A number of items popped up on our radar screen today. A sampling follows:

Just as Cramer’s profile rises, so does the scrutiny of his public record. CXO Advisory Group risks the wrath of the legions of James Cramer fans by analyzing his picks from New York magazine. In short, they do not find much to brag about in his publicly recorded stock picks.

Scott Berry at Morningstar.com has very modest expectations for the bond market in 2006. However, some pockets of opportunity may lie in the muni market and good old fashioned cash.

Roger Nusbaum in TheStreet.com believes the PowerShares Aerospace and Defense Index Fund (PPA) is a worthy addition to a portfolio in a world with increasing geopolitical risk.

IndexUniverse.com has some links to a truly, comprehensive global ETF database.

John Hussman at Hussman Funds still does not see much to like in today’s equity markets.

Paul B. Farrell at Marketwatch.com pulls together a series of “lazy portfolios” for your review.

Apparently one size does not fit all. Jennifer Hughes at the FT.com notes the rise in trading volume for the universe of mini-futures contracts.

Another piece of research from Agile Investing shows large caps and growth stocks to be preferable to small caps and value at this point in time.

Bloomberg.com reports on the continuing puzzle of strong economic growth with poor wage gains.

James Hamilton at Econbrowser.com explains why academic economists still have some use for the neoclassical framework despite the scads of research showing that homo economicus is not all that rational.

Off topic, but any piece by James Surowiecki is worth noting. At Slate.com he interviews a producer of the hit TV show “24” on a the intricacies of creating a unique, episodic television show.

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