Quote of the day

Edward Sandford Martin, “Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.”

Chart of the day

Junk bonds continue to underperform investment grade bonds.  (Behind the Headlines)

Markets

The TED spread is set to break out.  (Dynamic Hedge)

This Thanksgiving week is shaping up to be a rough one.  (Bespoke)

Longer term implied volatility skew is still historically high.  (SurlyTrader)

There is always demand for a good silver story.  (Kid Dynamite)

It is hard to keep a good muni bond ETF down.  (Dragonfly Capital)

Strategy

The Euro mess is going to be worse than 2008.  (UpsideTrader also TRB, The Fly)

It’s not 2008, it’s 2003.  (ValuePlays)

Corporate profits:  something’s got to give.  (Calafia Beach Pundit)

Companies

The biotech dilemma: buy or dividend?  (Capital Observer)

Why companies have shorter lifetimes than they used to.  (Forbes, Carpe Diem)

Where is Microsoft’s ($MSFT) earnings growth going to come from?  (Asymco)

The defense industry is not done.  (Marketwatch)

Can Tim Hortons’ ($THI) break out of its borders?  (YCharts Blog)

The case for Netflix ($NFLX) stock.  (Term Sheet also Peridot Capitalist)

Finance

In defense of Jefferies Group ($JEF).  (MarketBeat, ibid)

John Corzine has some explaining to do.  Don’t expect him to talk to Congress, however.  (Dealbook)

Groupon ($GRPN) breaks its offering price.  (SAI)

What the soon to-be rich should be thinking about.  (peHUB)

The downside of secondary private markets – a lack of disclosure.  (Dealbook)

The STOCK Act doesn’t get the job done.  (The Atlantic)

Funds

Tough times for active managers these days.  (FT)

Why are investors still so willing to pony up for high fee hedge funds?  (Dealbook)

What is the best way to form a low volatility fund?  (Falkenblog)

Muni bond ETFs are becoming increasingly popular.  (Bond Buyer)

Comparing emerging market bond ETFs.  (Morningstar)

Global

A German bond auction failed. Time to worry?  (MarketBeat, FT Alphaville, Bespoke, Crackerjack Finance)

Is this the wake-up call Europe needs?  (Free exchange, The Atlantic)

Investors are focused on a European crisis vs. a general financial crisis.  (Data Diary)

Economy

The US economy can’t sidestep a Euro recession.  (Gavyn Davies)

Weekly initial unemployment claims continue to track under 400k.  (Calculated Risk, Capital Spectator)

Trucks were rolling in October.  (Calculated Risk)

There is an insatiable demand for insights into what the Fed is up to.  (WSJ)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

Luck, skill and the drive to succeed.  (Abnormal Returns)

The A-list: newish finance blogs worth a look.  (Abnormal Returns)

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

Mixed media

Can birds plan for retirement?  (Total Return)

How to lose weight.  (Kid Dynamite)

Why people embrace conspiracy theories.  (Seth Godin)

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