Quote of the day

Fred Wilson, “I believe that cheap devices will be smart and expensive devices will be dumb.”  (A VC)

Chart of the day


The TED spread didn’t go down this week.  (Dynamic Hedge)

Strategy

So you want to be a trader?  Unfortunately the odds are against you.  (Joe Fahmy)

Mike Bellafiore, “The truth of the matter is that trading takes a lot of work.”  (SMB Training)

401(k) participants still love their stable value funds.  (WSJ)

Companies

Cloud, cloud, cloud.  SAP ($SAP) purchases SuccessFactors ($SFSF).  (Dealbook, FT)

What companies have been buying back their shares hand over fist.  (Barron’s)

If everyone else is such an idiot, how come you’re not rich?  (Megan McArdle)

Finance

Equity-centric compensation is changing the game on Wall Street.  (Dealbook)

Why so few people are “being held legally accountable for the financial crisis.”  (NYTimes)

From “extreme early retirement” to hedge fund quant.  (Information Processing)

Funds

Fidelity is making a push into ETFs.  (IndexUniverse)

Sometimes the big guys lose:  the case of Zynga.  (SAI, Deal Journal)

A battle over patents on fundamental indexing could soon be in the courts.  (IndexUniverse)

Another tough month for John Paulson.  (Institutional Investor)

Global

How to assess any sort of Euro deal.  (Marginal Revolution)

What if the IMF gets involved in Europe.  (The Reformed Broker)

What four indicators do we need to track Europe?  (Global Macro Monitor)

Economy

A profile of newly minted Nobel prize winners Thomas J. Sargent and Christopher A. Sims.  (NYTimes)

Don’t believe the Black Friday hype on retail sales.  (WashingtonPost)

More speculation on just how many jobs the US economy created in November.  (Real Time Economics, Econbrowser)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns.  (Abnormal Returns)

What you missed in our Saturday long form linkfest.  (Abnormal Returns)

Mixed media

Nice guys finish last:  on the “disagreeable premium.”  (The Frontal Cortex)

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