Will the rescue plan work and how much will it cost?  (NYTimes.com)

Economists back the rescue plan.  No they don’t.  (Real Time Economics, naked capitalism)

Should there be conditions on those firms that avail themselves of the “Splurge”?  (A VC)

The consequences of the short-selling ban are far-ranging and univerally hated.  (WSJ.com, MarketBeat, Epicurean Dealmaker)

“Until the government makes any decisions that would ease the short-selling ban, the options market will be a tough place for all but the most sophisticated investors to navigate.”  (Barrons.com)

The convertible bond market is closed until further notice.  (Market Movers)

Transparency should be a part of any government-led mortgage securities buyback plan.  (Floyd Norris, Interfluidity)

“Bring back the Resolution Trust Corporation, for real.  Don’t do deals with solvent institutions.”  (Aleph Blog)

Nothing proposed last week is a “done deal.” (Dash of Insight)

Whereas value has emerged in the ABS and non-agency MBS market.  (Alea)

“(W)e’re witnessing the creation of a new bulge bracket, composed mostly of vast commercial banks swallowing proud Wall Street names, with Morgan Stanley (MS) and Goldman Sachs (GS), for now, the remaining exceptions as independents.”  (Barrons.com)

How Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch (MER) ended up in two very different places.  (NYTimes.com)

Is being publicly traded the optimal strategy for investment banks?  (Market Movers)

Times are tough, once again, for John Meriwether and his hedge fund.  (WSJ.com also NakedShorts)

What hasn’t changed in investing?  In short, a great deal.  (Bill Rempel)

Moving average crossover systems don’t meaningfully increase returns.  (MarketSci Blog)

“Price alone is not sufficient as a basis for trading decisions: you have to know whether markets are gaining or losing participation as prices move to new highs or lows.”  (TraderFeed)

Global macro hedge funds are going to be beneficiaries of the new investment environment.  (Howard Lindzon)

According to one model we didn’t even get close to panic territory last week.  (Condor Options)

“Today, it is clear that the U.S. financial sector needs to shrink.”  (EconLog)

Is it time to “save capitalism from the capitalists“?  (Luigi Zingales)

Capitalism will survive, but not for lack of trying to commit suicide.  (Becker–Posner)

Robert Shiller on why we need “continuous-workout mortgages” and how they could have helped mitigate the curret crisis.  (NYTimes.com)

Are you curious what other bloggers are saying about Abnormal Returns? So are we. Feel free to check out a compilation of reviews.