Brimming with confidence about prospects in the newspaper business, the Dolan empire of Cablevision and Madison Square Garden (home of the ever-entertaining New York Knicks, which CEO James Dolan is pictured showing a bit less confidence over in the photo to the left) has struck a deal to buy Long Island newspaper Newsday. Sam Zell accepted a raised $650 million bid for the paper after Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp dropped its $580 million offer.

Add radio broadcaster Cumulus Media to the pile of ditched deals. The $1.3 billion management buyout of the company ended after the investor group failed to agree on the transaction terms. The deal was announced in July last year. It called for Cumulus’ Chief Executive Lewis Dickey, other Dickey family members and an affiliate of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity to buy Cumulus for $11.75 in cash per share, a 40 percent premium at the time. The investor group has agreed to pay Cumulus $15 million in termination fees.

International Lease Finance Corp, a unit of American International Group, is worried by the insurer’s financial troubles and mulling a split from it, according to the Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal said ILFC, a giant buyer of commercial aircraft that leases planes to air carriers, is worried that AIG’s financial issues could make it tougher for ILFC to compete in the airplane leasing industry. Last week, AIG posted a $7.8 billion quarterly loss after writing down assets linked to subprime mortgages.

Australia’s Westpac is bidding $14 billion to buy smaller rival St George Bank. The deal would create the country’s biggest bank by market value. The proposal by Westpac’s new Chief Executive Gail Kelly, who joined the bank less than four months ago after heading up St George for nearly six years, is seen possibly igniting a wave of consolidation in the country’s financial sector.

Other deals of the day:

* British-based electricity firm International Power has agreed to buy four U.S. power generation plants for $856.4 million to expand its presence in the country, it said.

* State-owned Philippine National Oil approved the sale of Saudi Aramco’s 40 percent stake in oil refiner Petron at a board meeting, officials said. Aramco has said it would sell the Petron stake to London-based investment fund Ashmore Group for $550 million.

* Singapore Telecommunications is actively involved in potential takeover talks between India’s top mobile firm, Bharti Airtel, and South African operator MTN Group, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

* Vodafone Group, the world’s largest mobile phone group by revenue, has no intention of pursuing a bid for South African company MTN, a spokesman said.

* India’s No. 2 mobile operator, Reliance Communications, may announce a network management joint venture with French-American telecoms equipment provider Alcatel-Lucent, a source familiar with the situation said.

* Khan Resources offered to buy Western Prospector in a move to consolidate operations and jointly develop uranium deposits in the Saddle Hills district of Mongolia.

* Britain’s largest care-home operator, Southern Cross Healthcare, is looking at buying Britain’s fifth-largest provider Craegmoor Healthcare, its CEO said.

* Britain’s Chloride Group, whose products protect against power shortages, said it had rejected a bid approach that it said materially undervalued the company.