Dave Ribar offers some good economic news, although he points out there are still problems:

"The figures mean that the economy has turned the corner and that the Great Recession has ended, at least for now. While the news is good, it's important to remember that the level of output is still substantially (2.3 percent) below where it was a year ago. Foreclosures, bankruptcies, and bank failures continue to mount. Unemployment is expected to continue rising into next year. And at some point the government has to take its foot off the fiscal and monetary accelerator pedals."

Cone provides a great quote from a conversation he had in China during a recent business trip: "The government knows a picture is worth a thousand words," came the reply. "As long as you don't actually say the words, it's OK."

You can't make this stuff up. South Carolina assistant Attorney General Roland Corning was caught in a cemetery "with an 18 year old stripper from the Platinum Plus Gentlemen's Club, a bag of sex toys and at least one dose of Viagra."

Sometimes politics can be funny.

Almost 1,000,000 foreclosures in the US in 3Q 2009. Ouch.

This is what I call chutzpah. Send out a rate hike notice AND a flyer asking your just-hiked customers to lobby on your behalf. Ah, the health insurance industry.

Not exactly a light read, but this piece at the NAA site provides an overview of the legal requirements for Freddie Mac's new CMBS product.