This is an abbreviated and less than comprehensive daily linkfest. Here’s wishing you a happy and healthy holiday weekend.

Markets

The markets are still very much in a risk on-risk off mode.  (FT Alphaville)

Monsanto ($MON) and corn ($CORN) have been moving in lockstep.  (StockCharts Blog)

It’s hard to trade if the other party won’t live up to their end of the deal: the case of cotton.   (WSJ)

Strategy

Interest rates have been falling for thirty years. Does your strategy fit in a different regime?  (Capital Spectator)

On the downside of mean-variance optimization.  (Systematic Relative Strength)

Are investors going to favor buybacks if dividend tax rates go higher?  (YCharts Blog)

Behaviors

More evidence that financial literary is abysmal,  (NYMag)

Day trading is a sucker’s game.  (Crossing Wall Street)

Sometimes unlearning something is harder than learning it in the first place.  (The Minimalist Trader)

Companies

How many Kindle Fires were sold?  (Asymco)

SAIC ($SAI) is splitting into two companies.  (Dealbook)

Can electronics stores survive?  (WSJ)

Finance

A preview of a couple of high profile IPOs coming to market post-Labor Day.  (Deal JournalpeHUB)

One other potential way money market mutual fund reform could happen.  (Dealbook)

Once again into the high frequency trading fray.  (Kid Dynamite)

Why big investors prefer $GLD vs. $IAU.  (IndexUniverse)

Global

Australia at a tipping point.  (MacroBusiness)

A look at Japan’s structural problems that more money can’t fix.  (Sober Look)

Economics

An annotated Ben Bernanke.  (Money Game, Felix Salmon, WSJ)

If QE3 is imminent, why is the Fed’s balance sheet shrinking?  (FT Alphaville)

Why have so many, been so wrong on the state of the economy?  (Value Plays)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

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

Mixed media

The hidden truth about calories.  (Scientific American)

The perfect workout for the time-challenged.  (FT)

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