Quote of the day

“Trade what you see and try to keep your emotions in check, no man’s land is not fun, but it’s smart.”  (Leigh Drogen)

Markets

Market sentiment has taken a dramatic shift to the bull camp.  (Marketwatch also Trader’s Narrative)

The ‘smart money’ is fleeing junk bonds.  (WSJ)

Silver is overbought.  (Bespoke, Zero Hedge)

The myth of record-high gold prices.  In short, don’t forget inflation.  (Economix also Infectious Greed, EconomPic Data)

A longer term look at gold performance.  (MarketBeat)

The difference between silver and gold.  (Dragonfly Capital)

In an extended market is it time to buy the laggards, like financials?  (Barron’s)

The falling $VIX is really hurting the longer dated VIX plays.  (InvestorPlace)

The Warsaw Stock Exchange is now public in a big way.  (beyondbrics)

Strategy and Tactics

It’s never different this time.  (Aleph Blog)

The death of mean reversion is greatly exaggerated.  (Street Capitalist)

Investing on the basis of predictions of the future are futile.  (Systematic Relative Strength)

Three lessons to learn from failed chart patterns.  (StockTwitsU)

Steve Ballmer dumps a load of Microsoft (MSFT) stock for ‘tax planning purposes.’  (Big Picture)

Hedge Funds/Dealbook

Merger arb is attracting capital once again.  (Dealbook)

The ‘David Tepper rally‘ has paid off for Appaloosa Management.  (Dealbook)

Another voice in the hedge funds are too expensive camp.  (Dealbook)

Wall Street

Mini-flash crashes just keep happening.  (NYTimes)

The SEC has banned ‘stub quotes.’  (Points and Figures)

A new report on the dangers ETFs pose to market stability.  (Kauffman Foundation also Herb Greenberg, ibid, FT Alphaville, ibid, IndexUniverse)

An ETF Lesson:  the case of GLD.  (Kid Dynamite)

Should mutual funds be considered a “potential risk to financial stability”?  (Bloomberg)

Expect more shareholder activism ahead.  (Lex)

Why startups aren’t bothering to go public anymore.  (Real Clear Markets)

QE2

Doug Kass thinks QE2 is likely to disappoint.  (TheStreet)

What effect will QE2 have on the slope of the yield curve and our collective borrowing?  (AR Screencast)

Why is the Fed conducting QE2?  (Pragmatic Capitalism)

Would Milton Friedman have voted for QE2?  (Gavyn Davies)

Move over QE2, it’s now time for the European debt crisis to take center stage.  (Money Game)

How to interpret recent negative TIPS yields.  (Real Time Economics)

Economy

Small business sentiment is perking up.  (Calculated Risk, Money Game, Bespoke)

The pickup truck indicator points towards economic strength.  (ValuePlays)

Is the stagnation in diesel fuel consumption a cause for concern?  (Calculated Risk, Calafia Beach Pundit)

Employment crisis:  structural or cyclical?  (Mike Konczal, Economist’s View)

Why America has prospered.  (Modeled Behavior, Free exchange)

Is it now Canada’s time?  (Fortune Finance)

Tying to get your haead around Indian and Chinese commodity demand.  (Money Game, ibid)

Should economist’s disclose their secondary sources of income?  (Felix Salmon)

Just because

Suck.com used to be required reading.  (kottke)

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