Quote of the day

Hunter, “Don’t be tempted to settle for marginal.  Patience is the HARDEST part of allocating capital.”  (Distressed Debt Investing)

Chart of the day

Crude oil is in an “open air pocket” at the moment.  (Afraid to Trade)

Gasoline

All the gas price talk is driven by the media.  (Money Game, ibid)

Just how much would higher gasoline prices cost consumers?  (Big Picture)

Energy stocks have lagged the surge in crude oil prices.  (Bespoke)

Markets

The market is looking for the Fed to renege on its promise of no rate hikes until 2014.  (Sober Look, Free exchange)

Congratulations to the 1,082 day long bull market.  (Bespoke)

Tech stocks still have room to run valuation-wise.  (Forbes)

Looking for a rebound in utilities.  (MarketBeat)

Strategy

Every moment in the market is unique.  Be prepared.  (RogueTraderette)

US Treasuries will not always be looked on as a safe haven asset.  (Bloomberg)

Setting expectations for the “demographic iceberg” that is Baby Boomers.  (Systematic Relative Strength)

Do individual investors need more choice or more protection?  (Economist)

Companies

Sears Holdings ($SHLD) has bought itself another year.  (Dealbook also Peridot Capitalist)

The greatest stock you have likely never heard of.  (Businessweek)

Putting some numbers on Apple’s ($AAPL) law of large numbers problem.  (James Stewart)

The odd accounting force field surrounding AIG ($AIG).  (FT Alphaville)

Finance

Should investors try to play the potential IPO pop in Facebook ($FB) shares?  (Aswath Damodran)

John Bogle, “Liquidity is the last refuge of the scoundrel.”  (Big Picture)

Times are tough for CLO managers.  (Sober Look)

The black hole that is Fannie and Freddie.  (Finance Addict)

Just how underfunded are state and municipal pensions?  (FT)

ETFs

Investors will take a wait-and-see attitude toward the Pimco Total Return ETF ($TRXT).  (ETF Trends)

The ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF ($UVXY) are benefiting from the woes of $TVIX.  (IndexUniverse)

Global

It seems like the LTRO carry trade is played out.  (FT Alphaville)

If the Greek bailout is so bad why is the Euro so strong?  (Money Game also MarketBeat)

Just how much ground have Western nations given up to the crisis?  (Economist)

The last domino to fall:  a look at the overheated Canadian housing market.  (MacroBusiness)

Economy

Every recovery has got to start somewhere.  (Money Game)

How long have people been unemployed?  (Bonddad Blog)

Stuff is wearing out: on the prospects for a self-sustaining economic recovery.  (Modeled Behavior)

Record planting should help keep a lid on food prices in 2012.  (FT)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

Why ETFs are the future of active management.  (Abnormal Returns)

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

Mixed media

All of journalism, including tech, is rife with conflicts.  Get over it.  (Dan Primack)

Good economy or bad, Hollywood is facing problems.  (The Reformed Broker)

Why publishers should give away e-books with their physical copies.  (Rough Type via Daring Fireball)

How to make the Oscars more interesting.  (Bloomberg)

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