Quote of the day
Howard Lindzon, “You don’t have to catch bottoms or tops find huge winners, but if you chase, you will get crushed over time.” (Howard Lindzon)
Chart of the day
The S&P 500-ex financials is at a new all-time high. (Big Picture)
Markets
The dip that wasn’t bought. (The Reformed Broker)
Nasdaq 2,900 has been a key level the past decade. (Bespoke)
Why is the bond market so blasé these days? (Free exchange, Ezra Klein)
Muni bonds have bounced back. Time for Meredith Whitney to re-think things? (WSJ, FT, Money Game)
Google is not the only company taking advantage of low bond yields. (MarketBeat)
Mortgage rates continue to fall and homebuilders bounce. (Bespoke)
A look at the seasonality in oil prices. (Pragmatic Capitalism)
Metals
“Don’t confuse wholesale vs. retail with paper vs. physical.” (Kid Dynamite)
A short term and long term look at silver (and gold). (Stock Sage, All Star Charts)
Why exactly were we paying so much attention to silver? (MarketShot)
Silver is for pikers. Iridium is the new hot metal. (FT)
Some smart investors are looking at the uranium plays these days. (Distressed Debt Investing)
Strategy
What factors help identify the “ultimate short book“? (Empirical Finance Blog)
On the dangers of reading 13-Fs from two months ago. (Market Anthropology)
The challenges of identifying and hiring good, emerging CTAs. (HedgeWorld)
Will the real “new subprime” stand up? (The Reformed Broker)
Investing in volatility is no simple thing. (Outside the Box)
Treating insurance as an asset class. (Reuters)
Companies
Apple (AAPL) stock is cheaper than a lot of defensive names as a “big” announcement looms. (Minyanville, ibid)
Amazon (AMZN) vs. Google (GOOG): the battle for the Android tablet market. (TechCrunch)
Why Google is still worth a look. (I Heart Wall Street)
Is the LinkedIn IPO worth the now increased price of admission? (Forbes, Deal Journal, TRB, Term Sheet)
Higher gasoline prices are hitting the Wal-Mart (WMT) crowd. (Money Game)
Airline stocks are showing positive relative strength. (chessNwine)
Finance
Financials can not get out of their own way these days. (Bespoke)
Banks are gorging on government-backed mortgage securities. (Businessweek)
Who’s next? Nasdaq OMX (NDAQ) needs deals. (WSJ)
Funds
Hedge fund investors are just as bad at timing as mutual fund investors. (ROI)
Warren Buffett hearts MasterCard (MA). (Deal Journal, Street Sweep)
George Soros dumped gold in Q1. (Bloomberg, Clusterstock)
John Paulson hearts a PC-dependent Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). (MarketBeat, Market Blog)
Global
The implications of a “voluntary” Greek debt restructuring. (FT Alphaville, The Source)
The China IPO boom has ended with a thud. (WSJ, 24/7 Wall St.)
On the question of Chinese overinvestment: ghost cities. (Global Macro Monitor, Breakout)
Is emerging market inflation peaking? (MarketBeat)
Economy
Industrial production was no great shakes. (MarketBeat, Calculated Risk, Pragmatic Capitalism)
Ten industries that are thriving. (Real Time Economics)
The original QE program was a “smashing success.” (Macro Musings)
On the importance of middle management. (Aleph Blog)
Capturing economic progress is not an easy statistical task. (A Dash of Insight)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
Why is cash-rich Google issuing bonds? (AR Screencast)
What you missed in our Tuesday morning linkfest. (Abnormal Returns)
Mixed media
Brandon Keim, “When people can learn what others think, the wisdom of crowds may veer towards ignorance.” (Wired)
The web is rife with financial startups looking to provide personalized online financial advice. (Businessweek)
Geek chic. On the sunset of the high school quiz bowl television show. (WashingtonPost)
Abnormal Returns is a founding member of the StockTwits Blog Network.
