Press run

Quant Jock:
For a personal look at one of the top quantitative traders and all-around renaissance man, see the WSJ lede today. Three point five billion dollars later, it is clear m* was seduced by the wrong crowd at Morgan Stanley in 1992.

Seattle Slumber:
For m*'s readers in the Pacific Northwest, a WSJ article on the travails at WaMu. Despite benefiting from one of the strongest regional growth economies, WaMu's lax lending standards are coming home to roost as the real estate bubble fades.

One and Done:
Bloomberg's notorious Fed watcher says what's been on m*'s mind too.

Soft Touch:
Raghuram Rajan makes his contribution in the FT to the Central Bank debate and comes across as the most reasonable man in the room thus far, thereby ensuring that probably no one will remember any of it come Monday.

Thats How Much:
How much liquidity do the ECB and the Fed need to give the banking system right now? How about 1 trillion for abcp and 300 billion for deal commitments. The FT's Lex column gives the brief overview that puts it all in perspective. (It's big, really big). No surprise then that banks raised $53bn through the debt markets last month, a record level for the month of August.