Preliminary Analytics | 09.25.09

• 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]

• Bank of America Chief Resigns Under Fire – “One sign to company insiders that something was up: Mr. Lewis returned to work after Labor Day in a full beard, which no one at the bank had ever seen before. He shaved it off after one day.” We’re picturing something along the lines of ZZ Top. [WSJ]
• Cowboys Under 60-Yard-Long HDTV Signaling Player-Pay Showdown – “The stadium epitomizes the NFL’s costly building spree during the past 15 years. Many owners used cheap credit to build and renovate 24 of the league’s 31 venues, more than quadrupling debt held by teams and the league to about $9 billion this year from 1996.” On a side note, guess where the NFL CFO used to work? [Bloomberg]
• Crocs laces up $30M in credit – Unfortunately, Crocs seems to have survived its near death experience. [Denver Business Journal]
• Comcast-GE Talks Heighten Intrigue Over Fate of NBCU – Your cable company part owner of Conan, The Office? That feels icky. [WSJ]
• 47% Will Pay $0 Income Tax in 2009 – Probably none of you. [TaxProf Blog]

• Soros Says ‘Basically Bankrupt’ Banks Restrain U.S. – And consumers up to their eyeballs in debt doesn’t help either, according to Georgie. [Bloomberg]
• BofA to Select Emergency CEO – “Led by Bank of America Chairman Walter Massey, the committee plans to submit its choice to the full board for approval. Regulators will be asked to sign off on the choice, according to the person familiar with the matter, and then the plan will be shelved until needed.” [WSJ]
• Debt Plan Falls Short of Fixing CIT Lending – “CIT Group Inc.’s proposed debt-restructuring plan, even if successful, may do little to fix the company’s broken lending business…CIT’s ability to raise funds cheaply, a key requirement for any lender, remains limited by low credit ratings and restrictions imposed by a banking regulator.” [WSJ]
• Telecom boss quits in suicide row – “France Telecom’s second-in-command has resigned, after weeks of criticism over management’s handling of a spate of suicides by employees…Unions blame restructuring at the firm for some of the 24 suicides by company employees in the last 20 months.” [BBC]
• Auditing Standard 5: How Now, Brown Cow? – Homework, auditors. Read up. [RTA]