Quote of the day

Tsachy Mishal, “Many hedge funds are so focused on avoiding losses that they do not allow themselves to make any money.”  (Capital Observer)

Chart of the day

AAPL Price to Earnings Less Cash TTM Chart

AAPL Price to Earnings Less Cash TTM data by YCharts

At today’s prices which would you rather own: Apple ($AAPL) or Microsoft ($MSFT)?  (Peridot Capitalist also Alpha Now)

Markets

Catching up on 2012’s investing fads and themes.  (The Reformed Broker)

Why you should ignore stock recommendations in magazines and newspapers.  (Big Picture)

The world is overbought and investors are bullish.  (Bespoke, ibid)

Why are gold prices in a funk?  (FT Alphaville, Zero Hedge, Phil Pearlman, Market Anthropology)

Agriculture

Post-drought, grain prices really haven’t come down much.  (research puzzle pix)

What companies are driving the trend towards “precision agriculture“?  (Alpha Now)

Strategy

Why do random portfolios outperform the index?  (Rick Ferri)

After-tax returns matter.  (Fortune, Systematic Relative Strength)

Hedge funds

Bill Ackman is none too impressed with business of Herbalife ($HLF).  (Dealbreaker)

Hedge fund trades that paid off in 2012.  (FT)

John Paulson is losing investor support.  (Reuters)

Hedge funds have become a lucrative game for managers, but not for clients.  (Economist, In Pursuit of Value)

Finance

ICE ($ICE) to acquire NYSE Euronext ($NYX).  (WSJ, Dealbook)

Why the NYSE is pretty irrelevant these days.  (Felix Salmon also Quartz)

Do we really want “private equity for the masses.”  (Fortune)

What happens when the Transaction Account Guarantee program expires?  (FT Alphaville)

ETFs

Gen Y hearts ETFs.  (InvestmentNews)

In defense of currency ETFs.  (IndexUniverse)

Global

The Bank of Japan is doubling down on quantitative easing.  (FT, Global Macro Monitor)

Check out how well Mexico’s economy has been doing.  (Bonddad Blog)

Economy

Q3 GDP was revised higher again.  (Bloomberg, GEI)

Weekly initial unemployment claims continue to flat line.  (Calculated Risk, Bespoke, Capital Spectator)

What is FedEx ($FDX) telling us about the economy?  (Pragmatic Capitalism also Quartz)

Ten comforting charts.  (Calafia Beach Pundit)

What’s going on with rail traffic?  (ValuePlays)

Optimism on housing’s impact on the 2013 economy.  (Wonkblog)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

Here is why you shouldn’t buy my book, Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies from the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere.  (Insider Monkey)

Fifteen essential financial websites and blogs.  (Above the Market)

Technology

The surge in seed fundings will leave a bunch of companies without Series A funding.  (Pando Daily, TechCrunch)

Why touch screens will not take over the world.  (Scientific American)

Eight great technologies from 2012.  (Slate)

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