In Search of the Perfect Investment

If I were Obama, I wouldn’t take the deal Boehner’s offering — extend the debt ceiling for six weeks, but keep the government closed. When I heard it, I figured I ought to load up on S&P 500 puts. But, fortunately, I heard about the deal too late — after the market closed. And now the media — including the New York Times — sees optimism in the negotiations. (Markets won’t crater today and I won’t lose all the money I was about to spend on puts. What a genius.)

Signs of Progress as Talks Continue on Fiscal Crisis
WASHINGTON – President Obama and Congressional Republicans prepared Friday to continue pushing toward a stopgap budget and debt deal that might reopen the federal government and lift the threat of a first-ever American default.

Though failing to reach agreement during a 90-minute meeting at the White House on Thursday, both sides described the gathering as constructive, and talks among top aides continued overnight.

As the government shutdown enters its 11th day, Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. are scheduled to meet with the entire Senate Republican caucus Friday morning in the State Dining Room at the White House.

A deal remains elusive after Speaker John A. Boehner on Thursday offered a six-week extension of the nation’s borrowing authority and Mr. Obama pressed for an end to the shutdown. The official House schedule on Friday calls for “possible consideration of legislation related to the debt limit,” but there was no evidence of an imminent agreement between the parties that could move to a vote in Congress quickly.

Thank the Lord for yesterday. It was my best day ever. And it happened for reasons unrelated to picking stocks — like better earnings  .

Every night Susan and I crawl into bed at 11:00 and watch Jon Stewart’s Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Last night’s Colbert Report was the funniest one ever. I was laughing so much tears rolled down my antique (but gorgeous) face. You can watch it on the Internet here or several times today on the Comedy Channel as it’s repeated.

Please watch it.

Today’s e Economist has a Special Report on the World Economy.

The forward march of globalisation has paused since the financial crisis, giving way to a more conditional, interventionist and nationalist model. Greg Ip examines the consequences.

You can read the entire 20-page report here.

Fraudulent emails are exploding. Everything from new inheritances to problems with your credit cards. Please log in, give us all your financial information and we’ll solve it all. Good idea: assume every email is fraud. New idea: many banks and credit cards will now send you SMS messages on yourphone. That seems to be safer. Sign up.

Scambook, a consumer advocacy platform, is warning Instagram users to steer clear of fraudulent Sallie Mae Instagram accounts allegedly offering student loan forgiveness due to the government shutdown. The illegitimate accounts are asking for personal information and place consumers with student loans at increased risk of identity theft or other online fraud.

Sallie Mae is a publicly traded company that was not affected by the government shutdown. With active Facebook and Twitter accounts, Sallie Mae has revealed that not only do they not have an Instagram account, but they would never ask customers for personal information via social media. The accounts are fake and there is no “government shutdown student loan forgiveness program.”

Scambook wants to remind users that with the growth of social media, fake social media accounts are becoming typical fronts to steal valuable account information and commit online fraud. Scambook cautions consumers to never release over social media any personal information including bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, or a home address. The rule of thumb still stands that any offer that seems “too good to be true” is most likely a scam.

To spot fraudulent offers or other scams on social media like Instagram, Scambook advises consumers to refer to the following tips:

+ Look closely at the name of the account. If it is misspelled, includes numbers, includes spaces or unusual capitalization, it is most likely an unofficial hoax account.

+ Watch for low quality or “unprofessional” content. A legitimate company’s social media account won’t include excessive typos, misspellings or poor grammar in any official communications.

+ Remember, companies won’t ask for personal information through social media. If the social media account is soliciting for users’ personal information, it’s mostly a scam.

If consumers see an offer through social media and cannot tell whether it is legitimate or not, Scambook advises reaching out to the company directly through their official website or calling a customer service phone number to confirm the offer.

Because of fraud, Visa changed my credit card three times in 2013. Which is a pain. Credit card fraud could be solved by our banks (if they cared). I wrote Visa President Ken Stork yesterday with some obvious ideas:

1.    Please remove the three digit security number. My physical VISA card provides all the information a waiter needs to run up big online purchases – the number, the expiration date and the security code. I am intelligent enough to remember my security code. I bet most of your customers are also.

2.    Please drop the expiration date from my VISA. I should, by now, be entitled to a permanent VISA account. I should not be forced to contact my vendors every two to three years because you choose to limit my expiration date.

3.    Please send me a confirming text message to my cell phone each time someone makes a purchase or takes money out from an ATM on my VISA. That way I can help you catch fraud. I believe American Express is doing this already on some of their cards.

4.    Please allow your customers to buy virtual credit cards that expire longer than 30 days – which is when yours expire for. In fact, such virtual credit cards – good for one or several merchants – should never expire.

5.    You should reward your good customers with rewards – like membership in your Visa black metal card. I just learned about it from one your ads. If I had this card, I probably wouldn’t need to carry an American Express Platinum card.

I bet Ken Stork won’t read my letter. They rarely do.

Harry Newton who’s looking forward to a quiet weekend. Enough emotions for one week.

Read Rolling Stone’s long piece on:

Republican Extremism and the Lessons of History
This crisis is about nothing other than the Republican Party — its radicalization, its stunning lack of leadership and its disregard for the Constitution

Click here.

Writes Rolling Stone, “Powerless to control his caucus, John Boehner has proved to be one of the weakest congressional leaders in American history.”

Only three more years to the next big election. Thoughts:

+ If God had wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates. — Jay Leno

+ The problem with political jokes is they get elected. — Henry Cate, VII

+ We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. — Aesop

+ Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river. — Nikita Khrushchev

+ When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I’m beginning to believe it. — Clarence Darrow

+ Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel. — John Quinton

+ Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. — Oscar Ameringer

+ I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them. — Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952

+ A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country. — Tex Guinan

+ Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks. — Doug Larson

+ There ought to be one day — just one — when there is open season on senators. — Will Rogers