Quotes of the day

Fred Wilson, “The financial markets will come and go. Sometimes investors are focused on the downside. Other times they are focused on the upside. Right now it is the latter. ”  (A VC)

Chart of the day

Portugal cannot sustain borrowing at these rates.  (Economist)

Markets

Where did all the short-sellers go?  (Pragmatic Capitalism)

Bullish sentiment is still in force.  (Bespoke)

Gold is still climbing a proverbial wall of worry.  (Mark Hulbert)

Why dividends matter.  (Abnormal Returns)

What is going on with the WTI-Brent spread.  (FT Alphaville)

Corn is on a tear.  (Street Sweep)

Rich guys are bored with hedge funds.  (Dealbreaker, Felix Salmon)

A link to the much discussed Jeff Gundlach presentation.  (Stone Street Advisors, Pragmatic Capitalism)

In a market that refuses to go down the temptation is to start playing fast and loose – don’t.  (AR Screencast)

Trading quotes

Mark Wolfinger, “Mistakes are part of the game.  Making the same mistake repeatedly is not.  At least it’s not part of any successful trader’s game.”  (Options for Rookies)

Michael Bigger, “For investors and traders, the opportunity cost of reading a fat brick is enormous.”  (Bigger Capital)

Mike Bellafiore, “How do you leave your trading results behind after a trading session?”  (SMB Training)

David Blair, “No matter your trading style and no matter your trading system, there will always be the element of emotion before, during, and after the trade…”  (Crosshairs Trader)

Pradeep Bonde, “Individual trades do not matter. Learn process flows.”  (stockbee)

Companies

Markets love focus.  ITT (ITT) to split into three pieces.  (WSJ)

St. Joe (JOE) has become a proverbial battleground stock.  (market folly)

Will Verizon (VZ) ever buy in Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless?  (Deal Journal)

Finance

Charles Schwab (SCHW) gets rapped on the knuckles over the YieldPlus case.  (Dealbook, Street Sweep)

Banks could increase their dividends.  (Deal Journal)

Advisors are really beginning to embrace ETFs.  (IndexUniverse)

A new ETF that will weight stocks by liquidity.  (IndexUniverse)

Few investors want the added complexity of floating share price money market funds.  (Reuters via Alea)

What would ‘maturity transformation‘ imply for the broader economy?  (Felix Salmon)

Muni bonds are no longer a boring, backwater.  (Deal Journal)

Technology

Is Apple (AAPL) now ready to make a push into the enterprise?  (Dealbook)

The day Apple stopped be special.  (Asymco)

Steven M. Davidoff, “There are reasons Facebook is not planning an I.P.O. right now, but it most likely is not regulation. Instead, it probably has more to do with the nature of today’s markets.”  (Dealbook)

Five questions for Facebook investors.  (Big Picture)

Global

Right now it’s all good for the Canadian dollar.  (The Source)

Contagion is likely to spread in Europe.  Why the bailouts should stop.  (naked capitalism, voxEU)

Euro crisis on hold until tomorrow.  Portugal completes a bond sale.  (NYTimes)

China is preparing for the day the renminbi is a fully convertible currency.  (WSJ)

Information, capital and the launch of FT Tilt.  (Justin Paterno)

Economy

US financial markets have gotten ahead of the economic recovery.  (Gavyn Davies)

Ten things will be more normal in 2011.  (A Dash of Insight)

When will higher gasoline prices begin to pinch consumers?  (Minyanville, WSJ)

Higher unemployment is a nation-wide phenomenon.  (Rortybomb)

Are lumber shipments a sign of better times ahead for housing?  (Money Game)

History tells us that oil shocks happen when demand booms alongside stagnant production.  (Econbrowser)

When will California face up to its new reality?  (Gregor Macdonald)

Why do we continue to pay for useless economic forecasts?  (FT Alphaville)

Just because

Curation is the new search.  (Infectious Greed)

Everyone is vulnerable to cognitive dissonance.  (The Frontal Cortex)

Ten things James Altucher learned working with Jim Cramer.  (James Altucher)

Thanks for checking in with Abnormal Returns. For all the latest you can follow us on StockTwits and Twitter.

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Please see disclosures here.

Please see the Terms & Conditions page for a full disclaimer.