Quote of the day
Daniel Gross, “Now more than ever, international banking gives professional Beltway wonks the opportunity to be professional policy players—all while getting paid like professional basketball stars.” (Newsweek)
Chart of the day
A look at S&P sector weightings over time. (Bespoke)
Video of the day
Mark Cuban talks with Howard Lindzon. (Howard Lindzon)
Markets
Volatility was really, really low in December. (Don Fishback)
Country market cap levels. (Bespoke)
The metals are down, but not out. (Dragonfly Capital, Bespoke)
Strategy and Tactics
“If you could eavesdrop on the inner monologue of your favorite trader it would profoundly disturb you.” (Dynamic Hedge)
Emotions for a trader are unavoidable. The challenge is how you deal with them. (Bubble Boy Trader)
Mark Hulbert, “The portfolios that are at the top and bottom of the one-year rankings are those that have incurred extraordinary risk.” (Marketwatch)
Are VIX calls the best way to play a market pullback? (InvestorPlace, Barron’s)
High quality is just another exposure. (ETF Replay)
No such thing as a “set it and forget it portfolio.” (TRB)
Buying the stocks that analysts hate. (ROI)
On the relationship between microblog sentiment and stock prices. (SSRN via MoneyScience)
Managed futures
An actively managed long/short futures ETF launches. (Focus on Funds)
Managed futures ended up 9.20% for the year. (HedgeWorld)
Companies
Regarding finding a CIO candidate Buffett says: “Take all the people with a great track record [in investing] over the past five years. I wouldn’t consider 95 percent of them.” (Vanity Fair)
Reinsurers trade below book value. (WSJ)
“Why does the owner of fast food chains want to buy a middling insurance company domiciled in an unfriendly state?” (Stone Street Advisors)
Which half of the Motorola break-up should you avoid? (Crossing Wall Street)
Finance
Tax-exempt bonds for beginners. (Baseline Scenario)
The five ways to make money in finance. (EconLog)
ETFs are helping lower fees across the fund industry. (WSJ)
How many ETFs are going to close in 2011? (IndexUniverse)
The SEC is looking to reassert itself in the secondary market for private companies. (FT Alphaville)
Technology
Why Facebook won’t go public. (Felix Salmon also WSJ, Infectious Greed)
Five tech deals it would be fun to see happen. (Deal Journal)
Sarah Lacy, “Most startups hate the idea of being a public company.” (TechCrunch)
‘Fill or kill‘ for Facebook shares via Goldman Sachs (GS). (Reuters, Francine McKenna)
Global
Can the global economy recover without China? (Gavyn Davies)
Skyscrapers are a bad sign for an economy. Hello, China. (Money Game)
Chile’s currency move is the first of many. (beyondbrics, FT Alphaville)
Why do some countries grow faster than others? (Consider the Evidence via Economist’s View)
Economics
The ISM services index shows a big move up. (Bloomberg, EconomPic Data)
Private employers added more jobs in December than expected. (Calculated Risk, FT Alphaville, Macroadvisers)
The Fed has no plans to ease off until unemployment begins to fall. (Bloomberg, WashingtonPost)
Strong economic data does not necessarily mean a stronger dollar. (The Source)
Growing fears that higher gasoline prices could slow the nascent economic recovery. (AR Screencast)
Autos
Domestic auto sales continue to recover. (Calculated Risk, WashingtonPost, Atlantic Business)
Farhad Manjoo loves the Nissan Leaf and why the Leaf won’t matter to most people. (Slate, Ezra Klein)
Why Argentines “invest” in cars. Something to do with 30% inflation. (The World)
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