Thanks to all of our new readers, we hope you find these links of interest.

Aaron Lucchetti at the Wall Street Journal reports that the Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ) borrowed the funds it needed to purchase a near 15% stake in the London Stock Exchange. Dealbook highlights the credit ratings hit Nasdaq will take with this leverage.

By no means is the hunt for control of the LSE over. The NYSE Group (NYX) is according to reports trying to purchase their own stake in LSE from a number of hedge funds.

Carol J. Loomis at Fortune reports that the pension management arm of General Motors (GM) has been quite a profit center for the troubled company. The strong performance is due in part to their embrace of alternative investments.

Apparently GM is not alone in their ardor for alternatives. Dealbook reports on the speech by a high Treasury Department official endorsing the role that alternative investments can play within pension funds.

Barry Ritholtz notes anecdotal evidence that the market is getting a bit frothy. Forthcoming investment banking IPOs and strong retail volume demonstrate the growing market bandwagon.

Despite this domestic evidence, Matthew Lynn at Bloomberg.com sees four reasons why the European stock markets are by no means going up.

We certainly couldn't let a day go by without some mention of ethanol and alternative energy. Joanna Glasner at Wired.com summarizes the current state of the ethanol marketplace. Claudia H. Deutsch at the New York Times reports the chemical industry is looking at alternative feed stock, coal, in light of the rapid rise in oil and natural gas prices.

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