Every morning the Street of Walls team puts out an update on market levels, today’s top stories, and active M&A deals.

Today’s Top Stories:

• White House Focused on EU Crisis: Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. visited Prime Minister Lucas Papademos of Greece in his Athens office on Monday. Timothy F. Geithner, the Treasury secretary, hopscotched across Europe on Tuesday and Wednesday, urging leaders to address the European debt crisis more urgently http://nyti.ms/ux4zAg
• More Bank Cuts: with revenues remaining under pressure, we take a closer look at banks’ expenses and find another 10% in cutshttp://bit.ly/vHDZHw
• Race for the GOP: GOP contest seen as two horse race between Romney and Gingrich, Obama’s political advisors now believe there is a “realistic chance” of Gingrich winning the GOP nomination http://nyti.ms/suLMlS
• DB Letter Bomb: security at the co’s NYC offices was enhanced after a letter bomb was sent to CEO J Ackermann’s office in Frankfurthttp://nyti.ms/thF0ep
• ECB Cuts EU Rates: The European Central Bank returned its benchmark refinancing rate to a historic low of 1%
• Private Equity Report: Pitchbook is out with a report titled, “The PitchBook Decade Report Vol. II: Investments 2001-2010?http://bit.ly/sZnGT0
• MCD Earnings: MCD +1% much stronger SSS
• Icahn says NAV and OSK Should Merge: A 13D/A disclosure has just been released after-market today, in which Icahn discloses that he was interviewed on CNBC yesterday and made the following comments regarding his investments in Navistart International (NYSE:NAV) and Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) http://bit.ly/tz5JqR

Economic Calendar:

• Thursday: Initial Jobless Claims, Wholesale Inventories
• Friday: Trade Balance, U. of Mich Confidence

M&A Watch:

• Strong week in M&A: Announced M&A volumes declined by 38% to $26.2 billion. 4Q11 volumes are averaging 13% below the 3Q11 average weekly volume http://bit.ly/s8Khcn

Disclosure: I do not have a position in any stocks mentioned in this article, do not have a plan to initiate a position within the next 72 hours.

Disclaimer:  The information, opinions, material, and any other content provided in this article is for informational purposes only and is not to be used or considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities, investment products, financial instruments, or to participate in any particular investment strategy. The information, opinions, material, and any other content provided in this article does not constitute as a recommendation or as advice to buy or sell securities, investment products,  financial instruments, or to participate in any particular investment strategy.