Summer is upon us, in case the nation-wide triple digit temperatures hadn’t already made that abundantly clear. The second quarter of 2012 is now behind us, making it a good time to reflect on the year so far. Friday’s rally showed that even minor progress out of Europe still possesses the power to send markets scurrying, as multiple markets put in their best trading day of the year (or for several years, in some cases). The ups and downs throughout the month didn’t do much to satisfy bulls or bears, though the mini-rally was definitely not what many CTAs were hoping for. All the big macro-economic fears are still in place (it’s not like anyone expected Europe to solve their debt woes anytime soon), so the direction of the rest of the summer is still anyone’s guess. As we head into the pre-4th of July weekend (expecting picnics and barbecues aplenty), here’s our weekend reading material:
- SEC brings fraud charges against Phil Falcone (Reuters)
- JP Morgan’s “fail whale” trading losses may total $9 billion (New York Times)
- 7 equations for managing your retirement money (MarketWatch)
- Innovative tracking of the Colorado wildfire (Time)
And just for fun…
- Why most tomatoes taste terrible (Science Magazine)
- Your guide to the upcoming Tour de France (SB Nation)