Mr MarkToMarket

Dark Pools Are Not Scary Damp Places Where Investors Get Ripped Off

Exactly.

The New York Times Misunderstands China's Reserve Data

Excellent article...other than the typos, of course. A good example of the best use of blogging uncovering shoddy but widely read "reporting".

John Hussman: Renewed Concern About Credit Default Spreads

It's Credit Default Swaps, not spreads...sheesh...goo... to know that "experts" write these seeking alpha articles...

Moral Hazard: A Danger to Our Financial System

Excellent article Tom. Further to the moral hazard issue is that a large chunk of Hank Paulson's half billion net worth is in Goldman stock. Goldman happens to operate one of the largest prime brokerages which just happen to make huge amounts from hedge funds AND are where massive naked short positions sit, nicely hidden from view, unlike at the DTCC. The true greatest urgency in the current situation is that the companies who are massively shorted and have massive CDS bets against them must undergo credit events before the naked short positions have to be unwound so the hedge funds which Goldman and Paulson are so closely linked to can cash in on their CDS plays and not have to cover the short positions. Of course, with zero transparency, how can this ever be proven?

Bailout Cost, per Taxpayer, by Income

Glad to see some discussion of mark-to-market...an indepth examination of what would happen if it was suspended temporarily or phased in while abusive CDS practice is phased out would be interesting.

Paulson's Plan is About Marking to Market

Why not temporarily back out FAS157 and phase it in gradually over five years, which would allow the insane CDS situation to be orderly resolved. Is the entire meltdown of the system preferrable? It is for all the hedge funds who are making a killing as all the entities they bought default insurance (CDS') against go up in smoke.