♦ The Big Three automakers are putting finishing touches on new business plans to take to Congress this week, part of a last-ditch effort to secure a federal bailout. [WSJ, Bloomberg, NYT]
♦ Shoppers spent $41 billion over the four-day weekend, up 7.2 percent from the year before. That was better than expected, but retail experts are still pessimistic about the holiday season outlook. [CNNMoney, WSJ]
♦ Hedge funder Paul Tudor Jones has suspended withdrawals as he splits his $10 billion flagship fund into two. [FT]
♦ The bailout has already cost more than World War II, in case you're keeping count at home. [Clusterstock]

♦ In a bid to raise cash, Citi is selling one of its Japanese units, NikkoCiti Trust & Banking, for $420 million. [NYP]
♦ Citigroup has also been busy deflecting blame in recent days. In an interview with the Journal last week, Bob Rubin argued he had little to do with decision-making at the bank, and said the financial crisis was an event that few could have predicted. "Nobody was prepared for this."[WSJ]
♦ What's Morgan Stanley doing with its bailout billions? Expanding, of course. The firm is now looking to acquire small, regional banks to increase deposits. [WSJ]
♦ It's official: Goldman Sachs is now a bank holding company and can begin taking deposits. [DB]
♦ Carl Icahn has purchased seven million additional shares of Yahoo, increasing his stake in the Internet company to 5.5 percent. [AP]
♦ To address his serious debt problems, Sumner Redstone has sold his controlling stake in the videogame company Midway Games. [WSJ]
♦ Richard Fuld: Villain or victim? [NYM]