BRICs lead country stock performance YTD.  (Bespoke)

By one measure, the percentage of stocks above their 10 day moving average, the stock market is once again overbought.  (Jack Damn)

John Paulson is sweet on takeover target Cadbury (CBY).  (market folly)

Signs of a turn in insider transactions.  (greenfaucet)

Another area where leveraged ETFs fall down:  tax distributions.  (Morningstar)

Secondary prices for hedge fund stakes have yet to rebound to pre-crisis levels.  (FT Alphaville)

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock (BLK), is bullish or confused or both.  (The Pragmatic Capitalist also Curious Capitalist)

Active asset allocation beats buy-and-hold.  (Big Picture)

A survey of investor attitudes shows growing optimism and need for further education.  (Scottrade Research)

Larry Ribstein, “Event studies generally are a staple of the finance literature. But how accurate are these studies?”  (Ideoblog)

On the inverse relationship between returns and volatility. (Condor Options)

The largest technology companies have a vast pool of cash to spend on acquisitions.  (24/7 Wall St.)

No matter how the recovery plays out, inventories are way down and will have to be refreshed at some point.  (Jeff Matthews also The Pragmatic Capitalist)

“Black Friday has gone from a one-day event to a month-long parade of promotions this year, as retailers are making a dash for early holiday cash.”  (Real Time Economics)

Should we expect a turn in the jobs market given strength in the stock market?  (EconomPic Data)

Will rising oil prices derail the recovery?  (Econbrowser)

Financial-related white collar jury trials are never a slam dunk.  Some reactions to acquittals in the Bear Stearns case.  (NYTimes, Bloomberg, Clusterstock, The Reformed Broker)

[AIG CEO] Benmosche’s “overweening contempt” for the government is impressive.  (naked capitalism also Deal Journal)

Frederick Sheehan, “Alan Greenspan was the kingpin in the impoverishment of the American people.”  (Big Picture)

Charlie Gasparino, Don’t forget Bob Rubin’s role in laying the groundwork for the financial crisis.  (Huffington Post)

The Fed’s independence is also a cause of public distrust.  (Economist’s View)

A new 1136 page thriller.  No not the new Stephen King novel.  It’s Chris Dodd’s draft financial regulation overhaul.  (Real Time Economics, Washington Post, Dealbreaker, Rortybomb, Felix Salmon, Aleph Blog)

Robert Pozen on how to fix the financial system.  (Felix Salmon, Marginal Revolution)

Rating agencies are slow to close the ratings gap between developed and emerging countries.  (WSJ, FT Alphaville)

Richard Barley, “Japan’s debt problem is becoming urgent. It is grappling with issues other governments such as the U.S. and the U.K. will face, but is much further down the road already.”  (WSJ)

Paul Kedrosky, “..if thing X was supposed to be priced in commodity Y, it would be priced in commodity Y…”  (Infectious Greed)

Scott Adams, “I wonder if you could make money by investing in whatever companies make you angriest.”  (Dilbert Blog)

An interview with Chad Brand of the Peridot Capitalist.  (Behind the Spread)

Jeff Jarvis, “Sure, even in the huggy ecosystem, companies fight and compete. But in an ecosystem-based economy, companies benefit – they find efficiency and growth – by working collaboratively.”  (BuzzMachine)

Universities with the best media buzz.  (Atlantic Business)

The war on e-mail spam has been largely won.  (The Big Money)

Would Babe Ruth thrive in modern baseball?  Newish statistical techniques allow analysts to compare results from different time periods.  (WSJ)

Testing just how big an effect the ideas in Moneyball had on baseball. (Sabernomics)

Black swan avoidance:  how to avoid an untimely demise.  (Body by Science via kottke)

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