Skip to content
 

The end of retail — well, at least some retail. I visit Amazon and Whole Foods.

U.S. job openings hit a record high of more than 6 million.

That’s really huge.

The economy is chugging along.

I have no new recommendations. I am eyeing big pharma and banks (there’ll be a interest rate hike soon). And I’m looking overseas. More tomorrow.

For now,  there’s talk of a takeover bid for SQ.

My only short (Macys) is paying off:

Macys2

After yesterday’s column, several friends chimed in: Retail isn’t “dead.”

Obviously, it’s not. I actually bought a jacket at Cole Haan last night. But retail which doesn’t sell anything unique is dead. Macys sells nothing unique. Lulu Lemon and Cole Haan sell unique stuff. But it’s not “unique” enough. Whether it’s what you want is another story.

Amazon has opened a retail store in the Time Warner building on Columbus Circle. It’s worth a visit if you’re in the neighborhood. it’s on the third floor:

Amazon1

It’s beautifully laid out, with comfy chairs for reading and well-laid out sections. Here’s a bit of the Management and Leadership.

Management

I love this:

LoveThis

And I liked how they had a whole section to pushing their own stuff — Kindles, Echos, private label batteries and cables, etc.

AmazaonStuff

All in all, I continue to feel good about owning Amazon. I have made a “profit” on Amazon by enjoying way more in stock appreciation than I’ve managed to buy from them.

While I own several Kindles, I prefer to read Kindle books on my iPhone 6 (which also took the photos her today).

I dropped by the Whole Foods store in the basement. It was booming, but boring. Nothing new — except a beer bar:BeerBar

BeerBar2

Whole Foods (WFM) stock goes up and down faster than a whore’s drawers — Australian expression. Put in a Buy order at $31. Maybe you’ll get lucky and snag some.

wfm

I spent $12.72 on takeout dinner last night at Whole Foods. Susan was off with the girls. The $12.72 fed me and Rosie.

Rosie

How to buy stuff and travel

+ UPS and FedEx will give you discounts. Just ask.

+ Retail stores will give you 15% off if you sign for their credit card. Easy to pay it off and cancel later.

+ Air travel: Research Kayak. Then buy from your chosen airline’s site. Big pluses. Buy in advance.

+ Car rental. Priceline is helpful.

+ Hotels. Negotiate on the phone.

+ Travel agents are best for multi-leg travel.

MarketWatch has a piece When you should use travel booking sites like Expedia and Priceline – and when you shouldn’t. I don’t agree with it all its conclusions. But it’s worth reading: Click here. 

Useful

+ You can get to all the photos on your Phone and transfer those you want to your laptop. It’s a lot easier than emailing them to yourself. Simply plug your iPhone into your laptop’s USB port.

+  A dear friend is moving. My advice: Before you move, give stuff away. My rule: If you haven’t worn it in the last 12 months, give it someone who will.

+ This just in. Another scam:

scamtoday

Don’t open the attachment.

Double good news: George and Amal Clooney now have twins. They’re called Ella and Alexander.

George-Amal-Clooney-Twins

Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing just fine.

George is sedated and should recover in a few days.
happyface

HarryNewton
Harry Newton, who says: Hit the Save Button once a minute. The cloud is not reliable. Your machine is not reliable. And two days ago, we had a 30 second electricity blackout. That messed things up.

The French Open Tennis continues on The Tennis Channel. Murray is presently playing Nishikori. The Finals are this weekend. Probably on NBC.