Over the weekend the damage from Japan's devastating earthquake / tsunami was confirmed to be worse than initially expected.

Concerns continue around several nuclear reactors.

The EFSF (European Financial Stability Fund) news helped buoy the Euro with the U.S dollar closing at 1.4.

Oil closed above $101 a barrel as unrest continues in Bahrain and Yemen (not to mention fighting in Libya).

Stocks sold off aggressively but managed to recover off of the morning lows with the DOW index closing at -0.4%.

Treasury bonds rallied hard this morning but sold off their highs with the Treasury curve flattening.

Corporate credit felt resilient (on a relative basis) although cash bonds traded heavy in the morning.

Over the weekend, Berkshire Hathaway announced that it was planning to acquire specialty chemicals maker Lubrizol for $9 billion in cash.

In new issues, financials were active with Bank of America selling $1.5 billion of 5 year debt at +172.

Royal Bank of Scotland sold $1.5 billion of 5 year debt at +243.

The FOMC (Federal Open Markets Committee) interest rate decision is out tomorrow.