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.

• 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.

Newspaper wrap-up: Subpoenas sent to Merrill, Bear and Deutsche Bank originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Oppenheimer initiated Armstrong, whom they consider a relatively undiscovered, asbestos-related post-bankruptcy company, with a Buy rating and $55 target. They believe Armstrong could aggressively deliver its already conservative balance sheet and ultimately repurchase shares.

• General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) was reinstated at Morgan Stanley with an Equal-Weight rating.

• Cowen initiated Level 3 Communications Inc (NASDAQ: LVLT) with an Outperform rating.

Analyst initiations 1-24-07: Morgan Stanley reinstates GM with an Equal-Weight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.