* Math is good: It’s square root day!
* Math is bad: The formula that killed Wall Street.
* WSJ has an early sketch of how Treasury’s public-private partnership program might work. Apparently the “bad bank” concept is dead — replaced by a series of privately-managed funds that would be sanctioned and partially-funded by the feds. Still unresolved are the uber-important matters of pricing and risk-sharing. My initial questions: (1) If PE managers are being asked to participate, how will they raise new/big money from cash-strapped LPs? (2) If a PE manager does create one of these funds, how will they also find the time to keep managing existing, traditional PE funds? Very large firms might be able to pull this off by refocusing existing staff or hiring up, but the vast majority of PE firms just don’t have the manpower.
* Morning Call: U.S. futures point higher, London slides to 6-year low, other European shares hit the 12-year mark, the Nikkei closes down less than 1% and Hong Kong keeps diving.
* The Age of Madoff: D.E. Shaw is hiring independent administrators to prove its investments exist. Not that its investments exist, mind you, but just that they’re tangible.
* Michelle Leder: Another BoA gift to a former exec.
* Abbreviated First Read today, as I’m boarding a plane for Colorado. Hope to see lots of you tomorrow at VC in the Rockies.
* John Stewart on Twitter:
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