1.  Geithner! -  I’m pleased and surprised at the news that Tim Geithner will be the next Treasury secretary. Pleased because he’s an insightful pragmatist who’s more than qualified to do the job; surprised because I had thought that he might prefer to stay where he is, in what is essentially a tenured and extremely high-powered position at the New York Fed … – Felix Salmon – portfolio.com 

2.  nice bio – A Treasury Contender Schooled in Crisis – As Head of New York Fed, Geithner’s Leadership Style Intense and Collaborative – By Neil Irwin -  Washington Post 

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US Bancorp acquires deposits of failed Downey, PFF – U.S. banking regulators seized California banks Downey Savings and Loan and PFF Bank & Trust late Friday as the housing crisis claimed two more victims from the financial crisis.  U.S. Bancorp took over the two banks’ branches, deposits, and most of their assets, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said. -  Reuters
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The Professor’s Pop Quiz: Who Controls AIG? – Steven M. Davidoff – New York Times

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Good advice – Donald Coxe – Investment Recommendations (November 2008) – Posted by Prieur du Plessis – Investment Postcards from Capetown

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What Securitization Problem? The FDIC Weighs In – Joe Nocera – I got a call on Monday from Sheila Bair, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Michael H. Krimminger, the F.D.I.C.’s special adviser to the chairman for policy. They had a point they wanted to make. Contrary to what I have heard — and written — in their opinion, whatever difficulties there are in modifying mortgages, the problem is not the fact that so many subprime mortgages are trapped in securitization pools.  – New York Times

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Home builder confidence hits lowest level in 23 years – The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index sank five points to 9 in November due to the country’s worsening financial problems, job losses and uncertainty … -  Bizjournals.com

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HOMEOWNER RELIEF – By PAUL THARP – Throwing angry punches to please fans back home, Congress ganged up on bosses of Washington’s economic rescue blanket – but extracted only a small piece of red meat from Ben Bernanke. The head of the Federal Reserve – who’s co-piloting… – NY Post 

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Few will qualify – has list – Want to work with Obama? Answer these 63 questions  – Yael T. Abouhalkah -  Kansas City Star Editorial 
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It Isn’t a TARP Without Troubled Assets to Cover: Caroline Baum – … And then it hits me. There are no details. Only a set of loosely linked concepts — something between a trial balloon and a hot-air dirigible — that flows out in a stream-of- consciousness format, with the details to be filled in later.  … – Bloomberg

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Yield Curve Near 10-Year Highs by Bespoke Investment Group

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The Rule of 28-33%; Confronting Reality: Confronting Reality by Markham Lee – Analytical Wealth

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Did the Fed, or Asian Saving, Cause the Housing Bubble? – mises.org
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Treasury Funds On the Way to Credit Unions? -  Diana Galobay – Credit unions might soon see their own version of a mortgage bailout program. National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) chairman Michael Fryzel on Tuesday unveiled a proposed plan to use funds borrowed from the U.S. Department of the Treasury at lower rates than those available through private sources to aid credit unions in temporarily lowering monthly mortgage payments. The proposed initiative would be a sort of hybrid bailout/loan modification program specific to credit unions, which would receive… -  housingwire

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Arnold Kling with a great round up of regulatory thoughts – …When I was at Freddie Mac, we tried to use information engineering, but it was too difficult. The result is that we were stuck with a variety of systems that did not talk with one another very well. I suspect that in the real world this is often the case. This suggests another reason to have limited expectations for regulatory reform. … – Caveat Bettor

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U.S. probing Golden West lending, sale: prosecutor – The government is investigating if homeowners were misled by California bank and mortgage issuer Golden West Financial, which was acquired by Wachovia Corp — another possible victim. – Reuters Yahoo

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GE in Talks With Four Asian Sovereign Wealth Funds – Andrew Noel -  General Electric Co., down 61 percent this year in New York, is seeking funds from China Investment Corp., Government of Singapore Investment Corp. and at least two other sovereign-wealth funds. … – Bloomberg

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From the Blog – Supply and demand (in that order) by Casey Mulligan:
1.  UI on Steroids – Suppose that you bought a house in 2005, and took out a mortgage equal to four year’s income. Now your house is worth three year’s income.  More bad news: you lost your job, and your income is cut in half because unemployment insurance (UI) only replaces that much. – Your best course of action may be to FAIL to find a new job
2.  Why Housing Drags down Stocks - The housing crash is one of the fundamentals our economy inherits from the past. This is boom time for the nonresidential sector because, after a long wait, the housing sector no longer absorbs so many resources. If you are young with new business ideas — good news: you no longer have to compete with the housing sector for funding.  -  Casey Mulligan

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Deflation: What Investors Need to Know -  A rapid drop in inflation may help shoppers’ dollars go further, but it’s a disturbing trend for investors -  BusinessWeek