Closer scrutiny of the decoupling between the equity and credit markets. (FT Alphaville, naked capitalism, Financial Crookery)

Is a flawed option pricing model to blame for mortgage mispricing and the subsequent housing bubble? (Market Movers)

Marking-to-market is difficult when there really is little or no ‘market.’ (WSJ.com)

“It appears that many traditional buyers of auction-rate paper — risk-averse investors parking short-term money — have gone and have been replaced by a smaller number of opportunistic buyers attracted by high yields.” (NYTimes.com)

“The more complex the structured product, the more opportunity for agents to extract fees at your expense.” (Financial Crookery)

Debt insurance dilemmas. (Alea, ibid)

A split is coming for the monoline bond insurers, whether they like it or not. (Accrued Interest)

Private equity firms increasingly need to ‘bring their own debt‘ to get deals done. (Deal Journal)

“Crude oil reached a record high on Tuesday [over $100 a barrel], and there’s an embarrassing oversupply of theories to explain why.” (Econbrowser)

Putting the inflation in stagflation. (Big Picture, Capital Spectator, Crossing Wall Street)

Agriculture stocks are the new “must have” in investment portfolios. (WSJ.com)

Is interest in the VIX waning? (VIX and More)

Are technicals and fundamentals lining up for the Dow? (Trader’s Narrative)

“The fastest-growing revenue source for the asset management industry is forecast to be “performance-based fees” with “alternatives management” close behind.” (All About Alpha)

More on the momentum effect. (CXO Advisory Group)

“Even with single family starts at the lowest level since the ’91 recession, when you look at inventories and new home sales, the builders are still starting too many homes … but they are getting there.” (Calculated Risk)

A guide to the new DealBreaker. (DealBreaker.com)

A betting guide to the Oscars. (Bloomberg.com via Freakonomics)

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