AutosCarlos Ghosn did not leave Nissan in great shape. (nytimes.com)Why Tesla ($TSLA) still holds a big advantage over competitors: range. (washingtonpost.com)The Hummer is coming back…as an electric pickup truck. (theverge.com)What makes your commute more (or less) impactful on the environment? (axios.com)Large truck fatalities are at a new high in the US. (indystar.com)What factors lead to road rage? (thesimpledollar.com)EnvironmentThe 2010s were officially the hottest decade on record. (axios.com)Ocean temperatures have now hit a record. (newatlas.com)It’s hard for anyone to argue that climate change isn’t happening. (wsj.com)Could a sea wall really protect New York City from rising sea levels? (nytimes.com)Will future skyscrapers be built out of wood? (nationalgeographic.com)The Himalayas are blooming. (modernfarmer.com)Wildfires’Pyro-cumulonimbus events’ are upending … [Read More...]

The bizWhy “Blood Ties” jumped to the top of the podcast charts. (wsj.com)The best USB microphones for the money. (engadget.com)FinanceBarry Ritholtz talked “high conviction” investing with Matthew Benkendorf, CIO of Vontobel’s Quality Growth boutique. (ritholtz.com)Tobias Carlisle talks special situations investing with Steven Kiel of Arquitos Capital. (acquirersmultiple.com)Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal talk with Maciej Wojtal about what its like to trade Iranian stocks. (podcasts.apple.com)Phil Bak talks about measuring consumer satisfaction with Forrest Morgeson, Director of Research at the American Customer Satisfaction Index. (exponentialetfs.com)Sean Murry and Stig Brodersen talk about the relationship between money and happiness with Brian Portnoy author of “The Geometry of Wealth.” (www-theinvestorspodcast-com.cdn.ampproject.org)Tim Ranzetta talks with Demetria Gallegos of the Wall Street … [Read More...]

StrategyBrett Steenbarger, “History is not guaranteed to repeat itself, but formulating strong views in the absence of any knowledge of history is not trading: It is malpractice.” (traderfeed.blogspot.com)Why holding onto a winning stock is so difficult. (novelinvestor.com)Making the case for a time-invariant asset allocation. (alephblog.com)Interest rates have been coming down for centuries. (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com)CryptoThis shows that institutional investors don’t want to hold Bitcoin on their own. (markets.businessinsider.com)CompaniesGoogle ($GOOGL) has joined the $1 trillion club. (nytimes.com)Apple ($AAPL) has a billion users. How can it get to two billion? (aboveavalon.com)Microsoft ($MSFT) aims to be carbon-negative by 2030. (bbc.com)FinanceSomeone is making money off of the corpse of Sears…it’s the bankruptcy advisers! (wsj.com)Why Goldman Sachs ($GS) has … [Read More...]

MarketsThe 2008 market debacle is becoming a distant memory for many investors. (awealthofcommonsense.com)We haven’t had a 1% move in the S&P 500 in months. (wsj.com)The persistence of this rally has been remarkable. (quantifiableedges.com)StrategyLong-term stock winners don’t go straight up. (crossingwallstreet.com)How the Mendelson family took over and turned Heico ($HEI) around. (forbes.com)CryptoLibra put central banks on notice that digital currencies are coming whether they like it or not. (ft.com)IEOs are the new ICOs. (qz.com)CompaniesHow Boeing ($BA) lost it corporate culture to finance-types. (finance.yahoo.com)Why you are unlikely to get an edit button on Twitter ($TWTR) any time soon. (wired.com)To survive and thrive, Casper ($CSPR) is going to have convince Wall Street of a path to profitability. (bnnbloomberg.ca)Mark … [Read More...]

