Briac

* A judge rules against Universal Music Group, which had tried to sue the VC investors of video-sharing site Veoh, for copyright infringement. He partially used the old Napster case as precedent. Worth noting, however, that the Napster case was not only different because Napster kept "publishing" after being told its actions were illegal, but also because one of its VC backers (Hummer Winblad) installed one of its own partners (Hank Barry) as CEO. In other words, they took a far more active management role than just shareholders/board members. Veoh's investors have not repeated that mistake. * Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, European shares down on financials and food, the Nikkei is down on U.S. worries but Hong Kong shares defy other regional losses. * Bank of America (via the WSJ): "We didn't really want to buy Merrill, but Paulson made us." * Is there an overarching strategy behind all these corporate layoffs? Not according to some Wharton professors, who argue that the moves simply reflect operational weakness and failed strategies. * Too small to fail: A case (sort of) for taking Twitter public. Right now.

* James Surowiecki believes the notion of "moral hazard" is overstated. * Financial woes prompt biz-school cutbacks. * Morning Call: U.S. futures eye bounce, European shares fall on banks and energy, the Nikkei slips on earnings woes and Hong Kong drops on property stocks. * Layoffs mean more than lost wages for H-1B visa holders. * Yesterday it was a partner from Sequoia Capital China resigning. Today, it's a partner from Kleiner Perkins China. Almost certainly a coincidence, but still strange. Also raises the following question: Is there still enough faith in Chinese dealflow for each firm to seek out replacements? * Did the credit freeze begin to thaw in January? * Sorkin with an intriguing proposal: Give bonuses to regulators. The question, of course, is what such incentives would be based on. Would it be on the number of fines levied, or on the paucity of financial scandal? Either way could prompt some perversion...

* Could Saturday mail delivery be the next recessionary victim? * Megan gets gets a copy of the Q3 reports from Bain IX and Bain X. * Why good CEOs make bad moves. * Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, European shares drop, the Nikkei and Hong Kong both rise. * Andrew Cuomo may want John Thain's money back. * Equity Private states what should be more obvious to whiny bankers: It's not FAS 157 that's doing you in. It's the crappy assets you acquired. * Could AOL be thinking about selling Bebo for $200 million, just a year after buying it from VCs for $850 million?

* Venture Pessimists: VC confidence falls for the fifth consecutive quarter. * Attachmate CEO Jeff Hawn will be in a Colorado court today, awaiting sentencing for having illegally slayed bison. * Morning Call: U.S. futures up for third time this week, European shares rise on energy and banks and the Nikkei moves higher on optimism over chips and the U.S. economy. * Maureen Dowd: Wall Street's socialist jet-setters. * Mish vs. Schiff continues. * BreakingViews: Who needs the US government to create a "bad bank," when it's got Bank of America?

* Apollo Management paid $1.3 billion for Linens n' Things in 2006. Yesterday, the brand and its logo sold for a single million. * Scientists solve The Italian Job -- figuring out a way to save both the gold and the men. Maybe these are the folks who should be put in charge of TARP. * Morning Call: U.S. stocks point higher, European shares rise on bank gains and the Nikkei jumps on a gov't rescue plan. * Layoffs hit Silicon Valley law firms. The latest is Wilson Sonsini, which yesterday axed 45 lawyers (6.5%) and 68 other staffers (9%). * Everything you ever wanted to know about credit swap defaults, but were never told. * Another New York financier was arrested yesterday for allegedly operating a Ponzi scheme. This one purported to sell commercial bridge loans, and took investors for around $400 million. Kind of a mini-Madoff...

* Peter Schiff was right wrong. * BreakingViews: Time for GE to spin off GE Capital. * Morning Call: U.S. futures creep up, European shares bounce on financials, Nikkei hits 3-month closing low and Hong Kong markets are closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. * Even porn is feeling the recessionary bite. * Rob Day: In defense of Vinod Khosla. * New York's new senator is not a TARP fan. * A venture-backed company just filed for an IPO. Really. I promise.

* Chrysler has struck a product placement deal for the next Terminator movie. Words fail me... * The Dirt Bag Chronicles. * Erin is in Philly for the Wharton PE & VC Conference, and will be live-blogging throughout the day. This is the same event that SEIU protesters crashed last year, and which Tim Draper ate into Steve Schwarzman's time the year before (by singing, natch). In other words, something of interest usually happens. Make sure to check back throughout the day. * Morning Call: U.S. futures sharply lower on lousy numbers from GE, European shares trim losses but stay red, FTSE down at mid-day, Nikkei closes at two-month low and Hong Kong also drops. In short: Losses all around. * THL Partners has not written down Clear Channel, even though co-owner Bain has already marked it down by 15 percent. Things that make you go hmmm....

* It's official: John Thain is a crook. Ken Lewis is an enabler. * BreakingViews argues that both Google and Microsoft should return to basics, and dump all those noncore areas they've expanded into. If the tech giants follow that advice, it would be bad news for VCs in need of portfolio company acquirors. * Morning Call: U.S. futures mixed, as everyone awaits Microsoft and Google results; European rally soured by Nokia, Nikkei up on property stocks and Hong Kong rides HSBC higher. * 1-2 Knockout: The economy is FUBAR. The first step is acceptance... * Obama is going to get his Blackberry, after all. * A satellite view of inauguration day. Those things that look like ant colonies are people, usually crowded around giant speakers.

* Clear Channel is cutting 1,850 jobs, or 9% of its workforce. Where are those "private equity creates jobs" studies when you need them? * Four questions for Tim Geithner, and they have nothing to do with income taxes. * RIP: Edmund de Rothschild * Morning Call: U.S. futures mixed after sell-off, European shares drop on banks, Nikkei hits a 7-week low, Hong Kong is one week worse. * The Financial Crisis and the Policy Responses: An Empirical Analysis of What Went Wrong (.pdf) * What companies are actually doing well.

What follows are six VC deals culled from recent Regulation D filings with the SEC. They have not been otherwise disclosed: * Ardian Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based developer of a medical device to treat congestive heart failure, has secured $30 million of a $60 million venture round, according to a regulatory filing. Listed shareholders include return backers Advanced Technology Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures and St. Paul Venture Capital. It had previously raised over $18 million. * Maskless Lithography Inc. of San Jose, California has raised around $29.5 million in Series A funding, according to a regulatory filing. Backers include TL Ventures and U.S. Venture Partners. The company does not yet have a working website. * Potbelly Corp., a Chicago-based quick-service sandwich shop chain, has secured $10.6 million of a $20 million Series F round, according to a regulatory filing. Backers include Benchmark Capital, Maveron LLC and Oak Investment Partners.