There’s a little gruesome news: Profits are ailing and Europe is headed for a “recession.” Need to assess holdings….And pay strict attention to stop losses.
This is Martin Richard, age 8.
He was the youngest of the three people who lost their lives at the Boston Marathon bombings. His sister and his mother also suffered very serious injuries, but are recovering.
Meanwhile our wonderful Senate has failed to to expand mandatory background checks to all gun sales online and at gun shows, which are presently exempt. Currently, only federally licensed dealers are required to conduct checks, which aim to screen for people with criminal and mental-health histories that make them ineligible to buy guns. The NRA was against expanding mandatory background checks. I have no idea why.
On Wednesday, The New York Times, ran a long investigative piece “Seeking Gun or Selling One, Web Is a Land of Few Rules.” It showed how people with criminal records freely sold and bought guns. Click here.
Two sad charts:
So why didn’t we sell SGOL (a gold ETF) short? All the signs and all the media talked about its weakness.
Is it now time to buy a little gold? Has all the negativity been priced in?
So why didn’t we sell Apple short? All the signs and all the media…. Why didn’t we?
Would I short Apple here? Possibly yes.
eWeek has a piece “10 Google Products That Are Cooler Than Apple’s Best.” Products include Google Glass, Nexus 10, Google Fiber, Google Search, Google AdMob, Google Maps, Google Docs, and Google Chrome. Click here.
Rules for biking to work. It’s Spring. My beautiful daughter Claire celebrated by riding to work yesterday in Boston.
Because I want her safe and sound, I wrote out a bunch of Urban Biking Rules, based on my own experiences. I ride the streets of New York every day:
1. Cars don’t see bikes. The worst are taxis, limos and buses (especially the ones from out of town). Local city buses are pretty good. They’re trained to see bicycles. New York bus drivers can lose their job if they hit a bicyclist.
2. The most common bike accident is being doored. The biker tries to sneak between the taxi and the curb. The taxi’s passenger flings open the right back door and the biker runs into it. Taxi doors are very big. I’ve hit several. I now watch the light on top of the cab. If it turns on, I know the ride has ended and the door is about to be flung open.
3. The second most common bike accident is a taxi swerving across a road to pick up a passenger who’s hailing the taxi. The taxi is only interested in his new passenger, not the bicyclist.
4. The third most common bike accident is a taxi turning right while a bike is coming up on the right — perhaps even in the bike lane. We had exactly such an accident two nights ago as a taxi on our street turned right. The lady biker, who was in the bike lane, was carted away in a ambulance.
5. The fourth most common bike accident is due to the surface of the road. When it’s raining, metal grates are slippery. Manhole covers often stick up and catch a bicycle’s front wheel, turning it and throwing the rider to the ground.
6. Don’t ever jump sidewalks or stairs. It looks good on TV. But it doesn’t work in real life.
7. Major rule: If cars and buses can see you, you’re OK. Make yourself visible by staying in front of them or away from them. have lights and reflectors.
8. New York has laws that you must wear a helmet and have a bell. They make sense. Don’t ride against the traffic. Obey all the traffic rules.
9. Cars don’t stop at stop lights, or stop signs. Don’t assume they will.
10.. Watch out for texting pedestrians walking off sidewalks. They don’t see you coming. Ring your bell. . Pedestrians have zero awareness of bicycles. Bike lanes are dangerous.Pedesrians think they’re pedestrian lanes.
Fascinating video from Dove, the soap people. Click here.
Favorite recent New Yorker cartoons:
Harry Newton who has lightened up a little on stocks that have fallen 8% from their peaks. Remarkably few have.
I’m intrigued by Fairway, a tiny, but popular local (NYC) supermarket chain. It came public yesterday, opened up $4 then settled down. The company is losing money and I’m worried about its heady expansion plans:
Harry, please add to your list of advice for cyclists: “Wear bright clothes day and night”. I live in your old home town Sydney, and it constantly amazes me how bikers wear dark clothes – sometimes even all black!! This is not good during the day, but is just crazy at night. A tiny and dim flashing light on the back of a bike is NOT sufficient to alert drivers to your presence on the road if your dressed in dark cloths. Fashion is no substitute for safety.
Harry, as a runner and biker, the worst and common situation for me in a smaller city is drivers approaching a street to make a right turn, going too fast and looking at approaching traffic to their left. If I’m on their right side about to cross the intersection, they have no idea. Assume and trust nothing when running or biking, even more exciting when there is no sidewalk. We have dozens killed every year biking on our lovely winding county roads.
Harry, the reason the gun law didn’t pass was because the bill didn’t address the real problem. Amendments were offered and turned down that would address mentally ill and why society has the violence it does, as well as enforcing current laws. We don’t prosecute gun violators, but they want more laws. Why? Because it isn’t about curing the problem, it’s about getting to the point where they can have as much control over us as they can and that ultimately includes removing guns from the people. If we would enforce the current laws, then it might show that there is no argument for more laws.
Thanks for introducing the Dove video to me
How does Fairway compare to Whole Foods?