Previous Columns
8:30 AM Monday, February 13, 2006: Much snow. 27 inches in New York. The city is a winter wonderland.



Much reading on the weekend. Few conclusions. Except the economy is slowing down. And stockmarkets, in general, are weakening -- with "big" weakness in energy and momentum stocks.

It's time to pocket some profits, move more to the sidelines and look for shorts.

Several readers climbed all over me on Friday because I mumbled about buying more Whole Foods following its cratering. I was Wrong! The readers were right. My 15% Stop Loss Rule is inviolate. It has to be inviolate. When the stock falls 15% from its peak -- as Whole Foods had done -- it's time to sell not buy. I sold. I thank you for reminding me.

The key word is "beloved." That's what I referred to Whole Foods as. I was smitten. One should NEVER, EVER, EVER fall in love with a stock. I was close to heavy, panting infatuation until your emails arrived, saying, in essence, "Are you nuts?"

That's it for Google: The air is out. It's down 25% from its peak. The stock will fall further. But that's old news. I've written that before. Meantime, Barrons is also jumping all over Google, too.


Little Google will do from now on is going to be "right." From high-flier to cockroach in less than a month.

When managers perform poorly: Several of my managers are performing abysmally. I'm looking for rules. Two bad quarters and you're out? Two bad years and you're out? I'm mulling. In the past I've stuck with the managers for too long. I'm beginning to opt for a shorter review time. Anyone got any better thoughts?

The telegram is dead: Western Union has delivered its final telegram. Time to publish some of the more memorable telegrams:

+ Samuel F. B. Morse, sent his first formal telegram from the Capitol in Washington to Baltimore in 1844. WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT.

+ Old Jewish joke: START WORRYING. DETAILS TO FOLLOW.

+ On arriving in Venice, Robert Benchley cabled Harold Ross, editor of The New Yorker. STREETS FULL OF WATER. PLEASE ADVISE.

+ Both Mark Twain and Arthur Conan Doyle supposedly sent similar telegrams to a dozen prominent men, all of whom packed up and left town immediately. FLEE AT ONCE — ALL IS DISCOVERED.

+ When Mark Twain heard that his obituary had been published, he cabled from London in 1897. THE REPORTS OF MY DEATH ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED.

+ John F. Kennedy used to joke during his 1960 presidential campaign that he had just received a telegram from his father. DEAR JACK: DON'T BUY ONE MORE VOTE THAN NECESSARY. I'LL BE DAMNED IF I PAY FOR A LANDSLIDE.

It must be true. The tabloids had it. Britney Spears has "invested" $100,000 in a 6-foot tall, gold plated statue of Buddha. The statue occupies pride of place in a new "meditation" room at the Malibu estate Spears shares with rapper husband, Kevin "K-Fed" Federline. "Kevin had a fit when Britney had the huge Buddha delivered," according to the National Enquirer. He thinks it all a bunch of "nonsense." Spears, according to the paper, is unhappy in the marriage and has become a spiritual seeker. IN recent months, she has studied Cabbala, Hinduism and Buddhism.

This is not the Britney's statue. But you get the idea.

I wish my managers were this good:
Sister Mary Catherine and Sister Mary Elizabeth are walking through the park when they are jumped by two thugs. Their habits are ripped from them and the men begin to sexually assault them. Sister Mary Catherine casts her eyes heavenward and cries, "Forgive him Lord, for he knows not what he is doing!"

Mary Elizabeth turns and says, "Mine does..."

Recent column highlights:
+ Munich, the movie. A must-see. Click here.
+ Identity Theft precautions. Click here.
+ Dumb reasons we hold losing stocks. Click here.
+ How my private equity fund is doing. Click here.
+ Blackstone private equity funds. Click here.
+ Manhattan Pharmaceuticals: Click here.
+ NovaDel Biosciences appeals. Click here.
+ Hana Biosciences appeals. Click here.
+ All turned on by biotech. Click here.
+ Steve Jobs Commencement Address. The text is available: Click here. The full audio is available. Click here.
+ The March of the Penguins, an exquisite movie. Click here.
+ When to sell stocks. Click here.

Harry Newton

This column is about my personal search for the perfect investment. I don't give investment advice. For that you have to be registered with regulatory authorities, which I am not. I am a reporter and an investor. I make my daily column -- Monday through Friday -- freely available for three reasons: Writing is good for sorting things out in my brain. Second, the column is research for a book I'm writing called "In Search of the Perfect Investment." Third, I encourage my readers to send me their ideas, concerns and experiences. That way we can all learn together. My email address is . You can't click on my email address. You have to re-type it . This protects me from software scanning the Internet for email addresses to spam. I have no role in choosing the Google ads. Thus I cannot endorse any, though some look mighty interesting. If you click on a link, Google may send me money. Please note I'm not suggesting you do. That money, if there is any, may help pay Claire's law school tuition. Read more about Google AdSense, click here and here.
Go back.