High frequency trading is now a dominant force in stock market trading.  (MarketBeat)

“Stock buybacks by S&P 500 companies plummeted 73% in the first three months of 2009.”  (Barron’s)

David Ellison once again likes the banks.  (WSJ)

The investor sentiment picture is becoming a bit muddled.  (Trader’s Narrative, Technical Take)

The VIX is approaching its seasonal low for the year.  (VIX and More)

In praise of John Bogle and his revolutionary advice for the many.  (MarketSci Blog)

Why do we keep blaming the efficient markets hypothesis?  (Clusterstock)

“Markets aren’t always rational but that is not the same as saying it is rational for the average investor to spend money trying to beat them.”  (Free exchange)

Tick size matters.  (Alea Blog)

Libor isn’t what it used to be.  (Zero Hedge)

Research indicates the stock picks of hedge funds are only marginally better than mutual fund picks.  (Barron’s)

Investors should have the choice of actively managed ETFs.  (ETF Trends)

How do the “hedge fund replication” ETFs work?  (Marketwatch)

Is CIC pouring good money after bad?  (Research Reloaded)

Goldman Sachs (GS) is back in the big bonus business.  (Guardian.co.uk)

“Regulation that recognizes the limits of human rationality is an idea whose time has come.”  (WSJ)

“But if a company is too big to fail, should it be considered too big to exist?”  (NYTimes also Free exchange)

“In finance, the power to stop crises is often the power to prevent them.”  (Atlantic Business)

“Anxiety is mounting that the Federal Reserve’s core mission, controlling prices, may be jeopardized by government plans to enhance its power as a financial regulator.” (Real Time Economics also Aleph Blog)

Put the bank TARP warrants up for bid.  (OptionsHouse via howardlindzon)

When is financial innovation, actually innovative?  (Rortybomb)

Bear Stearns should have been allowed to go under.  (Clusterstock)

“The markets’ extraordinarily low expected inflation in January was both aberrant and worrisome — not today’s.”  (NYTimes)

On the relationship between consumer sentiment and retail gasoline prices.  (Econbrowser)

“This [Obama financial regulatory] proposal may mean the end of the bulge bracket’s retail dominance, but for many of us, we’ll look at it as a new beginning.”    (The Reformed Broker)

Finding the best option guys on Twitter.  (Daily Options Report)

Fred Wilson chats with Howard Lindzon.  (A VC)

“This second half of 2009 is going to see the first big battle of well-supported heavyweight smartphones, and I am not sure that Apple has done enough in the 3GS to live up to expectations.”  (Ultimi Barbarorum)

Steve Jobs had a liver transplant.  What should Apple (AAPL) have disclosed and when?  (WSJ also Daring Fireball)

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