Bidding war for Wachovia

Citigroup and Wells Fargo were going after the banking giant today, the NYT reports, in what’s being described as a “possible emergency takeover.” Both the Fed and the Treasury Department have been involved in the talks, the Times is reporting. But the feds appear opposed taking over Wachovia – as happened last week with Washington Mutual. They're also balking at the kind of government guarantees that were made with J.P. Morgan's purchase of Bear Stearns.