The return of volatility.  (Bespoke, SurlyTrader)

Hedge funds have ratcheted down their market exposure(s).  (All About Alpha)

A profitable twist on “Sell in May.”  (EconomPic Data)

Traders should think about markets as a scientist would.  (TraderFeed)

What exactly is “money management“?  (Options for Rookies)

The consumer discretionary sector did best in beating earnings estimates.  (Bespoke, Minyanville, The Money Game)

Is the run in retailers over?  (Barron’s)

Consumer spending strength:  sustainable or illusory?  (A Dash of Insight)

Vanguard joins the free-ETF trading game.  (IndexUniverse, ETF Trends, ETFdb)

Dividend funds are back in vogue.  (WSJ)

What is the weekend effect in option prices?  (CXO Advisory Group)

Reasons for macro optimism.  (market folly)

Is it time to open-source bond analytics?  (Information Arbitrage, SAI)

“Most great investors don’t care about tracking a benchmark.”  (Systematic Relative Strength)

How deep does the complacency run at Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA)?  (The Deal)

Definitive notes from the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.  (Dealbreaker, Zero Hedge also Fundmastery Blog)

The cost of insuring Goldman debt has reached the levels of Citigroup and Morgan Stanley.  (FT, Deal Journal)

Goldman’s defenders speaking out.  (Felix Salmon)

Clawbacks are a necessary part of any compensation plan for investment bankers. (Infectious Greed, voxEU)

The Fed didn’t want housing bubble talk out in the wild.  (Calculated Risk, ibid, Huffington Post, Free exchange, Big Picture)

Congressmen bet against stocks during the financial crisis.  (WSJ, Clusterstock, Falkenblog)

Why the Fed’s inflation target may be 2.5%.  (Macro Musings)

Consumer spending and the prospect for a higher savings rate.  (Economix, Macroadvisers)

If the economy is good why are beer sales down?  (Kid Dynamite)

It is time for Japan to “get real” about its debt.  (FT)

Ways to profit from a break-up in the Euro.  (Bloomberg)

The Greek bailout is at best a band-aid.  (WSJ, NYTimes, Credit Writedowns)

Is Euro contagion, i.e. Spain, just starting?  (The Pragmatic Capitalist, NYTimes)

Farmland continues to attract institutional capital.  (NYTimes)

Commodity price inflation is back. (Bespoke)

China needs coal, while Australia looks to tax its extraction.  (WSJ also ibid, FT Alphaville)

How much has BP (BP) lost due to the Gulf spill?  (FT Alphaville)

Who is going to end up paying for the Gulf oil spill clean up?  (The Money Game, WashingtonPost)

Are oil service stocks now a contrarian buy?  (Marketwatch)

Apple (AAPL) went from loved to feared.  Why?  (ROI)

iPad vs. iPhone:  which had a better launch.  (LATimes)

Why curation is here to stay.  (Mashable)

Are college students lazy?  (Planet Money)

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