Incorporating  
Technology Investor 

Harry Newton's In Search of The Perfect Investment Newton's In Search Of The Perfect Investment. Technology Investor.

Previous Columns
8:30 AM Monday, September 12, 2005:
A professional (and successful) trader writes, "Have you noticed the ascending triangle building nicely on the NASD? Look at the attachment, this is out of a textbook. With a breakout, we could see 2650 - 2750." Nasdaq closed on Friday at 2175.

A small success: On August 17, I recommended buying a little Insite Vision (ISV) for a "lock-away spec." At that point it was 50 cents. On Friday it closed at 68 cents. i still like the stock. A pediatrician reader counsels caution.

I am a pediatrician and spend a lot of time counselling parents about antibiotic resistance....ie let's not use the antibiotic unless we really need to. Zithromax is an excellent antibiotic and generally is not used as a first-line antibiotic, i.e. use amoxicillin first. Most cases of conjunctivitis will resolve in three to five days without medication..... We do not have a crisis in treating conjunctivitis at present as almost any antibiotic eye drop prescribed seems to work most of the time ( probably because most cases of conjunctivitis self resolve anyway). Antibiotics (Insite's drug) are not going to cure viral conjunctivitis. Most cases of conjunctivitis are caused by viruses. The main reason I treat conjunctivitis in kids is so that they can get back into daycare....so the parents can return to work! IMHO, we wouldn't be treating a lot of cases of conjunctivitis but for this reason.

There's the motivation -- Get the parents back to work. That will sell a lot of AzaSite (Insite's drug). Insite remains a good spec even at these elevated prices. Insite's market cap is only $42 milllion -- low for a biotech in phase 3 trials.

EBay's Kiss of Death: Telecommunications sucks you in. Remember the 1990s? Everybody and their uncle thought they could get filty rich by investing in telecom "sure-things", like WorldCom. Meg Whitman head of eBay is the latest to be sucked in. She's paying an absurd $2.6 billlion for Skype.

Facts: Skype was formed in 2002. In 2004 its revenue was $7 million. It may be $60 million in 2005. I bet Skype hasn't made a nickel. And frankly,l I bet it never will. Meg Whitman is a lovely woman, but she knows zilch about telecom. Read my lips: Skype is good for you and I. Calling between our PC and our friend's distant PC, it's free. Calling a dial-up phone is not free. But there are many services, which are free, i.e. BroadVoice -- after you've paid a $20 monthly fee. Skype will hurt eBay.

Lots of Character: New Orleans businessman was interviewed by National Public Radio on the weekend:

Henry Ford once said that "Adversity breeds character." Well, we businessmen in the Gulf are building a lot of character.

This is 100% fraudulent: When you get such an email, imediately delete the email. Do not go to the site.

Dear Bank of the West Customer,
During our regular update and verification of the Internet Banking Accounts, we could not verify your current information. Either your information has been changed or incomplete, as a result your access to use our services has been limited. Please update your information.

To update your account information and start using our services please click on the link below:
http://203.101.90.226/bankofthewest/

Note: Requests for information will be initiated by Bank of the West Business Development; this process cannot be externally requested through Customer Support.

Sincerely,
Bank of the West
Security Department.

Packing my Disaster "Go" Kit: I'm packing each member of our family as backpack with stuff they'll need, should disaster strike. Food, water and clothing are key. On the weekend I bought three additional items:
1. A Princeton Tec Impact II LED Flashlight. What attracted me: The flashlight is small and runs for over 50 hours on one set of batteries. $21.95, which includes batteries.
2. An REI Basic First Aid Kit. $12.95.
3. A Space all-weather blanket. $11.95.
The items came from REI.com.
For more on disaster planning, click here. Plan on supplies for two weeks.

Harry's two BIG biases. I have a problem with people I love who smoke and who are heavily overweight. My concerns are twofold:
1. Smoking and obesity are bad for your health. I want my friends around.
2. Your health costs will cost me higher taxes to pay your health costs.

Please give up smoking. I've lost many friends to lung cancer. A friend just had a biopsy done in his mouth. His doctor is worried about cancer in his mouth from smoking.

Better use up your Delta miles: There's a report that Delta will file for its bankruptcy on Thursday. I have no idea if this means your Delta miles will suddenly become valueless. But I certainly wouldn't want to push it. Meantime, I am increasingly impressed with my new American Express Blue Cash credit card. More about that tomorrow.

Is Osama winning?

Yesterday was the four-year anniversary of September 11. The New York Times Sunday Magazine had a cover piece by Professor Mark Danner. You should read this piece. Click here. If that link doesn't work, you probably have to register with the Times to read their web site. Registration is free.

World War III: Next time there's a war in Europe, the loser has to keep France.

How to stay supremely healthy.
An old man goes to the doctor for a checkup.....
"You're in incredible shape!" the doctor said, "How old are you?"
"I am 85," the man said.
"85!" remarked the doctor, "How do you stay so healthy? You look like a 60-year old."
"Well, my wife and I made a pact when we got married that whenever she got mad, she would go into the kitchen and cool off and I would go outside for a walk to settle down," the man explained.
"What does that have to do with your being in such good health?" asked the doctor.
"Well, I've pretty much lived an outdoor life," the man answered.

Recent column highlights:
+ Manhattan Pharmaceuticals: Click here.
+ NovaDel Biosciences appeals. Click here.
+ Hana Biosciences appeals. Click here.
+ All turned on by biotech. Click here.
+ Steve Jobs Commencement Address. The text is available: Click here. The full audio is available. Click here.
+ The March of the Penguins, an exquisite movie. Click here.
+ When to sell your stocks. Click here.


Harry Newton


This column is about my personal search for the perfect investment. I don't give investment advice. For that you have to be registered with regulatory authorities, which I am not. I am a reporter and an investor. I make my daily column -- Monday through Friday -- freely available for three reasons: Writing is good for sorting things out in my brain. Second, the column is research for a book I'm writing called "In Search of the Perfect Investment." Third, I encourage my readers to send me their ideas, concerns and experiences. That way we can all learn together. My email address is . You can't click on my email address. You have to re-type it . This protects me from software scanning the Internet for email addresses to spam. I have no role in choosing the Google ads. Thus I cannot endorse any, though some look mighty interesting. If you click on a link, Google may send me money. That money will help pay Claire's law school tuition. Read more about Google AdSense, click here and here.
Go back.