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Price of crude oil soars a record $25

At one point Monday, crude oil was up more than $25 a barrel. It closed at $120.92 in New York, an increase of $16.37. While investors rushed to oil and other safe havens, the U.S. dollar and the Dow Jones index fell. The drop in equities came as experts questioned the effectiveness of the U.S. government’s rescue of financial markets.

Japan’s MUFG plans to buy as much as 20% of Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (stock ticker: MS) agreed to sell as much as a 20% stake in itself to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The price of the deal would be based on the U.S. investment bank’s book value after due diligence is completed by the Japanese bank. Morgan Stanley Chairman and CEO John Mack said the combination would help both financial institutions expand globally.

Bank losses on Fannie, Freddie stock apparently underestimated

According to a survey conducted by the American Bankers Association, nearly one-third of U.S. banks hold preferred stock issued by Fannie Mae (stock quote: FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). Nearly all $36 billion of such stock was cleaned out when the Federal Reserve took the mortgage giants over. “The negative impact on banks — particularly Main Street community banks — is far greater than regulators first thought,” Edward Yingling, CEO of the ABA, wrote in a letter to the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators.

Hong Kong investors protest over bond losses

More than 500 retail investors in Hong Kong protested Monday over losses from “mini bonds” that were guaranteed by Lehman Brothers. A group of about 800 investors gathered after the protest, complaining that they were instructed that the mini bonds they purchased were a relatively low-risk product, although they are in fact complex-derivative products secured by swap obligations.

S&P launches its first index for Vietnam

Standard & Poor’s launched its first index focused solely on Vietnam. The S&P Vietnam 10 Index covers companies in the Asian country that are the largest and have the highest liquidity. Among the sectors it covers are consumer discretionary, energy, financial, industrial, information technology, material and utility.