* Big deal: Softbank in talks to buy Sprint
* Michael Lewis: Advice from Wall Street’s forgotten victims
* Teach him to use Google: Bain Ventures analyst cold-calls Gawker
* Morning Call: U.S. futures point higher, European shares climb and the Nikkei falls.
* Kevin Bullis: Is thin-film solar dead?
* Ballmer’s perspective: Microsoft, the startup
* Moody’s: Modeling the election, county-by-county
* Wiley Becker: When VC funds-of-funds still make sense
* David Rohde: How Brazilian factories create American jobs
* Kara Swisher: The other Zuckerberg steps into the limelight
* Mark Boslet: VCs mull the billion dollar music opportunity
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* Matt Levine: Even ratings agencies are unimpressed by ratings agencies