On the value of having to think for yourself.  (Dasan)

“..there is no holy grail for traders…There isn’t a single method which is a surefire way to make money. Not one.”  (Slope of Hope)

Trading is practically free these days.  Trade as if we were not. (Abnormal Returns also Curious Capitalist, TraderFeed)

Checking in on four potential warning signs for the market.  (Marketwatch)

The end of flash orders nears.  (WSJ)

More signs that hedge funds are on their way back.  (WSJ, ibid)

“Investors have the same problem assessing hedge fund managers that they do with managers of actively managed mutual funds: determining whether good returns come from skill or luck. In fact, deeper secrecy makes the job even harder with hedge funds.”  (NYTimes)

Maybe this is why AIG (AIG) stock has been rallying.  (DealBook)

“Will Citigroup (C) turn loose its $100 million man, Andrew J. Hall?”  (NYTimes)

“In short, VaR, we think, is very useless but it’s not very irrelevant.”  (FT Alphaville)

“Balance sheets are tools, not people or forces of nature. And a good craftsman never blames his tools.”  (Slate)

For management, “having a lot of cash is a good problem to have. But it is still a problem.”  (Morningstar)

High yield bond mutual funds are up some 31% year-to-date.  (Money & Co.)

An alternative read on what the Fed funds futures market is telling us.  (Econbrowser)

“..the Treasury spread has been above 2% for the last 17 months, a pattern consistent with the economic recoveries following the last six recessions…”  (Carpe Diem)

The number of people employed fell, while the unemployment rate declined.  (Market Talk, Calculated Risk, Atlantic Business, EconomPic Data, Floyd Norris)

Some still criticize the BLS birth/death model.  Are they right?  (A Dash of Insight)

“The problem wasn’t the tools that macroeconomists use, it was the questions that we asked. The major debates in macroeconomics had nothing to do with the possibility of bubbles causing a financial system meltdown.”  (Free exchange)

A low interest rate environment is not sufficient for bubbles to form.  (The Stash)

“Much faster growth than expected is, of course, in today’s context a good thing.  But it also brings complications.  If you keep monetary policy this loose for much longer, you will feed bubbles.”  (Baseline Scenario)

“Economics gets its large and defining role in our world through the shamanistic believe that prediction is possible; call this the Greenspan Effect.”  (Dealscape)

Congress is engaging in its own stimulus plan by upgrading its fleet of jets.  (WSJ)

China has backed itself into a corner.  (Research Reloaded also ContrarianEdge)

Have you stress-tested your fundamental investment assumptions recently?  (Abnormal Returns)

An interview with trader Smita Sadana.  (Wall St. Cheat Sheet)

Dear Joe Kernen, “Nature abhors a vacuum, and since you guys in the MSM created one, we stepped in to fill the void.”  (Big Picture)

“NBC’s mantra is that since not 100% of everything ever posted online was true, you shouldn’t trust anything.”  (Daily Options Report)

The lessons from Moneyball have been learned much to the detriment of small market teams.  (Sports Illustrated via Idea of the Day)

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