The smart money turned out to be not all that smart.  (Portfolio.com)

When Bernie Madoff may have gone off the rails.  (Market Movers)

Why did Madoff do it?  (Daily Beast)

These guys are all over the Madoff story.  Too many posts to link.  (Clusterstock)

More signs of tough times in the world of alternative investments.  (WSJ.com, ibid, DealBook)

Ohhhh, my aching tech stocks.  (Silicon Alley Insider)

Bond market performance is hitting the wall.  (MarketBeat)

“[Market signals] all involve probabilities, and they all work until they don’t.”  (Daily Options Report)

The TED spread is at its lowest level since Lehman died.  (Crossing Wall Street)

Quants are still in demand.  (Reuters.com via naked capitalism)

“You must have a game plan for what can REALLY go wrong in 2009.”  (Howard Lindzon)

10 ETF predictions for 2009.  (ETF Trends)

2009 Dividend Aristocrats.  (Disciplined Approach)

The basics of price charts.  (Afraid to Trade)

“The bottom line is that the answer to successful trading cannot be found in any coach, book, or system. Success is something that is cultivated over time, with directed effort.”  (TraderFeed)

Weak reports for both new and existing home sales. (Calculated Risk, ibid)

Demand for everything has dropped.  (Mish)

“One of the challenges of an export-driven economy is that when your consumers (Americans and Europeans) stop buying, you have few direct tools to get them buying again.”  (Baseline Scenario)

“The Fed is lending on terms that private banks are not willing to offer. ”  (WSJ.com also Economist’s View)

“Blogging made me a better trader.”  (MarketSci Blog)

What Barry learned writing his new book.  (Big Picture)

Happy holidays.  (Abnormal Returns)

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