's capital ratios could stand even more injections. This sets the stage for Merrill Lynch and others who will report this week.  

For more:
- here's a New York Times article