Dear readers,

In a previous article, we asked our contributors to share with us their favorite self-authored Seeking Alpha contribution of all time.

This article, also in honor of reaching our millionth user milestone, takes a different tack: We asked contributors to select their favorite SA article that they didn't author. We also asked them to describe briefly what made that their best article.

The list below is presented in order of the time we received contributors' submissions. I hope you enjoy reading some of the best SA articles of all time - as picked by our contributors - as much as I do.

Eli

P.S. We're going to give a prize to the author of the article from these lists that receives the most "Yes" or "5-Star" votes during the next two days. So make sure to vote for your favorite article!

1) IPO Candy

Tom

Dear readers,

In honor of reaching our millionth user milestone, we asked our contributors to share with us their favorite Seeking Alpha contribution of all time - the article they most enjoyed writing; or the one that most delighted them with its ensuing discussion; or perhaps the article they felt was most insightful, original, convincing, or engaging. We also asked them to describe briefly what made this their best article.

The list below is presented in order of the time we received contributors' submissions. I hope you enjoy reading some of the best SA articles of all time - as picked by their authors - as much as I do.

Eli

P.S. We also asked contributors to pick their favorite non-self-authored articles. That list - fascinating in its own right - can be found here.

P.P.S. We're going to give a prize to the author of the article

Whiff of EU bank rescue ignites melt-up. News that FMs are pondering a backstop for shaky eurozone banks sparked a late-day 400 point rally in the Dow. Details of the plan are sketchy, but markets were hungry for a sign that EU diplomats are taking the unstable capital positions of their banks seriously. Much-maligned bank stocks rallied in Europe this morning, with BNP Paribas (BNPQY.PK), SocGen (SCGLY.PK) and Credit Agricole (CRARY.PK) all up more than 5%.

Italy shrugs off Moody's downgrade. Moody's downgraded Italy 3 notches from Aa2 to A2 with negative outlook, citing long-term funding risks for EU sovereigns, downside risks to economic growth, and the implementation risks to the government's fiscal consolidation program. Markets, elated with the thought of an EU bank rescue (see above), shrugged off the news - as did Italy, saying the decision was "expected."

IMF to the rescue. Antonio Borges,

Melancholy start to Q4. Greece's admission that it will miss its budget-deficit targets roiled markets Monday as stocks kicked off Q4 on a sour note, with the S&P falling 2.85% to a 13-month low of 1,099.23, led by weakness in bank stocks. Morgan Stanley (MS) fell 7.6% and Bank of America (BAC) dived 9.6% as traders worried about counterparty risk if Europe continues to deteriorate. Futures are near session lows at 7:00, with benchmark S&P -0.8% to 1078, reflecting broader losses across Europe.

Europe double-dip? S&P dropped its 2012 outlook for Europe growth - for the second time in five weeks - to 1.1% from 1.5%, and now pegs the risk of a double-dip recession at 40%. Recent data "point to a fresh deterioration in the business climate," S&P said, not only in debt-strapped countries, "but also in the core countries of the eurozone

Risk on, then off, then on... Stocks surged Tuesday but gave back half of their gains in the final hour following reports of a split in the eurozone over terms of the next Greece bailout (more below). Treasury prices continued their slide, sending 10-year yields back to 2%. It was risk-on in commodities, as gold and oil rose sharply. Shaking off early weakness, futures point to a strong open.

Troika audit to decide Greek fate. Greece faces a new test today as troika auditors head for Athens, which could lead to parts of Greece's €109B rescue being reopened: "We have to wait and see what the troika finds," German Chancellor Merkel said, "it will tell us (whether) we will have to renegotiate or not." Greece's second bailout would impose a 21% loss on private bondholders, but many economists believe a 50% loss is necessary to make the country's

UBS rogue trader racks up $2B loss. In an instant, UBS's (UBS) expected CHF500M Q3 profit looks poised to turn into a CHF1B-plus loss after the bank announced this morning a rogue trader racked up about $2B in trading losses. Shares sank as much as 10% in Zurich, perhaps an overreaction; or perhaps underscoring concerns over UBS's risk management; or perhaps because investors fear the "unauthorized trades" were due to I-bank traders trying a bit too hard to justify the unit's existence.

