Saturn to Close After Sale Falls Through (WSJ)

About 13,000 workers will be shit out of luck, but impact on nation's unemployment rate will be miniscule. Meanwhile, bad news in New York for jobless: "Mayor Bloomberg vows to snuff out smoking in parks, beaches." No job, no hope, and now no cigarettes. Stop, you're killing us.

Dow, Up 15%, Has Best Quarter Since '98 (WSJ)

Bubble news: "Many of the riskiest stocks" led the charge. What happens when the Fed starts to dismantle its supports propping up the whole thing? You think this is a real bull market? Story doesn't judge that, but it does paint the most rosy picture of the turbulent market: "Corporate profits have come in above reduced expectations, in large part due to cost cutting." So what happens to profits after the cost-cutting slows down, which it inevitably has to?

Google Wave Invites for Sale on eBay (WSJ)

Zuckerberg Now Worth $2 Billion, Says Forbes (Silicon Valley Insider)

Facebook CEO is the richest American who primarily wears T-shirts.

The Balance Sheet: Interview with Joseph Stiglitz (New Yorker, James Surowiecki)

Click above video or here.

Wall Street Wizardry Reworks Mortgages (WSJ)

"A new wave of financial alchemy" to "make soured securities look better." A test for regulators. Matthew Goldstein of Reuters warns, "Beware the bull market in derivatives."

Swiss Health Care Thrives Without Public Option (NYT)

Highly misleading propaganda piece against the "public option." Switzerland offers strong, immediate public subsidies of health care to its citizenry, and that could have been the story's spin just as easily as this one conjured up by the Times.

A Dealmaker Out of Time: And With Lewis, an Earlier Era on Wall Street Fades (WSJ)

"Ken Lewis was shot with his own gun." David Weidner asks: "Exactly who pulled the trigger?" (And in a nation that's running short of bullets, who was lucky enough to buy the ammo?) For speculation on the next Bank of America outlaw, see the NY Post's "He's not even cold: Top dealmakers already being eyed for Lewis job."

MORE HEADLINES FOLLOW

Curling Up With Hybrid Books, Videos Included (NYT)

Books with inserted videos or web/phone supplementary material — call 'em "vooks." Story says that "reading experts question whether fiddling with the parameters of books ultimately degrades the act of reading." Well, it definitely degrades the act of reading a book without video or web.

Mort & Mike in battle over BusinessWeek (NY Post)

The mayor and the owner of the Daily News join the bidding for the print brand. Zuckerman says, "I am a junkie for journalism. It kind of fascinates me." Me, too, but gazing fondly at a print publication is like rubbernecking at a train wreck. For more on Zuckerman and other local newspaper moguls, see my colleague Graham Rayman's "Print Is Undead," available not only in print but online.

Bair's summer in the Citi (Reuters, Matthew Goldstein)

FDIC chief Sheila Bair palavered frequently this summer with Citigroup chair Dick Parsons. A lot. Hmmm.

Nike flees US Chamber of Commerce over climate debate (Raw Story)

Still faces ugly climate regarding its re-signing of dog-killer Michael Vick.

Traders Circle Insurers (WSJ)

Traders eager to bet against Americans' health grab for options in health-insurance companies after the Senate's rejection of the public option. Traders "speculating perhaps that some insurers will enjoy gains if proponents of the so-called public option eventually fail."

Danone Pulls Out of Disputed China Venture (WSJ)

At stake was one of China's biggest brands, soft drinks. "Analysts said the case served to reinforce how difficult it is to operate a partnership in China."

Recession Rising Like Phoenix With Area Delinquencies Surging (Bloomberg)

Delinquent in Phoenix, which I used to be when I lived there.