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Everything is breaking in our house. Here’s my list of industries to say NO to.

The three-month treasury is 5.15%. Nice.

But the one-month treasury is 5.563%. Even nicer.

You’d expect these to be yielding 15% if America was really going to default.

Surely the Republicans can’t be that stupid?

I read that speaker Kevin McCarthy will agree to raising the debt ceiling if the democrats will drop social security by 23%.

That will prove popular. 23% drop in social security.

I’m guessing he got to 23% because we’re in the year 2023, (sic!)

Next year it will be 24%?

There ‘s a record amount of money “on the sidelines” — in treasuries (like I am). That means everyone is as confused as I am.

BubbleVision figured that the only stocks rising recently have been the AI ones —  Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet (Google). Most of the remaining stocks have fallen.

Look at our favorite this year. Despite being way overpriced, it’s gone up and up.

This year has been weird.

Here’s a list of Areas to say NO to

There are great companies in my list of industries to say NO to. But I rarely can find them. And, if I do, I usually lose money on them. Here’s my list:

Biotech
Fintech
Mining
Energy
Wildcat Oil Drilling
REITs
Banking — primary
Banking — secondary
China
Crypto
Cellphone service providers
Telecom makers
Hotels
Retailers
Airlines
Cruise Lines
Clothing companies
One product IPOs
Dumb companies — e.g. eBay, Cisco, Verizon, AT&T
Guru recommendations, e.g. those from Cathy Wood or Jim Cramer
Second rate semiconductor companies
Companies when the founder leaves
Messed-up countries, e.g. Turkey, Argentina

Hidden Brain — a Neat Podcast

American culture celebrates those who persevere in the face of adversity. So how do we know when to walk away from something that’s not working? Today (i.e. this podcast) we kick off our new “Success 2.0” series with economist John List. He says in every domain of our lives, it’s important to know when to pivot to something new.

Click here.

The one interview question that makes or breaks job candidates

“Tell me what did you learn recently?”

For more, click here

Everything is breaking in our house

Recent breaks: the AC, the garbage disposal, the Viking stove down draft, the boiler, the emergency generator, the Internet, the slow-leaky car tire with the cracked rim, the electric blinds and a zillion other things.

Here are my expensive lessons. Let’s start with “Before you install.”

+ Manual always works better than electric. Hand cranked blinds are better than electric ones.

+ The fancier it is, the more prone it is to breaking and blowing out its $3,000 circuit board.

+ If it works, don’t mess with it.

+ When you install something, register it with the factory. That way when it breaks 15 years from now, the factory will know what you have and can sell you the right spare part.

+ Don’t buy a unique thing that nothing else is compatible with. Our dumb AC system is dumb. It was one of a kind. And the factory later stopped making it, which means we’re screwed — bit time.

+ Always keep the instruction manuals in a safe place. Write on the front of your manuals the model numbers of all your new stuff and the serial number.

+ Always ask installers and service technicians — “What’s the most common thing that breaks on this thing? Buy a few.

+ eBay is the best place for spare parts. I just bought some for one-15th the price the factory wanted.

+ You should always try and fix it yourself. There’s an awful shortage of trained, talented service technicians who know what they’re doing. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on incompetents.

+ The best way to learn how to fix how things is to ask YouTube, “How do I fix…?” YouTube has more videos than Carter had liver pills.

+ Instruction manual are, on the whole, useless. Most don’t even have an index. Some factories are good, e.g. Viking the stove people.

+ Most things these days need rebooting. Not just computers or phones. But also cars, stoves, routers , and garbage disposals!

+ Everything of value needs a dedicated surge arrestor behind it. The reason? Everything has a pricey circuit board that doesn’t like voltage spikes. Bingo, you’re just blown $3,000. I did it. YouTube is the best technician.

+ Every house should have a full-house emergency generator.

+ If you’re running on propane, a thousand gallon tank makes sense. Keep it full, especially if you’re in Florida in the middle of winter and your house’s temperature is dropping by the minute. When our surge arrestor blew, our boiler went off, the house got down to under 40 — before I begged someone to come over and reset the surge arrestor. It couldn’t be done remotely.

Print this list and store it with your manuals.

Big entrepreneurial success

Kathleen King sold Tate’s Bake Shop for $500 million to Mondolez International, which makes Oreo and Chips Ahoy.

Tate’s used to be my favorite cookies. Now they’re tasteless and stale. You’ll find my latest purchases in my garbage. Sad.

Everything sold gets destroyed by the buyer. I bet Microsoft will destroy Activision if it gets permission to buy it.

Elon’s Starlink is taking orders

Starlinks bills itself as a “High-speed, low-latency broadband internet in remote and rural locations across the globe.”

I don’t have it. But I know it’s winning the war in Ukraine.

Prices:

Learn more here.

Biblical fun

Exercise for a few hours a week and your chances of getting cancer, dementia, etc. are lessened. I’ve been reading studies. But I don’t need convincing. I like running around on the tennis court.

Don’t look for a “magic solution” in the new AI. There are lots of simple ways to improve your business. Here’s a piece on what Amazon is doing. Click here.

Harry Newton