Quote of the day

Tyler Craig, “In a normal, stable market sizable gaps rarely occur.”  (Tyler’s Trading)

Chart of the day

Research in Motion ($RIMM) is a “classic value trap.”  (Minyanville)

Markets

Margin debt has been on the decline.  (Hays Advisory)

39% of Russell 2000 companies bought back stock in Q3.  (FT)

Junk bonds are still leaving equities in the dust, despite a jump in spreads.  (Businessweek also Bespoke)

Strategy

Successful fund managers emphasize stock picking in expansions and market timing in recessions.  (SSRN)

Why do we collectively trade so much?  (voxEU)

A look inside the schlock that is the “passive income” marketing machine.  (Aleph Blog)

Companies

Mortgage REITs are having a tough time of things.  (Dragonfly Capital)

Verizon ($VZ) is getting in bed with the cable industry.  (SplatF)

A look at Yahoo’s ($YHOO) options.  (Deal Journal, SAI)

The big bang theory of computing.  (Asymco)

Finance

Ready or not Zynga is coming to market next week.  (Dealbook, Eric Jackson)

Why the Fed HAS to solicit opinions from other market participants.  (Dealbreaker)

Funds

It’s today’s market environment all that unusual?  (Economic Musings)

A look at Bill Miller’s new portfolio.  (YCharts Blog)

Not all fixed income exposure is the same.  (iShares Blog)

Global

What the swap lines announcement really means.  (Gavyn Davies)

What the historical example of currency union breakups tells us.  (WSJ)

Economy

Today’s mixed NFP report unleashed a torrent of analysis. (Calculated Risk, Capital Spectator, Daniel Gross, EconomPic Data, Economist’s View)

Why are people dropping out of the labor force.  (Wonkblog, Felix Salmon, Real Time Economics)

A pretty good week in economic reports.  (Free exchange, ValuePlays, Crackerjack Finance, Bespoke)

Rail traffic keeps chugging along.  (Pragmatic Capitalism)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

On the difference between being wrong and staying wrong.  (Abnormal Returns)

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

Mixed media

A list of the “best trading books.”  (Investing With Options)

What purpose do book publishers serve these days?  (GigaOM)

How much coffee is “safe.”  (Gawker)

Abnormal Returns is a founding member of the StockTwits Blog Network.