Big Merger Deals Signal Restored Confidence (NYT)

N.Y. Poverty Data Paint Mixed Picture (NYT)

Actually, the same grim picture with a desperate attempt to paint at least a faint smile on it.

Deals Drive Push Back Into Stocks (WSJ)

"The Dow industrials rose 124 points and are on course for the best quarter since 1998 amid a burst of deals and analyst upgrades."

Obama Enters Olympics Race (WSJ)

Going to Denmark this week to use his charm to try to get the costly Olympics in Chicago in 2016.

Exelon to Quit Chamber Over Climate Bill (NYT)

"The carbon-based free lunch is over," says the CEO of one of the nation's biggest utilities, rebelling against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's head-in-sand stance against global-warming legislation.

Sex Drive Boosted by Testosterone Spray, Study Says (Bloomberg)

Bailout of Wall Street execs gets personal: Aussie drug company Acrux will ask FDA to let it sell Axiron, an underarm spray that boosts testosterone. Global markets for testosterone treatments, story says, is $1 billion a year and has risen up, up, up by more than 20 percent in the U.S. Meanwhile, "U.S. Drug Companies Chase Vaccines," WSJ says of impending flu profits.

MORE HEADLINES FOLLOW

Banged up, Allen Stanford back in jail after brawl (Reuters)

Sir Allen gets the shit beat out of him by a fellow inmate in hoosegow near Houston.

Disney Tries to Pull the Storybook Ritual Onto the Web (NYT)

Ground-breaking sales attempt to get parents to subscribe to website for access to electronic versions of Winnie, Tigger, and Hanna Montana.

World Bank Head Sees Dollar's Role Diminishing (NYT)

Bob Zoellick acknowledges the writing on the wall for the future of the dollar as the world's currency.

Consumers to the Rescue? Not Yet (WSJ)

Wall Street hopes so, but doesn't look like it. Also see: "China Inc. Looks Homeward as U.S. Shoppers Turn Frugal."

Restaurants Dangle Cheaper Drinks but Risk Watering Down Their Profits (WSJ)

Paulson's plan: May merge struggling CIT with IndyMac (NY Post)

Hedge fund god John Paulson, who made billions betting on the economy's collapse, may have figured out how to make even more from two big financial companies that went bust in the same collapse.

Glass Half Empty: Richard Meier's Brooklyn Tower (NYT)

Four years ago, it "was seen as a test of New York's real estate boom." Now it's "a wall of windows into the real estate bust."

Former Executive for Enron Gets Sentence of 16 Months (NYT)

Vacation Timeshares Drop at Record Pace as Americans Cut Back (Bloomberg)

Cassano is back in US (NY Post)

Former AIG exec who triggered his company's collapse sneaks back into Connecticut from London.

The secret to Goldman Sachs' good fortune (NY Post, John Crudele)

Latest installment of Crudele's fascinating parsing of Henry Paulson's activities during the September '08 panic.

Volcker Says China's Rise Highlights Relative U.S. Decline (Bloomberg)

Le-Nature's CEO in $800M indictment (NY Post)

Defunct beverage maker's founder accused of duping creditors just before its pre-recession bankruptcy.

Warner Music and YouTube Close to Deal on Licensing (WSJ)

A Research(er's) Proposal For Fitness: Frisbee and Kickball (WSJ)