J.P. Morgan to buy up WaMu for pennies on the dollar.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- J.P. Morgan & Chase Co. will acquire most of Washington Mutual Inc.'s operations, according to a report published late Thursday. The online edition of The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that the exact structure of the transaction remains unclear. Washington Mutual , once the largest U.S. thrift, has been scrambling to find a solution to its surplus of bad mortgage loans, and put itself up for sale at auction last week, the report said.