peHUB First Read

* Tom Brakke: The cave and the flow * Dylan Ratigan: Bankster's Party vs People's Party * Todd Dagres wants help: "The bumper crop of consumer internet seeds and start-ups cropping up around the country (with concentrations in SF/SV and NYC) and binge hiring of engineering talent by companies such as Google and Facebook are creating a shortage of talent." * Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, London rises on BP, European shares rebound, the Nikkei hits 10-week closing low and China shares slide. * DLJ alums will reuinite on May 20 at Cipriani * HP was the winner of a 5-way bidding war for Palm * Guy Sorman: Will California's woes infect Silicon Valley? * Charlie O'Donnell: Is Mark Zuckerberg the Howard Roark of the web? * David Kirkpatrick reports that Sean Parker was fired as Facebook's first president over a cocaine arrest. * New research: Club buyouts general produce better exits than non-club deals, but PE firms are better off doing mega-deals as single sponsors.