Bank of America is preparing big layoffs in investment banking and trading [BI]
Bank of America is preparing for significant job cuts across its global banking and markets business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Senior executives in the division were tasked with identifying potential job cuts a few weeks ago, and this week were asked to increase their size, according to people familiar with the situation.
The cuts are likely to be over 5% of staff, the people said. Some business lines will face deeper cuts than others, and the details haven't been finalized.

`Spotlight' Wins Oscar Upset in Ceremony Dominated by Race [Bloomberg]
“Spotlight,” the story of the Boston journalists who exposed child abuse in the Catholic Church, was crowned best film of 2015 in an Oscars ceremony that saw host Chris Rock skewer Hollywood for its second-straight year of all-white acting nominees.

Buffett rails against presidential candidates who talk down economy [Reuters]
Warren Buffett bemoaned the "negative drumbeat" on the U.S. economy from presidential candidates in his annual Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholder letter on Saturday, saying they are misleading Americans into believing their children will be worse off than they are.
"It's an election year, and candidates can't stop speaking about our country's problems (which, of course, only they can solve)," Buffett wrote, italicizing "they" for emphasis.

Impatient Barclays Investors Await CEO’s Plan [WSJ]
In his first three months as Barclays PLC chief executive, Jes Staley has redrawn the bank’s global footprint, reshuffled several top executives and pressed the flesh with everyone from the U.K.’s prime minister to U.S. regulators.
On Tuesday, when Barclays reports full-year earnings, investors will get their first insight into the 59-year-old U.S. banker’s vision for the lender. At stake: salvaging one of the U.K.’s last remaining universal banks.

Citi to Sell 20% Stake in China Guangfa Bank for $3 Billion [WSJ]
The New York-based bank is offloading the 20% stake to China’s biggest life insurance company by premiums. Citigroup purchased its holding in 2006 as part of a consortium of investors brought in to clean up the Chinese lender. Citigroup is exiting its stake because it no longer fits with the bank’s strategic plans for China, where it operates its own branch network, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Chief Returns From Medical Leave [NYT]
J. Michael Pearson has returned as the chief executive of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International after two months of medical leave, setting him up for the challenge of restoring investor confidence in the embattled company.

Donald Trump Wavers on Disavowing David Duke [NYT]
Facing criticism from his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, Mr. Trump later moved to distance himself from Mr. Duke. However, the sequence exposed Mr. Trump to questions about his judgment and fitness to be president.
“Well, just so you understand, I don’t know anything about David Duke,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with CNN. “I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists.”

American Airlines awards $1,500 to passenger who sat in suspected urine [UPI]
An Iowa man was awarded $1,000 compensation -- plus $500 for his clothes -- by American Airlines after he sat in a plane seat soaked in suspected urine.
Mike Feinberg said he boarded a flight from St. Louis, Mo., to Des Moines Jan. 12 and he realized after about an hour that liquid from his first class seat had soaked into his clothes.