Book notes: Peter Conti-Brown in The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve describes some sensible reforms for the Fed. (Reading the Markets)
Quote of the Day
"Unpredictable machines. Machines that act more like the weather than Newtonian gravity. That's going to take some getting used to."
(Jason Kottke)
Chart of the Day

The shift to mobile isn’t over. Half the world still needs a smartphone. (via @fredwilson)
Markets
- How long can the rebound in value continue? (barrons.com)
- One the dangers of going all-in on any one investment style. (disciplinedinvesting.blogspot.com)
Strategy
- Few fund managers are willing to go to cash any more. (blogs.wsj.com)
- On the importance of keeping a trading journal. (stockcharts.com)
- Did you buy the wrong kind of MLP fund? (sl-advisors.com)
Companies
- American Express' ($AXP) struggles are real. (bloomberg.com)
- The market has a great deal of doubt about the prospects of the Pfizer ($PFE)-Allergan ($AGN) merger. (nytimes.com)
Funds
- Some ETF pros talk about the changing ETF marketplace including the rise of smart beta. (barrons.com)
- Another year of mutual fund underperformance. (etf.com)
- Buying bank loans? Check out closed-end funds. (barrons.com)
Global
Economy
- Don't overestimate the importance of secondary liquidity to the economy as a whole. (alephblog.com)
- Americans are richer than ever. (scottgrannis.blogspot.com)
- What CEOs had to say about the economy this week. (skrisiloff.tumblr.com)
- A succinct summary of the week's economic events. (ritholtz.com)
- The economic schedule for the coming week. (calculatedriskblog.com)
Offers
- Try Audible.com and Get Two Free Audiobooks including "When Breath Becomes Air." (amazon.com)
- You can join Kindle Unlimited for a 30-day trial and read to your heart's content. (amazon.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- The top ten clicks this week on the site. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Saturday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Social media and the modern investment professional. (abnormalreturns.com)