peHUB First Read

* While everyone else was preoccupied with the bailout, Hank Paulson quietly enacted a tax code change that gave “American banks a windfall of as much as $140 billion.” The question now is whether the move was legal and, if not, what the lame duck Congress will do about it.

* Ivy League endowments are heavily weighted toward alternative assets, which has Barron’s suggesting that it may be time for them to change course.

* The Chinese rescue plan lifts all boats: U.S. futures rise, UK up early, Europe up, Nikkei jumps 5.8% and Hong Kong up 3.5%.

* Vanity Fair: The death of Planet Finance.

* How the recent elections will affect investment banker pay.

* Are you a child of the 50s who threw out his baseball cards, and still regret it? Well, tell your kids to hold onto all the “crappy economy” stuff they can find. Just look at how well Great Depression memorabilia is selling…

* Mitt Romney on Obama’s challenges.

* HipMojo: The New York Times can no longer be a buyer, it’s got to be a seller.

* KKR delay signals tough road for financial services IPOs.

* VentureBeat live-blogs Al Gore at the Web 2.0 Summit.

* China lightens restrictions on local insurance company investment in private equity firms.

* Wallstrip on The TJX Cos., whose headquarters happen to sit just two miles from the home office:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FOersamU_c[/youtube]