I continue to loosen up on BRKA (Berkshire). I bought a little more DNKN. And today I’ll buy some more V and MA. As everything shifts to online, these two will do even better. I heard DNKN CEO talk about exploding online sales — for DNKN and Baskin Robbins (which he owns). People buy ice cream birthday cakes online. Susan saw a woman on the subway yesterday eating an entire quart container of coffee ice cream. Can you imagine the calories?
Every firm and their uncle is creating iPhone apps that sell their stuff and use credit cards.
I dipped my toe into INTC. It’s a momentum kick, for now. Long-term it’s not interesting. it always screws up when it goes in a direction different to chips for laptops and laptop-look alikes, like “ultrabooks.”Maybe Apple, in its endeavor to get away from Samsung, will help it?
Amazing how much difference dividends make. I just got nice one from STWD. I’m not complaining. the bond market continues to suck, hence keeping the stockmarket up.
Yesterday’s market was stunning. I have no idea why. Just as I have no idea why the previous day was so awful.
The nice world of real estate:
A friend bought a building in downtown Manhattan in 1981 for $6 million. He sold it in 2012 for — wait for this — for $140 million. A compound growth rate of 16.2%. But his return would have been a lot higher — He leveraged the building by borrowing and he took in handsome rents. Figure at least 40% IRR.
A bargain at Best Buy. The only one?
This cute $9.95 power adapter will charge a iPhone and/or an iPad. It’s most unusual to find something so light and cheap that will power an iPad, which needs much more power than an iPhone — and often won’t charge from the USB port on your laptop. Buy a few — for spares and traveling.
The old cowboy.
An old cowboy walks into a barbershop in Moose Jaw, Wyoming for a shave and a haircut. He tells the barber he can’t get all his whiskers off because his cheeks are wrinkled from age. The barber gets a little wooden ball from a cup on the shelf and tells the old cowboy to put it inside his cheek to spread out the skin.
When he’s finished, the old cowboy tells the barber that was the cleanest shave he’d had in years, but he wanted to know what would have happened if he had accidentally swallowed that little ball. The barber replied, “just bring it back in a couple of days like everyone else does”.
Harry Newton who notes: The Australian Open is on. New York weather is warm and sunny. Great for walking and shopping. If you don’t want locaiton tracked, turn off your phone Wi-Fi. Leave the cellular on (so yo can receive calls).
Thought you understood the markets, Harry. Stocks down = more sellers than buyers. Stocks way down = lot more sellers than buyers. Stocks up = more buyers than sellers. You get the picture. There may or may not be “good” or “bad” news, but one big player changing a position is just as likely and more invisible until they have to file something down the road. Got it?