Some sunshine in Athens. Asian and European markets posted gains today, sending futures higher, as confidence grows that Europe can overcome its debt crisis. Greek PM Papandreou, German Chancellor Merkel and French President Sarkozy said after yesterday's conference call that they were "convinced that the future of Greece is in the euro-zone," though economists noted the generic statement is not a go-ahead on the next

Anti-climactic downgrade. As expected, Moody's downgraded Credit Agricole's (CRARY.PK) credit rating to Aa2 from Aa1 and Societe Generale's (SCGLY.PK) to Aa3 from Aa2, but maintained its Aa2 rating on BNP Paribas (BNPQY.PK), saying the bank's "profitability and capital base currently provide an adequate cushion to support its Greek, Portuguese, and Irish exposures." Moody's also extended its review of SocGen's financial strength "to consider the implications of the potentially persistent fragility in the bank financing markets, given its continued reliance on wholesale funding." At 6:30 AM, SocGen -3%, BNP -2%, Credit Agricole +3.2%.

BNP gets in line to shrink risk exposure. BNP Paribas (BNPQY.PK) announced a plan to sell €70B ($95.7B) of riskier assets to ease fears about its liquidity. BNP said the sales would reduce its balance sheet by roughly 10%, and also said it will reduce its U.S. dollar funding needs by $60B by

Market whiplash. Stocks recovered remarkably on Monday, turning green near the close amid reports Italy will get help from China in its debt crisis. This morning, however, the dour mood has returned after reports of a denial from China, sending Europe markets to a new two-year low, led once again by France, and bringing equity futures under pressure.

Markets discount talks of a China Italy rescue. Italy confirmed reports it has talked with Chinese officials about a strategic investment in Italy, but China has declined to comment, leading analysts to believe any talks are likely preliminary, and unlikely to lead to anything substantive. Italy's debt-to-GDP ratio is second in the eurozone only to Greece's.

"We can no longer borrow dollars." BNP Paribas (BNPQY.PK -7.7% in Paris) categorically denied a WSJ op-ed (penned by Nicolas Lecaussin of France's Institute for Economic and Fiscal Research) citing

Eurozone debt fears run rampant. European stocks and U.S. futures are sharply lower, led by bank stocks, on fears the eurozone debt crisis has taken a turn for the worse. Greece committed to €2B in new budget cuts Sunday, but that did little to calm concerns Greece will default on its debt - especially after German FM Philipp Roesler said Europe could no longer rule out an "orderly default."

French banks see sea of red. French banks are sharply lower on fears of an imminent Moody's downgrade. In Europe, SocGen (SCGLY.PK) was recently -9.6%, BNP Paribas (BNPQF.PK) was -11%, and Credit Agricole (CRARF.PK) was -9.7% - leading a 4% drop in Paris's CAC. The pressure on SocGen - which has dropped 50% since Aug. 1 - comes despite today's attempts to calm investor worries (see below).

SocGen's own austerity plan. SocGen (SCGLY.PK) surprised

• Gaddafi disdains protesters, son warns of bloodshed. All eyes are on Libya as soldiers fired on violent protesters in Tripoli this morning, even as embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi's grip on the nation wanes. In his first public appearance since the revolt broke out last week, a defiant Gaddafi disdained protesters and denied he's left the country. Human rights groups say more than 200 people have been killed in five days of violence; opposition groups put the figure much higher. In an appearance Monday, Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam promised a conference on constitutional reforms within days, but said Libya would fight protesters calling for his father's ousting "to the last minute... until the last bullet," and warned that a civil war would lead to "hundreds of thousands of deaths."
• Oil spikes as Libya crisis deepens. Crude futures soared in overnight trading, leading IEA chief economist Fatih Birol to

