Quote of the day
Roger Ehrenberg, “An idea is simply that: an idea. It isn’t a company.” (Information Arbitrage)
Chart of the day
A big drop in bullish sentiment. (Bespoke)
Markets
Was the equity rally built on “vapors” or actual economic optimism? (Money Game, ibid)
Citi does not see much in the way of bubbles. (FT Alphaville, Money Game)
According to Merrill Lynch fund managers are pretty bullish. (Pragmatic Capitalism)
Potential support levels for the S&P 500. (VIX and More)
An updated version of GMO 7-year asset class return forecasts. (Zero Hedge)
John Carney, “How bad can things get for munis? Very, very bad.” (NetNet)
The rush is on to sell Build America Bonds before the plan (presumably) expires. (Bloomberg, WSJ)
More backlash against the Warren Buffett letter. (FT Alphaville, self-evident, Marketwatch, Howard Lindzon, MarketBeat)
ETFs
Muni ETFs feeling the downside of the muni meltdown. (WSJ)
Individual investors have a long way to go in terms of ETF adoption. (IndexUniverse)
Want MLP exposure? ETF or ETN? (ETFdb)
The mutual fund industry still doesn’t get it. (WSJ)
Strategy and Tactics
Focus on risks, not risk. (Aleph Blog also StockTwitsU)
Great lessons for young people interested in a (trading) career. (Bigger Capital)
How our research processes have changed. (the research puzzle)
The buy-and-hold mantra has been on the defensive since the financial crisis. Burton Malkiel comes to its defense. (AR Screencast)
On illiquidity risk in hedge funds. (All About Alpha)
Pension funds have been made worse off by venturing into alternative asset classes. (Points and Figures)
Does the SEC have teeth after all? (Felix Salmon)
General Motors
The GM (GM) IPO as a referendum on the broader economy. (WashingtonPost, NYTimes, Tech Ticker)
Can GM make it in the long run? (Falkenblog, Crossing Wall Street, DJ Market Talk, Deal Journal)
The big banks should have gotten the GM (GM) treatment. (Big Picture)
Technology
The VC-backed IPO window is open. (peHUB)
How much is the Twitter stream worth to someone? (Felix Salmon)
Why the McRib matters to McDonalds (MCD). (Fortune Tech)
Viewers keep pulling the plug on their cable subscriptions. (FT, Media Decoder)
A streaming-only plan is coming to Netflix (NFLX). (AllThingsD, VentureBeat)
David Pogue HATES Google TV. (NYTimes)
Economy
Decent news on unemployment claims and from the Philly Fed. (Calculated Risk, ibid also Daniel Gross)
Leading economic indicators continue their positive streak. (Bloomberg, EconomPic Data)
Rail traffic rebounds. (ValuePlays)
Why is the Fed conducting another round of big bank stress tests? (Pragmatic Capitalism, WSJ, WashingtonPost)
Why the Fed feels compelled to conduct QE2. (Free exchange, The Reformed Broker)
Economic growth and the growing regulatory burden. (Mandel on Innovation and Growth)
Global
An Irish bailout is really a bailout of banks holding its debt. (FT Alphaville also NYTimes)
Norway as safe haven. (Businessweek)
A tale of two inflation rates: China and the US. (Gavyn Davies)
What happens if Chinese growth slows? (Michael Pettis)
Just because
If other directors made The Social Network. (Big Picture)
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