6 Free Financial Modeling Lessons...and More.

In the aftermath of 2008’s market meltdown, the markets, nay, the entire financial industry has become a veritable reflection of a zombie apocalypse.

Firms collapsed, offices were empty, and hundreds of people; lifeless, hungry, roamed the street.

That was then, but what has prevailed until today is the labeling of death. “Day trading is dead.” “Mutual funds are dead” “Fund of funds are dead.”

And probably the biggest of them all: “Value investing is dead.”

Curious as to what you guys think, is value investing a zombie strategy? Or is it alive and well?

In the flagship episode of NSFW Eddie and I got into the subject of QE2. Though I feel it would be better for both my mental and physical health to completely ignore the subject, it keeps coming back to gnaw at me.

I purposely waited a few days to post this topic as I continue to reel from the sort of insanity that has become standard market operating procedure . I realize many of you guys are too busy doing your own thing to notice, but every week we seem to be experiencing new plateaus in the "how low will you..." category.

No tricks today, fellas, only treats. I love Halloween for many reasons, not the least of which is the seeming willingness on the part of even the most conservative ladies to embrace their inner skank for the evening. For those Last-Minute Lewie's out there, FunnyOrDie has saved your bacon with a downloadable Kenny fucking Powers mask.

More good news: for those too young/too broke/ too chicken to go out and buy this month's Playboy, the Tank-A-Bank article is finally available for you to read online (WARNING: The link takes you to Playboy's site, so unless you want IT crawling up your ass and exploding, it's probably best not to access it at work. We don't want anybody getting fired over it.) HERE. Yves Smith gave us a pretty nice nod over at Naked Capitalism, too.

It's no secret that I don't pray to the statistical gods. There is just way too much that gets lost in translation and transition between eternally tardy numerical data and real time.

That having been said, a a statistic I pay close attention to gives us signs for optimism today...or does it?

Unemployment numbers seem to have a more direct correlation to financial markets today than they have since the Depression or at least the late 70's. Yes I know, master of the obvious...but only more reason to keep a closer eye on the subject and delve deeper into its forecasting potential.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water. Here is a really excellent exposé on BP's numerous disasters and the epic amount of corporate assclownery surrounding the worst environmental catastrophe in American history. For those who think this problem has gone away, read this. I still don't understand how no one at BP has been charged behind this, for reckless endangerment at the very least.

Since I can't seem to get the whole thing to embed, CLICK HERE to watch the rest.