Snippets of Interesting News and Commentary

Welcome to the first full week of trading in 2009.  Equity markets are lower on perhaps a bit too much partying during the holidays.  Very little in terms of hard news released today so I present you with a few interesting highlights:

• Congress is set to review the Madoff fraud and pinpoint exactly why the SEC neglected to discover the scandal despite numerous investigations into the investment firm's operations over the years.  Michael Lewis and David Einhorn wrote a very interesting New York Times editorial explaining, among other things, precisely why the SEC sucks as much as it does.
• The Fed will begin purchasing MBS today.  Details of the purchases will be updated on a weekly basis on the New York Fed's website.
• Obama's stimulus plan will include about $300 billion in tax cuts, presumably to entice embittered Republicans to vote for an ambitious stimulus package.
• The New York Times has a great piece on the the alarming rise in vacancy rates in commercial properties around the country.  You can read a nice summary at Calculated Risk, or just read the entire article in the Times if you really want to be depressed.
• Apple shareholders will be relieved to read that Steve Jobs announced that his drastic weight loss has been caused by a hormone imbalance, rather than a return of the cancer that rumors suggested.