Quote of the day

Simon Johnson, “Top bankers, including Bill Daley, have pulled off a complete snow job – including since the crisis broke in fall 2008. ”  (Baseline Scenario)

Chart of the day

The Dow just can’t keep up.  (Felix Salmon, Crossing Wall Street)

Markets

Equity sentiment at week-end.  (Trader’s Narrative, Pragmatic Capitalism)

The technology sector looks strong.  Is it too strong?  (Dragonfly Capital, StockCharts Blog, WSJ)

Smaller (stock-wise) was better in 2010.  (NYTimes, TRB)

The ten greatest trades ever?  (Big Picture)

Another commodity ETF targeting the effects of contango.  (IndexUniverse)

Strategy and Tactics

Jeff Sommer, “Even if a forecast is somehow right on the money, it’s not clear what an investor should do about information that is available to every other interested person on the planet. ”  (NYTimes)

On the value of using collars to protect your portfolio.  (Barron’s)

More on the value of financial blogging.  (Finance Trends Matter)

Global mutual funds need to get a little more global.  (SSRN)

Stocks held by short-term institutions have a tendency to drop more in a bear market.  (voxEU)

Finance

Why the big banks should be very worried about the Massachusetts mortgage ruling.  (naked capitalism, NetNet, Money Game, Felix Salmon)

What would happen to the mortgage market without government guarantees?  (Atlantic Business)

Leigh Drogen, “Just as globalization opened up the world’s markets to a few billion more people, technology and social will do the same for finance.”  (Leigh Drogen)

Hedge funds

What does David Tepper see in Dean Foods (DF)?  (Deal Journal)

What Whitney Tilson is up to in his portfolio at the moment.  (market folly)

December was the best month of the year for hedge funds.  (Dealbook, WSJ)

Bruce Berkowitz thanks the people who have made his success possible.  (The Reformed Broker)

iPhone

The iPhone is officially coming to Verizon (VZ).  (WSJ, TechCrunch)

Nearly 75% of iPhone users are outside the US.  (Asymco)

GoldBook

Given its already lofty valuation new Facebook shareholders are likely in for a disappointment down the road.  (WSJ)

The Facebook-Microsoft (MSFT) parallels.  (Dealbook, Don Dodge)

In praise of the vampire squid that is Goldman Sachs (GS).  (TechCrunch)

The case for Google (GOOG) vs. Facebook.  (The Buzz)

Global

Is all the good news priced into the Canadian dollar?  (Forex Blog)

Is Italy the next big domino to fall?  (Mish)

How big a deal would a Greek default be to the markets?  (Calafia Beach Pundit)

Economics

More reactions to the disappointing jobs report.  (Tim Duy, Free exchange, Calculated Risk, Econbrowser)

Is the state budget crisis overblown?  (Barron’s)

lliinois is apparently on its way to getting its fiscal house in order.  (Megan McArdle)

Just because

Is law school a losing game?  (NYTimes)

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