worth reading – The Black Swan of Jeane Dixon – about the success of Nassim Taleb – Author: Walter Kurtz – Riskcenter.com
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Summary and book download: A Quantitative Look to Energy Sustainability – Booz, Inc’s strategy + business has an interview with Cambridge University’s David MacKay about his recent book taking a quantative approach to energy sustainability:  “There is more than enough analysis and positing these days about energy costs and policies, the impact of global warming, cap and trade, sustainability, alternative sources, and the like.”  “Fed up with the cacophony, MacKay assembled a rational, non-political, “pro-arithmetic” analysis of what can be done to wean energy users (businesses and individuals) away from fossil fuels by the year 2050 — an ambitious goal he strongly believes is technically feasible. – Research Recap

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Leo Melamed: It will take another year or more for U.S. economy to recover - by Hu Guangyao, Han Wanning – Although the U.S. economy has recovered from the worst of the crisis, there is still a long way to go, according to Leo Melamed, who is recognized as the founder of financial futures markets.     In an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Wednesday at his office in downtown Chicago, Melamed, Chairman Emeritus and a board member of Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, Inc., said: “Today most people agree with Chairman (Chairman of the Federal Reserve) that the economy is bottoming out and we’ll see recovery in the second half of the year. I don’t think that.” – Xinhua 

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Fear, Cash Hoarding, and Inventories Key to Recovery – Dr. John Rutledge blog 

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El-Erian Says Geithner Shares an ’A’ With Bernanke for Effort – By Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam – Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., gives Timothy Geithner and Ben S. Bernanke an “A” for their efforts to revive credit markets.  Geithner, the U.S. Treasury secretary, and Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, deserve just a “B” for results because “it’s very difficult to get it right,” – Bloomberg

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Excellent – about oil “speculation” - Now I Know How Sisyphus Felt – The Professor – Almost exactly a year ago, I testified before the House Ag Committee and wrote an op-ed for the WSJ on the effect–or lack thereof–of speculation on oil prices.  The issue was high on the political agenda at the time, as oil prices hit $147/bbl, and gas prices were above $4/gal.  The collapse in prices during the financial crisis put the issue on the backburner, but it is back with a vengeance.  To loud Congressional hosannahs, the CFTC has announced its intent to impose a far reaching regime of position limits on energy and other commodities “in finite supply“–pray tell, what traded commodities are in infinite supply?  So, I guess I have to roll that rock up the hill, yet again.  – Streetwise Professor