• Bernanke on 60 Minutes: Exuberant confidence. "We're not very far from the level where the economy is not self-sustaining," Fed Chief Bernanke told 60 Minutes in an interview that aired last night. Bernanke warned it could take five years for unemployment to fall back to "normal" levels, but said that not only is he happy with the results of the Fed's recent $600B round of Treasury purchases (a.k.a. QE2), but that he would spend even more if the need arose. Bernanke insisted the Fed's accommodative policies won't trigger runaway inflation, saying he's "100% confident" the Fed has the tools to control it, and adding, "We’ve been very, very clear that we will not allow inflation to rise above 2%. We could raise interest rates in 15 minutes if we have to."
• AOL mulls breakup, Yahoo merger. Sources say AOL Inc. (AOL) "is actively exploring a breakup involving

• Hints of a recovery as small business loans jump. Small businesses stepped up borrowing in September while delinquencies declined to a new post-recession low, suggesting the recovery is gaining steam ahead of any planned monetary easing. Thomson Reuters/PayNet's Small Business Lending Index jumped 16% in September, following a 15% rise in August, and is now at the highest level in almost two years. Closely-watched small businesses account for about 80% of new hiring, and are seen as more agile and more in tune with changing economic trends.
• China PMI jumps, signalling strong domestic consumption. Growth in China surged ahead in October, providing welcome support for the global economy in the face of sluggishness in the U.S., most of Europe, and Japan. PMI rose to a six-month high of 54.7 from 53.8 in September, easily beating forecasts of 52.9 - despite a seasonal downside bias. Manufacturers continue to

• BHP/Rio back out of huge iron-ore JV. Fearing strong objections from regulators, BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RTP) said Monday they would forsake their $116B Australian iron-ore JV. The mutual abandonment sidesteps the hefty $275M breakup fee either would have had to pay. The pair said it was disappointed regulators didn't agree with its pro-competitive view of the proposed join-up. Focus will now move to Plan B: to share infrastructure, blend products and freely move iron ore through each other's ports.
• Northeast Utilities and NSTAR agree to $17.5B merger of equals. Northeast Utilities (NU) and NSTAR (NST) agreed Monday to a merger of equals worth $17.5B - creating New England's largest utility company. Northeast shareholders will own 56% of the combined company, which will be called Northeast Utilities. Together, it will operate six electric and gas utilities in three states; have nearly 3.5M customers; 4,500 miles

• Hurd successor alarms H-P shareholders. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) named former SAP (SAP) chief executive Leo Apotheker as president and CEO, succeeding Mark Hurd, and former Oracle (ORCL) president Ray Lane as non-executive chairman. Investors were not impressed with the surprising choice, sending shares down 2% after-hours. "I thought it would be difficult for H-P to hire an outsider and have its stock to go down, but this board seems to have found a way," analyst Brian Marshall said. H-P described Apotheker as a "strategic thinker with a passion for technology... and proven operational discipline," but analysts noted SAP's customer relationships and employee morale suffered badly during his reign.
• Sinopec takes $7.1B stake in Repsol's Brazil unit. Repsol (REP) said Friday it will sell 40% of its Brazilian unit to China's Sinopec (SNP) for $7.1B. The joint-venture, valued at $17.8B overall, guarantees Repsol key funding to develop

• Government's AIG exit imminent. Sources say AIG (AIG) and the government are finalizing a plan that would accelerate repayment of some of AIG's debt to taxpayers and allow the government to exit its 79.8% stake, but only after rising to over 90%. The conversion price of the Treasury's $49B in preferred shares is the main point of contention, with AIG officials trying to ensure shareholders "don't lose all the upside," and the Treasury concerned about leaving too much meat on the bone. The plan, which needs the approval of AIG's board, the Treasury, the Fed, and three trustees who oversee the government's stake, could be released as soon as today if parts fall into place.
• CBO laments 'anemic' recovery. The pace of the current U.S. economic recovery remains "anemic" compared to previous post-recession rebounds, CBO director Douglas Elmendorf testified before the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday. Elmendorf

