Mortgage REIT AGNC did really well. It reported strong, much higher earnings. Worth reading management’s report. Click here. Dividend yield is 17.5%. Seeking Alpha’s latest plug for mortgage REITs. Click here.
Why do I hate Sears? The last time I visited a Sears store, I applied my usual “Billionaire Test: I’m a billionaire I can afford anything. Now find something to buy.”
I couldn’t find anything. Niente. Narda. Nothing. It was depressing.
Yesterday our Dyson vacuum broke. I call Dyson. We identify that it needs a new clutch motor. Sadly, it turns out, Sears online sells the $66 replacement.It’s Dyson’s parts distributor. I find the part on Sears miserable web site. I try to buy it online. It tells me I’m making mistakes, but doesn’t explain where… I try online “chat.” Ten minutes, someone answers. Fifteen minutes later she calls me and we do the transaction on the phone. From scratch all over again. Turns out the price on the phone is different to the price online. Delivery is long and expensive. And you can’t speak to a supervisor to speed up delivery “because that won’t do you any good, Mr. Newton.”
Good news. I dropped by Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought a new Dyson on 20% sale. Now, this is a retailer:
Cockroach stocks?I need to make a big list. There are obvious cockroach stocks that are going down. And there are high fliers who seem to be breaking down. This requires a comprehensive list. Here’s the beginnings.
+ Radioshack (RSH) — downgraded by Morgan Stanley to an underweight. They have a $4.50 target. RSH closed last night at $5.02. RSH has been my best recent short. I wish I had bed the house.
+ BestBuy.Why it’s slowly going out of business. Forbes piece, click here.
+ Research in Motion (RIMM). Continuing dumb decisions. Like giving to developers phones that can’t make calls.
+ Chesapeake Energy. I was right about that stock. It crashed yesterday after lousing earnings. But I lacked faith in my own case and panicked. Dumb me. Good lesson.
Losing iPads. Don’t leave the plane without it. That’s the heading on a recent Economist story. Apparently passengers put their iPads in the seat pocket and then leave them there. My rule: Never put anything in the seat pcoket Two reasons:
+ You’ll leave it there.
+ It will be covered with the germs of years of dumped Kleenex tissues.
Read the Economist piece here. the Wall Street Journal also a piece.
Home prices may never boom again. From Smart Money:
When will U.S. house prices recover? Likely never. But that’s no reason not to buy.
The latest S&P / Case-Shiller numbers, reported last week, show that prices in 20 major markets declined 3.5% over the year through February. They’re now back to 2002 levels. If we subtract for inflation, they’re back to 1998 levels.
But consider: After subtracting for inflation, prices are also back to 1986 levels. And 1955 levels. And 1895 levels (see chart).
That’s because the natural rate of price appreciation for houses is zero after inflation. Prices will eventually stop falling. They’ll resume rising. But over the long term, they’re unlikely to resume rising faster than inflation.
The full article is here.
What a horrible chart. You wouldn’t want to be young and living in Europe. They’re about to lose an entire generation. We ought to be over there aggressively hiring their best and brightest.
Today’s favorite blonde “joke”:
After becoming very frustrated with the attitude of one of the shopkeepers, the young blonde declared, ‘Well, then, maybe I’ll just go out and catch my own alligator and get a pair of alligator shoes for free!’
The shopkeeper replied with a sly smile, ‘Well, little lady, why don’t you go give it a try?’
The blonde headed off to the swamp, determined to catch an alligator. Later in the day, the shopkeeper was driving home, and spotted the young woman standing waist deep in the murky water, shotgun in hand.
He saw a huge 9-foot gator swimming rapidly toward her. With lightning reflexes, the blond took aim, shot the creature and hauled it up onto the slippery bank.
Nearby were 7 more dead gators all lying belly up. The shopkeeper watched in amazement as the blond struggled with the gator.
Then, rolling her eyes, she screamed in frustration……
Sonofabitch!! … THIS ONE’S BAREFOOT, TOO!
