peHUB First Read

* Damien Hoffman: Neel Kashkari evolved from Gordon Gekko into Henry David Thoreau. * The return of rabbit ears * There is light at the end of the leveraged loan tunnel. Unfortunately, there may also be a giant pothole just a few yards past the exit. * CalPERS makes some welcome ethics changes. For example, CalPERS board members must now "refrain from advocating a course of action concerning an investment with CalPERS staff outside a Board or Committee meeting." * Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, London falls early, European shares dragged down by banks and commodities, the Nikkei closes 2009 up 19% for the year and China shares climb on energy. * The decade's biggest tech losers. * Q&A on VC opportunities in the stem cell space * Bijan Sabet on the pros and cons of "insider" VC rounds * The Illinois Teachers' Retirement System said that its PE portfolio fell 17.9% for the year ending June 30, 2009. This comes after five straight years of gains. You can download its full investment report here (PE data begins on pg. 65).