The Republicans' Deaf Ear Is a Preexisting Condition (WashPost, Dana Milbank)

Funny piece on the first day of the Senate's "debate" on the health-care bill. GOP senator Jim Bunning declared he was against the bill, no matter what form, and then he promptly fell asleep. The Republicans might as well have sung "Whatever It Is, I'm Against It," Groucho Marx's bit from Horse Feathers (1932). Or just stayed home to watch re-plays of former colleague Tom DeLay dancing with the stars.

A New Bubble Of the Fed's Creation (WashPost, Steven Pearlstein)

Stimulus packages boost the market so much that, well, another boom is underway. Here's an example of excessive greedsters feasting on carcasses artificially bloated by government money, from the WSJ: "Speculators Seek Fortune in AIG." The NY Post notes that Lehman alums are setting up funds to pick at the carcass of their failed bank. Stocks are rising and traders are waiting with bated breath as the Fed meets this week to figure what, if any, action it will take.

Delayed Foreclosures Stalk Market (WSJ)

Though some foreclosures are being delayed out of good intentions to help beleaguered homeowners, "some analysts believe the delays are prolonging the mortgage crisis and creating a growing 'shadow' inventory of pent-up supply that will eventually hit the market."

A Teflon Rally Running on Volume Fumes (Seeking Alpha, Babak)

Warning: "... this rally is the largest one powered by the least volume ..." Even crazier, an astonishing share of volume has been from a mere handful of stocks. See Liam Denning's "Smoke Signals From the Stock Rally" in the WSJ.

Prosecutors say half of Bernie Madoff's investors lost nothing in Ponzi scheme (NY Daily News)

MORE HEADLINES FOLLOW

Stern Speech Planned For U.N. (WashPost)

Barack Obama "will challenge world's leaders to live up to responsibilities even as they chastise the U.S." on climate change and, as one unnamed aide put it, other "global challenges." This is reportedly an excerpt from his speech, which as always will be delivered smoothly and sincerely and will be accepted with nothing more than forced, polite applause from the world's other top pols:

The Deadly Silence of The Electric Car (WashPost)

Pedestrians, beware!

China Cites 'Morals' in Its WTO Appeal (WSJ)

Ahead of G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, trade war escalates. U.S. slapped tariff on Chinese tires. Then China opened probes on imports of U.S. auto parts and chicken feet. Now China is claiming it needs to tax Hollywood products out of concern for "public morals."

Two Banks to Lessen Overdraft Penalties (WSJ)

BofA and J.P. Morgan Chase respond to pissed-off lawmakers, and customers temporarily benefit.

Climate Summit Concludes Where It Began (WSJ)

U.N. confab started with emissions of hot air from Obama and ended with puffs of smoke from both of the planet's biggest polluters, China and the U.S.

Google's digital books future clouds over (NY Post)

Harvard, NYU Law Students Left Hanging as Big Law Firms Slash Job Offers (Bloomberg)

Former Pariah Qaddafi's U.S. Trip Seals Courtship of Libyan Oil (Bloomberg)

He bombed in New York because of Lockerbie, but Exxon and other firms love the oily dictator.

Dumb And Dumber (Zero Hedge, Tyler Durden)

In the "competition as to who will print the most money & debt to manufacture artificial growth rage, the US and the UK seem to be our two finalists."