peHUB First Read

* 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.