peHUB First Read

* Yale sends a new letter to faculty and staff, estimating that its endowment's value is off 25% from the end of June: "The ultimate consequence of the market decline is still substantial, causing an annual budget shortfall on the order of $100 million next year (2009-10) and growing to over $300 million by 2013-14." * Erin wrote yesterday about the unreliability of year-end predictions, including those from venture captialists. But no amount of December-morning quarterbacking is going to stop folks from opining on 2009. This morning we've got a whole slew of new VC predictions, courtesy of the NVCA. Click here for survey results and here for a set of individual VC quotes. * Morning Call: U.S. futures fall, European shares pushed down by banks, Nikkei and Hong Kong both rise on U.S. rate cuts. * Anyone who helps Bernie Madoff make bail should be publicly flogged. * Recluses Gone Wild: Cerberus chief Stephen Feinberg caught on film. * Let's move Wall Street to Vegas.