John Spence in Marketwatch.com on the risk that ETF proliferation will turn into ETF “pollution” a topic we discussed earlier in a post entitled Orphan ETFs.

James Picerno at the Capital Spectator on the use of fundamental analysis of ETFs.

Satellite radio tries to pull off the ultimate bait-and-switch. Sirius (SIRI) and XM Satellite Ratio (XMSR) look to merge. (via Wall Street Journal)

Jeff Matthews is not the least bit surprised the deal occurred.

The U.S. equity market continues to lag other global markets. (via Ticker Sense)

Are global markets ignoring teeming geopolitical risks? (via FT Alphaville)

David Gaffen at MarketBeat on the decoupling of commodity prices and basic material stocks.

John Carney at DealBreaker.com on what the Harvard Business School indicator is telling us about private equity.

Adam Warner at the Daily Options Report tries to get a handle on the relationship between option sellers, the VIX and the market.

All About Alpha with a guest column on the vital importance of “homework” on alpha generation.

How are hedge funds like JetBlue (JBLU)? (via Barrons.com)

Eddy Elfenbein at Crossing Wall Street on the many uses of the word “risk.”

Mark Hulbert in the New York Times on the effectiveness of hedge fund activists, a topic we touched on previously.

Roger Ehrenberg at Information Arbitrage on the “tough, tough game” that is shareholder activism.

Nice profile in the New York Times by Geraldine Fabrikant of David Swensen and his “selfless” management of the Yale University endowment fund.

Jeff Miller at A Dash of Insight on the (many) challenges facing novice DIY systems traders.

Infrastructure investing as a separate and distinct asset class. (via FT Alphaville)

Has London’s real estate market (finally) topped out ? (via DealBook)

Microsoft’s Windows Vista is an industry-wide disappointment. (via Big Picture)

Environmentalism is on the rise. Australia to phase out the incandescent light bulb. Boston is requiring new commercial buildings to be LEED-certified. However individuals who buy greenhouse gas offsets may be getting a lot less than they bargained for.

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