BLOOMBERG: Temasek Holdings may consider increasing its stake in Merrill Lynch (MER), Temasek’s chairman said. FINANCIAL TIMES: Lehman Brothers (LEH) reportedly held secret talks to sell a stake of up to 50% in itself to Korean or Chinese entities earlier this month, but the talks stalled.

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Responding to a rumor, the Federal Reserve last month called Credit Suisse (CS) to check whether it had eliminated a credit line to Lehman Brothers, according to sources. The bank told the Fed that it had not pulled the credit line and did not plan to do so. NEW YORK TIMES: Investment bank Evercore Partners (EVR) is close to a deal to obtain a $120M investment from Japan’s Mizuho Corporate Bank.

Political figures say Fannie and Freddie will have to be changed-NY Times
Most political policy makers believe that Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) will have to undergo substantial changes so that they cannot undermine the financial system. There have been proposals to nationalize Fannie and Freddie, eliminate them, or limit their activities to certain areas, such as affordable housing.

Asian Markets Wrap-Up for Thursday, August 21
Asian stocks declined and were dragged down by financial companies…JAPAN: The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 99.48, or 0.8%, to 12,752.21, while the broader Topix index lost 8.84, or 0.7% to 1,224.53. Sumitomo Mitsui dropped 2.1% to Y661,000. Resona Holdings was down 1.5% to Y129,100. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU) lost 0.9% to Y810. Orix Corp (IX).slid 2.9% to Y13,030. Nintendo (NTDOY) tumbled 3.6% to Y48,600. Inpex rose 2.7% to Y1.165M. Sojitz Corp. advanced 4.5% to Y32. CHINA: The CSI 300 retreated 3.5% to 2,443.98. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 2.9% to 4.76 yuan. China Vanke Co. was down 5.2% to 7.07 yuan. Poly Real Estate Group Co. slumped 5% to 14.31 yuan. Citic Securities added 3.7% percent to 19.40 yuan. Haitong Securities Co. jumped 4.7% to 17.30 yuan…AUSTRALIA: The S&P/ASX 200 Index tumbled -54.30, or -1.10%, to 4,875.20. Babcock & Brown retreated a record 36% after posting its first earnings decline and its CEO resigned. OZ Minerals was down 7.9% to A$1.685. Qantas Airways gained 2.4 % to A$3.48…AROUND ASIA: In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped -539.20, or -2.58%, to 20,392.06. Hutchison lost 1.3% to HK$70.55. China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp. added 1.2% to HK$2.63.

U.S. equity futures continue to point to a lower open
Equity futures continue to point to a lower open on concerns surrounding the financial sector. Investors received employment news about initial jobless claims and continuing jobless claims. The initial jobless claims came in at 432,000 versus an expected 440,000. The continuing claims came in at 3.36M versus an expected 3.4M.