“Investors have clearly been ho-hum about better than expected earnings, and they have beaten down stocks that missed estimates.  Better than expected is simply what’s expected these days.”  (Bespoke also MarketBeat)

Are bonds expensive?  Stocks cheap? Or both?  (WSJ)

A look at July asset class performance, including corporate bonds.  (Bespoke, ibid)

Equity sentiment at week-end.  (Trader’s Narrative)

Why is the ELEMENTS S&P Commodity Trends Indicator ETN (LSC) struggling?  (VIX and More)

How a dispersion trade is a bet on a lower correlation in stock returns.  (WSJ)

The myth of the stock-economy connection.  (Atlantic Business via Anal_yst)

Are stock correlations finally breaking down?  (MarketBeat)

Where the heck is the Norway ETF?  (ETFdb)

Active ETFs are now getting into the options game.  (IndexUniverse)

The options markets are pretty quiet at the moment.  (Barron’s)

The ag rally is overbought.  (Bespoke)

Is it finally time for Africa to shine as an investment opportunity?  (Barron’s)

A closer look at Bruce Berkowitz’s financial-heavy portfolio.  (Morningstar)

Is Pimco’s Total Return Fund too big to manage?  (WSJ)

You never forget your first trading loss.  (Minyanville)

Has Cerberus Capital Management turned the corner?  (Economist)

Why can’t the SEC eliminate kill 12b-1 fees altogether?  (WSJ, IndexUniverse, NYTimes, InvestmentNews)

Citigroup’s $75 million fine is a sign that little has changed on Wall Street.  (CNBC also Kid Dynamite)

The credit card business is still a good one.  (NYTimes)

Is blue chip America finally ready to put its cash to work?  (Bloomberg)

David Merkel, “Panics are events, often multiple events, and booms are processes.”  (Aleph Blog)

The financial crisis as earthquake metaphor explored.  (NYTimes)

25% of Americans now have bum credit scores.  (Big Picture)

Why Texas is winning the recession.  (Atlantic Business earlier AR Screencast)

Consumers are not eating out all that much.  (Calculated Risk)

Is the Fed too complacent about disinflationary expectations?  (Economist’s View)

This is an “ugly” economic recovery.  (Econbrowser)

Is the drop in the ECRI WLI over?  (BondSquawk)

On the state of the Canadian economy (and currency).  (Bloomberg)

Vitaliy N. Katsenelson, “Japan is proof that a country cannot borrow itself to prosperity.”  (Contrarian Edge)

A (positive) review of Raghuram Rajan’s “Fault Lines.”  (Aleph Blog also NYTimes)

On the need for some default investment options for individuals.  (The Psy-Fi Blog)

Should the big banks fear BankSimple?  (Mashable)

Michael Mandel, “In terms of jobs, journalistic occupations are outperforming the overall economy.  However, many of the journalistic jobs  are not being created in conventional journalism industries.”  (Mandel on Innovation and Growth)

RIP, The Big Money.  (AllThingsD, Poynter)

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