The Stock Market and Investing

gagrice

You were right. The Dow was up 77 points in the first 60 seconds. Hopefully it maintains the rally.

cyclone4

Unfortunately, the market crapped out mostly because of new concerns about Italy now.

Something is wrong about this site today. It is extremely slow to respond.

cyclone4

The site seems to be finally working. What a disappointing day this turned out to be! I expected a big rally in the Dow after the weekend news about Spain. More importantly for some of us, I fully expected a big up day for AAPL. I don't understand it. I thought Apple made the announcements about the Macs and software upgrades that were expected. So, were some idiots expecting a launch of the iPhone 5 or something? That's ridiculous.

EDIT: I spoke too soon. Ste is still not working right.

ljflx

Turned out I was really wrong. Futures were up over 140 on Sunday so that was an indicator of a big day and early Monday Europe was up 2% so all the potential was there. But with Europe these days you have to qualify anything you say by adding in "if nothing goes wrong anywhere else". The Euro may be a problem for the rest of our lives. A single common currency for multinational governments doesn't work in bad times and it never will. The guys at the top don't want to support the ones at the bottom. Would a rich state in the US support a poor one, especially if it were run badly?

Earlier this year I bought into Microsoft for a long hold when the stock was about 15% lower than today. This article captures the essence of my thinking. Tagman always believed the XBOX was a hidden gem of Microsoft and I couldn't have agreed more. Plus I've read several stories about how the market in surveys wanted a tablet from Microsoft with a windows system much more than one driven by a Google android system. Those were surveys before Apple jumped to the moon with the iPad but even today I think the road is paved for Microsoft with tablets becoming the moons of an officed based PC for business and consumers. If Microsoft can pull that off then the sky is the limit. But it's a good hedge if you have a large Apple position IMO.

The site has been pathetically slow over the past few days.

http://beta.fool.com/johnmylant/2012/06/11/microsoft-can-be-a-huge-nightmare-for- -apple/5560/?ticker=GOOG&source=eogyholnk0000001

gagrice

Pre open trading was hot and heavy, all positive. I cannot help but believe there are BIG traders manipulating the market with some help from World affairs. Get everyone into a buying mode before the bell. Then start dumping shares. Several good stocks had swings like AAPL. I don't see the market based on the stock as much as the gaming of traders.

PS
Edmunds seems to have some serious server issues.

cyclone4

I just purchased the new 15 inch MacBook Pro. I am sick of regular laptops. I am going all Apple. The MacBook Pro I purchased is the basic 15 inch model. According to my son, this is more than adequate for my uses.

It appears that the site is now functioning normally.

houdini1

I am thinking the same as you regarding MSFT. I have had a stake there for a couple of months now, and I am hoping their new tablet is a big hit.

I also wonder why the auto companies don't dump all the expensive electronics and computers (including navigation) in their autos and simply put a $500. ipad on board to handle all this stuff.

robr2

So, were some idiots expecting a launch of the iPhone 5 or something?

Yes they were. It's been close to a year since the iPhone 4s which in itself was a bit of a let down due to the unchanged format. To be perfectly honest I was disappointed there was no news about the next iPhone for perfectly selfish reasons - my 3GS is starting to wear out and I don't want to buy a 4S if the 5 is due in 90 days.

houdini1

The fact is, most of Apple's money comes from the iphone and the ipad. There was very little mentioned about those two items. I think that is why many were disappointed.

Is it just me or does it look like a lot of shorting is going on with Apple?

cyclone4

Yes they were. It's been close to a year since the iPhone 4s which in itself was a bit of a let down due to the unchanged format.

Rob,

The iPhone 4S was launched in October, 2011. The iPhone5 will likely be launched in October, 2012. What was the last time that you heard Apple announce any new product way in advance? That just is not their way of doing things. Maybe, I'm the one that's dumb, but I never expected Apple to reveal anything about the iPhone5, Apple TV, etc. yesterday.

kyfdx

About how much for the MacBook? I think this is what my son wants.. starting college in August..

robr2

What was the last time that you heard Apple announce any new product way in advance?

Original iPhone - it was announced January 2007 and not made available until June 2007.

I was only disappointed because I don't want to buy a 4S which may be eclipsed in 90 days. Keep in mind that right now the iPhone is the "the" Apple product recognized by the the general public. If it's not part of a major presentation, the questioning begins.

gagrice

I hope you got the new MacBook Pro with Retina display. If it is as good as the Retina display in the newest iPad, it should be a knockout. I want to see the Win8 hybrid offerings before I buy anything. My old Dell still works fine. I also have lots of Windows programs I use that will not work on IOS or Android.

cyclone4

I hope you got the new MacBook Pro with Retina display.

