Newspaper wrap-up: Subpoenas sent to Merrill, Bear and Deutsche Bank

MAJOR PAPERS:

According to people familiar with the matter, the New York Attorney General has sent subpoenas to Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (NYSE: MER), The Bear Stearns Companies Inc (NYSE: BSC) and Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB). The Wall Street Journal reported the subpoenas are related to the "packaging and selling of debt tied to high-risk mortgages."
The Financial Times' dealReporter said that Armstrong World Industries Inc (NYSE: AWI) is "leaning towards" selling assets in order to fund a buyback. The dealReporter is citing a buyside source and a source familiar with the situation.

WEB SITES:

According to Bloomberg, close to twenty percent of the funds held by Orange County, California are SIVs that may face credit-rating cuts. These funds are similar to the ones that bankrupted the county in 1994.
TechCrunch reported that Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) has launched a new interface for Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone.

Tags: AAPL, Apple, Armstrong World Industries, ArmstrongWorldIndustries, AWI, Bear Stearns, BearStearns, BSC, Deutsche Bank, DeutscheBank, GOOG, Google, iPhone, MER, Merrill Lynch, MerrillLynch, SIV, subprime