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Quote of the day
Tom Brakke, “Most investors never get past the marketing platitudes to dive into real due diligence — and most put entirely too much emphasis on past performance when making their decisions.” (research puzzle pix)
Chart of the day

High yield bonds are making another run, but they look a bit tired. (Andrew Thrasher via @etftrendwatcher)
Markets
All the talk about the fiscal cliff is a distraction for investors. (Michael Santoli, Daniel Gross)
What is the CBOE Low Volatility Index? (Focus on Funds)
The historical drawdowns for the stock market based on CAPE. (World Beta)
Why have global macro funds underperformed? (Pragmatic Capitalism)
The muni market is getting nervous about Puerto Rico. (FT)
Dividends
What other companies are able to pay a special dividend this year? (YCharts Blog)
Companies are tapping an accommodating bond market to pay for these dividends. (WSJ)
Good news for the economy: Walt Disney ($DIS) hiked its dividend. (Mark Hulbert)
Strategy
Why individuals do better in real estate than they do in stocks. (The Brooklyn Investor)
Market tacticians have gotten whipsawed this year. (The Reformed Broker)
Lessons from the Hedge Fund Market Wizards: Ray Dalio edition. (Finance Trends Matter)
Research
Do stock traders learn from experience? (SSRN via CXOAG)
What does a ‘volatility-based asset allocation‘ system work? (Empiritage)
Finance
Should insider trading be legalized? (Brian Lund)
Auditors were hopelessly conflicted in the HP ($HPQ)-Autonomy deal. (Floyd Norris)
The sleep challenges of Hungarian equity analysts. (WSJ)
The single best way to stop corporate executives from taking advantage of inside info. (Term Sheet)
How can high frequency traders make money consistently? (Baseline Scenario)
Investment banking
The ten rules of investment banking success. (The Epicurean Dealmaker)
Investment banking needs to shrink. (Institutional Investor)
Morgan Stanley ($MS) is “capital flush.” (FT)
The crowdfunding space is already getting crowded. (Businessweek)
Wall Street wants to securitize energy efficiencies. (Slate)
Funds
How much will your bond fund drop if interest rates rise? (LearnBonds)
The low volatility space is attracting competition. (Focus on Funds)
Do you really need an ETF dedicated to “gemstones“? (TheStreet)
Global
India’s economic growth is downright sluggish. (FT, Quartz)
The pullback in Brazilian investment continues. (beyondbrics)
Yum Brands ($YUM) is seeing weakness in China. (Money Game)
The Japan bears make their case. (FT)
How Spain came to have a 25% unemployment rate. (Sober Look)
Economy
Personal income was unchanged in October. (Calculated Risk, Capital Spectator)
The Fed is not monetizing the debt. (Macro Market Musings)
Assessing the dove-hawk mix at the Fed. (FT Alphaville)
Estimating policy accommodation in real-time. (Macrofugue)
Mixed media
Why Gabe Rivera of Techmeme trusts human editors. (GigaOM)
Sentiment signals come to StockTwits. (Howard Lindzon)
iTunes is still a mess. (Slate contra Wired)
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