peHUB First Read

Cofee* Yale sends a new letter to faculty and staff, estimating that its endowment’s value is off 25% from the end of June: “The ultimate consequence of the market decline is still substantial, causing an annual budget shortfall on the order of $100 million next year (2009-10) and growing to over $300 million by 2013-14.”

* Erin wrote yesterday about the unreliability of year-end predictions, including those from venture captialists. But no amount of December-morning quarterbacking is going to stop folks from opining on 2009. This morning we’ve got a whole slew of new VC predictions, courtesy of the NVCA. Click here for survey results and here for a set of individual VC quotes.

* Morning Call: U.S. futures fall, European shares pushed down by banks, Nikkei and Hong Kong both rise on U.S. rate cuts.

* Anyone who helps Bernie Madoff make bail should be publicly flogged.

* Recluses Gone Wild: Cerberus chief Stephen Feinberg caught on film.

* Let’s move Wall Street to Vegas.

* Donald Trump joins the blogosphere.

* The most popular Flash games of 2008.

* Private Equity: Investor, Heal Thyself.

* First Round Capital and its portfolio companies wish you a happy holiday season: