* Interest Rates and Stocks - As the charts above indicate, interest rates on the 10-year Treasuries and stock prices in the S&P 500 futures have moved pretty well in lockstep since October. This suggests that, so far, stocks have been responding more to themes of economic strength/weakness than to inflation themes.
* Online Trading Journal - This strikes me as far more effective than a static paper journal. The StockTickr service enables traders to categorize their trades and see what's working and what's not. See also their blog, including interviews with traders and trading coaches.
* Insider's Look at the Mortgage Crisis - I've been using the Twitter app to link readings that highlight market themes and influences; this article on the dimensions of the mortgage problem was one of the posts I think is especially worth highlighting. The latest five Twitter "tweets" appear on the TraderFeed blog page under "Twitter Trader". You can also subscribe to the Twitter page via RSS if you'd like the updates to come directly to your feed reader.
* Mixed Economic Signals - The Calculated Risk site does a great job of tracking credit markets and economic themes. It appears we're seeing increasing consumer credit card problems even as economic data for the fourth quarter looks strong. Mish sees the credit card data as part of a larger, deflationary picture.
* Yield Spreads, Odds of Recession, and a Possible Shakeout Among ETFs - Lots of good topics covered in the recent links posted by Abnormal Returns.
* Buying Beaten Down Issues - StockPickr tracks some recent selections from Bill Miller, including homebuilders and financial stocks. Here's an insightful post from Accrued Interest on the dangers of buying value when the good stocks are being punished with the bad.
* Holiday Sales - Barry Ritholtz finds the holiday sales picture to be mixed at best. See also his skeptical take on the recent consumer spending data.
* Chances of Recession - This one also from Calculated Risk, with a link to an informative analysis by Paul Kasriel.
* Sign of Desperation? - Bespoke Investment Group on the terms of the Merrill Lynch cash infusion.
* The Limits of Statistics - A fine overview of the Nassim Taleb text, The Black Swan, from the CXO Advisory Blog. It illustrates how conventional statistical analyses can mislead investors.
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