good essay — Peak Oil’s Bell Is Ringing – Praveen Jaiswal – seeking alpha

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A Risk Worth Taking – Many ethical subprime lenders still manage to make plenty of money. -  By Daniel Gross – Newsweek
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What’s the colour of money? – “The easiest way for your children to learn about money is for you not to have any.” – Katharine Whitehorn. – … Stop the bail-outs, I want to get off. The trouble with flood-gates is that, once opened, they have a tendency to let the floods through. – The Price of Everything blog

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Are you an idiot to keep paying your mortgage? - Kathleen Pender – Should you keep paying your mortgage? – If you have significant equity in your home, absolutely.  If you don’t, it’s getting harder to answer that question, especially when our government keeps giving people who owe more than their homes are worth so many reasons not to pay. -   San Francisco Chronicle  
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weekly summary has many good links – Research Zeitgeist: China and The Perils of Paulson – Research Recap

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1.  FLASHPOINT: ‘A sinking feeling’: Deflation could become serious issue – By Dr. Kevin Christ, Rose-Hulman – Special to the Tribune-Star 

2.  deflation? – GE, AmEx, GM–Bailout USA – Robert Lenzner – Without the counted and uncounted trillions of dollars pumped into the financial system, debt deflation would wreck us. – Forbes

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Powering the world – The world will use more renewable sources to produce electricity  -  Economist.com 

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Time to buy? – Bonds priced for Great Depression defaults -Citi -  Reuters

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1.  Florida – Appraisers: Foreclosure sales should affect taxable value formula – By CARL MARIO NUDI – MANATEE — State rules limit property appraisers from considering foreclosures when calculating the taxable value of a home.  But with the huge jump in foreclosed home over the past year, property appraisers across the state are questioning the wisdom of that rule. – Bradenton Herald 

2.  Foreclosures Pick Pockets of Homeowners Associations – Elizabeth Razzi – If you live in a neighborhood that has a homeowners association, brace yourself. Neighbors losing their homes to foreclosure and short sales not only are dragging down your property values but also are setting you up for higher fees. – Washington Post

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Traders Bet Against OPEC, Buy $30 February Oil Put Options – Margot Habiby – Oil traders made their biggest bet yet that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will fail to prevent crude prices from plunging below $30 a barrel. -  Bloomberg 
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Market Bottom? For Some Investors, It’s Close Enough – PAUL J. LIM – Jeremy Grantham, left, of the investment firm GMO, and Warren Buffett, of Berkshire Hathaway. Both are buying stocks, but not for short-term gains. “Seven years out, these will be good purchases for us,” Mr. Grantham said. -  NY Times