Quote of the day

Barry Ritholtz, “In fact, markets thrive on uncertainty. It is their reason for being.”  (Bloomberg)

Markets

Seth Klarman can’t find many opportunities these days.  (Clusterstock)

If the S&P 500 reverses, where are support levels?  (VIX and More, ibid)

The AAA corporate yield spread never came in after the financial crisis.  (Crossing Wall Street)

Corporate profits are are hitting all-time highs.  (Money Game)

In case you missed the Invest for Kids Conference in Chicago last week.  (Market Folly)

GM reports (good) earnings ahead of the IPO.  (NYTimes)

Commodities

“It’s silly time as The FED is the CEO of commodity stocks. ”  (Howard Lindzon)

All eyes are on commodities markets.  (WSJ)

Why commodity prices can move so much.  They are small relative to other asset markets.  (Money Game)

The Fed should keep an eye on the price of oil.  (Econbrowser)

The copper price conundrum.  (The Source)

The momentum lists are full of commodity plays.  (StockTwits 50)

Signs of froth in the commodity sector.  (Pragmatic Capitalism)

Exchanges monitor (and change) margin requirements, i.e. on a continuous basis.  (Points and Figures, MarketBeat)

Silver volatility is rising along with price.  (Daily Options Report, Investing With Options)

Looking back to “Silver Thursday” and the end of the Hunt Brothers’ attempt to corner the silver market.  (Crossing Wall Street)

ETFs

Do ETFs pose a systemic risk to the market?  (A Dash of Insight, CNBC)

The Global X Norway ETF (NORW) has launched.  (IndexUniverse, ETFdb, Random Roger)

More VIX ETFs are here.  (IndexUniverse)

JP Morgan (JPM) to avoid derivatives in their own ETFs.  (IndexUniverse)

Strategy and Tactics

Are big hedge funds just ‘beta machines.’  (All About Alpha)

Where are the customers’ bots, i.e. replication strategies?  (Josh Brown)

Why again are you paying an “arbitrary” 2% management fee on your hedge fund?  (Dealbreaker, Clusterstock)

Things to think about when you read about the performance of an advisory service.  (CXO Advisory Group)

James Picerno, “Evaluating and monitoring active managers is no easy task.”  (Capital Spectator)

Do closed-end funds at the offering meet a ‘higher fiduciary standard’?  (Big Picture)

Patience and speed are not contradictory ideas in trading.  (StockTwitsU)

Technology

Why is Apple (AAPL) now competitive on price?  (Daring Fireball)

What the Google (GOOG) compensation news tell us about the ‘arms race’ for talent and the broader economy.  (AR Screencast)

Finance

Which is more inflated on Wall Street, the egos or the paychecks?  (Mean Street also Financial Adviser)

Is the stock market fundamentally unfair?  (NetNet)

Only the biggest companies have been able to take advantage of near-free money.  (Fortune Finance)

Are good real estate deals already gone?  US REITs look overseas.  (WSJ, Money Game)

Yet another good reason to keep your home insurance current, forced-placed insurance.  (Felix Salmon, Street Sweep)

Why go public when you can get bondholders to write you a check for a big dividend recap.  The case of HCA.  (Dealbook, WSJ)

High frequency traders are going to Washington to lobby.  (naked capitalism, Bloomberg)

Economy

Unemployment claims and the trade deficit.  (Calculated Risk, ibid)

Steve Randy Waldman, “Policy ideas that cannot survive in equilibrium with achievable social mores are useless.”  (Interfluidity)

An argument in favor of QE2.  Banks are ready to lend.  (Points and Figures)

Is the back up yields a sign that QE2 is failing?  (MarketBeat)

Is the Fed already missing signs of another bubble?  (The Source)

The three circles of Fed doubters.  (Slate also Mike Konczal)

Faith in Ireland is circling the drain.  (FT Alphaville, Felix Salmon)

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