Media Digest 10/10/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

According to Reuters, the US is looking at guaranteeing billions of dollars of bank debt and temporarily insuring all bank deposits.

Reuters reports that Citigroup (C) has ended talks about taking over Wachovia (WB), leaving Wells Fargo (WFC) free to conclude a deal.

Reuters writes that AIG (AIG) has borrowed $70 billion of the US government loans available to it.

Reuters reports that Morgan Stanley (MS) shares were under pressure on concerns that its deal with Mitsubishi UFJ would not close.

Reuters reports the September retail sales plunged.

Reuters reports that a Yahoo! (YHOO) shareholder suggests that Microsoft (MSFT) buy the portal company and sell off all of its non-key assets.

Reuters reports that many experts believe that the government’s refusal to rescue Lehman is what set off the global credit crisis.

The Wall Street Journal reports that economists expect the longest recession in 50 years.

The Wall Street Journal reports the the drop in oil prices is squeezing oil-producing nations.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger now says California may not need emergency federal funds after all.

The Wall Street Journal reports that total average daily borrowing for the Fed’s discount window climbed to $420.16 billion from $367.80 billion in the prior week.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple (AAPL) plans to introduce new laptops.

The Wall Street Journal reports that IBM (IBM) sold $4 billion in debt.

The Wall Street Journal reports that shares in GM (GM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) fell sharply.

The Wall Street Journal reports that shares in Sears (SHLD) are likely to fall.

The Wall Street Journal reports that established tech companies are being hurt by falling demand and VCs are telling their companies to cut costs.

The Wall Street Journal reports that shares in Ford (F) and GM (GM) fell on concerns about their cash balances.

The Wall Street Journal reports that defense companies are worried about cutback as government capital goes to the credit crisis.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) believe that new services for their game consoles will increase demand.

The New York Times reports that the insurance industry is beginning to take the battering that the banking industry did.

The New York Times reports that Apollo Management offered to help close the $6.5 billion merger between its subsidiary, Hexion Specialty Chemicals, and a rival chemical maker, the Huntsman Corporation.

The New York Times reports that Toyota (TM) may make the Prius a separate brand.

The FT reports that "Beijing has stepped up its monitoring of international financial institutions in the country amid fears that the failure of a large foreign group could see the global credit crisis spill over into a largely insulated China."

The FT reports that Japanese company Yamato Life Insurance went bankrupt.

The FT reports that Met Life has sold stock at a discount to raise $2 billion.

The FT reports that legal fees for the Lehman collapse could hit $900 million.

The FT reports that consumers are being forced to rethink their buying habits.

Bloomberg reports that Moody’s may cut its rating of Morgan Stanley (MS) and has posted a negative outlook on Goldman Sachs (GS).

Bloomberg reports that the index for corporate bond risk jumped to a record.

Douglas A. McIntyre