Wednesday morning headlines

Take my cars - please: Retail sales were tepid last month because Americans really don’t want to buy SUVs and pick-ups and because those government stimulus checks were pretty much spent in June. Here's the NYT story. The Times has a separate story on how the collapsing auto business is starting to resemble the housing market.

July, General Motors dealers had a 174-day supply of the Yukon XL/Suburban on hand, on average, up from a 92-day supply a year earlier. Inventory of the Chevrolet C/K Suburban nearly doubled over the same period, to 116 days from 63 days. Just like hapless homeowners, countless car owners are now “underwater,” driving vehicles that are worth less than the balance on their car loans. And just like desperate homeowners, the sellers of S.U.V.’s are having to painfully cut asking prices.

Less time on the road: Americans were driving 12.2 billion fewer miles in June than in the same month a year earlier. Over an eight-month period, they drove 53.2 billion fewer miles. That's a larger decline than for the entire decade of the 1970s, when there were oil embargoes and gas lines. The big question is whether the trend will continue, especially with gas prices falling sharply in recent weeks. (AP)

Another down day: Those not-so-hot retail numbers, along with some disappointing earnings reports, are keeping stocks in the minus column. The Dow is down more than 100 points. Oil is up more than a buck.

Impact of Longs sale: The CVS folks are already talking "synergies" and "efficiencies" in announcing their $2.9-billion purchase of Longs Drug Stores. That's code for at least some store closings. (Longs has 30 locations within a 50-mile radius of my address in Westwood, and you have to believe that some of them are close to a CVS location.) All told, Walnut Creek-based Longs has 521 stores and 22,000 employees in California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona. Here's the SF Chronicle story.

Windfall from Longs Sale: Who says you can't make money these days? Starting in June, hedge fund investor William Ackman paid $136.6 million for positions in Longs Drugs that are now worth $603.1 million! Under terms of the deal, CVS is paying $71.50 a share, a hefty premium to the $54.04 close the day before the deal was announced. By the way, he has large positions in Target and Borders. (Seeking Alpha)

Change in IndyMac numbers: It turned out that the failed Pasadena bank had $600 million in uninsured deposits, down from an earlier estimate of $1 billion. Federal regulators are trying to make the bank more attractive to prospective buyers by slashing its deposit base, modifying soured loans and offering customers incentives to pay off their home equity lines of credit. (LAT)

New fraud claims: Former tennis star Tracy Austin and her husband allege that L.A. investment broker Gary Fournier charged excessive commissions on bond trades and "churned" their accounts to generate fees. The couple claims damages "in excess of $500,000" on the trades, which allegedly occurred from 1994 to 2002. Other sports figures have made similar allegations against Fournier, including Lakers great Jerry West. Fournier's lawyer calls the allegations "unfounded and meritless." (LAT)

Chris Albrecht's early exit: Not even a year into the job, the former HBO CEO has stepped down as head of IMG’s media and entertainment business. Albrecht, who was forced to leave HBO after being arrested and charged with assaulting a girlfriend in Vegas, was supposed to help IMG kingpin Teddy Forstmann turn the agency into a media powerhouse. But the timing was horrible, what with the credit crunch, and besides, Forstmann and Albrecht didn't much care for one another. Nikki Finke has another explanation:

Albrecht's nose was out of joint when Teddy went after the purchase of reality czar Mark Burnett's company in the spring without involving Chris. (By the way, I heard that contemplated IMG-Burnett $500 million deal fell on hard times this summer and may be dead.) And finally, Albrecht was offered a very good settlement to walk away.