Buy Rosh Hashanah (today), sell Yom Kippur (ten days from now) – old Jewish saying.
Today the market is obliging. It’s down.
If you think this is nonsense, it probably is.
Some people sell Rosh Hashanah, buy Yom Kippur.
A reader emailed me: The market’s too high. Mike Bloomberg and others say so.
An equal number say the market can run forever.
The New York Times just wrote:
The Federal Reserve’s decision to pull back on its stimulus program is a significant sign of confidence that growth and low unemployment will continue and that the economy has emerged from the fiscal crisis that began almost 10 years ago.
Everyone defines their own reality. You have yours. Mike Bloomberg has his. I have mine. We define what we’re each comfortable with. and we do what we’re comfortable with.
A friend runs client money. He dumped everything — i.e. went to cash — the minute Donald was elected. He messed up badly. It’s real hard to time the market.
One friend dumps $1,000 a month into a basket of index funds — what ever happens to the market, up or down. It’s called dollar cost averaging.
My friend was ecstatic with yesterday’s “panic” over the Fed’s news of loosening its balance sheet. He watches some stocks. They plummet. He buys. He waits an hour or so. Then sells them for a quick dollar (around 0.67%) gain. He’s good at day-trading. I’m not.
Personally, I eye what I own. If things go badly for one of my companies, I’m out. If things go badly for the market, as is happening today, I’m playing tennis — i.e. ignoring the temporary downdrafts and gyrations.
Look at the last five days in the S&P500. Looks pretty gruesome — but the y-axis scale is weird.
I will eye the total economy when things go really awry, like another financial or real estate crisis. And I’ll be out when my stocks have dropped 10+%. I don’t wait for a 40% drop.
Another reason to freeze your credit reports
Hackers roamed Equifax’s computer network for more than four months before the company’s security team uncovered the data breach, the Wall Street Journal learned.
Read my yesterday’s blog for instructions on freezing. Remember everyone in your family with a social security number needs to freeze. Click here.
How Uber and Lyft destroyed the New York taxi biz
At one stage medallions — the metal plates on yellow cab hoods allowing them to legally pick up street-hails in New York City — sold for $1.3 million.
This week they sold for $186,000. That’s an 86% fall in price. Ouch!
Favorite comment on the taxi business:
They want my opinions for a chance to win an iPad
This was their most difficult question.
I don’t make this stuff up.
New hoax
My friend Peter received an email that the writer had an incriminating video of him and he had four days to make a Bitcoin payment or they would release it!
I know it’s not true. My friend is too old and too infirm for sex any longer.
Favorite advertising campaign
Favorite old people cartoon
A Jewish Divorce
A New York City judge is presiding over the divorce proceedings of a Jewish couple.
When the final papers have been signed and the divorce is completed, the woman thanks the judge and says, “OK. Now I have to arrange for a Ghet.”
The judge inquires what she means by a ‘Ghet’.
The woman explains that a Ghet is a religious ceremony which is required under the Jewish religion in order to receive a divorce that is recognized by the Jewish faith.
The Judge says, “You mean it’s a religious ceremony like a Bris?”
“Well,” she replies, “Yes, it’s sort of similar to a Bris, only in this case you get rid of the entire pr*ck.”
Harry Newton, who, with Susan, continues to binge-watch The Vietnam War.
Tonight’s episode is 90 minutes:
FYI to Harry and his ignorant old readers: “Keep in mind that a credit freeze will not prevent a thief from making charges to your existing accounts.” When you freeze your credit you are paying (in most places you must pay. I think harry got a senior discount) only to protect future accounts you may open. Are a lot of your elderly readers applying for new credit cards?