peHUB First Read

* Simon Johnson: Who will be the next Carlos Slim? * Paul Kedrosky: Is venture investing like Pascal's wager? * Morning Call: U.S. futures point higher on Apple and TI earnings, London falls early, European shares edge lower, the Nikkei hits 3-week closing high and China stocks gain. * Raj Rajaratnam's Letter To Clients And Employees * Brad Feld: Complexities of venture capital seed investing. * Sovereign wealth funds will be asked to help finance the UK government's efforts to create a £1 billion fund-of-funds that would prop up the nation's ailing venture capital market. Two notes: (1) I hope the designers of this program read Josh Lerner's new book, which focuses on the pitfalls of direct government involvement in venture capital/entrepreneurship; (2) Will the UK's next move be to save its leveraged buyout market, which is fast imploding? (save for Permira's "wall of cash")...