♦ President Bush urged Americans to support the $700 billion bailout during his televised address last night, the first time he's ever devoted a primetime speech to the economy. Meanwhile, thousands of politicians continue to clash over the specifics. [NYT]
♦ Warren Buffet was drinking a cherry coke and eating mixed nuts last Tuesday when he got a call about investing in Goldman Sachs. He hammered out the $5 billion deal in about 15 minutes and then moved on to Cheetos and "licorice pastel candies." [WSJ]
♦ WaMu may not have much time left. [Bloomberg]
♦ Lehman Brothers chief Dick Fuld reached out to GE CEO Jeff Immelt before the firm filed for bankruptcy. [NYP]

♦ Private equity pay may drop as much as 75 percent. [Bloomberg]
♦ The credit markets? A disaster. [NYT]
♦ The SEC has ordered more than two dozen hedge funds to turn over info as part of its investigation into whether traders were spreading rumors. [WSJ]
♦ Steve Feinberg's Cerberus Capital Management said it's in talks to buy Daimler AG's 19.9-percent stake in Chrysler. [NYT]
♦ J. Christopher Flowers may be interested in taking the Primerica life insurance unit off Citigroup's hands. [Bloomberg]