Quote of the day

Jonah Lehrer, “It doesn’t matter if we’re holding forth on birth certificates or tax policy – we can’t help but discount and disregard facts that contract what we’d like to believe.”  (The Frontal Cortex)

Chart of the day

Fears of an extended NFL lockout have yet to hit the stock price of Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD).  (WSJ)

Markets

Jeremy Grantham and the “one-way” commodities bet.  (The Source, Money Game, ROI, Trader’s Narrative)

A look at the surge in IPO filings in April.  (IPO Home)

Calendar based sector effects and why you don’t want to own tech in the summer.  (CXO Advisory Group)

A potential solution to the Cushing problem.  (FT Alphaville)

Strategy

A better way to play silver:  volatility.  (VIX and More)

When mean reversion disappears.  (Dynamic Hedge)

They call it ‘risk arbitrage‘ for a reason.  (InvestmentNews)

CTAs as “crisis insurance.”  (All About Alpha)

How to talk options.  (InvestorPlace)

Companies

Why are investors unwilling to pay up for Apple (AAPL) earnings?  (Asymco also YCharts Blog)

After this week no wonder Amazon (AMZN) is spending to beef up its web services business.  (WSJ also Castellano)

Why did the TiVo (TIVO) lose while the iPod won?  (Fortune Tech)

Mmmm…beer, stocks that is.  (Dragonfly Capital)

Finance

Kid Dynamite, “Again, if algos or anything/anyone else is causing a disconnect between market prices and real asset values, that’s an opportunity for everyone else – an inefficiency created for us to exploit.”  (Kid Dynamite)

A two-part series on the mechanics of levered short Treasury ETFs.  (Symmetrical Info, ibid)

Alpha options are a product looking for a market opportunity.  (Outside the Box)

Can funds really offset the costs of contango?  (IndexUniverse)

Hedge fund managers as political rebels.  (NetNet)

Global

A glance at global long term Treasury yields.  (Bespoke)

Just in case Greece has been off your radar screen.  (Smart Money Europe, Credit Writedowns)

Another Chinese reverse stock merger gets called into question.  (Bronte Capital)

Economy

A pop in durable goods.  (Carpe Diem)

Homeownership rates have dropped down to 1998 levels.  (Calculated Risk)

Visualizing the last decade in housing prices.  (Visualizing Economics)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

Yum! Brands (YUM) has huge exposure to China, but does it really trade like a Chinese stock?  (AR Screencast)

Our Wednesday morning live link look-in.  (Abnormal Returns)

Mixed media

Jeff Matthews talks about his new book Secrets in Plain Sight:  Business & Investing Secrets of Warren Buffett.  (Daily Ticker)

Three more financial iPad app reviews.  (VIX and More)

There are entrepreneurs and everyone else.  (Chris Dixon, TechCrunch)

Leo Kolivakis, “Blogging seems easy but those who do it properly know it takes a lot of dedication and a lot of work.”  (Pension Pulse)

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