Yes I did. It is the 15 inch MacBook Pro with retina display.

cyclone4

About how much for the MacBook?

The model I ordered cost $2,199 plus $132 in tax.

kyfdx

Dang! Okay... shewwww ..

College is expensive!

imidazol97

>College is expensive!

Wait until they add on all the documentation and delivery fees just like at the car dealerships.

gagrice

Lawsuit Filed Against Apple’s Siri Technology

Anyone here use SIRI? Does it work as advertised?

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/06/12/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-apples-sir- i-technology/

cyclone4

Gary,

I use Siri and I like "her". Is she perfect? No, but who is? She answers most questions accurately. I also use Siri to wake me up at a certain time. The next upgrade this fall will improve Siri quite a lot. For example, she will be able to tell me what the score in the Red Sox game is. Also, you will be able to use Siri for help with directions, etc. while driving.

That lawsuit is completely stupid. I am amazed what some people will do to try and get or even steal money.

gagrice

When they talked about the iPhone having SIRI, I assumed it was the satellite radio service with traffic. How did Apple get away with stealing that mnemonic?

PS
I agree it sounds like a lame claim. It could be his voice is unintelligible.

gagrice

I think this is probably a waste of money on lawyers as well.

Apple Moves to Block U.S. Availability of Samsung Galaxy S III

http://blog.laptopmag.com/apple-moves-to-block-u-s-availability-of-samsung-galax- y-s-iii

ljflx

Charlie,

Very favorable review in todays NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/technology/personaltech/apples-macbook-pro-is-- just-short-of-perfection-state-of-the-art.html?_r=1&ref=business

cyclone4

Thanks Len! Here is another very detailed review from Slashgear:

http://www.slashgear.com/macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review-mid-2012-1323382- 6/

robr2

When they talked about the iPhone having SIRI, I assumed it was the satellite radio service with traffic. How did Apple get away with stealing that mnemonic?

Sirius is the satellite radio service - named after the brightest star in the sky. Also know as the dog star - hence the old Sirius logo and the character in the Harry Potter books.

Siri is of Norwegian origin. Apple bought a company called Siri. I guess they liked the name.

gagrice

Well Duh, I forgot as I have not had Sat radio since my 2005 GMC PU with XM radio. too many mnemonics in our lives to remember all of them. I understand the lawsuit with Samsung is over their version of SIRI. Did they steal or just implement the same sort of voice recognition? They do seem to keep each other in court a lot. A real waste of money. They are both making a ton of money. I think Samsung has about twice the revenue as Apple with all their varied products. Samsung did $247 billion last year. And has about $224 billion in equity. A rather large company.

ljflx

Greek vote is very close but favors pro Europe party and that should calm markets.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/world/europe/greek-elections.html?pagewanted=a- ll

ljflx

Greek vote is very close but favors pro Europe party and that should calm markets.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/world/europe/greek-elections.html?pagewanted=a- ll

cyclone4

Greek vote is very close but favors pro Europe party and that should calm markets.

Let's hope that this is the start of a longer term solution. I imagine that it will still be a very bumpy ride, however.

cyclone4

This is a very interesting article from the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/technology/apples-goes-head-to-head-with-googl- e-over-mobile-maps.html?partner=yahoofinance

gagrice

I hope they get the map business figured out. Navteq sucks on my Sequoia Limited NAV. My Magellan also use navteq. I generally google my plans ahead of time. Bing is good some places and worthless in others. I hope Apple knows what they are doing. Everyone I know with an iPhone depend on Google Maps with traffic updates.

cyclone4

I'm not sure why AAPL is outperforming the Dow by a lot today, but it may be due to the comments by Gene Munster on this article.

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2012/06/18/apple-piper-survey-says-appl- e-developers-prefer-apple/?mod=yahoobarrons

ljflx

Interesting to read the comments on Microsofts announcement of the Surface in this article.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/18/the-microsoft-surface-a-10-6-inch-windows-8-tab- - - let-from-microsoft/#gallery-573759-1-slideshow

Good story here as well:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/18/technology/microsoft-surface-tablet/index.htm?so- urce=yahoo_quote

gagrice

If the Surface does not run all my Win programs, it does not seem practical. I have helped 3 friends figure out how to get email with their tablets. Two Androids and an iPad. Quite frankly I am not sold on the value of a tablet. I think an ultrabook like the new Macbook pro would be preferable. If I want to read a book I prefer the cheap B&W Kindle.

ljflx

If I want to read a book I prefer the cheap B&W Kindle.

