peHUB First Read

* CIT = Capitalism in Transition * Another PE pro heads to Washington: Jeffrey Goldstein of Hellman & Friedman is Obama's choice for Treasury undersecretary of domestic finance. * Would you stand on a plane for cheaper tickets? * Morning Call: U.S. futures point higher, London flattens, European shares slide, the Nikkei hits a three-week high and Hong Kong jumps 2.6 percent. * Fortress Investment Group plans to give new CEO Daniel Mudd a $1.9 million bonus for 2009, even though he hasn't even started work yet. And he's guaranteed a bonus no smaller than $1.8 million next year, even if the company tanks (kind of like Mudd's last charge, Fannie Mae, did). Why even bother calling it a bonus? * Nouriel Roubini: Can Japan avoid another lost decade? * Gilt Group CEO Kevin Ryan says raising VC funding is still a breeze for quality IT companies. He doth not protest enough.