Banks Atone for Bad Behavior and Dish’s Spectrum Plans: Morning Buzzers

U.S. stock futures wobbled between positive and negative territory on Tuesday morning. Investors are looking forward to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address tonight, where he is expected to speak about the economy and the deficit.

U.S. futures at 8:50 a.m.: DJIA: +0.06%, S&P 500: +0.04%, NASDAQ: -0.05%.

Here’s what’s buzzing on Tuesday morning:

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) will reduce its workforce by at least 3,700 and incur a related restructuring charge of nearly 500 million pounds ($779.9 million) as it pursues a strategic review of its 75 business units. The announcement comes after the bank posted a net loss of 1.04 billion pounds ($1.62 billion) in its full-year 2012 results, with an additional 1 billion pounds ($1.56 billion) set aside for damages related to a series of scandals, including manipulation of benchmark interest rates.

BNY Mellon (NYSE:BK) will take an $850 million charge against its first-quarter profit after losing a tax benefit case against the IRS. The case involved a $1.5 billion loan from Barclays that was done for the sole purpose of generating the tax credit. Reuters reports that Tax Court Judge Diane Kroupa wrote that the transaction “was an elaborate series of pre-arranged steps designed as a subterfuge for generating, monetizing and transferring the value of foreign tax credits.”