Bloomberg’s reporting that the advent of encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal have ushered in an era of out-of-control secret (and potentially illegal) texting on Wall Street – Bloomberg

Dealbook’s Common Sense takes the long view when evaluating the Sears/Eddie Lampert era, noting that while ESL Investments isn’t dead yet, its long-term bet on Sears and Kmart sure looks pretty bad – NYTimes

The Fed’s eyeing the troubling rise of subprime auto debt, and it’s particularly worried about America’s South – WSJ

Foreclosure stats are a far cry from their heights in the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis. But the big news in the industry is the rise of party players that were barely a blip on the scene (if around at all) 10 years ago, including the PE-affiliated Lone Star Funds, mortgage lender PennyMac, and I bank Goldman Sachs – NYTimes

Market interest for long-term bonds (of the 30-50-year variety) is so strong that even rising interest rates won’t do much to yields for some time – WSJ

Our Billy Walters insider-trading update for the week includes a government exhibit linking calls to insiders with stock trades (and a Lefty mention) – Law360

The China Effect . . . on Australia – Bloomberg

Access to state- and local-led retirement accounts for those without 401ks and pensions?  Not any more – NYTimes

Landesbank Baden-Wuertemmberg’s $40 million toxic MBS suit against Wells Fargo (on Wachovia CDOs) is officially kaput – Law360

So, that’s Lloyds of London of Brussels, then? – Bloomberg

The headlines have been noticeably free of splashy data breach headlines of late, but it turns out that cybercrime is scarily on the rise—with ransomware attacks netting criminals more than $1 billion last year – WSJ

Where’s the beef?  For Mickey D’s, not always in the freezer any more – NYTimes [Not that everyone (hey, Red) is impressed – Mashable]

Have a great weekend.