peHUB First Read

* 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...