Holiday book alert: for the the hard core investor on your list: Asset Management: A Systematic Approach to Factor Investing by Andrew Ang.

Quote of the day

Bill James, “Given an option to do so, all men prefer to reject information.”  (Arnold Kling)

Chart of the day

XLF_1214

The financials are catching a bid.  (The Reformed Broker)

Markets

Identifying some sectors ripe for a snapback rally.  (Humble Student)

Stock correlations are dropping.  (MoneyBeat)

What happens to stocks and bonds when the Fed starts raising interest rates?  (A Wealth of Common Sense)

Strategy

Why does everyone recommend complex portfolios?  (Oblivious Investor)

There’s no such thing as an ‘everything portfolio.’  (Alpha Baskets)

Is this four-factor model a better mousetrap?  (Larry Swedroe)

Companies

A primer on master limited partnerships (MLPs).  (All About Alpha)

Finance

Why the current pace of M&A should continue into the new year.  (Dealbook)

Banks are telling corporate customers to take their deposits elsewhere.  (WSJ, Pragmatic Capitalism)

Morgan Stanley ($MS) is going to pay more of their bonuses upfront this year.  (Dealbook)

ETFs

The new Cambria Global Asset Allocation ETF plans to charge zero fees.  (WSJ)

Socially responsible investing seems to be taking off, especially with younger investors.  (LA Times)

Not all bond funds are created alike during a financial crisis.  (Jonathan Clements)

Global

Ten charts on the state of the global economy?  (Short Side of Long)

Are the Fed’s hands tied by the global economy?  (Sober Look)

Economy

The macro-economic risk situation has stabilized.  (Capital Spectator)

Young workers are not changing jobs as often as previous generations.  (Wonkblog)

What Ben Bernanke knew about oil prices.  (Macrofugue)

How economists became so influential.  (Economist)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

Revisiting how this bull market got started.  (Abnormal Returns)

What you might have missed in our Sunday linkfest.  (Abnormal Returns)

Mixed media

Apple TV needs a refresh.  (Six Colors)

20 overlooked movies from 2014 including Obvious Child.  (The Daily Beast)

Ten comedies worth watching.  (Vox)

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