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Patience (not cash) is definitely King

Turkey lifts its overnight lending rate — from 7.75% to 12%. They’re trying to attract more foreign money to keep their economy afloat. Please don’t send them any money. “Emerging” countries tend to attract weird leaders — viz. Turkey, Argentina, Thailand, Venezuela, etc. — who mess their economies up with populist policies — like mass bribes to the poor who will vote for them. I remember my father being so pleased with the high 13% interest he was earning on his savings in Mexico — until the day they devalued.

I continue to love Uniqlo. Their stuff is fantastic and cheap.  Moreover they’re the only online retailer I know that includes a return label with the stuff you order. Makes it much easier to return stuff that’s too big, wrong, color, etc. I love their ultra light down jackets and vests.  Their jeans are excellent, especially the new ones that contain 81% cotton, 17% polyester, 2% spandex. Click here.

Apple draws its lovers and haters. Carl Icahn is buying more Apple. Seeking Alpha says “There is still time to short Apple.” You can read Seeking Alpha’s “logic” here.

My friend Vahe emails me “Your analysis yesterday of AAPL is plain wrong.”

I emailed back,

Frankly, I could run Apple better than Tim Cook is running it. All the senior management — those that are still left — are bickering.
Tim has no design nor product skills. He’s a production type. He knows how to get the stuff made. But that’s it.
He also way over-paid.

Replied Vahe, “True, but that’s no reason not to buy more Apple stock.”

There’s too much craziness with Apple. too much emotion.

My “logic,” — When in  doubt, stay out.

Heck, why not?

A man bought a first-class ticket and used it to have free meals and drinks at the airport’s VIP lounge almost every day for nearly a year. The itinerary for the ticket was found to have been changed more than 300 times within a year, and the owner of the ticket used it to enjoy the facilities at the airport’s VIP lounge in Xi’an in China.

I bet the ticket was fully refundable.

Obamacare updated.
A man suffers a heart attack shopping in a store.

The store clerk calls 911. The paramedics rush him to hospital where he has emergency open heart bypass surgery.

He awakes to find himself in the care of nuns at the Catholic Hospital. A nun asks him how he is to pay.

“Do you have health insurance?” she asks.

“No health insurance.”

The nun asks, “Do you have money in the bank?”

“No money in the bank.”

Do you have a relative who could help you with the payments?” asks the irritated nun.

He said, “I only have a spinster sister, who is a nun.”

The nun became agitated, “Nuns are not spinsters! Nuns are married to God.”

“Perfect. Send the bill to my brother-in-law.”

My favorite cartoon:

TestsyourStupdity

An Englishman in France (a true story)
The French policeman stops the car and asks the gentleman if he has been drinking.

With great difficulty, the Englishman admits that he has been drinking all day, that his daughter got married in the morning to a French man, and that he drank champagne and a few bottles of wine at the reception and quite a few glasses of single malt there after.

Quite upset, the policeman proceeds to alcotest (breath test) him and asks the Englishman if he knows under French Law why he has just been arrested.

The Englishman answers: “No! Do you know that this is a British car and that my wife is the driver… on the other side???”

HarryNewton
Harry Newton who spent much of yesterday searching, researching, mulling and saying NO. Conclusion: Cash is not King, but it’s OK for now. Patience is definitely King. I remember trying to talk my father out of Mexico but he was mesmerized by the 13%. Forbes has a doc on Stocks to Sell, to Avoid. Click stocks_sell_avoid.

29 Comments

  1. Fderfler says:

    Weird leaders who mess up the economy with populist policies….. “… like mass bribes to the poor who will vote for them.” REALLY??? You said that? And it didn’t give you a little tiny twinge? Oh my… rolling on the floor laughing and crying at the same time.

  2. Karch_Buttreau says:

    Is that story re the first class tickets / free dinners real or a joke? There’s something in the U.S. called the implied covenant of good faith… but I guess anything goes in China.

  3. Fu says:

    Hey Harry is the garbage pilling up on the West Side too?……rolling on the groung laughing my ass off.