Links 8/19/09

‘Social networks’ may help devils BBC

Building block of life found on comet Reuters (hat tip reader John D)

Systemic Risk: Is it Black Swans or Market Innovations? Institutional Risk Analyst

The Specter of Debt Revolt Is Haunting Europe: Why Iceland and Latvia Won’t (and Can’t) Pay for the Kleptocrats’ Ripoffs Michael Hudson (hat tip reader Crocodile Chuck)

In Appraisal Shift, Lenders Gain Power and Critics New York Times

Scholes, Fellow Laureate Merton Call for Better Bank-Asset Data Bloomberg

Floating storage reaches record levels Lloyd’s List (hat tip reader Michael)

Replay of 1930? Jim Hamilton

Regulators urged Citi to replace CFO Financial Times. He was pretty lame.

Unidentified Pretend Economist Mark Thoma

Antidote du jour:

Female bonding helps feral horses to survive, according to research. Scientists from the University of Pretoria in South Africa report in the journal PNAS that social integration between unrelated female horses increases the birth rate of foals, and reduces “harassment” by aggressive males