Contrarian signals pile up.  What does it all add up to?  (market folly)

Credit markets are no longer supportive.  (WSJ.com also The Stash)

“I do not believe the bears will throw in the towel all at once, but will slowly lose interest as the pickings become slimmer.”  (VIX and More)

Index volatility isn’t where “it should be” because stock correlations have fallen.  (Daily  Options Report)

On the dynamics of the oil futures market.  (FT Alphaville also Information Arbitrage)

A closer look at short term bond ETFs.  (IndexUniverse.com)

Hedge funds are modifying their fee arrangements to help make it through these tough times.  (WSJ.com)

As is the experience with traditional open-end mutual funds, hedge fund investors realize returns far lower than reported returns.  (CXO Advisory Group)

Just how big is the global hedge fund industry?  (All About Alpha)

“Derivatives have the potential to create a rent-seeking structure that is unparalleled in human history.  No society can afford to allow that kind of financial system to operate.”  (Baseline Scenario)

“Fix whats broken, namely the financial system. When that’s repaired, confidence will improve.”  (Big Picture, ibid)

“If gross world product is on the order of $50 trillion, that’s $2.5 trillion of real economic output foregone as a result of this financial and economic crisis — in just one year.”  (Market Movers)

“The end of the credit-card boom isn’t going to wreak as much havoc as the end of the housing boom. But it is helping to put a brake on our spending. And, at this point, every little bit hurts.”  (NewYorker.com)

For better or worse, there is a learning curve to reading economics blogs.  (Free exchange)

Ten newspapers that might go away in 2009 and how we might fix things.  (24/7 Wall St., NYTimes.com)

Market turmoil and a healthy dose of controversy have helped CNBC’s ratings.  (NYTimes.com also Marketwatch.com)

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