The weekend is a great time to catch up on some long-form links you missed during the week. We think this should also include our new book, Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies from the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere. Enjoy.

Finance

Libor and the rotten heart of finance.  (Economist)

The Libor scandal is yet another nail in the coffin of the credibility of the banks.  (The Epicurean Dealmaker)

On the risk-reducing role of women in finance.  (The Psy-Fi Blog)

Central banks can’t solve the issue of negative carry.  (FT Alphaville)

Financial history

Louis Bachelier, the true father of modern finance.  (Bloomberg)

A brief history of money.  (IEEE Spectrum)

An excerpt from Guy Lawson’s Octopus: Sam Israel, the Secret Market, and Wall Street’s Wildest Con.  (Businessweek)

Companies

The big, green profit machine that is Deere ($DE).  (Businessweek)

Microsoft’s ($MSFT) lost decade.  (Vanity Fair)

Can Pebble fulfill the promise of crowdfunding and deliver a cool, new watch on time?   (WSJ)

Technology

On the search for artificial intelligence. (n+1 via The Browser)

Robbing banks is for suckers when you can pull a credit card scam.  (Ars Technica)

Global

India’s economy is getting held back by its poor energy infrastructure.  (WSJ)

On the problems that lie below the surface of China.  (Also Sprach Analyst)

Psychology

On the growing empathy gap.  (New York)

There’s no such thing as sex addiction.  (The Humanist)

How did America become the ‘Home of the Anxious‘?  (The Atlantic)

Breastfeeding won’t make your kids smarter.  (Bloomberg)

Sports

Lessons learned from the B team.  (WSJ)

The rocky history between T. Boone Pickens and the Oklahoma State University athletics program.  (WSJ)

Mixed media

The long history of the espresso machine.  (Smithsonian Magazine via Longform)

Novelists should not put important, but potentially ambiguous information in the prologue.  (Salon)

What it’s like to audition for the Boston Symphony.  (Boston Magazine via The Browser)

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