Critical, if improving

The bankruptcy business has been brisk in many sectors, so will the oil patch be next?

For sheer drama, Roche's hostile, discounted bid for Genentech tops even Pfizer's bid for Wyeth.

For the little accounting firm that supposedly audited Bernard Madoff's securities outfit, it was easy to escape regulatory scrutiny.

It seems inevitable that German lender Hypo will be state-controlled. But where does that leave JC Flowers?

From boom to bust to ... boom? The role of private equity in today's marketplace for renewable energies.

If not, don't bother looking at the middle market, where financing is tighter than ever.

Times are dark for alternative energy, but John Breckenridge of Good Energies is betting that better days are ahead.

In tough financing markets, the Small Business Administration's debenture program suddenly looks awfully appealing.

Puritan alert! With the economy slumping, the scolds come out of the woodwork, decrying bonuses, junkets and lattes. How to keep your head off the guillotine.

Loans are available for companies that don't need them, as the two companies' successful bond offerings prove.

Emeritus Corp. shows how a recession can create opportunity even in the financially stressed senior housing industry.

Two restructuring pros say investors can profit from troubled companies even in hard times.

Credit rating agencies have lowered its rating after the sale of $550 million in notes.

If confirmed as assistant attorney general, Christine Varney will need to resuscitate a demoralized antitrust unit.

Bristol-Myers plans to raise $500M-plus selling shares in Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. Cravath's Ronald Cami and Susan Webster are advising.

CME has tapped former Allstate executive Pacy Ostroff as director of corporate strategy.

Roger Ehrenberg shares the four key mistakes of his failed startup.

RWE obtains the first jumbo financing of the year for its purchase of Dutch utility Essent.

Autonomy turned to Morgan Lewis' William Myers to draft its $775M Interwoven deal.

Geithner has issued guidelines curtailing lobbying for TARP money. What they mean is anyone's guess.

Most noteworthy in the $68B deal may be the size of the reverse termination fee: $4.5B.

At Jones Day, Anthony Perricone hopes to use the firm's international capabilities to push into infrastructure funds.

Madison Square Park's Shake Shack is a hot spot for tech dealmakers.

With its complex capital structure, failing charter communications presents a challenge to its many constituencies.

Drug companies get a warm reception in the debt market these days.

Law professors Kahan and Rock argue that CEO power has been greatly reduced in favor of shareholders and boards.

Counterparties and clearinghouses will be key players in newly regulated derivatives markets.

Buyer Grupo SOS rounds up 35 banks in a bad credit environment.

Venture capitalists keep pouring money into mobile advertising startups.

A former congressman poses questions to the new president when he addresses international trade.

Hold your nose and save the world.

Time-share developers are no more immune to the financial crisis than any other business.

Results of a survey indicate it's a very difficult environment for any startup.

Despite buying Cinergy, Duke Energy is still searching for completeness.

2009 has begun better than it might have on the M&A front.

In the boom, a bewildering number of markets seemed to merge to one Metamarket. Now that it's all fractured, putting it back together is quite a chore.