Harry Newton who, as an America Jew, is always conflicted in his views towards Israel. It is, with great interest that I recently read an obituary of the present Israeli prime minister’s father, Benzion Netanyahu.
htBibi (right) and his father. Benzion was very hawhish (as is his son). From the article:
The elder Mr. Netanyahu’s views were relentlessly hawkish. He argued that Jews inevitably faced discrimination that was racial, not religious, and that compromising with Arabs was futile.
For the full obit, click here.
The saddest thing is to see Craftsmen tools at K-Mart. Several times in my life I took a broken Craftsman tool back to Sears and immediately got a free replacement. I was proud to have Craftsman on my bench.
Now, I avert my eyes when I go by that isle in K-Mart. It's like looking at an old friend who has become a hooker… or a lawyer. (same thing?)
Regarding the liberalism of my many Jewish friends: I am always puzzled, sometimes frustrated, and sometimes amused by them. They follow my Conservative logic to a certain point, but then boom!…the train of logic simply jumps the tracks, runs into a wall, or drops down a dark hole. I have heard them attribute American Jewish Liberalism to 1920s immigration law (a true tragedy!), to a sense of community that is comfortable with a commercial socialism, and to the New Deal. Still, it is a puzzlement.
Harry, you being an American Jew I'm not surprised that your views towards Israel are conflicted. As an American Jew living on the upper west side of Manhattan that simply equates to an extremely high probability (99.98%) of you being a huge liberal democrat, which we all know is true. As a conservative republican I know that the entire middle east including the perpetual farce which is Palestine and the Palestinians would love to destroy Israel and would do just that in a nano-second if they thought they could get away with it. So why don't you just be honest Harry and admit that your “conflict towards Israel” is nothing more that you trying to convince yourself of another liberal lie……yea it's the conservatives who are brainwashed…..sure it is.
What was the point of your post, RonaldReagan? Are you simply trying to making it sound like being a liberal Democrat is something that is bad or a crime? Last I checked, this is America – land of the free and home of the brave. Does being a conservative Republican mean that all other beliefs and thoughts outside of those subscribed by conservative Republicans are not allowed in America? Or, are you one of those who believes that such freedom is only granted to those who think like you? Are you of the frame of mind that all those who do not agree with you have no right to exist in America or are considered enemies? Do you truly believe that only one side, Democrat or Republican, has the ONLY correct beliefs and ways of thinking? Why do people like you make it sound so bad to have differing opinions as if we all came from an assembly plant? We are human beings living in a free country, for crying out loud!
“What was the point of your post, RonaldReagan?”…..If you can't decipher the point then I certainly can't help you.
“Are you simply trying to making it sound like being a liberal Democrat is something that is bad or a crime?”…..Other than Israel, Poland and the United States conservative republicans (right wing) are persecuted all over the world by leftists.”Last I checked, this is America – land of the free and home of the brave.”…….yea sure, check again.”Does being a conservative Republican mean that all other beliefs and thoughts outside of those subscribed by conservative Republicans are not allowed in America? Or, are you one of those who believes that such freedom is only granted to those who think like you?”…..Well clearly CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, The NY Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe…….ect are allowed in America and they seem free to continue to churn out tons of leftist propaganda. If your question is “should they be allowed?” My answer is “yes”……but clearly the ridiculous trumped up charges against Rupert Murdoch and his organization are 100% politically motivated and why is it that the leftists of this country are still trying to get the FCC to impose the “Fairness Doctrine” which is nothing more than an attempt to stifle Rush Limbaugh?……?????”Are you of the frame of mind that all those who do not agree with you have no right to exist in America or are considered enemies? Do you truly believe that only one side, Democrat or Republican, has the ONLY correct beliefs and ways of thinking?”….I wonder what the German people thought of the Nazi Party (National Socialist Party) after WWll? Do you think they considered them to be enemies? I believe the United States has experienced excessive leftists political governing for several generations. So frankly “yes” this country needs to become much much more “conservative” in the years to come. Tell me which leftist liberal Democrat policy you believe has done the most for America?…..yea sure.”Why do people like you make it sound so bad to have differing opinions as if we all came from an assembly plant?”……Let's see, 98% of blacks in the U.S. vote Democrat……call it any kind of plant you want.:We are human beings living in a free country, for crying out loud!”…….Over in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France….ect , they too live in a free country and guess what they actually are “crying out loud” but in the streets……explain that to me?
