If they have your money, it’s their money. Or so they think.
If they’re managers, they can take fees and expenses wilynily (without regard and endlessly).
Good luck if you object.
I’ll return to this theme in greater depth. Meantime, tuck that thought in the back of your brain if you’re thinking of some of the crazier funds around, like those specializing in double-back down derivatives. I made that one up. But one like that will probably float across my desk today.
From Business Insider this morning:
The IMF warned on the Middle East. The International Monetary Fund’s assessment of the Menap region, or the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, is a dire one. According to the IMF, growth will slow to 3.25% this year and 2.75% in 2016. Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest economy, and most of the other countries in the region will run out of financial assets in “less than five years” as a result of their ballooning deficits. In the region, only Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates can hold out for longer, according to the IMF.
IBM is weak. Yahoo is weak. The big techies are reaching the end of their explosive growth. Every brilliant idea I have for Microsoft would be like a flea crawling up the hind leg of an elephant with rape in mind.
Boeing and GM reported nicely this morning. A varied earnings picture.
This chart looks awful or great, depending on your bent. The red line is a 200-day moving average. The green is 50.
If the world economy ebbs, we may think of shorting stocks like FedEx and United Parcel.
I’m not sure. Still mulling. There’s a lot of negative stuff out there, especially among the professional nah-sayers.
Do not despair. There are still stocks achieving new highs, mainly on Nasdaq, however. They include Starbucks and Facebook. For the full list, click here.
Email rules to live by
+ Do not text and pee. iPhones do not like being dunked.
+ Check your email and voice mail regularly. Your customers might actually want to buy something.
+ Don’t deal with people who don’t promptly answer their emails.
+ Put only one item in each email. Nobody’s brain is big enough to deal with more than one item.
Your cell phone is lost? Here is a primer on how to track and disable your smartphone if it goes missing, from the New York Times:
1. FIRST, go into settings to enable the phone to back up your data and send you its location. If you have an iPhone, go to settings and tap iCoud. Turn on iCloud Backup, Find My iPhone and Send Last Location.
2. IF YOUR DEVICE GOES MISSING, you can then sign into iCloud.com or use the Find My iPhone app to see your device on a map, lock the device and place a message on the home screen with a contact number.
3. IF THE PHONE IS REALLY GONE, you can remotely protect the data by clicking the Erase iPhone button on iCloud or the Find My iPhone App. If you have backed up your phone in iCloud, you should be able to download all your information onto a replacement device.
4. FOR ANDROID PHONES, go into the device’s settings and then into security to activate the Android Device manager to track and erase a misplaced phone. If you are logged into your Google account, you can also type “find my phone” into a Google search box and see your phone on a map and make it ring, though you can’t lock or erase the phone.
Floor lamp works on desk. This is called a Koncept AR5000-CD-MBK-FLR Z-Bar – LED Floor Lamp, Cool Light/Metallic Black Finish.
This is how I use it on my desk. I don’t have the space to sit it on the floor.
$324 from Amazon. Not cheap. But very flexible and the only one that would work in my space. Click here.
Taylor Swift’s Blank Space is the most watched video, ever. It’s been viewed 1.22 billion times. That includes the five times I’ve watched it.
I don’t know if she’s America’s top-earning singer. But she’s right up there. She sings for 16 to 30 year old women and 73-year old grandfathers. She warns young women of young men. It’s a good message. Her videos have three pluses: First, I can understand the words. Second, the settings and production are gorgeous. Third, the music is pretty good, too. This woman is one obsessive Theory X manager. It all pops out of her incredibly creative brain. Watch the video here.
Six Truths in Life
1. You cannot stick your tongue out and look up at the ceiling at the same time. It’s a physical impossibility.
2. All fools, after reading thiswill try it.
3. They will discover it’s a lie.
4. You are smiling now because you are a fool.
5. You will forward this to other fools.
6. You are still laughing.
Harry Newton who loved Steven Spielberg’s latest:
Tom Hanks is masterly. My favorite was Mark Rylance, who played the Russian spy. See the movie. You’ll love it.
“She sings for 16 to 30 year old women and 73-year old grandfathers.” Indeed, I have every album. The ONLY music I have PURCHASED since… the Beatles?