Morning Market Roundup: Yahoo! Layoffs, General Electric Slapped with Downgrade

Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning:

Yahoo!: Layoffs of up to 2,000 workers from Yahoo! will be announced today, reported AllThingsD. The action is seen as “just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.” The cuts are company-wide but the greatest number will come from the product division, followed by local content and marketing and research divisions. Yahoo’s ad tech and search businesses are currently under review and according to new CEO Scott Thompson, “real change” is coming to the company.

General Electric: Moody’s Investors Services has lowered GE and its financing subsidiary’s credit ratings in response to risks from the company’s lending division. The agency cut GE’s senior unsecured debt to Aa3 and stirred an angry response by the company that said it has more than $80 billion of cash with a strong balance sheet.

“Moody’s actions are based on a change in their own methodology rather than our credit position, which has only improved in the past few years,” GE said.

Banks: The Commodities Futures Trading Commission is anticipated to file civil charges against JPMorgan for its role from the Lehman Brothers implosion. The charges may include inappropriately considering Lehman’s customer money as firm money. According to The New York Times, JPMorgan will likely settle the case and pay a $20 million fine.

EU: Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn said the EU should be ready to help Portugal in the future.

“From the European Union side, it would be wise to be prepared that some kind of bridge needs to be built when Portugal returns to the markets,” Rehn said.

He did not give any details but noted the country’s situation is different than Greece’s. In 2011, Portugal received a EUR 78 billion ($104 billion) from the EU and the International Monetary Fund.

[Editor’s note: the above is a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]