peHUB First Read

* James Altucher: Should insider trading be made legal?

* eBay says that its deal to sell 65% of Skype to private equity and VC firms will close later this quarter, even though the agreement is hairier than a barber’s broom. Also says that Skype’s revenue rose 29% year-over-year.

* Steven Davidoff: A recent court decision could help revive management buyouts (only quibble is that I’m not sure why he thinks MBOs are “relics of the 1980’s”).

* Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, London falls early, European shares drop on Ericsson earnings, the Nikkei slides and Chinese markets get spooked by a government comment that caused worries over inflation and possible monetary tightening.

* Bijan Sabet: “Often times the winner doesn’t take it all. And the best way to compete with the winner (or current market leader) is by either doing less (not more) and focusing on one thing and doing it very well.”

* Steve Ballmer says the Internet was created for PCs, not for the iPhone. He’s right, of course, and the corollary is that current mobile network capacity was designed for dumb phones (not all those hoggish iPhone apps).

* Felix Salmon on the importance of Paul Volcker.

* Has the best for distressed debt already come and gone?

* Obama planning to shift TARP loans to smaller lenders?

* VC-backed auto makers Fisker and Reva are nearing production facility deals.