Quote of the day
Michael Santoli, “Sometimes, when enough folks are positioned for the world to end rapidly, the mere suggestion that it might occur gradually is enough to energize the bidders.” (Barron’s)
Chart of the day

Bill Ackman bought a big chunk of Canadian Pacific Railway ($CP). (Deal Journal)
Markets
A historical look at recessions and bear markets. (Big Picture)
On the prospects for the Nasdaq to break out of a decade long trading range. (chessNwine)
Correlations are high, but like volatility it runs in cycles. (Capital Spectator)
Emerging market bonds have plenty of buyers. (WSJ)
Strategy
Howard Lindzon, “Start using the tools of the web and stop listening to the television and you too might find a few shekels in your future.” (Howard Lindzon)
Watch for signs of distribution. (Dynamic Hedge)
Expectations, growth and value investing. (Aleph Blog)
Times are tough for fundamental investors. (FT)
Companies
Apple ($AAPL) finally has some competition in the ultralight notebook space. (TechInsidr)
Looking at capital expenditures to give us a hint on Apple sales. (Asymco)
America is ready for a tea-based competitor to Starbucks, enter Teavana Holdings ($TEA). (The Fly)
Times are tough for appliance makers like Whirlpool ($WHR) these days. (WSJ, research puzzle pix)
Finance
Hedge fund investors want liquidity these days. (Financial News)
Super-voting shares and management credibility. (Musings on Markets, Deal Journal)
Groupon could increase the price range for its IPO. (WSJ, Dealbook)
ETFs
The case for eliminating leveraged ETFs. (Aleph Blog)
A closer look at the iShares High Dividend Yield Fund ($HDV). (IndexUniverse)
Despite ever lower commission costs trading can be a big drag on fund returns. (WSJ)
Lessons learned from using an “upgrader” strategy to select mutual funds. (NYTimes)
Economy
‘Crisis exhaustion‘ and the reaction to this week’s Euro deal. (Street Light Blog via EV)
The economy is at risk of a dearth of new orders. (Money Game)
Americans continue to cut back on driving. (Real Time Economics)
A look at stagnant disposable incomes. (The Atlantic)
Why GDP is like GPA. (Planet Money)
Kevin Murphy talks the economics of the NBA. (NBA via The Sports Economist)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
Top clicks this past week on Abnormal Returns. (Abnormal Returns)
Catch up on your long form reading in our Saturday linkfest. (Abnormal Returns)
Mixed media
How Steve Jobs was like Benjamin Franklin. (NYTimes)
Paul Kedrosky reviews Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs.* (Globe and Mail)
No one cares about your Klout score. (TechCrunch contra GigaOM)
Humans don’t learn equally from upside and downside mistakes due to the “optimism bias.” (Total Return)
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*Amazon affiliate. You know the drill.