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Quote of the day

Felix Salmon, “People are going to make money from your social connections whether you like it or not.”  (Reuters)

Chart of the day

Don’t look now but utilities are back to their old highs.  (StockCharts Blog)

Markets

On the relationship between market volatility and returns.  (SurlyTrader)

A look at the recent rise in 10-year Treasury yields.  (Bespoke)

One of these days sugar is going to bounce back.  (The Long Side of Short)

Stock and bond drawdowns compared.  (Pragmatic Capitalism)

Strategy

When the EMH butts up against “impressive individuals.”  (Barnejek’s Blog via @TheStalwart)

Why we fear simple money solutions.  (Bucks Blog)

The “Sharp Ratio” redefined.  (Cassandra Does Tokyo)

Asset allocation

Are all-weather portfolios a viable alternative to balanced portfolios?  (LearnBonds also MPI)

Why all the interest in risk parity portfolios now of all times?  (Systematic Relative Strength)

Are tactical asset allocation strategies doomed?  (MarketSci Blog)

Apple

Why did Tim Cook bother with the Goldman Sachs conference?  (Howard Lindzon)

Is Apple getting “consumed by the strange world of Wall Street“?  (Dealbook)

Tim Cook on why Apple ($AAPL) is still the leader in tech. Except for that whole service thing.  (SAI, Fortune)

Is David Einhorn right to push Apple around?  (Dealbreaker)

A look back at prior Apple stock “swoons.”  (YCharts Blog)

A look at the performance Apple stores.  (Asymco)

Dell

Investor opposition to the Dell deal grows.  (Term Sheet, WSJ, Dealbook)

Why one party should like to see the Dell ($DELL) deal go kaput.  (Dealbreaker)

When public companies go private do they do any better?  (Mark Hulbert)

Finance

The big banks always win, again.  (Dealbook)

Hedge fund investors are the only sure losers in the Herbalife ($HLF) fight.  (Bloomberg)

Endowment funds have lost their edge in private equity.  (peHUB)

ETFs

Blackrock ($BLK) is by far and away the big foot in Euro ETFs.  (FT, ibid)

Bond ETFs have become the new go-to source of bond liquidity.  (Institutional Investor also Reuters)

Global

The search for yield has shifted to Euro junk.  (WSJ)

Local currency emerging market debt is riskier than you think.  (Institutional Investor)

Who are the big players in the global currency war?  (FT Alphaville)

Start looking for a jump in IPOs in Japan.  (Deal Journal)

Economy

January retail sales were likely affected by the increase in the payroll tax. More to come?  (Capital Spectator, Bonddad Blog, RTE)

The Fed is now sitting on a $3 trillion balance sheet.  (RTE)

Are we really in a debt crisis or an abundance crisis?  (FT Alphaville)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

Target date bond ETFs and the changing nature of the marginal bond ETF “investor.”  (Abnormal Returns)

Mixed media

How that 30 Rock is off the air GE ($GE) is selling the rest of its NBCUniversal stake to Comcast ($CMCSA).  (WSJ)

Why an MBA may be a detriment to your startup.  (Quartz)

How 3-D printing will change the world.  (HBR)

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