{"id":24051,"date":"2014-01-10T09:19:36","date_gmt":"2014-01-10T14:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/?p=24051"},"modified":"2014-01-10T09:21:38","modified_gmt":"2014-01-10T14:21:38","slug":"a-couple-of-useful-investment-strategies-for-todays-heady-stockmarket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/?p=24051","title":{"rendered":"A couple of useful investment strategies for today’s heady stockmarket"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don’t know where this market is going. WE had unemployment numbers this morning which were OK, but not brilliant. My simple strategy (for now) is to lighten up on stocks that aren’t doing well and don’t seem to have the wind at their backs and load more up on stocks I like — like BX, APO, KKR, V and HON. Many of the momentum stocks are getting very pricey. Beware.
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Good investment strategy:<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

When you get pissed at their prices, buy their stock.<\/p>\n

It’s worked for Whole Foods, Apple, DirecTV, and even Verizon (for a while). They all have high prices on the stuff they sell.<\/p>\n

Blimey, are today’s banks really awful! <\/strong>After my diatribe yesterday on banks that act stupid, I was\u00a0 inundated with emails from readers telling me of their stupid experiences. Among them:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our local bank was once a privately-owned operation with six branches. \u00a0Of course, it didn’t survive the government reforms, so it was taken over by a cold-hearted regional.<\/div>\n
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Susan had to get into the safe deposit box in order to make a copy of our marriage certificate that I need in order to change my place of residence so I can vote against the local Democrat jerk. \u00a0What a goat fight.<\/div>\n
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Anyway, the girl from the bank pulls out our safe deposit box and says (verbatim quote) in a loud voice,”Jesus Christ, what have you got in here, Fort Knox?”<\/div>\n
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The way Susan tells it, she went into the bank manager’s office and slammed the door on the way in.<\/div>\n
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So, don’t feel you are alone!<\/div>\n
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Suggestions from readers: Everbank, Schwab, First Republic and a local credit union. One friend wrote:<\/div>\n

I too have been bemoaning the lack of a good banker for a long time, I have been a private bank customer of Chase, Citibank, and HSBC.\u00a0 Elizabeth handles our corporate banking relationships and about two years ago she threw up her hands and said forget it, no matter how much money we have in the bank I don’t like the way they treat us.<\/p>\n

About 18 months ago we started a relationship with City National bank. They are a significant Los Angeles-based bank and began to build their New York presence. Since then they’ve opened up several branches, one of Park Avenue and one on Avenue of the Americas.<\/p>\n

We have been delighted with the relationship, they are responsive, quick to call us back, send people to make deposit pickups, when we go overseas they deliver local currency to us, etc.<\/p>\n

To summarize the idiocy that is big banks today: The BIG ones want to gamble (i.e. trade) and make easy money on scams like sub-prime mortgages and derivatives and not do old-fashioned banking business with their long-suffering customers. Hence they invest little money in new customer-friendly technology — like electronic banking. Most of the rest of the world no longer uses checks and has chips in its credit cards — not the U.S. which is stuck around the 1970s.<\/p>\n

Some of their employees are finding work-arounds. You can’t deposit by photo, no problem. We’ll send a messenger to pick up your checks. You need some cash, no problem. We have a “courier.” They won’t steal your cash. They’re more reliable than Target — which now says it’s lost credit and debit card records on 70 million customers. Boy, talk about a cockroach stock.<\/p>\n

\"Target2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Update on Fidelity’s online system:\u00a0<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

+ Fidelity’s Active Trader Pro software works well. I use version 9.6. They have a new version. I think it’s called version 10. I don’t like it. Remember Newton’s Rule: “If it works, don’t mess with it<\/em><\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

+ You can’t leave Active Trader Pro running for more than a day. You have to close it and start it again. It’s little baby software gets confused from one day to the next.<\/p>\n

+ Fidelity also has an iPhone app that’s remarkably good.<\/p>\n

+ Fidelity takes checks by photo. Their limit is $25,000 — but unlike Chase — they don’t have a monthly limit — except 30 x $25,000. Chase’s insane monthly limit is $100,000.<\/p>\n

Governor Christie’s apology:<\/strong><\/span> I watched much of his 2-hour marathon press conference. Despite his assertions, he clearly is a bully and clearly a micro-manager. So long as there’s no more incriminating emails, he should be OK for a presidential run in 2016. By then he’ll have a few years of actually running something — the State of New Jersey. In contrast to our president whom I now would now longer trust with organizing a queue for an outhouse — let alone a simple web site. How come Obama hasn’t fired anyone on his disaster. And Christie fired them instantly.<\/p>\n

The Australian Tennis Open<\/strong><\/span> begins on Monday.<\/p>\n

\"HarryNewton\"<\/a>
\nHarry Newton who occasionally reproduces articles he finds, which he feels are important and\u00a0 aren’t investment related. This is this week’s New Yorker<\/em> Magazine lead:<\/p>\n