Deere, Walmart and the shipping companies are reporting higher sales and higher demand.
For me personally, I’ve been “showered” with a bunch of cash dividends from my long-suffering private equity funds who finally managed to sell some of their assets. One even boastfully reported a 2.6x return, conveniently forgetting the long, long time it’s been.
But heh, there was a while there (a long while) when all my funds looked like they were headed straight down into the black abyss.
Am I feeling better about the stockmarket? I guess I have to, cautiously. The two highest dividend payers in the Dow — Verizon and AT&T — have bounced up. That’s nice. Gold is coming back. NLY, ANH and that AGNC have eased back a bit, but their high dividends more than covers the fall.
It seems to be a market in transition — marking time for the next big step. Not screaming cheap. But offering dividends and the opportunity to juice up your return with covered calls. I bought some more bonds yesterday. Boy are short-term yields low. Today I’ll sell some covered calls on stocks I like — like BHP.
The day Chase turned me for an Amtrak MasterCard (which I really wanted) was the same day they offered me $125 cash to open a Chase check account with a minimum opening balance of $100. Go figure.
Why you and I never see a Google startup.I always wondered why no one ever showed me a decent deal. My Silicon Valley friend explained there are three types of startups:
+ Level 1. The best. Rich friends and family provide the startup money. These deals are no-brainers. The money comes in instantly, if not sooner.
+ Level 2. The best, also. But the entrepreneurs don’t have any rich friends or rich family. They take the deal to a professional VC firm in Silicon Valley. The good deals get funded instantly.
+ Level 3. The second best. They get shopped to the angel investors, like you and me. They’re drek. The chances of them making it are low. And that’s polite.
The accuracy of Federer’s serve is amazing. During a shoot for a Gillette commercial, Roger Federer had one of the guys put a Coke can on his head. The rest is magic.
Watch the video here. Do not try this trick at home.
Motorcycle mania, revisited. My partner Gerry rides a Harley at 80 without a helmet and without protective clothing. At least this nice baby has a “protective” covering.
I don’t make this stuff up.
Totally tasteless humor.
5,000 Jewish men were surveyed as to why they liked oral sex.
1% liked the warmth.
2% liked the sensation.
3% liked the eroticism.
94% liked the peace and quiet.
Harry Newton,who is running the photo booth at this weekend’s wedding. You could not believe how much equipment I need. If you’re ever in New York City, go visit B&H Photo at 9th and 34th Street. It’s one amazing store. Probably the most automated and best-run electronics retailer in the world. Amazing. Simply amazing.
Harry,
I'm sure you noticed that B&H seem to be staffed entirely by orthodox Jews. How do you think they manage that in these days of workplace equality and non-discriminatory labor laws?
You're right though, it's an amazing place. The best thing is thing is that everyone there really know their product. So very unusual in these days of kids jumping jobs between Macdonalds and Best Buy.
BandH is amazing…like another world and the service/advice is great!