Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks are tumbling: There's the mixed bag of economic and corporate news, along with tighter credit policies in China. But another factor is at play: Uncertainty in Washington. Many on Wall Street are not exactly fans of the Obama White House, but they at least knew where things stood. With last night's Massachusetts meltdown, there's a good chance the administration will be stymied on the policy front - not a great prospect for an economy turnaround. In any event, the Dow is down almost 200 points.

Banks report uneven results: Wells Fargo had a fourth-quarter net income of $2.8 billion, despite being tied up with a large consumer lending book. But Bank of America reported a net loss of $5.2 billion, worse than analysts had expected. From the NYT:

Many banking experts predict that consumer loan losses will peak in 2010 but remain stubbornly high until the overall economy and job situation show more robust improvement. "There may be some question whether it will be worse than last year or not," said Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics at Moody's Economy.com. "It's not going up like a rocket anymore, but it's still going up. The good news is there is light at the end of the tunnel and it's not an oncoming train. A year ago, you couldn't have said that."

Still no Conan deal: Sticking point appears to be severance pay for O'Brien's staff. Reports indicate that O'Brien himself will be receiving over $30 million. Meanwhile, he continues ribbing NBC. (NYT)

Dip in gas prices: An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $3.068, down about three pennies from last week, according to the government survey. (EIA)

Chevron cuts jobs: No specific numbers, but they'll be coming from the company's refining, marketing and retail operations. Chevron has an extensive base in California that includes a big refinery in El Segundo. From the SF Chronicle:

Oil market analyst Allen Good said Chevron's West Coast refineries are among the company's most profitable in the United States and probably won't be sold or closed. "Those refineries may be safe," said Good, with the Morningstar market research firm. "It could be some of the smaller ones they have in the U.S. that could take the hit." California refineries typically enjoy better profit margins than their counterparts elsewhere because the state uses its own gasoline blends made by a limited number of refineries.

Calpers underperforms: The state pension fund earned an 11.8 percent return on its portfolio in 2009, a marked improvement over the 27.1 percent dive a year earlier but well below the established benchmarks that Calpers sets. Real estate holdings plunged 47.5 percent. (LAT)

Tighter FHA rules: Borrowers will have to come up with more up-front cash, part of the an effort to beef up the agency's ailing finances. FHA-backed loans are very popular among homeowners, but that's jacked up the number of defaults. (Wash Post)

Playboy moving to L.A.?: Relocation rumors are spreading, according to the NY Post's Keith Kelly, but the company says there are no plans to leave Chicago. Playboy already has some operations in L.A.