peHUB First Read

* Need venture capital for your iPad-related startup? There's an AppFund for that. * A private equity firm is majority owner of the Connecticut power plant that exploded yesterday, killing five workers. * The SEC is rethinking its proposed ban on PE placement agents. As it should. I'm all for rooting out corruption in PE fundraising -- hell, I've written about little else for the past year -- but the SEC's original language is the regulatory equivalent of using an anvil to swat a fly. * Morning Call: U.S. futures point higher, London rises early, European shares fall on banks, the Nikkei hits 2-month closing low and both China and Hong Kong shares keep slipping. * Q&A with Blackstone Group's Tony James * Economists, crises & cartoon (h/t Kedrosky) * James Surowiecki: The perils of economic populism * New white paper from BCG on how PE firms add operational value, and where LPs believe they still fall short.