A macro overview of the economy and markets.  (Big Picture)

Using a pop in volatility to sell options.  (Barron’s)

Why it is hard to profit from a spike in the VIX.  (Options Zone)

A look back at market psychology one year later.  (market folly)

Should the stock market fear a Fed funds rate hike?  (Afraid to Trade)

Nine twists on sector ETFs.  (ETF Database)

Signs of froth in the high yield and bank loan markets.  (FT Alphaville, BusinessWeek)

On the prospects for “sell in May” this year.  (Trader’s Narrative, InvestmentNews)

In defense of Morningstar’s fund ratings.  (Morningstar)

Should market-cap weighted indexes really be called popularity-weighted indexes?  (IndexUniverse)

What Nascar can teach us about return persistence.  (All About Alpha)

The CBOE inches toward a June IPO.  (WSJ)

“CDS spreads are untested as a predictor of long-term default probability on unrated securities.”  (Expect[ed] Loss)

Russ Roberts on how “perverse incentives” caused the financial crisis.  (Mercatus Center also Marginal Revolution)

Kurt Brouwer, “So, Just because you are dealing with Goldman or Morgan Stanley or Merrill Lynch that does not mean they are acting in your best interest.”  (Marketwatch also Credit Writedowns)

The high stakes involved increase the odds of a SEC-Goldman settlement.  (BusinessWeek)

The rage against Goldman is misplaced.  (CS Monitor)

Will the Euro end up being a buy once the smoke from Greece has cleared?  (IndexUniverse)

Greece is going to default, redux.  (Felix Salmon, The Pragmatic Capitalist)

The Greek crisis is now a Euro bank crisis.  (BusinessWeek also Bronte Capital)

What Dow Chemical (DOW) tells us about the global economy.  (Value Plays)

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index slowly recovers.  (Calculated Risk, Big Picture)

Look to November for a Fed rate hike.  (MarketBeat, FT Alphaville, Calculated Risk)

Consumer debt:  stocks vs. flows.  (Infectious Greed)

Is Google (GOOG) still a growth stock?  (MarketBeat)

Steve Jobs takes on Adobe’s Flash in an open letter.  (Apple also kottke, Technologizer, Apple 2.0)

Palm (PALM) finds a buyer (sucker?) in Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).  (Silicon Alley Insider, DealBook, Tech Trader Daily)

Who profited from the Palm deal?  (Deal Journal, MarketBeat, footnoted, Clusterstock)

Is Apple (AAPL) the sole winner from the Palm deal?  (Fortune, The Big Money, Crossing Wall Street contra Technologizer)

Does HP want to be the new Apple?  (GigaOM)

Palm as a $1.2 billion call option.  (Deal Journal, Atlantic Business)

On the information asymmetry inherent in a Hollywood futures exchange.  (Knowledge@Wharton)

Twitter etiquette for traders.  (Cody’s Trading Scratchpad)

For traders: what do you tell people you do for a living?  (Kirk Report)

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