The market was awful yesterday. I didn’t sell anything. But I did buy some more Apple and GoPro.
I looked at my “history” this morning and noticed recent nice dividends from HOT, ATK, QCOM, UNH, IP, PX, PPG, MMM, JNJ and HON.
Dividends don’t make up for yesterday’s decline. But they’re better than a slap in the belly with a cold fish.
I updated the list on the right of Stocks, ETFs and Funds We Own. Sometimes I write about stocks I like and forget to add them to the list. The list is now up to date.
GoPro has done stunningly. I wrote about that one yesterday.
Today I want you to admire my new Nike sneakers. They’re Flyknit Lunar 2.
I bought them on the weekend. They must have helped. Because last night after the bell, Nike reported:
Here’s an explanation of my new Nike sneakers. They’re actually running shoes. But they’re real comfortable for walking around because they breath big-time. Here’s an explanation from my unbiased (?) contacts within Nike:
FlyKnit – Is the world’s greatest athlete shoe upper. An engineered, single piece, flat knit textile that is designed down to the stitch to provide the athlete exactly what he/she needs where he/she needs it. For example, the support and structure needed around the ankle is knitted in and then we seamlessly transition to an area of stretch and flexibility by using different stitches. FlyKnit is extremely lightweight and breathable and it conforms to each wearer’s foot like a sock does. FlyKnit was rolled out originally in running but is now being used in Basketball, Football (American and Global), and Sportswear. It is also much more sustainable than traditional upper construction techniques as it is nearly zero waste and highly automated.
Lunar – Lunar is a patented Nike cushioning system that provides athletes with responsive protection. In other words, it is designed to be comfy without losing sensation or control. It also maintains an athlete’s energy throughout your stride whereas other cushioning absorbs a lot of energy and slows you down. Originally designed for running, Nike now uses Lunar in basketball, training, sportswear, etc.
Go online Nike.com and design yourself some customized Nike sneaks. You can design the ugliest colored sneaks in the world. But they’ll be unique and your friends will gape in awe (and shock?).
Neat GDP results this morning should help today’s market.
Your weekend’s most important reading: Men’s Journal’s long article on When To Say NO to Your Doctor: The article begins:
Every time you walk into a physician’s office, you run the risk of overtreatment: Tests you don’t need, medications that are ineffective (or dangerous), procedures that cause more problems than they solve. In many cases the best thing for your health is to do nothing.
It’s been a couple of years, so you decide to see your primary-care physician for a physical.
You feel fine, but it’s the responsible thing to do. You get your blood pressure measured and your blood drawn. Within a few days you’ll get the lab report that will give you the readout on the amount of cholesterol and sugar in your blood. (This drill is so routine that you and your doctor don’t even discuss the implications of a possible bad test result.) If you’ve entered your middle years, he’ll probably ask if you want the lab to test your blood for PSA, a screening test that can tell you if you’re at an elevated risk for prostate cancer.
You figure it’s probably good to get out in front of these things, so you nod yes. Insurance covers it anyway.
Congratulations – you’ve just stepped onto a conveyor belt pulling you into a broken system that delivers disappointing results at ever-increasing cost. To wit: The United States spends roughly twice as much per capita as most of the nations of Western Europe, whose citizens on average outlive us by a couple of years. Our own national Institute of Medicine says we waste $210 billion annually on treatments of no or marginal benefit. In a study last year, researchers from the Mayo Clinic went through 10 years of the New England Journal of Medicine, from 2001 through 2010. Of the established tests and procedures reevaluated in studies in the journal, 40 percent were found to be worthless.
Please read the entire article. Click here.
Good Stuff:
+ Fidelity’s mobile version of its online trading/investing platform works really well.
+ Thank you to JPMorgan Chase. Your online wiring and bank-by-photo system is awesome and continues to work flawlessly.
+ A friend got hacked. He responded to an email warning him about his computer. He called them, allowed them “to take control ” of his computer. They told him he was infected with a Trojan Virus. They could remove it for $299. He’s freaking. He believes he will now have to reformat his hard drive, reinstall his software, etc. A real pain. Lesson: Don’t respond to obvious scam emails. Hint: check the address the email came from. Something like support@support2.microsoft.com is clearly bogus.
+ Hotmail stinks and is getting worse. Get off it and on Gmail. Trust me on this one.
+ Hang up on all phone calls from people trying to sell you magazine subscriptions. They’re ALL scams.
Great theatrics. Super staging. The most elaborate electronics I’ve ever seen on stage. If you go, sit upstairs for the full effect. Buy tickets the box office, not online, unless you enjoy being raped and being sold awful seats.
The HBO special of JayZ and Beyonce in Paris is worth watching for five minutes to gawk at the elaborateness of the staging. Please watch the last ten minutes. They do a family celebration with their new kid. It’s charming. I loved it. I’m a sucker for babies, at present.
Israel’s ex-president looks for a job. It’s a YouTube video. It’s funny. Click here.
Harry Newton, who has more Jewish jokes. But enough already, for today.
Did you post the entire article from Men’s Journal? You wrote it was a “long article” but I only read one page before it stops. IT stopped abruptly. Is this the whole thing?
There’s a “Click here” at the bottom of the small excerpt. Try that. It works. I just tried it.
How may Alibaba did you get?
Oh, I saw that at the bottom of the excerpt. It took me to a one-page article in Men’s Journal. That’s it? You called it a long article.
I got just a little Alibaba. Not as much as I wanted. Considering I generally avoid IPOs like the plague, I’ve done OK with a moderate amount of Facebook, a little Alibaba and, best of all, no Twitter.
It’s a huge article. I just clicked on the link and it gave me the article, but you have to click down for part 1, 2 and 3. If that doesn’t work. Send me your email address and I’ll send you the full, long piece. It’s a really good piece of work. Harry at HarryNewton dot com.