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A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading this morning on the World Wide Web.

Before mentioning the Alibaba Group initial public offering, readers should know that 20 years in finance has taught me to be deeply suspicious of the process. Some of the biggest problems in finance – analyst conflicts of interest, exorbitant fees, the stoking of irrational exuberance among investors, dangerous small print – are frequently magnified when deals get done. All too often, the investment banking departments and brokers reap the monetary rewards while the newly public stocks steadily drift lower.

That said, there are positive signs regarding Alibaba and the deal that, by many measures, will be the largest in equity market history. Retail investors are largely shut out, which means professional money managers believe the stock has promise at the IPO price. (This highlights another of my issues with the process. The deals retail investors should want, they can't have.)

There are also problems, and not just because Chinese businesses have a less than stellar record for transparent, reliable accounting. For one, what shareholders will actually own in the end is a bit vague. Franklin Templeton's Mark Mobius, the guru of emerging markets investing and consistent cheerleader for the sector, believes the deal is over-hyped.

"Alibaba is all of these companies rolled into one" – Quartz

"Rush to invest in Alibaba, but concerns linger about company's future " – New York Times

"Alibaba IPO is 'overhyped': Mark Mobius" – Reuters (video)

"Upon failing to read the F1, Alibaba edition" – FT Alphaville

"Alibaba's Governance by Politburo: Corporate Governance and Value" (a very positive view on Alibaba valuations) – Musings on Markets

Readers have been inexplicably resistant to China-related stories lately, even if the country's economy is arguably the most important determinant of the commodity prices on which a lot of the domestic equity market relies. I'll just leave these links here:

"China property danger zones" – Reuters

"After a sharp slowdown, stimulus is back on the agenda in China" – The Economist

"China's house prices fall further, economic gloom deepens" – Reuters

"Steel industry on subsidy life-support as China economy slows" – Reuters

The best roundup I've seen on Scotland's failed bid for independence is from The Economist. I was completely unaware, for instance, of the vital role former Prime Minister Gordon Brown played in keeping the country in the United Kingdom.

"Britain survives" – The Economist

"Yes voters are reacting to the No vote, and it's pretty bleak" – Buzzfeed

I'm more optimistic about the long-term future of wearable devices like Apple's Watch, but not for the obvious reasons. I'm skeptical about whether Apple's current fans will make wearables a consumer success. But, wearables as a health care application, particularly for the elderly, could be huge in my opinion.

As Reuters reports, this process may have already begun. "Two leading U.S. electronic health record providers… are working with Apple Inc to develop applications that leverage Apple's mobile health service, HealthKit."

"Cerner and Athenahealth say integrating with Apple's mobile health service" – Reuters

Tweet of the Day is from trader and blogger @bclund, "Appease Lord Satan by buying these stocks... dailyfinance.com/2014/09/19/sin… pic.twitter.com/wM8ddXloWx "

Diversion: "How our botched understanding of 'science' ruins everything" – The Week

Follow Scott Barlow on Twitter @SBarlow_ROB

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