* Carl Icahn is buying up MGM bonds "like a bat out of hell."

* Someone in Yale's endowment office needs to take an undergraduate math course.

* FT blares headline that Apollo Management is planning an IPO. Not too surprising (we even hinted at it in this space last week), but FT does give us some new intel on the pay-to-play investigation: "Apollo has received subpoenas from California, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York, and from the Securities and Exchange Commission in New York and Denver"

* Morning Call: U.S. futures point to mixed open, London rises early, European shares near 13-month high, the Nikkei hits 6-week closing low and China shares gain 0.62%.

* Fred Wilson's brute force strategy for finding good deals? 10 meetings per day.

* Tear down this wall: On the persistence of borders in trade.

* Scott Kirsner: New England's economy is playing five games, but winning only two.

* Digg CEO Jay Adelson says that profitability is right around the corner, thanks to its new ad platform.

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* James Surowiecki believes the U.S. should eliminate tax deducations on debt: "If the benefits are illusory, the costs are all too real."

* CalPERS is seeking better terms from Apollo. Is there ever a point where the giant pension will publicly acknowledge that it was no patsy, but rather a willing accomplice?

* Andrew Corsello on the Ayn Rand revival: "2009's most influential author is a mirthless Russian-American who loves money, hates God, and swings a gigantic dick. She died in 1982, but her spawn soldier on. And the Great Recession is all their fault."

* Morning Call: U.S. futures rise on retail hopes, European futures signal gains, the Nikkei climbs 0.2% and Hong Kong jumps 1.73%.

* Chris MacDonald: Can ethics be taught in business school?

* Are you suffering from Big Company Syndrome?

* Sarah Lacy reports from India: How to profit off the poor and keep your soul

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* IBM is doing venture capital without the capital.

* The wonder of it all: Apollo Management has been buying up debt in struggling Connecticut casino Foxwoods.

* PAI Partners has gone further than almost any other buyout firm, in terms of its willingness to reduce its bloated fund size. But, for one major LP, it still isn't far enough.

* Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, London falls early, European shares pulled down by banks, the Nikkei loses 0.6% and Chinese shares hit 3-month closing high.

* Is the UK's majority-rules M&A system preferable to America's board-dominated process, or does it promote short-termism?

* Jason Mendelson: Why don't venture capitalists tell you why they won't invest?

* The Economist says that options have a future, but reform is justified

* FactCheck.org finds that current cap-and-trade legislation would likely slow job growth, but not by as much as its critics are claiming.

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Today was the deadline that Calacanis had set for various angel groups -- the Keiretsu Forum, Maverick Angels, AlwaysOn and several others -- to stop charging fees for entrepreneurs to present their startups.

These groups have pretty much ignored him, so Calacanis -- who's sold two companies and is now CEO of the venture-backed startup Mahalo, as well as an angel investor himself -- says he will make good on his promise to start his own angel network, the Open Angel Forum. It will be a for-profit group with chapters planned in 20 cities, starting in the first quarter with Los Angeles (where Calacanis lives and says he plays poker with "two dozen *real* angel investors").

Details so far are scarce. Calacanis declines to say how he's going to make money.

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East Coast/WestCoast: Snoop Dogg rang the Opening Bell today. Then Maria Bartiromo asked him why he chose to get into business rather than crime. (Dealbreaker)

More on The Buyout of America: An NPR interview on how private equity will cause the next great credit crisis. (NPR)

The Dark Side of Incentives: They consistently backfire when efforts to boost bonuses override moral considerations. (BusinessWeek)

In Case You Have an iPhone: And in case you invest, here are ten apps for you. (Business Insider)

The Delevering Effect: Why KKR and BX want so many IPOs. (P&I)

Apply Here: How to snag a job at Apollo, according to Apollo founder Marc Rowan. Hint: Have a degree from Wharton. (FINS)

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