Some of our favorite stocks are weak today. Some are warm. Don’t do anything.
A day to sit tight. Read a good book. Watch some tennis.
One year in bitcoin – the chart
Bitcoin has no intrinsic value, except as a way to make questionable transactions. It’s great for people want to keep their deals away from the snooping eyes of the world’s bankers, regulators and governments.
Bitcoin’s price on any day is enthusiasm, which, of late, has eased.
Business Insider has a gruesome chart showing bitcoin has hit a death cross (whatever that is):
Read more on Business Insider’s “Bitcoin is dangerously close to a ‘death cross’ formation that could send it tumbling” here.
I suspect that bitcoin speculation is likely to ebb further as governments increasingly take measures to limit bitcoin trading and kill what are called ICOs — initial coin offerings. They’re an IPO for yet another blockchain cryptocurrency. At last count there are over 1500 cryptocurrencies — which is a lot to get your head around. They include such illustrious currencies as Litecoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Dash, Monero and Ripple (which I always thought was a name for Trader Joe’s “two-buck chuck.”
In short, stay away from bitcoin and two buck chuck (ultra-cheap “wine”).
Larry Kudlow as the new chief economic adviser may do some good
He’s a free trader who believes that free enterprise is good.
But “some” is the key word. Trump makes all his own decisions, without counsel, without research and without facts, e.g. the Canada-US surplus which Trump made up and got wrong.
Kudlow understands Trump’s need for flattery.
Kudlow is an economist.
Economists are incredibly good at predicting the past.
In their 2015 book Superforecasting, University of Pennsylvania political scientist Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner, refer to Kudlow as a “consistently wrong” pundit.
Kudlow totally missed the 2008 Great Recession. He said publicly it would never happen. He was wrong!
Useful stuff
+ When all the main camera retailers are selling your chosen camera at the exact same price — but one is selling it significantly, it’s time to be worried. If one camera shop is selling the same Canon G5X camera 18% cheaper than Amazon and B&H, that tells you something is awry.
+ Google Chrome is the best web browser for two reasons: First, it remembers things like passwords, addresses, credit card numbers. Second, it syncs your remembered things and your bookmarks across all your laptops and desktops.
+ Apple Watch is actually useful on the tennis court. It tells me who’s calling. Saves rushing over to my phone only to find I’ve won yet another lottery for a free trip to somewhere I don’t want to go.
+ Concierge medicine makes sense. Give your doctor $1500 a year, and you’ll suddenly experience better service.
+ Next time your airline says NO to your upgrade request, talk to them about “revenue management.” Two magic words that just might lose up a couple of comfy upfront seats.
+ Flattery works — whether it’s justified or not. Everyone is above average. Even I understand the value of flattery.
Latest nonsense out of Saudi Arabia
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, above, compared Iran’s supreme leader to Adolf Hitler, and said that his country would acquire a nuclear bomb “as soon as possible” if Iran developed nuclear weapons.
After preaching against corruption and extrvagant spending, Salman bought himself this $500 million toy.
I don’t make this stuff up. Borowitz does. I don’t.
Harry Newton, who’s entranced with how technology can benefit all businesses, not just Amazon.
I’m at the BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament in Indian Wells, CA. This is finals weekend (ESPN, ESPN2 and The Tennis Channel).
Here’s the stadium:
Outside the stadium is the biggest screen I’ve ever seen:
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And inside the stadium is the free, fast WiFi.
I’m betting the finals will feature Federer against Del Potro. There are great matches going on today and Saturday. Venus is still in. Halep plays Osaka. ESPN. ESPN2. The Tennis Channel.
