Weekend reading: A political day is a long time in the markets

Some good reads from around the Web.

I have dug up an extra great list of links this week, so just a brief intro via a graph from Business Insider, showing one crazy day in Greece.

In normal times I’d argue that equating broad stock market moves with micro-political developments in a country worth 1% of European GDP was risible.

But these are not normal times – I was watching the markets closely on Thursday, and I watched it happen:

Of course, it’s much better to ignore the markets and your portfolio for months at a time. Short-term volatility doesn’t matter when it comes to long-term returns.

Worse, new research suggests that volatile markets can damage your health!

From the money blogs

• How to get better returns without increasing risk – The Wisdom Journal
• Personal loans that reduce mortgage costs – Finance Blog
• An attempt to value Groupon – Musings on Markets
• Groupon, baseball cards, and comic books – The Reformed Broker
• Ending the divine right of bankers – The Psy-Fi blog
• Bond duration: What it is and why it matters – Oblivious Investor
• The 4% ‘safe’ retirement withdrawal rate: A US anomaly? – Wade Pfau
• When social capital beats financial capital – Sawbones Surio
• Geography and income – Econbrowser
•  Mr Money Mustache Vs. No Impact Man – Mr Money Mustache
• I’m a former banker, and I’m mad as hell, too – Ian Fraser
• Trading Vs. Investing – Above The Market

Deal of the week: The FT’s Merryn Somerset-Webb tips Safe As Houses? as a ‘must read’. It offers a unique analysis of UK property prices.

Mainstream media money

• The myth of ever-rising house prices – Moneyweek
• Cognitive illusion and active fund management – The Guardian
• 25 things you should know about ETFs – ETF Database
• Spotting bubbles is harder than it looks – Wall Street Journal
• Blending momentum and value strategies – Bloomberg
• Greece is doomed, so buy Greece! – MoneyWatch
• Why the carry trade still yields profits – Swedroe / MoneyWatch
• The value of a Nobel Prize – Felix Salmon / Reuters
• The breakdown of stock/bond correlation [Graph] – Reuters
• The [latest] end of the credit card – Slate
• Tracker funds overpay for new listings – FT
• John Lee: A 12-strong small cap portfolio – FT
• FSA wakes up to structured products [bit late!] – The Telegraph
• Petition to merge CTFs with Junior ISAs – The Telegraph

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