peHUB First Read

* Doug Lowenstein of the PE Council gets it right: Taxes are going up no matter who wins the presidential election.

* Citigroup is in talks to unload Japanese PE/VC shop Nikko Antfactory.

* Fred Wilson looks at how success can spring from mess.

* Heidi Moore goes in search of the Clear Channel smoking gun.

* IntraLinks releases a European M&A study that shows dealmakers are cautious, but not cowed. Download study: EuroM&A.pdf.

* Zubin Jelveh says that we shouldn’t blame China for our own income inequality growth. 

* Dealscape asks why Chuck Grassley and Max Baucus don’t seem to have any sources inside the SEC.