Media Digest 12/16/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

Reuters:   Galleon’s Raj Rajaratnam was indicted for securities fraud.

Reuters:   Concerns about interest rates hurt the markets.

Reuters:   Inconix broke off buyout talks with Playboy (NYSE:PLA).

Reuters:   Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) settled a US probe.

Reuters:   US shopping activity fell behind last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Reuters:   GE (NYSE:GE) sees flat earnings next year and will invest in its core industrial businesses.

WSJ:   Debt fears about Greece pushed down European markets.

WSJ:   Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) Dreamliner flew but the plane may still have trouble passes government tests.

WSJ:   Abu Dhabi wants Citigroup (NYSE:C) to tear up a deal that would cost the kingdom money from investing in the bank.

WSJ:   GM says it will pay its US loans by June.

WSJ:   China Pacific Insurance raised $3 billion.

WSJ:   Deflation hit sellers of consumer electronics.

WSJ:   AT&T (NYSE:T) is working on adding wireless capacity to e-readers and toys.

WSJ:   Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is rolling out a Web-TV service.

WSJ:   McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) will offer free WiFi.

WSJ:   Wholesale prices rose.

WSJ:   The government has to decide by year-end whether it will increase its bailout of Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE).

WSJ:   Potency issues force a recall of hundreds of thousands of H1N1 vaccines.

WSJ:   Multi-family home construction is still slow.

WSJ:   Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) said it will not sell assets to pay the government.

WSJ:   Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) results may show that retail earnings may be weak.

NYT:   Some observers believe that Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has put quick profits above all else.

NYT:   SAC is being linked to stories about troubling actions at the hedge fund.

NYT:   The IRS says Citigroup (NYSE:C) can keep a $38 billion tax credit involved with an ownership change.

NYT:   Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian firm, is putting $180 million into Zygna, a creator of online games.

NYT:   Charges were dismissed against a former head of Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM)

FT:   The amount of distressed debt in the US is falling.

Bloomberg:   Gold buying by central banks is sending a “sell” signal.

Bloomberg:   Greece sold 5 billion euro in bonds due in 2015 to five banks.

Douglas A. McIntyre