“Books will be written about this period of time, and our descendants will wonder in awe as to how this was allowed to happen.”  (Big Picture)

Fannie and Freddie are bond insurers with the wrong capital mix.  (DealBook, TheDeal.com)

What role did Fannie and Freddie play in the mortgage crisis?  (Econbrowser)

What is the true cost of the implicit Federal guarantee of agency debt?  (Market Movers)

Borrowing costs for the U.S. will now be higher.  (Alea, FT Alphaville, Financial Armageddon)

What role did other investment banks play in the downfall of Bear Stearns?  (naked capitalism)

Regional banks did not turn out to be safe havens from the mortgage mess after all.  (NYTimes.com)

Is the SEC trying to make legitimate short-selling more difficult?  (DealBreaker.com, breakingviews/WSJ.com also Tim Sykes)

Short selling restrictions transfer activity to the derivatives markets with predictable results.  (Daily Options Report)

Contrarian alert!  Perma-bear David Tice sells his investment firm.  (Infectious Greed also BusinessWeek.com)

Five things that have gone right of late.  (Deal Journal)

Five reasons to be long Lehman Bros. (LEH).  (TheStreet.com)

S&P 500 dividend yield are at their highest level since 1995.  (Bespoke Investment Group)

One-third of stocks hit a new low on the NYSE for the first time since 1990.  (Quantifiable Edges)

Private equity funds floated in Europe last year are languishing.  (FT.com)

“Hedge funds used to be highly differentiated investment vehicles.”  (Humble Student of the Markets)

How has fundamental indexation worked as of late?  (IndexUniverse.com)

How many alternative investment strategies does a portfolio need?  (SSRN.com via Infectious Greed)

“Are equities a suitable hedge against inflation?”  (FT.com)

On the relationship between oil prices and the stock market.  (NakedShorts)

Oil prices and the rise CPI.  (Capital Spectator, Calculated Risk)

More and more Americans think the economy stinks.  (Crossing Wall Street)

Apple (AAPL) is making it difficult for developers on the iPhone platform.  (Silicon Alley Insider)

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