Dubai World defaults.   Volatility returns.  (WSJ, Calculated Risk, Aleph Blog, Barron’s, The Reformed Broker, VIX and More, The Money Game, Felix Salmon, Curious Capitalist)

Newsletter writers have become increasingly (and highly) bullish.  (Bespoke)

Individual investors are unusually bullish.  (The Pragmatic Capitalist)

Why are aluminum prices holding up?  (WSJ)

Is a bubble in emerging market debt brewing?  (Economist)

On the role of luck and skill in investing and poker.  (market folly)

“You can’t beat a bunch of supercomputers at their own game but not even a surfeit of supercharged silicon circuits can detect intrinsic value.”  (The Psy-Fi Blog)

How much of realized hedge fund alpha is legitimate?  (All About Alpha)

Hedge funds are playing a key role in propping up the capital at major banks.  (Dealbreaker)

Are institutional investors to blame (in part) for the financial crisis?  (Atlantic Business)

“Today our politicians and regulators lack credibility. They have bailed out too many banks and need to show they have truly regained the upper hand — by showing that they are installing such a hard size cap rule without exception.”  (Economix)

What does Dubai tell us about capitalism?  (Zero Hedge)

The stakes are now much higher for students considering highly selective universities.  (Real Time Economics also Atlantic Business)

An interesting Kirk Report Q&A with Rob Hanna.  (Quantifiable Edges)

An interview with value investor Todd Sullivan.  (Behind the Spread)

Do individual investors want a new engine, Trefis, to model company fundamentals?  (Bits via Baseline Scenario)

Thoughts on the role of blogs in economics.  (Economist’s View)

When will the cupcake bubble burst?  (NYTimes)

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