MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that TPG Capital and Silver Lake are poised to buy telecommunications equipment company Avaya Inc (NYSE: AV) for about $17 a share; Nortel Networks Corporation (NYSE: NT) was also said to be interested.
• News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) Rupert Murdoch said he is willing to go along with tighter editorial independence, but won't give in to a key demand from Dow Jones & Company Inc's (NYSE: DJ) controlling Bancroft family that they control an editorial oversight board that would protect this, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• Barron's Online's Trader section believes Service Corporation International's (NYSE: SCI) 90% surge since August is the result of funeral service companies' virtual immunity to a slowing economy or rising rates – the market's two biggest fears right now.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The New York Times reported that software maker Cadence Design Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CDNS) is in talks with private-equity players that include Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the Blackstone Group about a possible sale of the company.
• Technology Web sites have discovered that Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) embeds customers' personal data into files the company uses to distribute music from its online iTunes music store, creating fears about privacy, the UK Times reported.
• The UK Times also reported that Royal Bank of Scotland Group (OTC: RBSPY) may be looking to sell Southern Water for GBP4B, a move that could lead to many more deals in Britain's privatized water industry.

Cramer on tonight's MAD MONEY said that the blowup in sub-prime might actually create a boom for pawnbrokers. Hmm, this sounds familiar.... I posted 15 Second-Line Defensive Stocks and Cash America (NYSE:CSH) was the one I noted as the beneficiary there.

Cramer thinks the first way to play lower-income-not-being-able-to-borrow is via pawn shops. He likes Cash America as his pick ... hmm, sounds familiar. CSH traded up 2% after Cramer touted this one. Payday cash advances are another way to play these, even if the rates are super-high. The best play according to him here is Advance America Cash Advance Centers Inc. (NYSE:AEA). Cramer said that some states have been trying to limit these and that there has been pressure to stop the regulation from the people that need to borrow. AEA traded up 3% after Cramer touted this one.

Chemed Corp. (NYSE:CHE) is a stock that Cramer actually likes as one among the rubble. CHE is divided into two segments that aren't related: one is Roto-Rooter drain cleaner and one is Vitas that runs hospices. Neither operation is related but they both make lots of money. It has exited the Medicare-related hospices to avoid caps, and its earnings power is there. They beat earnings expectations and they raised guidance. Cramer said the company didn't even envision being this popular. It jumped $7.00 on the news and the market sell-off took off about $2.00. He thinks this one can run and he thinks it will get its momentum back.

On a call-in Cramer did say that Service Corp. Intl. (NYSE:SCI) in the funeral area is a winner and it is close to a yearly high. Cramer also thinks that UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) is one that he feels better about.

Jon Ogg does not own securities in the companies he covers.