Today is special day here at Abnormal Returns, not because it is our sixth blogiversary, but because of the very kind (surprise) wishes we received from so many of our favorite bloggers. Thank you all so very much.
Quote of the day
Brett Arends, “Closed-end funds, as a general rule, are a great buy in a panic — and a terrible buy in the IPO. Wall Street likes to sell you the opposite story — for obvious reasons.” (Marketwatch)
Chart of the day
Ugh, missed this earlier. The return on lobbying. (Economist via Wonkblog)
Markets
Technicals aside, earnings are what matter in here. (Big Picture also Bloomberg)
Doug Kass’ ten questions for the bears. (TheStreet)
Utilities, technology and health care lead the sector race. (Dragonfly Capital)
Taking a look at the 50-day moving average. (Crossing Wall Street, All Star Charts, Quint Tatro)
Back to the future market-wise. (MarketBeat)
Bonds
Jim Bianco on the distortions caused by ZIRP to the markets and the economy. (Breakout)
Just how stretched is the 10-year Treasury? (macrofugue)
Is a peak in bond prices near? (Peter L. Brandt)
Strategy
Why most traders fail: leverage. (Stock Sage)
Gold and silver are acting like risky assets, not safe havens, these days. (MarketBeat)
Silver has been a market tell all year long. (Market Anthropology)
Exxon Mobil ($XOM) points to better times for energy stocks. (chessNwine)
The risk of mortgage refinancing for the mortgage REITs. (Capital Observer)
Companies
Apple garners a million iPhone 4S pre-orders in a day. (WSJ)
Siri could be big, not just for phones. (Apple 2.0)
Apple could oust Intel ($INTC) from its MacBooks sooner than thought. (TechInsidr)
Netflix ($NFLX) goes on “tilt,” kills Qwikster. (AllThingsD, Phil Pearlman, GigaOM, SplatF)
Finance
What should John Paulson do now? (Clusterstock)
The way forward for the publicly traded exchanges. (WSJ)
A look at not-so recent financial innovations. (Baseline Scenario)
Do you trust Merkozy? Buy US banks. (Crackerjack Finance)
Anxious shareholders often lead to baseless rumors. (Jeff Matthews)
What is going on with venture capital fundraising at the moment? (peHUB)
Funds
A look at the short (and complicated) life of the DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund. (research puzzle pix, research puzzle)
The European ETF market is far more opaque. (WSJ, FT Alphaville)
Is 8.5% a realistic return target for pension funds? (WSJ)
Global
What happens if we get a hard landing in China? (The Reformed Broker)
When in doubt prop up the banks, the China edition. (FT)
If you are not nervous about Italy you should be. (The Source)
How it is that Japan, and its demographic “time bomb,” is the ultimate safe haven. (Money Game)
What happens when sovereign credit ratings change ratings all at once. (FT Alphaville)
Economy
A working hypothesis for the slowing economy. (Money Game also Dr. Ed’s Blog)
The debt ceiling debate introduced a huge amount of uncertainty into the economy. (Modeled Behavior)
Service jobs are where it’s at. (Bonddad Blog)
A look at the decade-long slide in median household income. (Felix Salmon)
Sargent and Sims win the Nobel Prize in Economics. (Real Time Economics, NYTimes, Marginal Revolution, Wonkblog)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
Happy sixth blogiversary to me. (Abnormal Returns also The Reformed Broker, Crossing Wall Street)
What you missed in our Monday morning linkfest. (Abnormal Returns)
Mixed media
Timely. Tips on how to be grateful. (Altucher Confidential)
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