Financial stocks have re-emerged as market leaders taking over for technology.  (VIX and More)

While, more calls emerge to avoid the bank stocks.  (ROI, TheStreet.com)

The Coppock Guide is poised to give a bullish signal for the S&P 500.  (Trader’s Narrative)

Jeremy Grantham on the sustainability of this rally. (Clusterstock, ibid)

“Looking at actual volatility, therefore, it is difficult to justify the VIX being barely a third as high today as it was last October.”  (Marketwatch.com)

Boise Inc. (BZ) looks like a leveraged “forestry hedge fund.”  (Jon Markman)

Is there a case to be made for junk bonds? (A Dash of Insight)

Hedge funds had a decent April, but CTA results fell.  (DealBook, FINalternatives)

A dozen rules for economists from David Rosenberg.  (Zero Hedge)

Investors beware.  “Guru” calls are a coin flip at best.  (CXO Advisory Group also Random Roger)

Firms that actually complete stock buybacks tend to outperform.  (Empirical Finance Research)

Hedging against inflation using standard asset classes is more difficult than it appears.  (SSRN.com)

“Private equity’s surprising resurgence is a study in managing through a downturn.”(BusinessWeek.com)

The stress tests could have been more stressful, in part because banks pleaded for lenience.  (WSJ.com, WashingtonPost.com, naked capitalism, Big Picture)

The “adverse scenario” contemplated in the stress tests is already here.  (Alea Blog, Atlantic Business, Economix)

Did the stress tests, however flawed, actually serve a useful purpose for the markets?  (WSJ.com, NYTimes.com, Capital Vandalism, Ryan Avent)

According to the stress test, GMAC is a mess.  Will it become a plaything for the Feds?  (Felix Salmon, WSJ.com)

Would “boring banks” be immune from bubbles?  (Clusterstock, Atlantic Business)

There is going to be plenty of deal revenue coming from bank equity offerings and M&A activity.  (Breakingviews)

Today’s April employment report was better than expected, but still bad.  (Felix Salmon, Economix, Real Time Economics, Big Picture, The Market Ticker, Capital Spectator, FiveThirtyEight.com, EconomPic Data)

A further rise in the ten year Treasury yield will likely push mortgage rates higher.  (Calculated Risk)

“But what if, just what if, the economy hasn’t turned the corner? What if job losses continue apace, residental mortgage defaults continue to rise and corporate bankruptcies spike.”  (Information Arbitrage)

On the relationship between “animal spirits” and the role of government.  (Clusterstock)

Prospect theory and a model of casino gambling.  (SSRN.com)

Have we overlooked an interesting post in the investment blogosphere? If so, feel free to drop Abnormal Returns a line.