Read this – A new way to screw “senior” holders – CDO equity holders extract value by selling their votes – Sober Look Blog

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Preventing Securitization – BlackRock Inc. Chairman Laurence Fink went so far recently as to call this “one of the biggest issues facing American capitalism.” He’s worried that to protect banks from billions of dollars more in writedowns on bad second liens (a.k.a., home-equity loans), Treasury is trashing private contracts. “There is modification going on protecting our banks, protecting their balance sheets” and “I’m just very worried about it.” Until that issue is cleared up, he says, we won’t “get a vibrant securitization market back.” … – Wall Street Journal Opinion

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Has the US Reached The Hyperinflation Tipping Point? – Economist Peter Bernholz is an expert on the subject of national hyperinflations. He has studied all the major cases of hyperinflation since 1980. His conclusion: The tipping point occurs when a government’s deficit exceeds 40% of its expenditures.  Guess what? The U.S. will hit the 40% mark in 2009: ... Bearish News

Hyperinflation Tipping Point – Here’s a critical passage from Hayman Advisors recent market commentary, based on research conducted by Peter Bernholz:  …  His conclusion: the tipping point for hyperinflation occurs when the government’s deficit exceed 40% of its expenditures.”  According to the current Office of Management and Budget (”OMB”) projections, … These projections imply that the US will run deficits equal to 43.3% and 39.9% of expenditures in 2009 and 2010, respectively. … – Plan B Economics

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Julian Robertson 3 great videos: The investment world, according to Julian Robertson – Posted by Prieur du Plessis – In this three-part video interview, Julian Robertson, chairman and CEO of Tiger Management, talks with Chrystia Freeland, US managing editor of the Financial Times, about US debt, China, lessons from the tech bust, the future of hedge funds, gold stocks, taxes and regulations. Good stuff! - Investment Postcards from Cape Town

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Soros says U.S. economy will be drag on world growth – Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros said on Thursday that the world’s current “currency arrangements” are fraught with danger and that the world needs global regulation. - Reuters
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Moving from Recession to Recovery: What Can We Really Expect? – by Diane Swonk, Chief Economist, Mesirow Financial  …

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Chart of the Day – Despite a host of concerns (weak economy, high unemployment, mounting foreclosures, geopolitical issues, etc.), the Dow made another post-crash high … it should be noted that the Dow is currently testing resistance (see red line). … – Chart of the Day

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The $800 Billion Deception - Dan Gross – Conservatives claim the stimulus has already failed. But it has barely started. - NewsWeek

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On banks: Mark-to-Make-Believe Turns Junk Loans to Gold: Jonathan Weil -  Here’s the best tip I ever got on how to read a company’s financial statements: Read the footnotes first, because that’s usually where the bodies are buried. … – thanks Marty Rosenblatt – Bloomberg

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The China Files (Special Project): Real Estate – by By George Friedman – John Mauldin’s Outside the Box

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Yield Hogs Out-Stampede Stock Bulls – By RANDALL W. FORSYTH  – Rush into bond funds suggests rising risks as investors flee near-zero-rate cash. – Barrons