Obama to Endorse Public Plan in Speech (WSJ)

On 9-9-09, the biggest test of Barack Obama's charm, charisma, and brains. Date will be easy to remember (if not for the new Beatles box set released today that includes the White Album's "Revolution No. 9") even if the president doesn't screw up this speech of the new century. NYT's David M. Herszenhorn offers up "How to Watch the Speech." WashPost's preview.

Gas prices dip as summer travel comes to an end (Orlando Business Journal)

Gentlemen, start your SUVs.

Lehman's Legacy: Overhaul Falters As Shock Fades (WSJ)

Good piece takes a step back and sees that, a year after the Wall Street meltdown, overhaul plans are bogged down, banks have regained some of their swag and swagger. "Large compensation packages are back. And so is risky business." La misma mierda. Siempre.

CIC Looks to Pile Cash Into U.S. Real Estate (WSJ)

Attracted by the U.S. government's PPIP bailout program propping up toxic assets, the Chinese government is poised to swoop down on distressed U.S. real estate, particularly mortgage securities regurgitated by shaky commercial property. "Last year, CIC [China's flush sovereign-wealth fund] deployed just $4.8 billion in global financial markets. This year it invested that much in a single month." Upshot? The U.S. government will be guaranteeing that China (and its U.S. private-equity partners) won't lose their asses, and China will end up owning buildings all over the U.S. Congress will freak out about all this huge jump in foreign investment in our real estate.

New York Nears Charges on Merrill Deal (WSJ)

NY AG Andy Cuomo leans hard on Bank of America to divulge info on conversations. Someone's going to take the fall for BofA's failure to tell its shareholders about how fucked-up Merrill was when BofA bought it.

Record Drop Hits Borrowing: Consumers Cut Debt by Choice and by Force, Draining Fuel for Economic Rebound (WSJ)

If you were a real American, you'd save our country by plunging yourself further into debt. Implicit message from Wall Street: We got you into this. Now it's up to you to get us out of it. And Wall Street's glad to help you — see "Overspending on Debit Cards Is a Boon for Banks."

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States Ignoring Stimulus Welfare Fund (ProPublica and USA Today)

A "$5 billion emergency fund for needy families [2] can be used to immediately create jobs for the unemployed, pay rent for families facing eviction, even repair someone's car so they can get to work. But many states aren't taking advantage of the windfall because state officials say they can't afford the requirement that they put up 20 percent of the costs. Six months into the stimulus, only 27 states have applied for the money." State-by-state roundup here.

IKEA's Burbank store and the guerrillas in housewares (L.A. Times)

Web videos inside stores turn out to be easier to assemble than the furniture and almost as popular.

'Massive' ancient wall uncovered in Jerusalem (CNN)

This one wasn't built by Jews to keep out Arabs.

LI Man Guilty of Copyright Boner (NY Post)

Thrust of judge's decision: Guy who drove a phony missile emblazoned with the words "Viva Viagra" violated Pfizer's trademark. Ins and outs of case here.

Peek inside Madoff's homes and boats (CNN)

Yet another tour of Bernie Madoff's stuff, which includes a boat with an elevator — shaft included.

Maine Event: Why Olympia Snowe controls the health-care debate (New Yorker, Steve Coll)

It's the senior senator from Maine, "more than Max Baucus or any other Senate centrist, who will probably decide whether a filibuster-proof bill can be negotiated during the next few weeks, or whether, in the alternative, the White House must push through a reform using the more controversial (but entirely legal and amply with precedent) budget-resolution process, which skirts the Senate's filibuster rules."

Disney in deal for gamers (NY Post)

Just after buying Marvel Comics, Mickey Mouse is buying videogame developer Wideload, whose founder, Alexander Seropian, created Halo for Microsoft's Xbox.

Good Housekeeping readers play hunt the G-spot (Register U.K.)

In a move to boost spending, "housewives' bible" publishes consumer guide to market's top vibrators.

Google Maps reborn as world's largest Monopoly board (Register U.K.)

Hasbro kicks off Monopoly City Streets, a live version it calls a "world of property empire building on an unimaginable scale."

U.S. 'Unlikely' to Recoup Auto Outlay, Panel Finds (Washington Post)

"The federal government is unlikely to recoup all of the billions of dollars that it has invested in General Motors and Chrysler."

IPO Lawyers Seek $245 Million of $586 Million Accord (Bloomberg)

These are the guys who won the big settlement from Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and other banks in cases stemming from the bursting of the Internet bubble in 2000. Think how much the fees will be in the ultimate fallout from the current disaster.

Default Rate on U.S. Banks' Commercial Mortgages Seen Rising to Record (Bloomberg)

Sleep-At-Night-Money Lost in Lehman Lesson Missing $63 Billion (Bloomberg)

Incomprehensible headline masks a fascinating, though dense, yarn about last year's panic weekend meltdown. Henry Paulson wound up sleep-deprived; the rest of us wound up just deprived.