The US lags in global equity market performance year-to-date. (Bespoke, ibid)

“Volatility analysis is very complicated. The genius of VIX is that it expresses something very complicated into a simple number that anyone can understand.” (Barron’s also Condor Options, Daily Options Report)

“If you want to be a prognosticator, then go on the record with specific advice. If not, then you should try to explain the economy as clearly as you can.” (Crossing Wall Street)

Fresh bearish talk from David Rosenberg. (The Pragmatic Capitalist, FT Alphaville)

Some investment themes are easier to play than others. (Random Roger)

How to lose money the right way. (TraderFeed)

Citigroup (C) will soon see buying pressure from index funds after preferred conversions. (Alea Blog)

What happened to Bank of America (BAC) shares prior to their huge secondary offering? (The Market Ticker, WSJ, Tickerville)

What should we make of news that John Paulson is dipping his toe in the real estate sector? (market folly)

Are quant managers still using the same factors? (Zero Hedge)

2009 IPOs have been moneymakers so far. (Bespoke)

An alternative way to play the emerging markets via the WisdomTree Dreyfus Emerging Market Currency Fund (CEW). (IndexUniverse)

A telling trade imbalance prevents the launch of the new MacroShares housing ETFs. (IndexUniverse, Caveman Forecaster)

Are “vulture investors” the next best hope for the housing market? (WSJ, 24/7 Wall St.)

The TARP repayment derby is on. (NYTimes, Dealscape, Dealbreaker)

The Treasury really doesn’t want to earn fair value for its TARP warrants. (Baseline Scenario, Clusterstock)

Should the banks be able to pay back their loans “no-strings attached“? (Big Picture)

Get ready for a “Financial Product Safety Commission.” (WashingtonPost, Felix Salmon, Clusterstock)

What will new legislation mean for consumers and the credit card industry? (EconLog, Felix Salmon, Ezra Klein, Curious Capitalist, Atlantic Business)

Is California too big to fail? (Megan McArdle)

Has Japan’s economy really reached bottom? (FT Alphaville, EconomPic Data)

Why is Washington insistent on plans that dance around the problem? Today’s example: CAFE standards. (Megan McArdle, Clusterstock)

The economic crisis has been a boon for behavioral economics. (Predictably Irrational)

Research indicates that blackjack players lost money by playing too conservatively as opposed to too aggressively. (Real Time Economics)

Don’t read too much into the life of Warren Buffett. “Americans love a winner, and they tend to extrapolate hard-won success in business into something larger: a philosophy of life, a deep wisdom, a link to larger cosmic forces.” (Dealscape also Ezra Klein)

“In coldly economic terms, you can make a case that calories are the single best candidate for a Pigovian tax.” (NYTimes)

The downside of using “most popular lists” generated on the Internet. (Numbers Guy)

Where are the bloggers in “Bailout Nation“? (Big Picture)

“In short, Twitter is the id, while Facebook is the ego.” (Information Arbitrage)

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