Did CIT Kill Christmas?

The most popular day of the week to file for bankruptcy protection, troubled commercial lender CIT (CIT) once again proves, is Sunday. CIT filed for Chapter 11 on Sunday afternoon, doing so with the vast approval—some 90 percent, the Wall Street Journal reports—of its most influential debt holders. This is crucial backing if CIT is to reorganize itself, shed some $10 billion in debt, "and emerge with a new business model by year's end." Year's end may not be soon enough for some retailers. The critical Christmas season is just a few weeks away and CIT's uncertain future is putting even more pressure on small and midsize retailers. "The company provides badly needed credit to thousands of small and mid-sized businesses, and is a critical part of the flow of capital in the retail sector," the Associated Press reports. For example, about 60 percent of the retail industry suppliers rely on CIT credit, according to the AP. Another big loser in the CIT bankruptcy is you, the taxpayer. According to Bloomberg, "the U.S. Treasury Department said it won’t recoup much, if any, of the $2.33 billion of taxpayer money that went into CIT, the largest firm to go bankrupt after getting a federal bailout."

There's some promising news for bailed-out mortgage lender Fannie Mae (FNM), however. The WSJ reports that Goldman Sachs (GS) is in talks to buy millions of dollars of tax credits from the government-controlled lender, but only if it can get approval of the Treasury for the transaction. The Treasury is saying there's no deal "unless it is clearly in the taxpayers' interest."

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged on Sunday what you've no doubt been grumbling about for some time: Yes, the federal deficit is a tad high. He also thinks economic recovery is going to be a "little choppy," the Associated Press reports. "Asked repeatedly on 'Meet the Press' on NBC whether that meant taxes would rise, Mr. Geithner avoided providing specifics," the AP writes. Geithner did suggest, though, that those making less than $250,000 are safe. For now. CNNMoney.com notes, Geithner did not declare the recession truly over.

Bank of America (BAC) might be one of the biggest financial institutions in the nation, but running it doesn't appear to be a very attractive proposition, at least not for Bank of New York Mellon CEO Robert Kelly. The WSJ reports that Kelly has been sounded out a couple of times about taking over from outgoing CEO Kenneth Lewis, but the BNY Mellon head has shown no interest in the position. B of A's overtures reflect a growing belief among some shareholders, regulators, and directors that the next CEO should be "someone with no connection to the problems dogging the bank."

Last Friday's opening of China's new Nasdaq-style stock exchange is being heralded as a "watershed moment for the country’s capital markets," the NYT writes. Trading was feverish on the launch day of the Growth Enterprise Market, or GEM, with shares of some companies soaring as much as 210 percent. Up until now, many Chinese tech companies have lacked access to financing. That looks set to change with GEM, though some observers warn that the exchange could quickly fall victim to over speculation. It's like the “V.I.P. table on top of a big casino,” one analyst told the NYT.

And finally, can Newsday columnist Saul Friedman's name become a rallying cry for preserving the status quo of free online news? Friedman quit his writing gig last week "over the paper’s decision to require some readers to pay for access to its Web site," the New York Times reports. And how is Friedman's protest message playing out among the chattering masses? So far, we count, as of press time, just 20 tweets acknowledging his sacrifice for online readers everywhere.