“The 1929 crash got off to a much faster start, but we have now more or less caught up.” (Floyd Norris also dshort.com)

Just how violent might a snap-back rally be? (ValuePlays)

Stocks (and ETFs) trading near their 52-week highs. (Trader Risk)

There is no such thing as a blue chip stock in this environment. (WashingtonPost.com)

Are widespread dividend cuts indicating even lower trough earnings? (Economist.com)

Exxon Mobil (XOM) keeps chugging along. Is ConocoPhillips (COP) a “cheaper” alternative to XOM? (WSJ.com, Clusterstock also Barrons.com)

Carl Icahn’s investment vehicle Icahn Enterprises (IEP) takes it on the chin in 2008. (DealBook, Barrons.com)

Who might replace Citigroup (C) in the Dow? (Crossing Wall Street, Dealbreaker)

Institutional investors are putting pressure on hedge funds to lower their fees. (WSJ.com, ibid)

Even though contango has eased, the U.S. Oil Fund (USO) is still at the mercy of traders as they roll contracts forward. (WSJ.com)

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle at work. The VIX seems to have stopped working as a market indicator. (Daily Options Report, MarketBeat)

What would have happened if Wal-Mart (WMT) had gotten into the banking business in a big way? (Woodrow)

Maybe a “speedy bankruptcy reorganization financed by the government” isn’t such a bad option for General Motors (GM). (WSJ.com, Clusterstock, Atlantic Business)

Don’t take CDS prices all that seriously. (Accrued Interest)

Why haven’t “dark pools of liquidity” attracted more regulatory attention? (Zero Hedge)

“The stock market is engaged in something of a pity party — the prevailing emotions being fear and loathing. It is concerned about policies which might be burdensome to equityholders in large corporations while perhaps nevertheless being boons to economic recovery.” (FiveThirtyEight.com)

Did efficient market theory blind regulators to the dotcom and housing bubbles? And is a belief in the EMH blinding investors now to current stock bargains? (Economist.com, ROI)

Private equity stakes are trading at distressed levels. (Clusterstock)

Is the AIG bailout simply a Goldman Sachs (GS) bailout in disguise? (Big Picture)

“We developed too many speculators in the 2000s, and not enough parties that would hold assets to maturity.” (Aleph Blog)

Non-farm payrolls continue to shrink. Unemployment at levels not seen in 25 years. (Economix, Econbrowser, Calculated Risk, Curious Capitalist)

Fire Tim Geithner. (Clusterstock, The Big Money)

The Obama home loan modification program is built on faulty assumptions. (Clusterstock, ibid)

Fiscal multipliers: big or small? (Mankiw Blog)

Restricting skilled immigration is a short-sighted reaction to the current economic crisis. (Economist.com)

Are we holding financial journalists to an unreasonable standard? (Dealscape, Market Movers)

Have we overlooked an interesting post in the investment blogosphere? If so, feel free to drop Abnormal Returns a line.