Quote of the day

Richard Bernstein, “The Standard & Poor’s 500 has outperformed emerging markets now for five years. Nobody cares, and it pains people to admit that the U.S. market has been outperforming.”  (Barron’s)

Chart of the day

IVV Total Return Price data by YCharts

Are utilities a buy now after a pullback?  (Barron’s)

Markets

Country stock market performance year-to-date.  (Bespoke)

The US dollar took it on the chin last week.  (Ivanhoff Capital)

On the dangers of the Yen carry trade.  (Dynamic Hedge)

A review of current market sentiment.  (The Short Side of Long)

How is the equity premium puzzle going to get resolved?  (A Dash of Insight also Investing Caffeine)

Muni bonds

Buying (and selling) individual municipal bonds can be a costly endeavor.  (Jason Zweig)

Investors are abandoning muni bond CEFs.  (Barron’s)

Strategy

Why a low vol strategy works: investors are drawn to stocks that catch their attention.  (Mark Hulbert)

Jose de la Vega’s investing rules circa 1688.  (Crossing Wall Street)

It’s hard to see where acceptable long-term returns come from.  (Long Short)

Companies

Amazon ($AMZN) wants to be in every room in your house.  (Pando Daily)

Is Google ($GOOG) the GE ($GE) of the 21st century?  (FT)

Is Snapchat a $1 billion company?  (TechCrunch)

Finance

Seven reasons why stock buybacks are often disappointing.  (Quartz)

The hedge fund herd has ‘been culled.’  (FT)

ETFs

John Bogle has won. What next?  (InvestmentNews)

On the dangers of back-tested ETFs.  (Clear Eyes Investing via @monevator)

Global

Canada’s economy is too real-estate dependent.  (Sober Look)

Labor’s share of the economy is falling around the developed world.  (Conversable Economist via @markthoma)

Investors are abandoning emerging market bonds.  (beyondbrics)

Economy

Why the Fed hates the word ‘tapering.’  (Real Time Economics)

Bubbles have not been a bad thing for the super-rich.  (The Reformed Broker)

Can you save enough to live in retirement for twenty years?  (NYTimes via @mooerhn)

A look back at the economic week that was.  (Bonddad Blog)

The economic schedule for the coming week.  (Calculated Risk)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

What you may have missed in our long form Saturday linkfest.  (Abnormal Returns)

Top clicks this week on the site.  (Abnormal Returns)

Mixed media

Why don’t schools teach typing?  (Worthwhile Canadian Initiative)

Everyone would benefit from reading It’s All About Who You Hire, How They Lead…and Other Essential Advice from a Self-Made Leader by Morton Mandel.  (Aleph BLog)

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