peHUB First Read

Some links to kick off your Wednesday:

* An Obama victory is now more likely than the U.S. sliding into a recession, according to the futures markets. I’d buy them both…

* Wall Street is still suffering a major leveraged loan hangover. Heidi Moore says that it wasn’t worth the buzz.

* Joe Zhou, head of Kleiner Perkins’ Beijing office, has left to launch his own firm.

* One of Facebook’s earlier executives is out. ValleyWag asks the right question: Will Facebook buy back his options at a $15 billion valuation.

* Former Refco boss Phillip Bennett last week pled guilty to criminal charges. Now the SEC is adding some civil charges to the mix.

* The most advanced news site on the planet? Mike Arrington thinks not.

* A reminder that I’ll be at VC in the Rockies this time next week. Will you?