We've got the U.S. Open in New York right around the corner -- that's tennis folks -- and one of America's most recognizable stars, James Blake, has announced a collaboration with Fila to develop co-branded apparel. The agreement is being called a "co-branded collaboration" that is "inspired by the ATP world Tour tennis star's life and interests."

The collaboration between the two started back in January, when Blake and privately owned Fila began developing co-branded footwear, apparel, and accessories. The trademark was developed by Blake, and he settled on Thomas Reynolds as the line's name. Thomas Reynolds is the first and middle name of James' father, who Blake notes he was blessed to grow up with because his father taught him values that have been "the key to his success both on and off court." Blake's father passed away in 2004, succumbing to cancer.

Women's apparel retailer AnnTaylor Stores (NYSE: ANN) was the latest retailing name to announce its quarterly earnings results. This morning, the company reported a first-quarter loss of $2.31 million, or four cents per share, as sales slumped 28% during the reporting period. This compares to net income of $25.90 million (43 cents per share) ANN earned in the year-earlier quarter.

On the plus side, the four-cent loss easily topped Wall Street estimates; analysts were expecting a loss of 13 cents per share. Sales, on the other hand, fell 28% to $426.75 million, falling shy of the consensus view of $454.66 million. Same-store sales at the namesake chain were down 42.7% while LOFT sales were off 24.2%. Personally, I prefer LOFT as a cheaper, slightly less conservative option, and evidently my fellow shoppers feel the same way.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is looking at using the Android operating system owned by Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and currently used on mobile smartphones (but with the potential for much more). HP could add Google's wares to future netbook PCs in addition to offering nearly decade-old software known as Windows XP like what's currently offered on HP netbooks.

Quadrangle Group, a powerful investment bank and private equity player headed by Steven Rattner (the on-again, off-again Car Czar for the Obama team), has stopped trying to raise money for it's new private equity fund, according to PE Hub. Private equity has certainly gotten a bad rap of late, with many market seers claiming that the whole PE industry was headed for a giant blowup.

The percentage of deals done by private equity shops fell by over 50% in 2008. Many of the university endowments and state and municipal pension funds that had been key patrons of PE fundraisers are now so far underwater that they can't even conceive of coughing up cash for PE, let alone explaining why they are reserving money for an asset class that looked incredibly toxic in 2008. Certainly, the PE sector will bounce back because every single pension and endowment fund manager will chase the highest returns, even if there is no strong statistical research that PE profers higher returns (or even any returns) over time.

Alex Salkever is Director of Research at Piqqem.com, a stock research community powered by the Wisdom of Crowds.

As Citigroup 's (NYSE: C) shares dropped, it was talking to Treasury and the Fed. That should not surprise anyone. The government knows a failure of Citi would damage the world financial system even further and kill consumer confidence in the U.S. banking system.

According to Reuters, "The bank has met with officials from the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury Department in recent days."

The federal government has a number of options. The best is probably to put more money from the Paulson $700 billion bailout package into the bank. What would Citi need? Only its management and regulators know what its balance sheet looks like. Based on guarantees that FDIC might have made on the Wachovia buyout, the need at Citi could be $50 billion.

Cheap for keeping what was once the world's largest bank alive.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Despite criticism by Irish band U2's manager Paul McGuinness over Radiohead's method for releasing In Rainbows last October, U2's lead singer Bono has published an open letter in NME disagreeing and applauding Radiohead for the album and how it was released. McGuinness told the BBC in early June that the method was "a failure and backfired" because "it still resulted in over 60%-70% of listeners acquiring the album through illegal channels."

Bono's letter to NME, printed in last week's issue, takes a sharp left turn from his manager's opinion, calling Radiohead "courageous and imaginative in trying to figure out some new relationship with their audience." Bono also remarked how "blessed" he feels "to be around at the same time" as "a sacred talent" like Radiohead. U2 have recently taken steps to reach their audience, joining forces with Live Nation Inc. (NYSE: LYV) in a deal that will market their music and concerts with related products from one location.

U2 is still signed to Universal Music Group for the band's record releases, which may have been one reason McGuinness came out against the method Radiohead used last year. Neverthless, the disagreement between manager and lead singer is insignificant compared to the applaud Radiohead continue to receive from fellow artists. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, a band that was also signed to Universal Music Group, has also come out in support of Radiohead's method, even though he, too, took issue with some aspects of it. Reznor has since released two NIN albums the same way.

When last I looked at Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) in 2007 the stock was trading a lot higher. I argued at the time that there was value in this quality company and investors should take a look. Others liked the company, but wisely said there was plenty of time to wait because profits would be coming down with the slowing economy.

Some commented that HOG was over-priced in the high $40's even though it had come down from it's 52-week high of $66 per share. It was trading at a sizable 26% discount when I posted Chasing Value: Harley-Davidson (HOG) profits down 15% -- beats Wall St. last November at $48.95. Having closed yesterday at $39.39 it is now down over 40%.

Many of the brightest minds in my circles feel the economy will not pick up significantly for another 18 months and that we will have fits and starts in between then and now. There does not appear to be any urgency to acquiring stocks that will be dependent on economic recovery to turn for the better. However, HOG might be one to dollar cost average into over time if you believe it will not turn into General Motors or fade like Levi Strauss.

It is currently paying over a 3% dividend yield and unlike other companies Harley has been raising it recently, not lowering it. The P/E ratio of 10 which is projected to hold going forward, the ROE over 36 which is substantial and the ROIC over 20 are more than respectable.

I have not heard even a whisper doubting its superior quality of management and they seem to have put any labor issues to rest as well. I thought there was value in HOG a few months ago so I have to believe the story is even better today with international markets growing and all types of motorcycles being considered for those trying to stretch their gas dollars.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I own shares of HOG.

Women's apparel retailer Dress Barn (NASDAQ: DBRN) took its turn in the earnings confessional this morning, reporting a 38% increase in fourth-quarter profit. The company posted a profit of $33.6 million, or 48 cents per share, up from $24.4 million (35 cents) in the year-ago period.

Excluding unique items, DBRN would have earned 45 cents per share, topping analysts' expectations of 42 cents. Sales were up 11% during the reporting period to $379.9 million - above the consensus view of $377.1 million - and same-store sales grew by 5%.

DBRN officials were realistic about the current economic environment, however. While the trendier maurices brand has continued to post strong sales, economic concerns have indirectly resulted in greater-than-expected inventory levels at the eponymous Dressbarn chain. As a result, first-quarter markdowns have increased. For fiscal 2008, Dress Barn expects to earn between $1.40 and $1.50 per share, below analysts' outlook of $1.54 per share (before items). Same-store sales are expected to rise 3% to 4%.