![\"spx5daysagain\"](\"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/spx5daysagain.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBut when you add in our favorite Square, the gain in the S&P 500 looks puny — but not Square. The result is super great.<\/p>\n
I’m not making any changes to my portfolio. You can see it in the right hand column.<\/p>\n Investments that go to zero<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n If you use my 10% to 15% stop loss rule you’ll never lose all your money in the stockmarket.<\/p>\n Sadly, stop loss rules don’t work with funds and syndications.<\/p>\n It’s now K1 time. I’m amazed how many of my erstwhile brilliant adventures went to zero. There was the biotech fund. There was the real estate fund that invested in over-priced, over-leveraged office buildings. There was the residential real estate development in the California desert.<\/p>\n And then there were the various individual ventures — a water bottling company (to compete with Avion), a gaming company, a mobile promotions company, a restaurant company.<\/p>\n They all ran out of money. Many could have made it, had they had the money.<\/p>\n As I get older, I realize that:<\/p>\n + Ideas for new businesses are plentiful.<\/p>\n + Management skills to run them are scarce.<\/p>\n + Nobody listens, especially entrepreneurs whose company I put money into.<\/p>\n + Your own venture makes sense. It’s got a higher chance of success. It’s your money. You’ll work harder and listen attentively.<\/p>\n + For every $1 you spend on engineering, you need to spend $10 on marketing. Most people underestimate marketing.<\/p>\n From Quora.com,<\/a> which I’m currently fascinated by<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n What are some harsh lessons every person should learn?<\/em><\/p>\n Answered by Srinath Nalluri, Research Assistant at Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore<\/p>\n + One wrong word from you can ruin a relationship you had built for years.<\/p>\n + You may not be the best friend of your best friend.<\/p>\n + Any human will give more importance to the person whom he loves compared to the person who loves him.<\/p>\n + You will be replaced no matter who you are.<\/p>\n + My favorite:\u00a0There is no eternal happiness. All your life you will keep trying for one happiness after another. In other words, there will never be complete satisfaction.<\/em><\/p>\n + The more intelligent you are, the fewer people you will have to interact with.<\/p>\n + No matter how well you prove it, people around you will believe what they want to believe.<\/p>\n North Korea is not stupid.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The Australian news network, ABC, investigated how North Korea gets its money.<\/p>\n They published a piece on “How businesses from Europe to Asia fund Kim Jong-un’s lavish lifestyle.<\/em>”\u00a0It’s called “The Royal Economy.”<\/em><\/p>\n It exists under plain sight of all the sanctions on North Korea. Click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n My favorite Paris hotel<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n This is the de Crillon on the Place de la Concorde at the bottom of the\u00a0Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es.<\/p>\n The new owners just spent $300 million on on it. It’s totally over the top:<\/p>\n I spent a romantic weekend there in the late 1990s with Susan. It was incredible. I remember three things:<\/p>\n + The ironed sheets on the bed. That’s the one luxury no one should live without.<\/p>\n + The fresh roses in the room that were changed every few hours.<\/p>\n + The lady who sat outside our door and catered to our every whim. Susan actually complained to me that they delivered her breakfast too fast (under five minutes).\u00a0She wasn’t ready.<\/p>\n We stayed in Suite 9. I was on \u00a0lecture tour and had an expense account. Ah. The good old days.<\/p>\n If you book the connecting\u00a0Les Grands Appartements<\/a>\u00a0suites and salon designed by Karl Lagerfeld, you’ll pay $38,200 a night, breakfast not included.<\/p>\n If you book the Marie-Antoinette Suite, \u00a0the most stunning feature is the 400-square-foot terrace overlooking the Place de la Concorde\u2014the very spot where the young queen was guillotined in 1793.<\/p>\n If that doesn’t float your boat, nothing will.<\/p>\n Get rich by not flying<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Delta recently paid a nice lady $4,000 to give up her seat on their overbooked plane. For the full story, click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Buying something online?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I’m amazed at the discounts companies like LLBean, Eddie Bauer and Lands End are offering. And their stuff is good. Ways to get discounts:<\/p>\n + Google “Savings coupon from XYZ Corp.” Amazing how often this dumb technique works.<\/p>\n + Sign for their email list.<\/p>\n + Call them on the phone. Email them.<\/p>\n Sloane Stephens was chill about her winnings –<\/strong><\/span>– until she received her check.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n