What I don't understand is this: if this blog bothers you so much….and you obviously have so little respect for Harry, or his opinions……what do you even bother to read it?? Do you spend your time looking for blogs where you can comment, spreading your vitriol under the mistaken belief that the rest of us care? I enjoy reading well written points of view from all political sides. It makes me stop and think, test and re-test my own beliefs, and in the end I feel I am better for it. Your comments only show a small-mind. It doesn't educate us, and it certainly doesn't portray you as being educated. Please give this blog a rest, move on to another blog that better fits your profile, and let the rest of us read Harry's words as they are intended: a journal about investing, family, health, gadgets, cartoons…..Life. His life. Not up for judgement. Just a friendly sharing.
'What I don't understand is this: if this blog bothers you so much….and you obviously have so little respect for Harry, or his opinions……what do you even bother to read it??”…..I have read Harry's blog for years to keep up with latest technology. I respond to some of Harry's political comments ever since he revealed himself to be a leftist Obama supporter and promoter.”Do you spend your time looking for blogs where you can comment, spreading your vitriol under the mistaken belief that the rest of us care?”……Certainly not, but if you don't care then why the response?
“I enjoy reading well written points of view from all political sides. It makes me stop and think, test and re-test my own beliefs, and in the end I feel I am better for it. Your comments only show a small-mind. It doesn't educate us, and it certainly doesn't portray you as being educated.”……I'm probably the only one who does make you think. This country has many educated people, but wisdom requires actually thinking for yourself, as in….having a thought you can call your own…..I'm glad your so well educated.
“Please give this blog a rest, move on to another blog that better fits your profile, and let the rest of us read Harry's words as they are intended…” …..So then read Harry's words and skip the comments if the truth makes you that squeamish. Hey, it's not my fault that you went through school getting a couple of degrees that you now know give you nothing more than a license to push paper when all you really want to do is have a family and stay home with them. But you can't because your stuck living a liberal leftist lie…..just a friendly sharing.
Oh my. I'm afraid your self-assured sense of being able to determine “the truth” about someone from a blog just fell flat, big time. In fact, you just hoisted yourself on your on petard. I do not have two degrees….or even one. I do stay home with my family, every day, as a full-time mother. I am not a Northeastern “liberal”. I am from the South and I was elected 4 times in my city on (here is the real surprise for you!) the Republican ticket. I am just someone who is SO tired of everything and everyone being reflexively pegged these days into the Republican vs. Democrat, conservative vs. liberal, wealthy vs. poor, left vs. right categories. The labels prevent honest consideration of different viewpoints. I was “indoctrinated”, yes. But not by a university. I was indoctrinated by my parents who taught me to critically think, to cooperate and compromise, and to respect others. (By the way, they had no degrees, either. They were just from a generation that believed in and taught those values to their children.) But, you know what…..you were definitely right about one thing: reading your comments isn't a requirement of enjoying Harry's blog. I will simply skip your replies and continue to enjoy the others. Not because I am “stuck living a liberal leftist lie” (as proven above by my bio) but, rather, because I realize now that answering your posting served absolutely no purpose. Nothing was gained or changed……for either of us. And, as Harry often points out, time is too precious to waste.
Sancp – these days, there is a term that is commonly used to describe the likes of “RonaldReagan” – Comment Trolls! There actually are many people who like spending their days trying to be as abraisive as they can in their efforts of trying to get attention. They are usually found on the “bigger” blogs like Business Insider, Huffington Post, Politico, and many others.
Looking from the “glass is half full” perspective, I guess we can assume Harry has made it big in the blogoshpere! 😉
Hear…Hear Sancp…I believe the word today is “civility” if you don't believe it just ask any politician on either side…
Yes Sears web site is miserable to navigate. I have purchased a few tools on clearance and choose pickup at the store and using Paypal as payment.