There were some interesting things that happened between Friday and today. I’m not really sure what the best order to tackle these topics is, so I’ll just say what springs to my head first.

1. Moody’s downgraded Greece to Junk - This should not surprise anyone, except for those expecting an actual default a month before the downgrade.

2. Riddle Me This - Imagine if BP had provided some initial funds for a company owned by BP and two energy trusts to handle the Deepwater Horizon rig. I’m sure Goldman could have seen to it that each trust held 26% ownership, leaving BP just shy of majority. They could have had a nice exclusive purchasing agreement for the expected lifetime of the rig. Or, BP could have given up on any equity position, and funded the rig company entirely through debt financing. There are about a dozen different ways BP could have ended with the same disaster while avoiding liability for the oil geyser, each of which would have been insurable enterprises because of the liability cap. I expect a lot of talk from politicians about making sure this never happens again, but I expect the actual legislation to make forming such liability shields even easier in the future. In a way, this kind of disaster may never happen again. The next time it happens, the “responsible” company will simply go bankrupt, with no deep pockets to sue. You want a failure in risk management? Screw the safety procedures, the biggest failure at BP was managing to be legally liable for such a catastrophe in the first place.

3. Jail for Unpaid Debt a Reality in Six States - Debtors’ prison in all but name.

4. Still Crazy After All These Years - According to a well-respected housing index (inflation adjusted), housing prices are still high.

5. Are Cameras the New Guns? - Cops are never wrong.

6. Obama wants $50 billion for states - The bailout of states continues.

7. DiNapoli Warns State Legislature Against Pension Gimmick - Here’s an awesome idea: if a state pension fund is short a few billion dollars, leaving the state on the hook, just issue a few billion dollars in state bonds. But wait! Who will buy the bonds? The state pension fund, of course. This is the way of the future.

In other news, I have a cold. Thbbbbt!