{"id":34123,"date":"2016-03-11T15:09:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-11T20:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/?p=34123"},"modified":"2016-03-11T15:09:33","modified_gmt":"2016-03-11T20:09:33","slug":"be-cautious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/?p=34123","title":{"rendered":"Be cautious"},"content":{"rendered":"

I read too much that is depressing — Egypt, Brazil, Europe, Russia, China, (and the Canadian and Australian dollars). I know that the U.S. is big and doing OK. And I know stockmarkets here are up today, Friday. But I worry. No one can predict the next recession, except we seem to be overdue for one.\u00a0 It’s hard to believe that if something goes awry, Washington will be able to deal with it. We’ve run out monetary stimulus — interest rates and quantitative easing. And the Washington Congress gridlock seems incapable of fixing some bridges, roads, airports, subways,\u00a0 and providing some nice jobs doing the work.<\/p>\n

By nature I’m an optimistic guy and I still own some stocks. But I’m very attracted to cash. I wish I could find some nice warm place to put it, other than:<\/p>\n

\"Mattress<\/p>\n

I am being inundated by new companies who want money and promise Facebook\/Google returns. But my days of investing in young, small companies are drawing to an end. I am increasingly turned off skimpy PowerPoint decks that forget minor things like:<\/p>\n

+ Marketing and sales plans.<\/p>\n

+ A detailed look at the competition and what they offer.<\/p>\n

+ An exit plan — like when and how am I likely to get my money back. (I may not be alive.)<\/p>\n

Every deck seems to tell me how large the addressable market is (huge), and how smart the executives are (very smart).<\/p>\n

Whatever happened to written documents, detailing risks, strategies, ambitions, etc.? Why do I have to keep asking the same questions?<\/p>\n

You can sort of save $100 on an Apple Watch.<\/strong><\/span> B&H Photo is selling it at $50 less than Apple and throwing in a $50 store gift card. Click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Lots of ways to speak to your iPhone <\/strong><\/span>— and save typing and time. There’s Siri from Apple which comes with the iPhone. There’s Google. And now there’s Hound. Download them from the Apple App Store and try them. Personally I prefer Siri, but Google is pretty good. Hound has potential.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Answers we wish we had thought of.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It was mealtime during an airline flight.
\n‘Would you like dinner?’, the flight attendant asked John, seated in front.
\n‘What are my choices?’ John asked.
\n‘Yes or no,’ she replied.<\/p>\n

A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets.
\nAs a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket and he opened his trench coat and flashed her.
\nWithout missing a beat, she said, ‘Sir, I need to see your ticket, not your stub.’<\/p>\n

Paulette was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store but she couldn’t find one big enough for her family.
\nShe asked a stock boy, ‘ Do these turkeys get any bigger?’
\nThe stock boy replied, ‘No ma’am, they’re dead…’<\/p>\n

A truck driver was driving along on the freeway and noticed a sign that read: Low Bridge Ahead.
\nBefore he knows it, the bridge is right in front of him and his truck gets wedged under it.
\nCars are backed up for miles. Finally a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, ‘Got stuck, huh?’
\nThe truck driver says, ‘No, I was delivering this bridge and I ran out of gas.’<\/p>\n

\"HarryNewton\"<\/a>
\nHarry Newton, who has come down with a cold in Paradise (Indian Wells, California). That cold is affecting his outlook on life.<\/p>\n

Watch out for those stop losses. Love and hope are not a substitutes for taking your losses and moving on. Better yet, if you’re up on a stock, but you don’t quite know why, take some profits. No one went broke taking a profit, even a small one.\u00a0 I do like HA, ALK, VZ, T and SGOL. My biggest holding of them is VZ.<\/p>\n