Today’s linkfest is a bit of a catch-up for the holiday week. We hope you enjoy the rest of the holiday week.

Finance

What’s goodwill again?  (The Epicurean Dealmaker)

John Hempton’s writing on Focus Media Holding ($FMCN) is a short course in equity analysis.  (the research puzzle)

Another look at the unconventional deal that is Leucadia National ($LUK) and Jefferies Group ($JEF).  (Brooklyn Investor)

Robert Seawright, “As investors — as people — we are prone to the same types of foibles, obsessions and foolishness as lunatic sports fans…”  (Above the Market)

Big trends

How Baby Boomers will change the financial markets.  (Institutional Investor)

What are the really long investing term consequences of global warming.  (Above the Market)

Financial media

A great interview with Bill McBride of Calculated Risk.  (Money Game)

How to read financial news.  (Motley Fool)

Economy

Why is housing such a popular investment?  (voxEU)

Why we build fiscal cliffs.  (Justin Fox)

A big shift in the global economy.  (Fortune)

Why the share of $100 bills has been going up for 40 years.  (Quartz)

Venture

The App Economy is easy to get into, making money is the hard part.  (NYTimes also The Atlantic, Digitopoly)

What it’s really like to be an entrepreneur in today’s economy.  (Both Sides of the Table)

How well does Google Fiber work? Apparently pretty well.  (SAI)

Hedge funds

A look back at when hedge funds were still in their infancy.  (Fortune)

A London Sohn Conference recap.  (FT Alphaville)

Books

David A Shaywitz, “Knowledge, then, is less a canon than a consensus in a state of constant disruption.” from a review of Samuel Arbesman’s The Half-Life of Facts. (WSJ)

A Q&A with Michael Mauboussin author of The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports and Investing .  (Wired)

Why Gary Gorton’s Misunderstanding Financial Crises: Why We Don’t See Them Coming is an important read.  (Capital Spectator)

Inside the life of the ‘father of fractals’ Benoit Mandelbrot. Stephen Wolfram reviews The Fractalist: Memoir of a Scientific Maverick.  (WSJ)

Business school

Should you go to B-school?   (Points and Figures)

The best business schools 2012.  (Businessweek)

Mixed media

Four star generals are treated like rock stars by the military.  (WashingtonPost)

The hard life of an NFL long shot.  (NYTimes)

Are real life Hawaiian real estate deal like one seen in The Descendants.  (WSJ)

The peculiar appeal of bone marrow.  (The Daily Beast)

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