Quote of the day

Robert Sinn, “However, paper trading can NEVER make one  a profitable trader and can NEVER be substituted for real market experience.”  (Stock Sage)

Chart of the day

The long-term lesson from Jeff Bezos’ management of Amazon ($AMZN).  (SAI)

Markets

The US stock market is betting on the ECB to act.  (MarketBeat)

The WTI-Brent spread keeps coming in, keeping gasoline prices low.  (Bespoke, FT Alphaville)

What are Congress’ favorite stocks?  (Big Picture)

Midwest farm land prices are surging.  (FT)

Strategy

Trading in two different time frames.  (Tickerville)

Which Morgan Stanley ($MS) strategist should we listen to?  (The Reformed Broker)

On the value of strategic allocation models.  (Turnkey Analyst)

All hedge funds are “fundamentally opaque.”  (Falkenblog)

How temperature affects aggregate risk and expected returns.  (SSRN)

The gift tax window may close sooner than thought.  (Total Return)

Technology

What Twitter is really all about.  (Above the Crowd via TechCrunch)

Does mobile OS market share matter?  (SplatF)

The Kindle Fire and iPad are not really in competition.  (Minyanville, WSJ)

Is iTunes Match worth it?  (SAI)

Cutting the cord on cable is harder than it seems.  (SplatF)

The end of the dedicated portable device.  (Asymco)

Finance

The best entrepreneurs know how to preserve equity.  (Dealbook)

Why Chicago is still a financial center, for now.  (Points and Figures)

MF Global customers are stuck in a sort of “purgatory.” (WSJ)

Did regulation accidentally kill MF Global?  (NetNet)

Insider trading laws are not there to protect the little guy.  (Dealbreaker)

Is the bad news in the US banks?  (Term Sheet)

How recessions affect the C-suite?   (Freakonomics)

ETFs

Another buyback ETF option.  (Morningstar earlier Abnormal Returns)

More on the use of ETFs to avoid wash sale rules.  (FT Alphaville)

Global

ECB, ECB, ECB.  (Free exchange, The Source, Real Time Economics)

An interview with Richard Koo on the future of the Euro.  (Business Insider)

Russian stocks are still really cheap.  (beyondbrics)

Economy

Industrial production up, CPI down.  (Calculated Risk, Crossing Wall Street)

Americans continue to remodel their homes.  (Calculated Risk)

Why aren’t more Americans moving?  (Wonkblog)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

What you missed in our Wednesday morning linkfest.  (Abnormal Returns)

Books

Reading the recently updated What Works on Wall Street, The Classic Guide to the Best-Performing Investment Strategies of All Time
by James P. O’Shaughnessy.  (Reading the Markets)

A positive review of Tom Orlick’s Understanding China’s Economic Indicators: Translating the Data into Investment Opportunities.  (beyondbrics)

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