When my father was an investment banker, he paid 24% to his depositors. That was in the glorious ’50s, when triple -tax-free muni bonds paid 17%.
Since then interest rates have done nothing but fall and fall. I’m getting paid 0.10% a year on my JPMorgan Chase “Savings” Account, but 2.2% dividend yield on my JPM stock. Sort of makes sense that everyone should now be a capitalist and invest in companies with ridiculous P/Es — the ones that go up fastest — CRM has 448. NFLX has 227. AMZN has 193. And SQ, TSLA, TRV, ADSK, AMD are all below zero, but still going up.
The world is upside down.
Everything they taught us in finance school on how to value investments has gone out the door.
What am I telling myself? Momentum investing?
I’m not quite sure. Except the “world” is changing faster than ever.
At a birthday dinner party on Saturday night, the big real estate mogul was complaining his commercial office buildings were losing tenants and he wasn’t sure what to do. A co-working office space? A WeWork? I googled “Coworking space near me.” Amazing how much of that space is opening up.
Re-purposing office buildings is a whole new business. Pity you can’t make office buildings into whorehouses or warehouses… Or can you?
Back to higher interest rates? When interest rates declined my father eyed Mexico and its high 13% interest rates… But then it devalued.
Pigs get slaughtered. He got slaughtered.
Too many “developing” countries are proving wonderful for their presidents, but lousy for their investors.
The latest is Turkey. Try today’s atest news:
A war on business appears to be underway in Turkey.
Since last year’s failed coup attempt, more than 950 companies have been seized.
Since a failed attempt to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year, more than 950 companies have been expropriated, all of them purportedly linked to Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric who Turkish leaders say masterminded the putsch.
About $11 billion worth of corporate assets – from small baklava chains to large publicly traded conglomerates – have been grabbed by the government, a systematic taking with few precedents in modern economic history.
How to text from your laptop
Texting from a laptop or computer with a real keyboard is easier than from a phone.
You need to know their carrier. If you want to send them a text message, use the SMS Gateway. If you want to send pictures, movies, etc., use the MMS Gateway.
Put the call phone number up front. Send like this 9173563456@vtext.com. T-Mobile needs a 1 front of the number.
Why Women Aren’t C.E.O.s, According to Women Who Almost Were
From the New York Times:
It’s not a pipeline problem. It’s about loneliness, competition and deeply rooted barriers.
After being denied the CEO job and reading the article, one reader, wrote:
Shortly thereafter, I left and started my own business, following a path of creative bliss and business success ever since. I never once looked back, except to view from a happy distance the misery, bloody warfare and casualties in that corporation, and its eventual demise.
Entrepreneurship is the way to go, not only for women. It is for anyone who wants to escape the corporate meat grinder and industrial time clock in favor of pursuing their core gifts and passion, and contribute to a world desperately in need of help and leadership.
Digital technologies and the new frontier of Exponential Online Business have provided the perfect environment for anyone with a talent, a message, a vision, and a wish to make a difference–in any field or industry.
Animals — My latest obsession
I love National Geographic’s shows on animals. Elephants. Crocodiles. Red Kangaroos. I can spend hours watching this stuff. Conde Nast Traveler just highlighted:
The 10 Best Zoos in the U.S.
Whether or not you have kids, these zoos are not to be missed,
San Diego Zoo
Indianapolis Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle
St. Louis Zoo
Bronx Zoo, New York
Living Desert Zoo,Palm Desert, CA
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Columbus, Ohio
Alaska Zoo, Anchorage, Alaska
Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, Nebraska
Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, Illinois
Totally wonderful birthday present
My daughter gave me this doggie umbrella for my 7th birthday.
I tried it on Rosie who refused to move attached to this ridiculous thing.
But Penny did. So I gave it to Penny’s mother, Amy.
Today it was raining in New York And Amy celebrated by taking Penny for a walk.
You can buy your very own doggie umbrella for $14.99 . Click here. Amazon lists it as a “best seller.” Go figure.
Summer idiocy (for your grandchildren)
Two buzzards migrating north for the summer but, after talking about it, they decided they were too old to fly all that way, so they decided to take a plane. As they were about to board the aircraft, the flight attendant, noticing that both buzzards were carrying a dead armadillo, asked, “Would you like to check those armadillos through as luggage?”
“No thanks,” the buzzards replied, “they’re carrion.”
Harry Newton whose stock recommendations — see right hand column on the web site — did well today. Heh, don’t knock, CIT Bank is now paying 1.3% on savings accounts. Everbank is paying 1.21%. Others including CDs, are at BankRate.com. Click here.
I bought a little more AMJ today. I will buy some more SQ tomorrow if it falls again.
Harry, if your column was a stock I’d short it.
Greetings from the Midwest! Pigs get fat; hogs get slaughtered.
Oh yeah. The zoo here in Omaha is great! However it is large, and hilly in a lot of places. 2 solid days should be spent there or you’ll be running through everything. They do have a skylift, train, trams to help get around.
Tickets are pricey, a membership does get you into a few other zoos as well. Employers here used to offer discounts, but yet another benefit they all seemed to have taken away. Free on Veteran’s day for military families