WASHINGTON — Taxpayers are unlikely to recover their full investment in General Motors or Chrysler, government investigators said yesterday in the latest review to cast doubts that the government will recoup the $80 billion it poured into the two automakers.

The Government Accountability Office concluded that General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC likely won't be valuable enough for the Treasury Department to break even on its investment in the two auto companies that went though bankruptcy earlier this year.

The GAO also revealed that the Obama administration is closely scrutinizing the finances of GM and Chrysler and has set some requirements on production even though it has said it will maintain a hands-off approach on the automakers' daily operations.

STANLEY WORKS BUYS RIVAL FOR $4.5 BILLION

NEW YORK — Stanley Works is buying rival Black & Decker Corp. for $4.5 billion, the two companies said yesterday, bringing together mammoth brands in the toolmaking business.

Stanley shareholders will own about 50.5 percent of the combined company, which will be named named Stanley Black & Decker. Black & Decker shareholders will own an approximate 49.5 percent stake.

Stanley Chairman John F. Lundgren will be president and CEO of the combined entity after the all-stock deal is complete. Boards of directors for each company approved the deal, which still must receive regulatory and shareholder approval.

FDA REJECTS PLAN FOR DUAL CHOLESTEROL PILL

TRENTON, N.J. — U.S. regulators have refused to accept drugmaker Merck & Co.'s application for a new, combination cholesterol pill that includes rival Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's top-selling drug.

Merck disclosed the rare move by the Food and Drug Administration in a regulatory filing yesterday.

The company 2 1/2 years ago said it planned to make a dual cholesterol pill that at the time looked sure to be a blockbuster: a combination of Pfizer Inc.'s Lipitor — which generates nearly $13 billion in annual sales — and Zetia, a cholesterol pill Merck sells with Schering-Plough Corp. The two drugmakers have been partners on cholesterol medicines since 2000 and are about to merge.

CUSTOMERS HOLD KEY TO CIT'S RECOVERY

NEW YORK — A Chapter 11 filing usually means the end of the road for financial companies since they rely so heavily on customer trust. CIT Group Inc. is hoping that its case will be different.

The commercial lender's trip through bankruptcy reorganization may well be speedy given that it's already reached agreements with creditors on restructuring its debt. But the real test will come from CIT customers, who could decide to take their business elsewhere.

"Their image is tarnished right now," said Len Blum, a managing partner at investment bank Westwood Capital. "They have an uphill climb because they are only worth the value of the portfolio," Blum said of CIT's pool of loans it has extended to customers.

Just as a bank would fail if all of its depositors tried to get money out at the same time, CIT wouldn't be able to survive if too many of its customers close their accounts. Some have already been pulling their business in recent months as CIT struggled for survival, but it's still too early to know how many will remain.

CIT is one of the nation's biggest lenders to small and mid-sized businesses, providing financing to a large array of businesses including retailers, energy companies and operators of Dunkin' Donuts stores.