Saturday links: taxing bets

• abnormalreturns
• November 3rd, 2012

No long form links today, just another abbreviated set of daily links. We will get back to our regular schedule next week.

Quote of the day

Alex Tabarrok, “A bet is a tax on bullshit; and it is a just tax, tribute paid by the bullshitters to those with genuine knowledge.”  (Marginal Revolution)

Chart of the day

Let’s hope this marks the end of the patent bubble.  (Howard Lindzon)

Markets

Uh oh. Dividend funds are front page news at Barron’s.  (Barron’s)

Junk bonds are expensive and managers are very bullish,  (iShares Blog, Focus on Funds)

Earning expectations continue to sink.  (Sober Look)

Major asset class performance for October.  (Capital Spectator)

The stock market and the economy are out of synch.  (VIX and More)

Strategy

Why have hedge funds have underperformed in 2012.  (Big Picture, Reuters)

Why don’t more investors rebalance regularly?  (Barron’s)

The Fed’s safety net is not a true “margin of safety.”  (Distressed Debt Investing)

Barry on the “high price of paying attention.”  (Big Picture)

Companies

Why no one wants to compete against Amazon ($AMZN).  (Slate)

AIG ($AIG) will soon be independent again.  (Businessweek)

A lot of money is going to get wasted in online education.  (Quartz)

Berkshire Hathaway

Buffett buys novelty maker Oriental Trading.  (Businessweek)

Berkshire Hathaway is still under water on the equity index puts it wrote.  (Money Game)

Should you mimic Warren Buffett, even if you can?  (WSJ)

Funds

An overview of the ETF index battle.  (WSJ)

Investors continue to throw money at tactical funds.  (WSJ)

Economy

The October employment report was a move in the right direction.  (Tim Duy, Felix Salmon, Bonddad Blog)

Are the Fed’s actions all that out of the norm?  (macroblog)

The economics of natural disasters.  (Conversable Economist)

Mixed media

Modern societies have forgotten about the power of the sea.  (The Atlantic)

Wildlife is on the rebound in the US often to the chagrin to homeowners.  (WSJ)

Thanks for checking in with Abnormal Returns. You can follow us on StockTwits and Twitter.

Abnormal Returns is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. If you click on my Amazon.com links and buy anything, even something other than the product advertised, I earn a small commission, yet you don't pay any extra. Thank you for your support.

The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.

blog comments powered by Disqus