MEDIA
• The Wall Street Journal wants a cut in its reporters' book deals. Also, they fired their longtime First Amendment lawyer Stuart Karle. "We're pissed," one reporter says. [NYO, Ad Age]
• Former Condé Nast execs James Truman and Mitch Fox are collaborating on a project that will combine "a green market and eco-technology with a Cirque du Soleil-like performance series." [WWD]

FINANCE
• Despite the fact that the president doesn't think America is headed toward an economic slowdown, finance guru Warren Buffett says that the country is in a recession "by any commonsense definition." [NYP]
• The Carlyle Group lured Oliver Sarkozy away from UBS, where the half-brother of French president Nicolas Sarkozy was one of the firm's top investment bankers. [DealBook/NYT]
•HBSC weathered the financial storm better than its competitors: The bank's profit rose 21 percent in 2007 despite the subprime meltdown. [CNN]

LAW
• Hedge-fund manager Phillip Goldstein looks to sue the SEC, claiming that his First Amendment rights are being violated by the fact that his fund can't advertise. [DealBook/FT]
• The U.S. seeks sanctions against Countrywide after the lender was allegedly involved in a questionable bankruptcy case. [DealBook/NYT]
• Esquire Bank, which specializes in providing products for attorneys and law firms, will open a second location near the Nassau County Court complex in Garden City, New Jersey. [Newsday]