GOOD DAY FOR: Starting a long book, after talks between the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood producers broke down, increasing the likelihood of a long, rerun-filled writers’ strike. The two sides are not near agreement. (The Wall Street Journal)

BAD DAY FOR: Dropped calls, after the Securities and Exchange Commission and then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer started, then dropped, separate probes into Bear Stearns’ mortgage pricing in 2005, according to The Wall Street Journal. If pursued at the time, the probes into improper pricing at the bank could have reduced the severity of the current credit crisis. (Reuters)