According to Reuteres, Novartis will buy Nestle’s Alcon stakes for $39 billion.

Reuters writes that Microsoft (MSFT) has given Yahoo! (YHOO) a dealine for buy-out talks.

Reuters writes that Yahoo! will inform Microsoft that it is not against a buy-out but would expect a higher price.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Private-equity firm TPG and other firms will put $5 billion into Washington Mutual (WM).

The Wall Street Journal writes that federal officials are encouraging Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) to fire the head of its reinsurance unit due to criminal convictions of some of its executives.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Carlyle has raised $1.35 billion to buy distressed assets.

The Wall Street Journal writes that a Chinese court has approved going forward with a case by the music industry against Chinese online firms including Baidu (BIDU).

The Wall Street Journal writes that Polo Ralph Lauren will outfit the US Olympic team.

The Wall Street Journal writes that more CEOs are sharing their bonuses with staff members.

The New York Times writes that airline passenger complaints are rising sharply.

The New York Times writes that Yahoo!’s board is likely to reject Microsoft’s offer as being too low.

The New York Times writes that oil is moving back toward $107.

The FT writes that Delta (DAL) and Northwest (NWA) have restarted merger talks.

Bloomberg writes that with Bear Strearns gone, Goldman Sachs (GS) is now the Wall St. firm that relies the most on leverage.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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