This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

• Richard Ennis (CFA Institute): The uncorrelated return myth, November/December 2009.

• Peter Clarke (Financial Times): How to avoid a repeat of the Great Crash, October 28, 2009. The chain of events leading from a collapse in stock prices on Wall Street to a Great Depression has leapt from history with an entirely fresh verisimilitude. John Authers (Financial Times): GDP grows, but pain remains, October 29, 2009. US GDP numbers were a good enough reason to halt the return of risk aversion, but the key to whether risk appetite can return depends on US employment data.

• Economist.com: As joyless recovery, October 29, 2009. New figures suggest that America has at last moved out of recession.

This post features a three-part video interview with Jan Hatzius, chief US economist for Goldman Sachs, by Aline van Duyn, FT’s US Markets Editor. Whether you like Goldman or not, Hatzius is worthwhile viewing material.

Part 1: Hatzius on US growth Hatzius expects “the second half of 2009 … to be quite strong” but “in 2010 we’ll probably see some renewed deceleration in growth”. He sees temporary measures including the inventory cycle and the fiscal stimulus as being responsible for “growth in the second half of 2009, but … by late 2010 that number is going to be somewhere around zero”.

Click here or on the image below to view Part 1 of the video clip.

Part 2: Hatzius on US rates Hatzius sees “no rate hikes … through the end of

The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to cut rates tomorrow (Wednesday), possibly in conjunction with central bank counterparts in Europe, as fears of a global recession have intensified. However, the Fed has little room to maneuver as its benchmark Federal Funds rate is already at 2% and analysts remain skeptical that reducing it any further keep the United States from sliding into a prolonged recession.

The next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled for tomorrow Wednesday Oct. 29. There is no doubt that growth will be the central issue of the committee’s discussion, as fears of a global recession are intensifying alongside deteriorating economic data.

The British Office for National Statistics’ said Friday that, after a flat second quarter, U.K. gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.5% in the three months ended Sept. 30. There’s little doubt that other European nations have already succumbed to recession, and the near

It won’t be pretty folks. If Goldman and Shilling are right, and historically housing bubbles have always deflated back to about where they started, consumer spending will die out and we’ll see a recession by early next year.

Gary Shilling, who I chatted with today for this piece for CNBC and who is quoted below, thinks we will see a recession due to the housing crunch by the end of the year. Good luck folks.

If you think the decline in home prices is bad now, just wait.

There has been much talk about Federal Reserve policy and rates this past week and about their value and impact on the stock and bond markets. This article is intended to clarify and illustrate some of the terms and current conditions.Last week William Poole, President of the St. Louis Federal reserved said that the subprime mortgage situation doesn’t threaten U.S. economic growth, and that only a “calamity” would justify change at this time.