Harry Newton's In Search of The Perfect Investment
Newton's In Search Of The Perfect Investment. Technology Investor.
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8:30 AM Thursday, March 16, 2006: You
can feel it creeping up on you -- the inevitability of a bird flu panic/pandemic/problem.
We won't all die. But we will all buy stocks of companies that make things
to protect us. In short, our portfolio is improving, day by day. Here's last
night's close.
As I mentioned yesterday, my favorite three are Novavax,
Gilead Sciences and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.
Leavitt
calls for personal flu plans.
Don't panic, much.
SAN FRANCISCO
(MarketWatch) -- There's no cause for panic, but Americans need to prepare
for a possible worldwide epidemic of influenza by stockpiling food, water
and basic first aid, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt
said Tuesday.
During a wide-ranging speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Leavitt
said citizens need to prepare for a pandemic as they would a hurricane or
earthquake, which could happen at the same time since a pandemic could last
as long as a year and a half.
A pandemic may arise from an as-yet unknown virus or the avian flu strain
H5N1 that's been sweeping the world and devastating flocks of swans and poultry
-- if it acquires the ability to pass easily between people, he said.
Unlike natural disasters or even terrorist attacks, a pandemic is unique because
it typically lasts a year or more and occurs everywhere at the same time,
Leavitt said.
"Pandemics happen," Leavitt said. "They have happened for centuries,
and there's no reason to believe the 21st century will be any different."
The 20th century saw three pandemics, the worst of which was the 1918-19 Spanish
flu that killed an estimated 50 million people globally, 500,000 of whom were
American. The last two pandemics, in 1968 and 1957, were considered mild.
...
As of Tuesday, the total worldwide number of human cases was 177 and the human
death toll stood at 98, the WHO said. The vast majority of people who died
of bird flu had close contact with sick birds, and none died from eating properly
cooked chicken or eggs, health authorities said.
"We will have stockpiles of Tamiflu and other antivirals sufficient to
supply 25% of the population," he said. "Being able to get pills
into the palms of people in a relatively short time is ultimately how we measure
success."
ChapStick
is great for your hands: Cold, dry weather
causes your hands and fingers to split. One simple solution:
Watch
your key fob.
A "key fob"
allows you to pay for gas at the pump or at the point of sale terminal in in
gas and convenience stores. Your actual credit or bank account debit card information
is not stored on the key fob. This "key fob" is, however, electronically
linked to your credit card or
bank account for payments just by waving it over the pos scanner which then
activates a brief radio frequency connection required to complete the purchase
transaction. If you happen to lose your keychain, containing the "key fob",
then anyone who finds your keys could go shopping for gas and other items while
paying for the goods using your linked credit/bank account funds.
The Pacific Life Open / Indian Wells Tennis Tournament
continues. Roddick and Agassi have lost in
great matches. Federer is still in. It gets more exciting each day. We'll be
there tonight in the stands.
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Date
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Start
Time (PST)
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ESPN2
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Thu,
March 16
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11:00am
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Live
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Women's
Quarterfinal
Men's Quarterfinal
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Thu,
March 16
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7:00pm
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Live
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Women's
Quarterfinal
Men's Quarterfinal
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Fri,
March 17
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11:00am
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Live
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Women's
Semifinals
Men's Quarterfinal
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Fri,
March 17
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7:00pm
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Live
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Men's
Quarterfinal
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Sat,
March 18
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2:30pm
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Live
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Women's
Final
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Sun,
March 19
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11:30pm
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Delay
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Men's Semifinal
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Sun,
March 19
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11:00am
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Live
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Men's
Final
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The London Philharmonic plays in Palm Desert:
Wonderful concert last night. Audience demographics: every male (including me)
had gray hair. Every one. The 60+ are many. Big market for whatever we buy.
GOOD
In Richardson, Texas State Trooper was running radar. He had a perfect
spot to watch for speeders, but wasn't getting any. Then he discovered the problem.
A 12 year old boy was standing up the road with a hand painted sign which read
"RADAR TRAP AHEAD!" The officer later found a young accomplice down
the road with a sign reading, "TIPS" and a bucket full of money. (And
we used to just sell lemonade!)
BETTER
A motorist was mailed a picture of his car speeding through an automated radar
post in Plano, Texas. A $40 speeding ticket was included. Being cute, he sent
the police department a picture of $40. The police responded with another mailed
photo of handcuffs.
BEST
A young woman was pulled over in Austin, Texas for speeding. As the TX State
Trooper walked to her car window, flipping open his ticket book, she said, "I
bet you are going to sell me a ticket to the Texas State Police Ball."
He replied, "Texas State Troopers don't have balls." There was a moment
of silence while she smiled and he realized what he'd just said. He then closed
his book, got back in his patrol car and left. She was laughing too hard to
start her car.
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.
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