MarketsOxford University just issued a 100-year bond with a 2.54% yield. (ftalphaville.ft.com)Chinese stocks are having a good start to the year. (capitalspectator.com)StrategyHere are 12 investing sins you should avoid including ‘hyperactivity.’ (humbledollar.com)Investing is a combintation of skill and chance. Which means luck plays a role. (oaktreecapital.com)Real estateHow Aventura Mall, a shopping complex between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, maintains near 100% occupancy. (nytimes.com)Strip-center shops look like a better bet than malls. (wsj.com)AmazonAmazon ($AMZN) and FedEx ($FDX) are back on speaking terms. (cnbc.com)Why Costco ($COST) is Amazon ($AMZN) proof. (businessinsider.com)Why online reviews are increasingly unreliable. (ft.com)FinanceKKR ($KKR) is now a top ten buyout loan underwriter. (bloomberg.com)Fund managementA first-hand account of losing your firm’s biggest mandate. (blog…. [Read More...]

CTAsAs trend following strategies grow they lose the ability to invest in less liquid markets. (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com)Are CTA portfolios losing their convexity? (priceactionlab.com)Quant stuffWhy you should push back against dual y-axis charts. (blogs.uoregon.edu)Machine learning techniques can also be useful on monthly data. (alphaarchitect.com)There is a big difference between academic studies and the results you get in real life. (allocatesmartly.com)Research”How a factor is defined and how a factor portfolio is constructed play important roles in the results achieved.” (blog.thinknewfound.com)A cluster analysis of various alternative strategies. (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com)Some new evidence on the power of idiosyncratic volatility to explain returns. (alphaarchitect.com)Private equity underperformance may be due more to mean reversion than size effects. (institutionalinvestor.com)Simple alphabetical ordering affects … [Read More...]

MarketsIf you are predicting a bad ten years for US stocks, read this first. (ofdollarsanddata.com)The periodic table of commodity returns. (visualcapitalist.com)CryptoFacebook ($FB) is going to resist change at all costs. (nytimes.com)FinanceJP Morgan Chase ($JPM) made more last year than any American bank in history. (bloomberg.com)Goldman Sachs’ ($GS) Marcus now has a standalone consumer app. (cnbc.com)What Visa ($V) can build with Plaid. (stratechery.com)Hedge fundsSerengeti Asset Management is providing financing for SecFi a platform for employee options. (ft.com)This hedge fund wants to invest based on climate change. (financial-planning.com)FundsBlackrock ($BLK) is doubling down on ESG. (axios.com)How private equity firms boost IRRs without actually generating more returns. (institutionalinvestor.com)GlobalOn the big disconnect in China’s stock market. (ft.com)Earlier on Abnormal ReturnsResearch … [Read More...]

PodcastsTyrone Ross talks with Josh Brown about the advisory business and what life is like in the (financial) media spotlight. (thereformedbroker.com)Michael Kitces talks with Steph Bruno who is the founder of Sea to Peak Financial Advisors, an independent RIA with offices based in Seattle and Denver, about the upside of outsourcing. (kitces.com)TransactionsInside the story of the merger of Savant Capital Management and Huber Financial Advisors. (bpsandpieces.com)Envestnet has purchased a stake in Dynasty Financial Partners. (riabiz.com)The advisory space is so hot that PE firms are now buying stakes in advisor-focused PR firms. (investmentnews.com)Advisers who have sold their practices to aggregators find they have more time to spend with clients. (advisorhub.com)RetirementSide hustles are becoming the norm in retirement. (kiplinger.com)Retirement is looking … [Read More...]

StrategyInvesting is a series of what-ifs. (humbledollar.com)The smartest portfolio manager may not be the best. (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com)Why you can safely ignore all those 2020 forecasts. (blogs.cfainstitute.org)BehaviorHave behavioral finance gone too far in looking for biases under every rock? (msn.com)Simple alphabetical ordering affects investment choices in a retirement plan setting. (pionline.com)CompaniesBerkshire Hathaway ($BRK.A) has amassed a pile of trust. How long can it last? (rationalwalk.com)Why Apple ($AAPL) stock got revalued higher in 2019. (mondaynote.com)FinanceMifid II has substantially reduced the amount of analyst coverage. (wsj.com)Why Goldman Sach’s ($GS) Marcus is still offering 2% CD rates. (finance.yahoo.com)FundsVanguard’s growth is creating both opportunities and problems. (ft.com)Index fund manager concentration is only going to attract more attention over time. (bloomberg…. [Read More...]

