Dana Cimilluca at Deal Journal wonders whether the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) newly raised bid for the Chicago Board of Trade (BOT) is a “knockout blow.”

We are suckers for a good “anecdotal tell.” (via Daily Options Report)

Doug Kass at TheStreet.com with fifteen reasons why stocks should be falling.

Jeff Miller at A Dash of Insight on the issue of time frames and his bullish thesis.

Barry Ritholtz at the Big Picture on the drop in retail sales and what it says about the state of the economy.

So where is the U.S. economy going? (via FT Alphaville)

Christopher Davis at Morningstar.com says to “avoid these three investment mistakes.”

David Merkel at the Aleph Blog has a look at a dozen interest items.

Is venture capital an “…access class, not an asset class”? (via New York Times)

Greg Newton at NakedShorts on the importance of market-makers for more complex ETFs.

Felix Salmon at Market Movers on the real reason behind the changing of the guard at JetBlue (JBLU).

Kevin Kelleher at GigaOm.com on why the forthcoming Orbitz deal may be the “worst IPO of 2007.”

Steve Rosenbush at BusinessWeek.com on plans for yet another publicly traded private equity vehicle.

Accrued Interest looks at the scenarios surrounding a potential high-profile LBO.

FT Alphaville on the role of hedge funds in the rise of “legal arbitrage.”

Going Private on the issues surrounding the taxation of private equity firms’ “carried interest.”

Barry Barnitz at Asset Allocation has tracked down some new studies on the performance of socially responsible investment funds.

The Economist.com on how ethanol has changed the economy of corn states like Iowa.

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