Week in Review: Rumble on Basic Cable

Hedge fund magnates take their feud to CNBC. | A sign to Wall Street in Obama’s picks for regulators. | Goldman overcomes its latest headache. | Jesse Eisinger of ProPublica on a suit that hints at behavior by bankers in a bubble. | Microsoft may back a Dell buyout. | Andrew Ross Sorkin says that prophecies made in Davos don’t always come true. | Its tax edge on thin ice, private equity is regrouping. | Looking skyward in Asia.

A look back on our reporting of the past week’s highs and lows in finance.

Microsoft May Back Dell Buyout | The software giant is in talks to help finance a takeover bid that would exceed $20 billion, Michael J. de la Merced and Nick Wingfield reported. Microsoft is expected to contribute up to several billion dollars. DealBook Â'

Allergan Is Buying MAP Pharmaceuticals | The maker of Botox has agreed to pay nearly $1 billion to gain full contrl of a new experimental treatment for migraine headaches, Andrew Pollack reported. DealBook Â'

China Looks to the Sky | As Beijing tries to find new ways to invest $3 trillion of foreign reserves, the country has been aggressively expanding in aerospace, Keith Bradsher reported. DealBook Â'

“Many of these transactions raise important security issues for our country,” said Michael R. Wessel, a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which was created by Congress to monitor the bilateral relationship. “China’s interest in promoting these investments isn’t necessarily consistent with our own interests, and it’s appropriate to thoroughly examine the transactions.”

Morgan Stanley Chief’s Pay Is C! ut for 2nd Consecutive Year | While the firm has made progress in building out its wealth management operation, its fixed-income department continues to struggle, Susanne Craig reported. DealBook Â'

Its Tax Edge on Thin Ice, Private Equity Is Regrouping | As Washington grapples with the country’s fiscal woes, Jane Sassen reports that the private equity industry is grudgingly facing a new reality: its long-held tax advantages are likely to disappear. DealBook Â'

Rumble on Basic Cable, as Ackman Takes on Icahn Live | Years of bad blood between the two hedge fund magnates spilled publicly onto CNBC’s airwaves, Mr. de la Merced reported. Mr. Icahn derided his younger counterpart as a “crybaby,” and Mr. Ackman declared the veeran investor a “bully.” DealBook Â'

Moving From Wall Street to the Tech Sector Proves Tricky | As more financiers jump to the technology sector, some find that big investors are skeptical that they have what it takes to nurture a young company, William Alden reported. DealBook Â'

Despite Calm, Draghi Raises Economic Concerns | The president of the European Central Bank expressed concern that calm on financial markets had not yet led to better lives for European citizens, Jack Ewing reported. DealBook Â'

Amid Criticism, Global Rule Maker Defends Regulatory Efforts | The head of a panel that writes the global financial ! rule book! answered criticism that the so-called Basel Committee has gone soft on banks, Mr. Ewing reported. DealBook Â'

In Davos, Merkel Presses European Leaders to Stay Focused on Economic Revival | Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, gave voice to widespread concern that a tentative European recovery could be undercut by political complacency, Mr. Ewing reported. DealBook Â'

Deal Professor: Required Reading for Davos From the Fed and JPMorgan | Steven M. Davidoff said that a JPMorgan Chase report on trading losses and transcripts of the 2007 Federal Reserve meetings were reminders that we are light years from understanding or preventing financial crises. DealBook Â'

Critical Stance on Europeans May Jeopardize Britain’s Influence | Can Britain play a more limited role in Brussels and still retain significant influence there, asked Stephen Castle. DealBook Â'

DealBook Column: Prophecies Made in Davos Don’t Always Come True | Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote that “if you’re looking to the Alps for the wisdom of crowds, the wisdom of this crowd of the global elite may not be the most accurate.” DealBook Â'

Despite Signs of Progress in the Euro Zone, Fears of Complacency Linger | The biggest concern is that leaders might become less vigilant now that the heat is off, Liz Alderman and Mr. Ewing reported. DealBook Â'

In Davos, a Chance to Rub Shoulders With the Elite of Business and Politics | After the minimum $20,000 entry fee has been paid, some personalities will command more attention than others, Ms. Alderman reported. DealBook Â'

In Davos, Atmosphere for Bankers Improves | Among the government overseers who will also be in attendance, there appears to be a growing sentiment that the banks have taken enough abuse, Mr. Ewing reported. DealBook Â'

Sign to Wall St. in Obama’s Picks for Regulators | The White House took the unusual step of choosing two former prosecutors as top financial regulators. But translating that resolve into action will not be easy, Ben Protess an Benjamin Weiser reported. DealBook Â'

Goldman Overcomes Its Latest Headache | A case brought by the founders of Dragon Systems was among a spate of legal problems and public relations headaches for Goldman in recent years, Peter Lattman reported. DealBook Â'

The Trade: Suit Hints at Behavior by Bankers in Bubble | Jesse Eisinger of ProPublica wrote that documents released as part of a suit against Morgan Stanley shed new light on what bankers knew at the height of the housing bubble and what they did with that secret knowledge. DealBook Â'

In China, Veneer of Consensus Is Breaking Down | Internal divisions in the Communist Party an! d in Chin! ese society at large could have hard-to-predict consequences for the country’s economic expansion, and for the world’s, Keith Bradsher reported. DealBook Â'

S.E.C. Disciplines a Credit Ratings Firm | Egan-Jones, the upstart credit ratings firm run by Sean Egan, was barred for 18 months from issuing certain government-recognized ratings after the firm made misstatements on an application with the government, William Alden reported. DealBook Â'

China Looks to the Sky | As Beijing’s leaders try to find new ways to invest $3 trillion of foreign reserves, aerospace deals prove attractive even as they give China’s neighbors a reason to wonder about security threats, Mr. Bradsher reported. DealBook Â'

Michael Jackson has a timely message for William A. Ackman and Carl C. Icahn. Go to YouTube