The first catastrophe bond of the quarter closed on opening day ... and it was a big one. State Farm's Merna Re II transaction was good for $350 million in risk capital, upsized from the earlier reported amount of $250 million. Though large, it doesn't compare to the previous Merna Re catastrophe bond, which set a record at $1.2 billion that remains to be beat.

Merna Re II was oversubscribed, but State Farm only wanted to place $350 million, Thomson Reuters reports (registration required). According to one investor who knew about the transaction, "The deal was oversubscribed at +365 basis points and after being upsized to $350 million." The investor added, "The initial price talk was 365 - 405 bp, but the deal got priced at 365 bp. However, Merna was a simple transaction and State Farm only wanted to place 350 million."

According to a recent nationwide survey conducted by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, the glory days of America's labor unions are fading. At least they're fading in the eyes of the general populace.

Speculation varies widely about the reasons for the tarnishing of organized labor's luster. However, the decline of union favor is quite real. The approval of labor unions has decreased across a very wide demographic cross section of America, including in union-oriented households.

Inflation. The Federal Reserve Chief and the governors believe it to be the worst of all possible scourges for the U.S. economy. The specter of it looms large as the government throws more and more money at problems like unemployment, mortgages, and bank bailouts. It would seem inflation is inevitable as that money sloshes around in the economy, driving up prices for fewer goods as manufacturers slow or stop production due to lack of demand. So what's an investor to do?

What would you call the previous decade? "The '00s" or "the Aughts"? Concerning the latter, that's what the 1900s were called. (True, it's hardly a phrase that rolls off one's lips. Maybe, given the rise of mobile technology, we should call the 00s "the Apps"?)

Of course, factors other than economics play a role in a decade's short-hand identifier, but in the modern era "the economic" dimension has carried the day more than a few times.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that the FBI is looking into a potential computer-security breach that resulted in the theft of tens of millions of dollars from Citibank by computer hackers.

These hackers appear to be linked to a Russian cyber gang who targeted Citigroup's (C) Citibank subsidiary, including its North American retail bank and other businesses. This attack was detected over the summer, but there is a chance that it could have happened as much as a year earlier.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) issued its statement indicating again that interest rates will remain low for an extended period of time. The decision was unanimous.

The Fed continues to avoid any potential language which could disrupt the financial markets. Chairman Bernanke, a student of the Great Depression, does not want to do anything to damage the current stabilization in the economy.