Morning Mix: Private Equity is Dealing, Car Dealers Wheeling, Congress Squealing

The headlines you need to have today:

Political Oil Fire: Republicans are directing their criticism for the massive Gulf oil disaster not at BP, but at the agency that controls offshore drilling, the Minerals Management Service, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rep. Darrell Issa of California says Congress will investigate whether MMS has sufficient regulation in place. (Wall Street Journal)

Car Guys and Gals: Automakers reported a 20 percent surge in auto sales in April. Automakers Ford, Toyota, GM and even beleaguered Chrysler reported gains. (Wall Street Journal)

Private Equity Play for IDC: The private equity world is back on the hunt for companies to snap up, at least occasionally. Today, Warburg Pincus LLC and Silver Lake agreed to pay $3.4 billion for Interactive Data Corp. Pearson Plc owns 61 percent of IDC and will receive $2 billion for its stake.(Bloomberg Business Week)

Germany’s Stern Words for Greece: Greece’s Dutch uncle, Germany, has some stern words for its ward. Greece better stick to its austerity plan, or it could find itself without a German bailout, MarketWatch reports. "If there are any violations, payments will be stopped. Then Athens will once again be threatened with bankruptcy," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said today. Germany’s warning comes as Greek public employees protest the austerity measures. (MarketWatch, New York Times)

Simon Boosts General Growth Bid: Simon Properties reportedly puts in a $5.8 billion bid for fellow mall owner General Growth Properties. General Growth has already accepted a recapitalization plan led by Brookfield Asset Management. But General Growth shareholders may do better under the Simon offer. (Reuters)

Google Goes Venture Hunting: Search giant Google Inc. is upping its bets in the venture space, expanding its venture arm from two to 11 partners in the past year and planning to plunk $100 million into companies ranging from biotechs to IT firms, according to Reuters. Bloomberg Business Week reports that Google’s venture arm has made an undisclosed investment in payment startup Corduro.(Reuters, Bloomberg Business Week)

Toyota Boosts Production: Remember that whole recall thing? Forget it. The world’s largest automaker is boosting production by 400,000 vehicles this second quarter, compared to last year, the Detroit Free Press reports. That’s because consumers are buying into the company’s most aggressive incentive campaign ever and snapping up Toyotas. (Detroit Free Press)

Goldman Looks Like Other Banks to Insurers: Goldman Sachs may be wildly profitable, but its recent PR and stock hits have insurers worried, the Financial Times reports. Insurers are getting ready to charge Goldman similar rates for its debts that it charges less profitable institutions like City Group and Morgan Stanley. (Financial Times)

Get more business intelligence from Portfolio.com:

• Merging to Oblivion — Other airlines have come before United and Continental in the merger game, and their track record isn’t good. None has created long-term market stability, medium-term profit, or even short-term pricing power.
• The Market-Maker Defense — By claiming to be merely a "market maker" in controversial securities, Goldman Sachs trots out a defense that penny-stock promoters used some years back.
• Grecian Formula —So far, the Greeks hate the huge EU-IMF bailout of their country because of conditions attached to the aid. And the United States stands to get a boost from it all.