Preliminary Analytics | 11.13.09

• Buffett Joins Goldman in Bid for Fannie Mae Tax Credits – “The credits are virtually worthless to Fannie Mae and require the company to take losses each quarter as their value declines. Companies such as Berkshire Hathaway and Goldman Sachs could use them to offset federal tax expenses.” Who doesn’t hate seeing good tax credits go to waste? [WSJ]
• Congress Poised to Keep Homebuyers’ Tax Credit – Despite toddlers’ insistence of homeownership and widespread SNAFUs, the bill could pass as early as today. [NYT]
• AT&T sues Verizon – AT&T doesn’t think the map commercials are funny or accurate. [NYP]
• ‘Osama’ Funding Appeals as U.S. Independent Filmmakers Hurt – Desperate times, right? Just so long as you don’t have any political aspirations. [Bloomberg]
• Surprise! NJ Doesn’t Like High Taxes – “New Jersey holds the distinction of the state with both the highest property taxes per capita and the worst business tax climate in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation.” [Tax Girl]
• Fears of a New Bubble as Cash Pours In – “Behind the trend are measures such as cutting interest rates and pumping money into the financial system, which have left parts of the world awash in cash and at risk of bubbles, or run-ups in asset prices beyond what economic fundamentals suggest are reasonable.” [WSJ]

• Order for UBS to release client data judged unlawful – Swiss Bank secrecy law were broken says a court in neutral (still, right?) land. [Reuters]
• Sarkozy proposes ad tax on Google – What happened to taxing the stupid? [FT]
• Fully Played Out? – “Can we assume that the downturn is fully played out, especially in light of reports and other evidence that people are (still) altering their behavior (e.g., spending less and saving more) in response to what’s going on around them?” [Financial Armageddon]
• Overstock.com Staves Off Bankruptcy With ‘Hillary Clinton Nutcracker’ – For $37, they’ll throw in a Bill Clinton corkscrew. [Gary Weiss]
• Good News for the Young and Unemployed &ndsah; Your Moms still love you! Plus the job market might be turning around. [The Atlantic]

• CIT sweetens, extends debt exchange offer – “CIT raised the interest rate payable on its series B notes to 10.25 percent a year from 9 percent, and extended the closing date of the exchange offer to November 5 from October 29.” Carl Ichan isn’t so hot on the idea. [Reuters]
• Florida Bank Becomes 100th to Fail This Year – Partners Bank is the lucky winner. [DealBook]
• Investor With Madoff Is Found Dead in His Pool – Irving Picower had a history of “cardiac issues”. He had been accused of netting $7 billion in profit with BM. [NYT]
• Capmark Financial files for bankruptcy – KKR is among the investors in the commercial real estate company who are SOL. [Reuters]