In Search of the Perfect Investment

I wrote Cautiously. Cautiously  a few days ago. I remain cautious. Which means lots in cash. Some in high yielders. And writing covered calls on stocks I actually like, like BHP, Apple, and the gold ETF SGOL which has dropped a lot but hasn’t broken its 200-day moving average, yet.

Sentiment fluctuates widely. One day to the next. A reflection of general uncomfortableness with the economy, jobs, and the BIG problem at thousands of banks — commercial office and shopping center real estate.

10 Dow Stocks Investors Should Avoid. The Street did a neat piece. On JPMorgan, the author wrote

JPMorgan Chase(CAG) is the best of a bad lot. The function of a bank is to allocate capital and manage risk – two things that no large financial institution has done well for some time. Worse yet, financial institutions have a long history of rewarding management while diluting shareholders through numerous equity offerings — this is poison for long-term investors.

In the opinion of this author, buy-and-hold investors should avoid bank stocks entirely. The banking industry is extremely competitive, susceptible to macroeconomic events and relies on human capital for competitive advantages. The odds are not in your favor.

The article is here.

It’s a perfect time to get in shape, lose weight, do some exercise, learn some new skills, see the world, smell the roses, etc. Why do so many people blame their medical ails on their doctors, not themselves, their obesity and their lack of exercise?

Remember the three young American hikers, who got arrested by the Iranians? A year later, they’re still in jail. The woman is in solitary confinement. The Iranians have not allowed their Iranian lawyer to visit them once. Not once. And you thought the Taliban were bad. The Iranians are nuts. Read the outrageous story. Click here.

Harry’s latest technology.
I bought an iPhone 4 yesterday. It is a nice phone. It actually makes calls. I haven’t had a dropped call. And the data is fast. I’ll resist the temptation to do what every other blogger does — prattle on endlessly about the phone. Maybe another time.

Great (?) Jewish Humor
+ My mother is a typical Jewish mother. Once she was on jury duty. They sent her home. She insisted SHE was guilty.

+ Any time a person goes into a delicatessen and orders pastrami on white bread, somewhere a Jew dies.

+ It was mealtime during a flight on El Al. “Would you like dinner?” the flight attendant asked Moshe, seated in front. “What are my choices?” Moshe asked. “Yes or no,” she replied.

+ An elderly Jewish man is knocked down by a car and is brought to the local hospital. A pretty nurse tucks him into bed and says, “Mr. Gevarter, are you comfortable?” Gevarter replies, “I make a living….”

+ Three Jewish women get together for lunch. As they are being seated in the restaurant, one takes a deep breath and gives a long, slow “oy.” The second takes a deep breath as well and lets out a long, slow “oy” The third takes a deep breath and says impatiently, “Girls, I thought we agreed that we weren’t going to talk about our children.”

+ And one final favorite: A waiter comes over to a table full of Jewish women and asks, “Is anything all right?

Harry Newton, who’s thrilled to be alive.