Breakfast Briefing: Mortgage Mods, Banks, Fed, Bribery, SPY, Housing Prices Fall

• Lower modified mortgage payments means fewer redefaults - money.cnn
• Ahead of Meeting, Small Banks Advise Obama on Lending Opportunities - foxbusiness
• The Peoples' Revolt in Iran - online.wsj

• Tracking Vital Signs With a Smart Phone - online.wsj
• U.S. stocks seen rising in early part of 2010 - marketwatch
• Study: "Bailoutability" Of Crappy Banks Depends Most on Federal Reserve Ties - zerohedge

• S&P 500 on the cusp of its first-ever down decade - investmentnews
• OPEC to Leave Output Unchanged: President - cnbc
• Bribery in the U.S. Senate sets a new low point - ritholtz

• Beware the Taxpayer Bailout of Underfunded Teamsters Pension Funds - globaleconomicanalysis
• LoanPerformance: House Prices Fall 0.7% in October - calculatedriskblog
• Master Chart Of Airlines Fees - consumerist

• The Death of the Second (Third?) Golden Age of Private Equity? - zerohedge
• China Does Not Expect Rapid Export Rebound for 2010 - cnbc
• Bond prices fall as Dow rises 100 points, yield curve widens - Dec. 21, 2009 - money.cnn

• Dubai Financial Markets to buy Nasdaq Dubai - marketwatch
• F for Effort - online.wsj
• At 281 bps, 2s10s Hit Another All Time Record Wide - zerohedge

• House Price Indices: Case-Shiller and LoanPerformance - calculatedriskblog
• The Healthcare Bill Does Nothing To Solve The Looming Medicare-Induced Fiscal Crisis - businessinsider
• A Simple Recipe for Making Money - smartmoney