- All the recent chatter concerning the Fed’s exit strategy is puzzling, Tim Iacono says. Maybe it’s “simply a way for policymakers to generate confidence that might not otherwise be there.”
- Keep an eye on cumulative breadth, number of stocks moving up and down on a given day, for clues about future market performance, Bespoke Investment Group says.
- Despite the aughts being a lost decade for the stock market, 401(k) savers did ok, at least according to Fidelity Investments. “But unless market performance picks up in this decade even dedicated 401(k) savers could come up short in their retirement savings,” LA Times’ Walter Hamilton says.
- Google’s (GOOG) $2 million donation to Wikipedia “cements a kind of symbiotic relationship” between the two companies, Mathew Ingram writes at GigaOm. “For better or worse, it sounds like Wikipedia and Google will be joined at the hip for some time to come — not just because of the money, but because the relationship benefits both sides equally.”
- Obama administration’s tolerance of AIG is just astounding, Yves Smith says.
- Backlash against Google Buzz has reached a new level. A class action law suit has been filed in San Jose (CA) federal court alleging Google (GOOG) acted illegally when its new social networking tool shared personal data without consent, according to SF Chronicle blog.
- Greece should approach the IMF, former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson says. “Our baseline view is still that the IMF’s role will be only ‘technical,’ but behind the scenes the prospect of greater IMF engagement (and even a standby loan) is a powerful card that Greece should threaten to play.”
- Wall Street’s bailout hustle – Taibbi’s latest missive.
- Chris Dodd plans to introduce a new bill next week to overhaul financial regulation.
- The pilot that crashed a small plane in Austin posted an anti-government manifesto and may have targeted IRS offices after a tax dispute.
