Quote of the day

Jared Woodard, “(T)here are really only two kinds of reasons to use options in a transaction: for the leverage, or to express a view about volatility.”  (Condor Options)

Chart of the day

The world according to Josh.  (The Reformed Broker)

Markets

This indicator points toward defense in the bond market.  (research puzzle pix)

Lumber prices are down 25% from the peak.  (Calculated Risk)

We are near the peak of the presidential election cycle.  (Crossing Wall Street)

Strategy

Can you succeed with just a three fund portfolio?  (WSJ, Capital Spectator)

Capitalization weighted indices have gotten trounced by alternative indices.  (WSJ)

Why investors should have a global perspective.  (Vitaliy Katsenelson)

What is it like to invest like a chicken?  (Rick Ferri)

Companies

Local TV stations are surprisingly in play once again.  (NYTimes)

The Tesla ($TSLA) bubble illustrated.  (Vconomics, BI)

There is a world steelmaking glut.  (Economist)

Finance

Thomson Reuters will no longer provide an early look at consumer confidence numbers.  (WSJ, Dealbook)

Why you shouldn’t get too excited about a possible M&A boom.  (Term Sheet)

Insider trading is alive and well.  (Dealbreaker)

Pension funds are taking advantage of lower bond prices.  (Institutional Investor)

Media buzz is not a sustainable business model: Meredith Whitney Advisory Group is losing clients.  (Big Picture, WSJ)

Funds

SAC Capital is not out of the woods yet.  (Dealbook)

Private equity fund of funds are a dying breed.  (FT)

In a period of weak returns hedge funds are going to have to justify their existence.  (FT)

ETFs

Bond ETFs have become a liquidity tool for fund managers.  (Bloomberg)

There is no shortage of options for investors in search of short term bond ETFs.  (WSJ)

60% of ETFs have $100 million in AUM. Hence a wave of closures. (FT)

Economy

What happens to house prices during a period of rising mortgage rates?  (Calculated Risk)

Rail traffic is pretty weak.  (Pragmatic Capitalism)

Women are exiting the labor force.  (FT Data)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

What you may have missed in our Sunday morning linkfest.  (Abnormal Returns)

Mixed media

Capital is flowing into the automated driving space.  (Dealbook)

Netflix ($NFLX) is shaking up how shows get made.  (WSJ)

On the SnapChat-ificaiton of everything.  (Justin Paterno)

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