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Our kids are in charge. How they destroy old industries and build new ones.

The kids are in charge. They have strong ideas about their brave new world and hey are aggressively exercising their pocketbooks:

+ Veggie burgers. All my kids are off real meat. That’s bad news for the meat processors. My kids don’t eat processed foods — stuff that comes in plastic bags. Bad news for the food processors.

+ My kids don’t like cannabis. But a lot of their friends do. Meantime, all my kids are off liquor. They drink beer. Good for local breweries which their friends are opening.

+ Streaming video. They’re cable cutters. They love Netflix and YouTube TV (Google). My $500 a night weekend hotel didn’t have HBO or the Tennis Channel!

+ They only go shopping for food. Everything else they buy from Amazon. Walk New York’s streets. You’ll be staggered at the number of empty stores. Store-based retailing is dead — except for stores with their own stuff and an “experience” — like free classes at LuluLemon or Nike’s incredible store on Fifth Avenue.

+ One on one is awful. American Airlines cancelled our flight this afternoon, then scrambled to find us seats on a later flight — killing our plans for dinner with the kids. What an awful business airlines. Your world is dependent on the weather and irresponsible suppliers like Boeing. And then this last night. I don’t make this up.

+ And cameras… Not a business you want to be in.

Keep these trends in mind as we journey through the next few months finding early-stage Amazons, Apples, Googles and Netflixes.

Smartphone cameras are killing the camera industry

My friend tells me Apple has more engineers working on its iPhone cameras than all the camera makers — like Nikon, Canon, Fujitsu, Panasonic and Sony — combined. Maybe that’s why I’ve given up carrying my trusty Canon G5X in favor of my iPhone 8 plus.

Central philosophy

+ It’s much easier the second time.

+ Google always has a solution, the second time you look. Be wary of those sponsored ads on top.

It’s a buyers’ market in houses and apartments

+ Don’t fall in love. You’ll overpay.

+ Offer 30% less. Offer cash. Offer your ability to close fast.

+ Be prepared to wait.

+ The best buys are estate and divorce sales.

+ Don’t get bamboozled by broker talk. Like talk about he 500 other “buyers.”

+ Don’t expect the price of your chosen apartment or house to necessarily appreciate in coming years. There are far too many forces arrayed against you — Airbnb, rich people downsizing, the ease (and cheapness) of building new stuff, especially with today’s low interest rates.

What you pay is the most important part of any deal. Buy cheap. Prepare to walk. Learn to say NO.

Don’t do stupid

+ Always wear shoes at home. You won’t stub your toe on that metal chair.

+ Hold the railing going down. Don’t fall on the last step.

What more can I say?

Meatless burgers are a great rage. I’m pleased. Feed animals are a huge burden on our world. Worldwide, livestock accounts for between 14.5% and 18% of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. Our kids have largely given up meat.

If Beyond Meat didn’t taste so awful, I’d buy the stock again. But meatless burgers are fun:

For the full delicious article, click here. 

I test a Hauwei cell phone.

A Chinese fellow I met had one. He loved it. It was large. It had three cameras, two phone lines (one for the U.S. and one for China). It had a wonderful screen. It reminded me of the bigger Samsung models. In China (where he bought it) his Hauwei cellphone cost one-third the price of an iPhone.

I have no idea if Hauwei is a threat to the world. I feel sad I can’t buy such a nice phone here.

Happiness is not buying shoes for yourself.

It spikes your happiness, which quickly falls.

Happiness is buying shoes for someone who needs them.

Reader Nancy Klaus got the answer right.

Giving really works. As my professor, Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar , said at our weekend reunion, “To give it to receive.”

Harry Newton. I’m seeing these two grandchildren, Zoe and Sophie, this evening (if American Airlines ever gets me to Boston). Their mother, Claire, is preparing a birthday cake for me with 77 candles. Should be fun. She has a new fire extinguisher.


Fortunately these two are too young to be drafted into our upcoming war with Iran. The tanker attacks remind me of the beginning of the Vietnam War. Yuch.

One of the two burning tankers in the Gulf of Oman today.

I updated the list of stocks I like. See the right hand column here.

10 Comments

  1. Mike Nash says:

    Harry, 18 months ago in this comment section I recommended Coherous Biosciences stock to your readers. So far this year it is up 108%. About a year ago I recommended Bitcoin, which is up about 95% since. Is there any interest in hearing my next recommendation? Or are your readers too caught up with politics to care?

    • harrynewton says:

      they’re very interested in hearing your next recommendation. As I am also.

    • Omer Acikel says:

      Hi Mike, I checked Coherous Biosciences:@ some point back in the day it was around $35 then came down to around $10 -which might be the time you recommended- and now about $20. I would not buy bioscience stocks in general since they are very speculative. Why did you recommend them? As for bitcoin, why do you invest in bitcoin rather than any other virtual currency why on any virtual coin at all? If you have good answers, I am all ears. But if you happened to make money on these by luck and don’t talk about your loses, then join the crowd 🙂 By the way, politics cannot be separated from investing in my view.

      • harrynewton says:

        I agree with you both about biotech — too speculative. and bitcoin or other crytocurrencies, also far too speculative.

  2. Dman says:

    Harry tells us……”Feed animals are a huge burden on our world. Worldwide, livestock accounts for between 14.5% and 18% of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.”

    Dman says……”If you believe in nothing, then you’ll believe in anything.”

    Harry……Man made global climate change is 100% absolute bullshit. Just like your entire evil democrat party.

    …..And remember EVERYTHING about your god Obama is a complete lie. From his birth certificate, to his name, to his presidency. Trump will expose it ALL!!!

    • Mike Nash says:

      Do you agree that our top priority should be convicting Hillary Rodham Clinton of crimes against this nation and locking her up in prison?

      • Dman says:

        HRC, Obama and many other high profile democrats are not only guilty of several counts of TREASON but also guilty of unimaginable CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.

        Follow the currently ongoing NXVIM trial. Pay particular attention to NY Senator Kristen Gillibrand, her father and actress Allison Mack. This is the precursor for what is to follow, which is huge.

        Everything about Comet Ping Pong Pizza in Washington DC is true. It is a pedo palace.

      • Dman says:

        Hahaha Harry……you can delete my posts all you want but in no way, shape or form are you going to be able to delete what Trump has planned for your evil satanic democrat party.

        Soon it will be time to pay your “Barr Tab”……lolol

        Your evil liberal way of thinking is FINISHED!!!!!

        Trust The Plan
        WWG1WGA
        Q

  3. PhillyGuy says:

    I find a lot of younger people who buy everything online , at the same time complaining about how big, capitalistic corporations are ruining the middle class and driving down wages for the lowest paid workers. They are so ignorant they can’t see the connection between them adding billions to Jeff Bezos’s wealth and the destruction of small and medium sized local and regional companies and stores. Maybe one day when they come out of their basements or condo’s and wonder why where they live is deserted it will hit them.

    • Omer Acikel says:

      I agree with you however, when you look to buy an item A and you see it is $20 on amazon and in local store it is $25, which one would you buy? BTW, if you have some plug-ins that find you free shipping with no sales tax (it will be about $2 for me locally here), would you refrain yourself buying from amazon? My point is, price is quite a strong incentive. I think amazon should be regulated better about its business practices. To me biggest evil they do is copy best seller products -they have the data- and refuse to sell original seller’s products after. This is pure eliminating competition by force. Not to mention they have little to no counterfeit protection. But it is cheaper for them to receive a returned item than have additional scrutiny to their “selling machine”.