Newspaper wrap-up: Writers' strike may end soon

MAJOR PAPERS:

Increasing credit card delinquencies have caused banks to tighten their lending standards, which the Wall Street Journal said could result in a sharp pullback in consumer spending that would further weaken the slowing U.S. economy.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that U.S. criminal prosecutors have informed the Securities and Exchange Commission that they are seeking information gathered through its civil investigation of Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (NYSE: MER). The regulators will examine whether the securities firm booked inflated mortgage bond prices held despite knowing the valuations had dropped.

OTHER PAPERS:

The major Hollywood studios and the Writers Guild of America are close to concluding a deal that could end the writers' strike as early as Monday, the LA Times reported.

WEB SITES:

According to Wired, online contact management service Plaxo has accepted an offer for nearly $200M. Sources believe the purchasing company is "most likely" Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG).

Tags: GOOG, Google, MER, Merrill Lynch, MerrillLynch, Plaxo, Writers Guild, writers' strike, Writers'Strike, WritersGuild