Quote of the day

Carl Richards, “In 2012, commit to doing small, simple things consistently and over time.”  (Bucks Blog)

Chart of the day

Consumer staples continue to outperform.  (StockCharts Blog)

Markets

The stock market hasn’t ended up with so little change since 1970.  (Bloomberg)

Ten investment lessons from 2011.  (Eric Jackson)

Doug Kass’ fifteen surprises for 2011.  (TheStreet)

How investors should apply “cop logic” to the investing world.  (Interloper)

111 years of Australian stock market returns.  (MacroBusiness)

Gold

Despite higher dividends, goldbugs are shunning gold miners in favor of gold ETFs.  (research puzzle pix, Dynamic Dividend)

How gold ETFs affect gold futures margins.  (Minyanville)

Companies

Has Amazon ($AMZN) truly built a sustainable advantage?  (YCharts Blog)

Complaints about Google ($GOOG) position in online travel search are already here.  (WSJ)

Apple ($AAPL) had a good Christmas.  (GigaOM)

Why is Windows Phone still a laggard.  (SAI)

Ten things Hewlett-Packard ($HPQ) must do in 2012.  (GigaOM)

Ten takeaways from the GoGo IPO filing.  (SplatF)

Finance

The future of equity research is the stream.  (Howard Lindzon)

On the dangers of machine readable news.  (Pension Pulse)

Can housing recover if housing finance has not?  (WSJ)

Ivy League grads are having second thoughts about heading to Wall Street. (Bloomberg)

Funds

The ugly year in hedge fund returns.  (Humble Student of the Markets)

How about a new core fund for your ‘core and explore‘ strategy?  (Random Roger)

Bruce Berkowitz is sitting on another loser in Sears Holdings ($SHLD).  (Deal Journal)

What else does Eddie Lampert have in his portfolio?  (Dealbook)

Economy

Consumer confidence on the upwswing.  (EconomPic Data, Money Game)

The Case-Shiller numbers continue to show a steady decline in home prices.  (Calculated Risk, The Reformed Broker)

Inflation means different things at different times.  (Capital Spectator)

The long term math of the US’ finances is still pretty simple.  (Aleph Blog)

What the late nineteenth century railroad barons teach us about crony capitalism.  (Baseline Scenario)

Members of Congress keep on getting wealthier while the average American stagnates.  (NYTimes)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

The 99 percent and the problem of societal underinvestment.  (Abnormal Returns)

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

Mixed media

Congratulations if your startup is “mocked and misunderstood.”  (A VC)

How social networks beat email.  (Felix Salmon)

The 50 best movies of 2011.  (Paste)

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