StrategyWhy have value stocks lagged so much, for so long? (wsj.com)The case for global investing. (mebfaber.com)There’s nothing magical about the 60/40 portfolio. (humbledollar.com)CasperMattress company Casper ($CSPR) has filed to go public. (news.crunchbase.com)Casper relies heavily on its Instagram influencers for sales. (businessinsider.com)Casper is avoiding the whole dual-class share controversy. (wsj.com)Big TechBig Tech is itching to get their hands on your medical data. (wsj.com)Big Tech is facing a hiring backlash on college campuses. (nytimes.com)PolicyThe 1% really is happier than the rest of America. (washingtonpost.com)What is full employment, anyway? (marginalrevolution.com)Should US GDP numbers include the illegal drug trade? (ft.com)More Americans are telecommuting. (stlouisfed.org)Why aren’t we talking more about the big demographic shifts underway? (awealthofcommonsense.com)If you take … [Read More...]

ProfilesA profile of Beyond Meat ($BYND) founder and CEO Ethan Brown. (latimes.com)Why is Merck Mercuriadis paying so much for song publishing rights? (marker.medium.com)A big profile of Malcolm Gladwell author of “Talking to Strangers.” (newstatesman.com)Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll’s unique philosophy is being taught far outside the NFL. (nytimes.com)’Curb Your Enthusiasm’ is back. Cue the Larry David profile. (gq.com)Book excerptsAn excerpt from “The Power of Bad: How The Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It” by John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister. (forge.medium.com)An excerpt Kate Murphy’s “You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters.” (nytimes.com)FinanceHow did banking become so central to the U.S. economy? (newrepublic.com)Cash had a pretty good run. … [Read More...]

AutosUS teenagers are still not eager to jump behind the wheel of a car. (finance.yahoo.com)Lidar is going mainstream. (theverge.com)Even still, there are too many Lidar companies to survive. (wired.com)EnergyWhy Germany’s decision to fade out nuclear energy was a mistake. (marginalrevolution.com)The push for renewables is not going happen without some mistakes. (ftalphaville.ft.com)Some cities are looking to ban the use of natural gas in new homes. (nytimes.com)EnvironmentModern economies are ‘dematerializing’ which is good for the environment. (ft.com)Why are America’s black-footed ferrets disappearing? (scientificamerican.com)How herds of goats are being used to clear our fire-prone brush. (npr.org)Electronic waste is a growing problem: a UK perspective. (ft.com)TransportAustralia is a great place to store idled airplanes. (ft.com)Farmers are … [Read More...]

SpotifySpotify ($SPOT) is getting into the daily sports podcasting game. (bloomberg.com)Spotify ($SPOT) is launching streaming ad insertion. (variety.com)Masters in BusinessHere are Barry’s ten favorite episodes of Masters in Business from 2019. (ritholtz.com)Barry Ritholtz spoke with Brian Kelly, better known as “The Points Guy” about how to get the most of your travel rewards. (ritholtz.com)FinanceTed Seides talks with Gregory Zuckerman author of “The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution.” (capitalallocatorspodcast.com)Tyrone Ross talks with Josh Brown about the advisory business and what life is like in the (financial) media spotlight. (thereformedbroker.com)Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak sat down with their colleague John Rekenthaler to talk about the investment lessons he has learned along the way. (morningstar.com)JC Parets … [Read More...]

