July 4th Weekend Linkfest!

Its been a while since we’ve had a full blown weekend linkfest, and given the long holiday weekend, why not? Its time for some random linkage. These are the articles, columns and links that caught my eye recently. (Some sites require registration)

Let’s get clickin’ !

Trading & Investing

• Stock analysts say outlooks will be key amid dark earnings: With expectations low, some market watchers expect surprises to the upside  (Marketwatch)

• Michael Lewis: The Man Who Crashed the World (Vanity Fair) More on the AIG FP debacle comes to light

• Is Goldman Legally Frontrunning Its Clients? (Zero Hedge)

• Shorts Story: Five names to bet against now (Barron’s)  Short Alert has five short recommendations: JCOM, MIDD, CMP, LRN, and PTV.

• ‘Rogue broker’ blamed for oil spike (FT)

• Why Didn’t Canadian Banks Go Wild? Short answer: Very different exec culture and regulatory environments.

• Yield Forecast: Further Rise Ahead in 2010 (Barron’s)

• India Joins Russia, China in Questioning U.S. Dollar Dominance (Bloomberg)  How long will the Greenback be the world’s reserve currency?

• Small Firms Lure Big-Company Exiles (WSJ)

• Banks’ Bogus Bonuses: Don’t buy the hype on bonuses — they still suck.   (Big Money) see also: On Wall Street: Banks no longer so lucrative (FT)

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Economy

• A second half recovery is suddenly not a sure thing (Marketwatch)  Um, it was never a sure thing — and quiet a few of us pointed out it was hardly even a likely possibility.

• American jobs data are worse than we think (FT)  Mohamed El-Erian is not a green shoot believer . . .

• Tourists Usually In Spain Stay Mainly Off The Planes (NPR)  Love the hedline

• Dollar Is Buoyed by Weak Jobs Data (WSJ) And yet, when the going gets tough, its where everyone flocks…

• Rising debt may be next crisis (AP)

• Below the Line: Estimates of Negative Equity among Nonprime Mortgage Borrowers (NY Fed)  Gee, who would have ever guessed Negative Equity amongst  subprime  borrowers would lead to lots of foreclosures?

• Think Again: Asia’s Rise Uber optimistic report from FP urging you not to believe “the hype about the decline of America and the dawn of a new Asian age.” Whatever you say, guys.

• ‘Buy China’ Pesticide Withers Those Green Shoots (Bloomberg)  Yet more proof decoupling is a farce

• FDIC Bank Failures by Week (Calculated Risk)

• Greetings from California!

• If Paul Krugman Were a Japanese Woman? (Slate)

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Real Estate

• So Many Foreclosures, So Little Logic (NYT)

• Zero Down Is a Foreclosure Factor (Duh)

• Cracked Houses: What the Boom Built (WSJ) EZ credit + Unscrupulous Builders = Falling apart new houses

• Negative Equity + Subprime = Default (NY Fed)

• Thaler on Mortgages Made Simpler (NYT) The behavioral economist on how to avoid another mortgage meltdown

• Another wave of foreclosures is poised to strike (LA Times)

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Legal, Regulatory

• Staffer at SEC Had Warned Of Madoff (Washington Post)  Yet more proof of how the SEC has been gutted over the past 10 years

• Why is the SEC Considering Banning Short Selling? Must be our a bull market excess stupidity

• Tax Breaks for Ponzi-Scheme Victims (Smart Money) Did Bernie rip you off? Some small relief may be coming from the tax man

• Billions stolen in online robbery (BBC)

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Global Politics

• Ron Paul Strikes Gold (Big Money)

• Leading Clerics Defy Ayatollah on Disputed Iran Election (NYT)

• Ignoring Propethic Predictors Why has the Obama administration appointed so many people resposible for the crisis/collapse to important positions?

• It Came from Wasilla (Vanity Fair) see also Palin Resignation Leaves Party ‘Weaker’ as It Seeks New Leaders (Bloomberg)

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Science & Technology

• The Magic Behind Amazon’s 2.7 Billion Dollar Question Fascinating discussion on the impact of “Was this review helpful?”

• The allure of crowd-sourced, single-topic blogs (Slate)

• Manta Ray Feeding Frenzy (National Geographic Society)

• Ultrazoom-cameras

• Astronomers See A New Class of Black Hole (NPR)

• DOJ opens formal investigation into Google Books settlement (C/NET)

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Random Fun Stuff

• Megan Fox interview with Harry Smith (Our new favorite couple) (EW)

• Crap Detection 101 (SF Chronicle) Fun read

• Costa Rica tops good life survey (FT)

• 5 Steps to Happiness (Marketwatch)

• Hitler finds out Michael Jackson has died too funny!

That’s all from the Hamptons, where the beaches are crowded, the weather gorgeous, and the restaurants surprisingly empty. . .