Low returns on cash are pushing investors into riskier assets.  (FT Alphaville)

Is the gold trade getting crowded?  (Rolfe Winkler)

Is the “distressed debt party” already over?  (All About Alpha)

On the use of stock screens:  “The problem is that most investors use these strategies only after a period of significant outperformance only to then suffer disappointing underperformance by doing so.”  (Kirk Report)

Historical comparison graphs “were kind of fun to look at a few months ago, but seriously, markets don’t trace out precise patterns from decades ago.”  (Crossing Wall Street)

How soon we forget.  A sub-20 VIX is quite high if you look at the paste decade or so.  (VIX and More)

Money is flowing back into ultra-short bond mutual funds.  (Morningstar)

“Every day you own an option that’s overpriced relative to the volatility realized in the underlying, you theoretically lose money.”  (Daily Options Report)

Is Warren Buffett at risk of being behind the curve?  (24/7 Wall St.)

On the benefits and drawbacks to using 13F filings instead of direct investing in a  hedge fund.  (World Beta)

“In trading, we see inertia when a position is obviously going against a trader, but the trader does not exit the position until an obvious stop out level is hit..”  (TraderFeed)

More notes from the Value Investing Congress.  (market folly)

How financial news and firm advertising affect subsequent stock returns.  (SSRN, ibid)

The yuan forward market anticipates a reset higher for the Chinese currency.  (The Money Game)

The US dollar, as a reserve currency, has problems, but what is the alternative?  (Daniel Drezner)

The Galleon Group winds down (no bailout required).  (DealBook, DailyFinance)

Paul Volcker is pounding the table on de-risking banks.  Is any one listening?  (NYTimes also Baseline Scenario, Big Picture)

The Hank Paulson-Goldman Sachs (GS) connection stinks.  (Felix Salmon, Economist’s View)

How much weight should we put on predictions of deflation based on current unemployment levels?    (Econbrowser)

“Good people don’t get very far in Washington.”  (DJ Market Talk)

“Do lower health care costs mean higher wages?”  (Ezra Klein)

No wonder enrollment in community colleges is jumping.  (Economix also Atlantic Business)

Cash on the balance sheet is both a boon and a bother for the tech giants Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL).  (Infectious Greed)

A look at the best books on the financial crisis.  (New York)

A roundtable takes a closer look at Andrew Ross Sorkin’s Too Big to Fail.  (The Big Money)

On the challenges of setting a blogging agenda:  “The more you study, the more intellectual hooks you find.  They all seem important.”  (A Dash of Insight)

Turning the tables.  An interview with Damien Hoffman of Wall St. Cheat Sheet.  (Behind the Spread)

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