Book review: Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception by George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller has a “simple but powerful thesis.” (Reading the Markets)
Quote of the Day
"Buybacks do not destroy the cash used. The cash goes to stockholders — often pension funds or mutual funds — that reinvest it, presumably in younger firms that are cash-starved and hungry to expand. This is not to say that buybacks are always benign."
(Mark Roe)
Markets
- Investors are overstating the link between commodities and emerging markets. (etf.com)
- A snapshot of global capital markets YTD. (ftalphaville.ft.com)
- The market volatility regime has changed. (bloomberg.com)
- Be wary of big up-market days. (bloombergview.com)
Strategy
- On the current attractions of a put-write strategy. (philosophicaleconomics.com)
- What is an asset worth? (alephblog.com)
- Are low-yielding bonds still a good portfolio hedge? (pragcap.com)
- Why investors who ape David Swensen's strategy have it all wrong. (awealthofcommonsense.com)
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Companies
Finance
- "Non-prime mortgages" are back for the yield-starved. (ft.com)
- A profile of the hedge fund that is the biggest bidder at recent Treasury auctions. (wsj.com)
- The secondary market for private equity stakes is growing rapidly. (ft.com)
- Just because a big commodities house goes belly up does not necessarily mean supply will go down. (streetwiseprofessor.com)
ETFs
- Investment funds aren’t fashion accessories. (evidenceinvestor.co.uk)
- Hedge funds are not adding much value. (etf.com)
- How net asset values (NAVs) get calculated. (etf.com)
Economy
- Small business sentiment continues to rise. (calculatedriskblog.com)
- Why aren't more Americans refinancing their mortgages? (bonddad.blogspot.com)
- Demographics are now improving in the U.S.! (calculatedriskblog.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Startup links: early losses, later gains. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you may have missed in our Monday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
Mixed media
- Brett Steenbarger, "It is much easier taking risk in one area of life–say, career–when life’s other investments are stable and paying off." (forbes.com)
- Conference calls are the lowest order of communication. (ft.com)
- Two films, one fiction and one documentary, are on deck to review the life of Steve Jobs. (nytimes.com)