• Unilever aims for good hair day with Alberto buy. Unilever (UL, UN) will buy Alberto-Culver (ACV) for $3.7B ($37.50/share), a 33% premium to its 12-month average. ACV's portfolio includes TRESemme and Nexxus, Alberto VO5, St. Ives and Noxzema. Unilever, headquartered in London and Rotterdam, is the world's No.3 consumer products company behind Procter & Gamble (PG) and Nestle (NSRGY.PK). The acquisition "further skews Unilever to high growth, high margin personal care categories, gives a more rounded category presence in hair care and makes it global leader in hair conditioning, No.2 in shampoo and No.3 in styling," analyst Graham Jones said.
• Southwest to buy AirTran for $1.4B. Southwest Airlines (LUV) will buy AirTran (AAI) for $1.4B ($7.69/share) in cash and shares - a 69% premium to Friday's close. Each share of AirTran will be exchanged for $3.75 in cash and 0.321 shares of Southwest Airlines' common stock. The

• Strong demand for massive Petrobras share sale. Petrobras' (PBR) record $70B share offering was oversubscribed, with buyers including sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and Asia. The offer's 2% discount was much smaller than investors expected, and suggests strong demand. PBR -1.1% premarket.
• Japan relents, frees Chinese skipper. Japan announced it will release a Chinese sea captain who has been in custody since a collision in contested waters triggered a flare up in the countries' already-strained relationship. "We decided it was inappropriate to continue the investigation while keeping the suspect in custody any further, considering the future of the Japan-China relationship," an official said at a hastily called news conference. The decision came amid signs that the dispute has been spreading to bilateral business relations. Experts say Japan and other U.S. allies are taking a harder line on territorial issues as a part of a broader

• Deutsche Bank dives on profit warning. Shares of Deutsche Bank (DB) are being pummeled in Frankfurt and premarket U.S. trading after Germany's No.1 bank warned it would book a Q3 loss stemming from its purchase of Postbank, and from "the poorer market conditions during the summer months." The warning was part of a prospectus for DB's €10.2B share sale to pay for the acquisition of up to 30.6% of Postbank's outstanding shares (DB already owns 30% of Postbank). DB -8% premarket.
• Fed hints at QE 2.0. The Fed reiterated its commitment to near-zero interest rates yesterday, as expected, but opened the door to the possibility of more QE in the near future. In the key amendment to its policy statement, the FOMC shifted its focus from the weak economy to the possibility of disinflation: "The Committee will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial

• Safran boosts U.S. business with $1.1B L-1 buy. French security firm Safran said it will pay $1.1B for L-1 Identity Solutions (ID) ($12/share), a 24% premium to Friday's close. Safran will incorporate L-1 into its existing Morpho security arm, where it will join previous acquisitions including Motorola's (MOT) Printrak biometrics unit and GE's (GE) Homeland Protection unit. L-1 provides secure ID credentials to government and commercial customers, and specializes in biometric security, such as fingerprint, iris and face recognition.
• Junk demand blasts above pre-crisis levels. Strong demand for junk bonds has pushed prices to the highest level since June 2007 - at the height of the credit boom. BofA's benchmark junk debt index rose last week above 100 for the first time since the start of the credit crisis, a level that assumes bonds will generally be repaid in full. Sales of U.S. junk bonds reached $168B

• Fingers crossed as well kill commences. BP (BP) will start pumping cement into its crippled well today after successfully reducing pressure by injecting mud from the top, a procedure known as a static kill. Yesterday, the cost of insuring BP debt dropped below five-year premiums for the first time in two months on speculation the new attempt will succeed. Separately, Transocean (RIG), which owns the exploded drilling rig, said BP may seek to avoid its full contractual responsibility for the disaster. BP +3.5% premarket.
• SEC looks to break open proxy process. Under a rule being considered by the SEC, shareholders of large firms would be able to directly nominate directors on corporate ballots, a change that could dramatically affect the board-selection process at many companies. Currently, if shareholders want to propose directors, they need to pay out of their own pockets to engage in a proxy