MarketsApple ($AAPL) stock accounted for one-tenth of the 29% rise of the S&P 500 last year. (ft.com)A growing percentage of publicly traded companies operate at a loss. (wsj.com)The numbers behind the stock market’s ‘relentless’ move higher. (sentimentrader.com)StrategyWhy you need to be skeptical of stories that look at the performance of money managers. (epsilontheory.com)Some crazy stories of financial fraud that didn’t make Ben Carlson’s new book “Don’t Fall For It: A Short History of Financial Scams.” (awealthofcommonsense.com)StreamingThe number of original scripted shows hit a new record in 2019. (hollywoodreporter.com)Americans streamed 1.1 trillion songs in 2019. (nypost.com)ConsumersNearly 70% of consumers in North America think it is important that a brand is sustainable or eco-friendly. (barrons.com)How to buy ethically without overspending. (thesimpledollar…. [Read More...]

MarketsWhat are we to make of strength in the homebuilder stocks? (allstarcharts.com)Energy has not been this small a percentage of the S&P 500 in two decades. (valueplays.net)A look at the track record of the ‘Hindenburg Omen.’ (sentimentrader.com)StrategyWhy experts are so unwilling to admit mistakes. (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com)Ben Graham knew most people won’t be able to stick with a strategy built on his philosophy. (novelinvestor.com)CompaniesTo say that Quibi is a big bet on the unknown would be an understatement. (theverge.com)Consumer electronics makers have a confidence problem. (daringfireball.net)If Grubhub ($GRUB) is for sale, who’s buying? (ftalphaville.ft.com)FinanceMorningstar ($MORN) is trying to improve the quality of bond ratings. (wsj.com)There were only four bank failures in the US in 2019. (calculatedriskblog.com)FundsWhy smaller … [Read More...]

MarketsStrategyWhat constitutes an ‘extraordinary return’ for the stock market on a 1, 5 and 10 year? basis (priceactionlab.com)Five investment lessons learned from asking pros ‘five questions’ in 2019. (blog.validea.com)AppleNo matter how you slice it Apple ($AAPL) AirPods are a huge and fast growing line of business. (kevinrooke.com)AirPods would be even bigger if Apple ($AAPL) could keep up with demand. (daringfireball.net)FinanceUgh. Non-traded REITs had a big 2019. (wsj.com)2019 was a big year for convertible bond issuance. (bloomberg.com)Climate risk is increasingly getting factored into muni bond prices. (ft.com)FundsGlobal index fund AUM crossed the $11 trillion mark in 2019. (ft.com)Canadians love their ETF fund of funds. (bnnbloomberg.ca)Franklin Templeton ($BEN) had a rough year when it comes to fund outflows. (ft.com)GlobalHow a former CIA analyst … [Read More...]

ResearchSmart beta ETFs are not all that factor-y. (factorresearch.com)A simple explanation for value underperformance. (evidenceinvestor.com)Now much does intra-asset rebalancing frequency matter? (ofdollarsanddata.com)ETF fee competition has now lowered uniformly lowered fees across the board. (institutionalinvestor.com)Social media sentiment does seem to have some value in predicting stock returns. (papers.ssrn.com)Big banks are stepping up their research into quantum computing. (ft.com) [Read More...]

GeopoliticsNick, “Personally, I’d rather ignore geopolitical risk all together than make predictions based on subjective probabilities.” (demonetizedblog.com)Oil traders are not taking geopolitical risks with a big grain of salt. (wsj.com)StrategyThe stock market is a much more nuanced place than ‘good’ fundamental investors and everyone else. (morningstar.com)Why investors should use a checklist. (caseywolf.blog)Stock options are the ‘Swiss Army knife’ of financial instruments: both need to be used with care. (humbledollar.com)IPOsA look at some alternative data on One Medical ($ONEM) which just filed to go public. (media.thinknum.com)TopGolf looks to go public. (bloomberg.com)Companies”Dotdash’s emphasis on human-created content makes it almost the anti-Google.” (fastcompany.com)Tesla ($TSLA) is now almost worth more than Ford ($F) and General Motors ($GM). (ft…. [Read More...]