Quote of the day

Sean McLaughlin, “If you aren’t willing to adapt, to learn new tricks, and to occasionally mix things up a little bit, the markets will eventually knock you down a peg. And in many cases knock you clean out. ”  (The Minimalist Trader)

Chart of the day

Corn is trading at new highs.  (WSJ)

Markets

The Credit Suisse Fear Barometer is back to levels seen in 2007.  (SurlyTrader)

This model continues to point towards market gains.  (Marketwatch)

Net-nets are a rare commodity these days.  (Cheap Stocks)

Just because a company gets acquired doesn’t mean the entire sector will go up.  (The Reformed Broker)

Portfolio management

When do you fire a fund manager?  (Big Picture)

Let the benchmark gaming begin.  The rise of the unconstrained bond mandate.  (Financial Adviser)

There really is no distinction between tactical and strategic asset allocation.  (Credit Writedowns)

Taking a look at the benefits of a multi-class asset class portfolio.  (The Capital Spectator)

Strategy

Contrarianism, in and of itself, is not enough to beat the market.  (market folly)

An options-centric approach opens up a “bevy of choices.”  (Tyler’s Trading)

On the downside of an inflexible call selling strategy.  (Humble Student of the Markets)

How trading is like athletics.  (TraderHabits)

On the tax advantages of trading futures vs. equities.  (HedgeWorld)

Buffett and Berkshire

Some questions Warren Buffett still needs to answer about the Sokol debacle.  (Dealbook also NYTimes)

Michael Steinhardt is sick of all the Warren Buffett worship.  (Clusterstock, Dealbreaker)

How Berkshire Hathaway lost its way.  ( Bucks Blog also Street Sweep)

Finance

The deal market is heating up.  (WSJ, Reuters)

Another example of why moves in Treasury rates are not a “referendum on government policy.”  (Felix Salmon)

CFOs are better timers than their CEO bosses.  (SSRN via @jasonzweigwsj)

On the illogic of executive compensation.  (the research puzzle)

Exotic asset backed bonds are back.   (WSJ)

Q&A with author Roddy Boyd on AIG (AIG) and when it could have still saved itself.  (Aleph Blog)

Global

Chinese wage inflation mirrors the changes to its manufacturing economy.  (beyondbrics, Free exchange)

The boom in renminbi denominated bonds.  (Morningstar)

China

The ISM non-manufacturing index pulls back.  (Calculated Risk, Pragmatic Capitalism, Calafia Beach Pundit, Fund My Mutual Fund)

Tracking the changes to the Fed’s balance sheet.  (Daniel Gross)

On the relationship between population and productivity growth.  (The Atlantic)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

A rebalanced $QQQ highlights both its poor construction and adds an uncertainty for $AAPL stock.  (AR Screencast)

Why traders shouldn’t pigeonhole themselves with any particular trading vehicle.  (Abnormal Returns)

Our Tuesday morning live link look-in.  (Abnormal Returns)

Mixed media

How big a dent can LivingSocial put in the social buying space?  (Dealbook)

Bloggers crave information.  So why argue that research shouldn’t be published?  (A Dash of Insight)

Cigarette arbitrage on the streets of New York City.  (Kid Dynamite)

Adult brains may be more pliable than previously thought.  (Scientific American)

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