Preliminary Analytics | 09.23.09

• UBS tax deal may pave way for bank’s recovery – Actually we really thought the best course of action would to be to drag the whole thing out until armed IRS Agents descended on Zurich. [Reuters]
• Schwab Vows Court Fight in Cuomo’s Auction-Rate Securities Suit – Who’s doing all this work? God knows it isn’t AC. [Bloomberg]
• Hertz to Photograph Cars in Dent Scan to Boost Damage Payments – Could this be the death of, “It’s just a rental.”? [Bloomberg]
• German investor optimism at 3-year high – Zee Germans are leading us out of this? [FT.com]
• CalPERS Backs S.E.C. Move to Open Corporate Ballots – Look out, someone supports a move by the SEC. [DealBook]

• Berkshire Buys Burlington in Buffett’s Biggest Deal – WB likes BNSF for $100 a share and he’ll thrown in some free DQ just because he can. [Bloomberg]
• Business Bankruptcy Filings Increased 7% in October – Over 130k total personal and commercial bankruptcies, up 20% from last year. [WSJ]
• What To Watch For On Tuesday – It’s election day. [NPR]
• Stanley, Black & Decker in Deal – “The transaction, which had been discussed three times before, according to the companies, represents a view that the housing market will bounce back from current lows, but also an acknowledgement that the do-it-yourself market and construction will not soon approach sky-high levels of a few years ago.” [WSJ]
• RBS, Lloyds Diverge on U.K. Aid as They Unveil Plans – “The U.K. government said Tuesday it will put £31.2 billion ($51.2 billion) in new taxpayer money into the two banks as part of a revamp of the banking system and the long-awaited asset-protection program.” [WSJ]

• Paulson’s Calls to Goldman May Have Tested Ethics – “During the week of the A.I.G. bailout alone, Mr. Paulson and Mr. Blankfein spoke two dozen times, the calendars show, far more frequently than Mr. Paulson did with other Wall Street executives.” Paging Representative Waters. [DealBook]
• Textbooks Offered for iPod, iPhones – “A provider of subscription e-textbooks for college students is making its 7,000-plus titles accessible on Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPod Touch as interest heats up in the digital-textbook arena.” [WSJ]
• States End Up Losers in Gambling Pullback – Now, everyone loses! [WSJ]
• Expert: Madoff Victims May Wait 15 Yrs. For Full Payout – “…some non-wealthy clawback subjects paying $50 to $100 a month in an installment plan.” [New York Post]
• Even sex tough to sell in this recession – BAIL-OUT! BAIL-OUT! BAIL-OUT! [Greg Burns/Chicago Tribune]