Quote of the day

Roger Ehrenberg, “The perils of scale represents the single biggest threat to Google’s success now and in the future.”  (Information Arbitrage, ibid)

Chart of the day

Interactive graphic of asset returns in light of QE2.  (Reuters via Felix Salmon)

Markets

Offensive vs. defensive sectors during this market rally.  (Afraid to Trade)

Are stocks now overvalued?  (Money Game)

Did last week’s NY Magazine cover on optimism flash the magazine cover indicator?  (Big Picture)

Checking in on the $VXX.  (Daily Options Report)

Why retail investors are still avoiding stocks.  (Businessweek)

The market doesn’t care, until it does.  (Leigh Drogen)

Strategy and Tactics

Managing money is hard.  Just ask Peter Thiel.  (Howard Lindzon)

Paying attention to inter-market volatility.  (Investing With Options)

David Tepper is buying big technology stocks.  (The Reformed Broker)

Is sustainability a new source of alpha?  (Institutional Investor)

Buy a farm, not a house.  (24/7 Wall St. also The Reformed Broker)

Interview with Jeff Annello of Noise Free Investing.  (New Rules of Investing)

Companies

Caterpillar (CAT) gets bigger in the mining business with the acquisition of Bucyrus (BUCY).  (Dealbook)

The growth in casual dining speaks to economic confidence.  (FT, Lex)

Todd Comb’s introduction to Omaha.  (Fortune Finance)

On the effects of the start-up boom on companies like Google as they face the challenges of scale.  (AR Screencast)

Finance

Raising the range and the pricing challenge facing the GM underwriters.  (WSJ, ibid)

Dividend recaps are a sign of over-exuberance. (peHUB)

More advisers are launching their own ‘turn-key’ mutual funds.  (InvestmentNews)

Economy

The uptick in the jobs picture.  (VIX and More also Real Time Economics)

Retail sales surge in October.  (Calculated Risk, Bloomberg, EconomPic Data, CBP)

An open letter to Ben Bernanke.  QE2 is a big mistake.  (Real Time Economics, Points and Figures, Pragmatic Capitalism, Felix Salmon also Money Game)

When will voters care about the deficit?  (Free exchange)

Seniors don’t want other Americans to have like-medical benefits.  (New Yorker)

Research on the role political uncertainty plays in corporate investment.  (Journal of Finance)

The end game in Europe is afoot.  (Credit Writedowns, Marginal Revolution)

Ireland: if not bailout, what?  (FT Alphaville, naked capitalism, Money Game)

Greg Ip on the “Little Book of Economics.”  (Economist)

Just because

Quite a guess.  (Falkenblog)

The best business card ever?  (The Source)

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