EDHEC-RISK Institute sent me this chart this morning. I have no idea who they are. They purport to research hedge fund performance. They report pretty miserable performance.
For most fund categories you would have been better off in muni bonds.
You can get really sick on planes. Some basic precautions, according to today’s Wall Street Journal:
+ Hydrate. Drinking water and keeping nasal passages moist with a saline spray can reduce your risk of infection.
+ Clean your hands frequently with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. We often infect ourselves, touching mouth, nose or eyes with our own hands that have picked up something.
+ Use a disinfecting wipe to clean off tray tables before using.
+ Avoid seat-back pockets.
+ Open your air vent, and aim it so it passes just in front of your face. Filtered airplane air can help direct airborne contagions away from you.
+ Change seats if you end up near a cougher, sneezer or someone who looks feverish. That may not be possible on very full flights, but worth a try. One sneeze can produce up to 30,000 droplets that can be propelled as far as six feet.
+ Raise concerns with the crew if air circulation is shut off for an extended period. (The plane’s filtration system cleans out most bad stuff — but not if it’s switched off.)
+ Avoid airline pillows and blankets (if you can find them).
You can read the entire article here.
Christmas stories – Part 1.
The first day of Christmas:
George had a habit of giving his wife strange Christmas gifts, she was not surprised when he came one night carrying a tiny, branchless tree. Attached to a lone limb was a shotgun shell.
“All right, George,” said his wife, truly stumped this time.
“What is it?”
“Why, honey.” George smiled, “it’s a cartridge in a bare tree.”
How Jesus got his name.
Three wise men were visiting the manger, carrying Frankinsense, myrrh, etc..
One tripped in the doorway. He screamed, “Jesus Christ!”
Mary looked up. “My God, what a lovely name. We were going to call him Moishe Finkelstein.”
Harry Newton truly believes that when God closes a door, he opens a window. Stunning things happen when lose out on buying the house you always wanted. Another, better one appears within hours. Ditto for investments. Don’t feel bad that did you didn’t short Sony.
Neither did I. But I watched Howard Stringer, Sony chairman and CEO, on CNBC this morning. His new products were boring and very pricey. He was singularly unimpressive. He’s no Steve Jobs.
But I did short RIMM and DELL (as I mentioned on the column) and they’re doing just fine, i.e. going happily down.
I didn’t short the banks like Citigroup. But I don’t think it’s too late to short Citigroup:
BAC (Bank of America) has dropped to under $5. I bet it could also drop another point or two, though not today.
Funny: AT&T’s motto is Rethink Possible. I think they mean Rethink the Possible. Pity about the $4 billion they just blew. Dumb. Dumb.
Annaly Capital Management (NLY) Lowered its quarterly dividend 5% to $0.57. But it still leaves the stock with a 13.9% Yield at present prices. I’m not excessively worried.
Christ, Harry, get a clue. That hedge fund performance comes during a ten year period when the market was flat. 6.6% return is SUPERB.
I swear, you get dumber every day. And you're implying that because muni funds had a good 10 year run that's a reason to bUY more muni funds? Just the opposite is true. No wonder you come off so bad in the Buffett book.
Happy Holiday Harry, Enjoy with your family. I hope you find this non-offensive.
Abe and Esther Goldberg were
flying to Australia for a two week vacation to celebrate their
40th anniversary.Suddenly, over the public address system, the
captain announces, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am afraid I have some
very bad news. Our engines have ceased functioning and we are
going to attempt an emergency landing. Luckily, I see an uncharted
island below us and we should be able to land on the beach.
However, the odds are that we may never be rescued and we will
have to live on the island for the rest of our
lives.”Thanks to the skill of the flight crew, the plane
lands safely on the island.An hour later, Abe turns to his
wife and asks, “Esther, did we pay our charity pledge check to
Beth Shalom Synagogue yet?””No, sweetheart,” she
responds.Abe, still shaken from the crash landing, then
asks,”Esther, did we pay our United Jewish Appeal
pledge?””Oy no! I'm sorry. I forgot to send the check,” she
says.One last thing, Esther. Did you remember to send a
check for the Synagogue Building Fund this month?,” he
asks.”God forgive me, Abie,” begged Esther, “I didn't send
that one, either.”Abe grabs her and gives her the biggest
hug and kiss ever in their 40 long years of
marriage.Esther pulls away and asks him, “So, why do you
kiss me?”Abe answers, “They'll find us!”
Harry, I'm surprised you haven't commented on your new gov's proposal to raise your taxes. I'm sure you voted for Cuomo so can we get an update on your “feelings.”……………The Tea Party in 2012 !!!