Quote of the day

SRS, “Clients often obsess over their fund selection and investment strategy, when they really should be paying attention to their savings rate.”  (Systematic Relative Strength)

Chart of the day

Cyclical stocks are leading the market higher.  (Humble Student of the Markets)

Markets

Bullish strategists are coming out in force.  (Money Game)

S&P 500 valuations are approaching their recent normal.  (Covestor Blog)

US companies are raising dividends while continuing to cut earning estimates.  (FT)

Financial advice

Wall Street again for the win: higher standards for broker are stalled.  (Bloomberg)

Rick Ferri, “It’s as if technology gains have bypassed the adviser industry. Even the best lunches in the best restaurants are not worth a 1.0 percent annual fee.”  (Rick Ferri)

The conflict of interest between brokers and clients is “a perennial battle.”  (The Reformed Broker)

Why CFPs make more money.  (AdvisorOne)

Companies

The big difference between Apple ($AAPL) and Amazon ($AMZN) in one chart.  (ReadWriteWeb)

Google ($GOOG) wants to push farther into commerce.  (NYTimes)

The domestic solar power industry is about installing systems not building panels.  (WSJ)

Some, 200 pages worth, for Procter & Gamble ($PG).  (Deal Journal)

Housing

Big money players are once again piling into “shovel-ready” residential projects.  (Reuters)

Housing market bottom callers will get it right one of these days.  (Big Picture)

ETFs

The competitive threat that Vanguard poses to active and passive managers.  (FT)

The ETF Deathwatch for September 2012 tops 400.  (Invest With an Edge)

Is self-indexing all that big an issue?  (IndexUniverse)

Global

Germany may not kick Greece out of the Europe.  (Wonkblog)

Reviewing the conflicting economic messages coming out of China.  (FT Alphaville, FT)

Short-selling is becoming a criminal act in China.  (Globe and Mail)

How technology is killing the Asian growth miracle.  (FT Alphaville)

Economy

What one model says about Q3 GDP.  (Capital Spectator)

After AIG ($AIG) what does the government have left to sell?  (Dealbook)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

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

Mixed media

How the Internet will change personal finance.  (TheNextWeb)

The social media industry is shifting gears.  (The Atlantic)

A bear market in MBA applications.  (Businessweek)

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