Has bullish equity sentiment reached an extreme?  (Big Picture also Behind the Headlines)

The market is going to do what it does regardless of the calendar.   (Daily Options Report, Marketwatch, MarketSci Blog, Afraid to Trade)

Dave Nadig, “All indexes—not just commodity indexes—are in a way an active bet.”  (IndexUniverse)

The unbelievable year in distressed debt investing.  (Distressed Debt Investing also Bloomberg)

Vincent Fernando, “So here’s the secret to forecasting success — maintain an extreme, polarizing long-term view. Then adopt the exact opposite view, as a short-term trading idea, and blame governments for making it happen.”  (The Money Game also Big Picture)

Byron Wien’s ten surprises for 2010.  (Fund My Mutual Fund also Credit Writedowns)

The average S&P 500 P/E ratio by decade.  (Bespoke)

Quickie bankruptcies are all the rage.  (WSJ)

S&P 500 historical volatility is at a two-year low.  (VIX and More)

Steven M. Sears, “In essence, selling puts lets investors leverage the residual fear that many big investors feel about another stock decline.”  (Barron’s)

When is the best time to use a buy-write strategy?  (OptionsZone)

Some cracks are showing in the transportation stock rally.  (Barron’s)

iShares still rules the ETF roost.  (WSJ)

Matt Hougan on the state of the ETF industry.  (Barron’s)

Everybody and their brother wants to get into the actively managed ETF business.  (Investment News)

On the quiet death of the Macroshares housing ETPs.  (The Reformed Broker)

High frequency trading is coming to Japan.  (Clusterstock)

Kraft (KFT) gets an “almighty smackdown” from Warren Buffett.  (FT Alphaville also Rolfe Winkler, Street Capitalist)

What is an acceptable ROE for the banking industry?  (Breakingviews)

John Carney, “The grimmest news of the new year has to be the fact that Fed chairman Ben Bernanke still has no clue about the causes of our financial crisis or what measures need to be undertaken to avoid another crisis.”  (Clusterstock)

Carmen Reinhart, “If history is any guide,” the rising government debt “is very troubling for the U.S. and other advanced economies..”  (Real Time Economics)

What if ratings agencies disappeared?  (Atlantic Business)

Tim Duy, “The economy is gathering steam.  Can’t deny it.  But the clear path to sustained recovery remains clouded by government stimulus, both in the US and abroad.”  (Economist’s View)

Our best hope for house prices is stability not increases.  (Economix)

Could “The Checklist Manifesto” help you become a better trader/investor?  (Freakonomics)

The Apple (AAPL) tablet is real and will ship in March.  (WSJ)

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