But there are so many more things on an iPad that others will seek out. My daughter uses it as a 10" TV and the picture is as striking as any HDTV. She loves games on it and prefers to watch you tube videos on it than than on the PC now. She originally wondered why I bought it and now both she and my wife want their own. You need screen size for the video and the Kindle doesn't deliver in that regard and its resolution for video can't get in the same room as the ipad. In the past everytime I bought cheap I was later sorry I didn't buy the more upscale device and after my daughters experience with an unreliable Nook I have no doubt I'd feel the same way about a Kindle had I purchased one. The video is just one example. If you look at it from a narrow perspective as book reading then you'll never buy a tablet and if you look at Surface to be a replacement of a laptop you'll also never buy it either. These are really multi-faceted entertainment devices and in the case of the surface they add in productivity software for business. As far as I'm concerned the Kindle is a pure bookreader and Amazon sales tool. You pay a premium in price for the ipad and the future surface because they are luxury items with untapped benefits, much better screen size, great resolution and great apps. A long time ago you'd have paid $300 for a 10" or smaller TV say for travel in your car and you'd have paid a lot more for dvd players in your car. Now for a little more than that TV you get one that is a tiny tiny fraction of that weight with HD (actually in the case of the ipad with greater than HD resolution) and it's wireless and that's before you take into consideration all the other entertainment and news it gives you on the go. If you apply steel logic to consumer purchases you'll never buy anything new until something dies on you. It's much easier to apply logic for no purchase than purchasing if you rationalize things to pure money and comparabiity of patchwork products you already own. In the end it comes down to what's better, money or the exciting products money buys you. I want a new car every three years because there's nothing like a new car. It costs a lot more than buy and hold but I prefer the excitement of new products over saving a little extra money that goes into banks that may not even be tenable anymore.

gagrice

There is no doubt your arguments for devices such as the iPad are good. In my helping others set them up for email I missed a real key board. I don't watch TV so that is not even a factor. I do take and view a lot of photos and that is a big PLUS for tablets like the iPad. The iPad being the one to beat currently. If I get an ultra book with a super screen like the new MacBook Pro, I may not want to use my desktop or carry my old Dell Inspiron. I did buy a Kindle Fire and after two weeks sent it to my grandson. He and his dad fight over it and are considering a second one. It did not do what I wanted it for and the typing on a pad is unacceptable for a touch typist. It sounds like the MSFT Surface keyboard will not be much better. I bought my wife the Kindle reader and she loves it. I have downloaded a lot of the free books and she reads that any time we are traveling or she is waiting in the vehicle. She can also check out e-books from the library. I would also buy a new vehicle every few years. I still only have 25k miles on my five year old Sequoia. Just sits in the garage. I drive my Nissan PU truck most of the time. The Sequoia is just for trips. The LS400 gets driven even less. 104k miles and it was bought new in 1989. Thankfully I have a large garage to keep them all nice.

cyclone4

If you believe this research, you can buy AAPL now and retire wealthy a few years from now or sooner.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/06/19/apple-should-make-stock-market-- - history-this-year.aspx

gagrice

I will leave AAPL at I coulda bought 10 years ago under $10 per share. My screw-up. No way would I buy in at $600 per share. I would be more inclined if it split 10 for 1. One of these days the creditors are going to tell the buyers, no more Apples for you and the house of cards built on credit will come down. Just my own gut feeling. We are in a Sub-Prime auto buying bubble right now. That is going to pop. The USA is bankrupt. Not as bad as Greece but without a good manufacturing base to build back on. China owns US and that scares me.

fintail

Remember the old adage (I paraphrase)...if you owe the bank $100, it's your problem. If you owe the bank $100BN, it's the bank's problem.

But I do agree so much of this growth and value being dependent on easy credit at a time of ever-declining real incomes and ever-increasing cost of living inputs is worrisome. And the same forces who helped the Chinese mess helped to damage the industrial base.

gagrice

Our trade deficit with Korea is ramping up to about $22 billion this year. This since the administration pushed through KORUS. It pales compared to our 2011 deficit of $295 billion with China. I think China has loaned US about $3 trillion to buy their stuff. And now they are financing the NAFTA corridor to be built from Canada to the heart of Mexico. This cannot possibly bode well for US manufacturers. More middle class jobs headed out of the USA.

http://economyincrisis.org/content/china-funding-nafta-super-highway-project

http://www.nascocorridor.com/

fintail

And to top it off with Korea, we subsidize their defense to an insane level, and have (over the years) given endless aid to hasten their development. We have met the enemy, and they are us.

China has to loan us money to buy their junk. That with ideals like that highway (and the sovereignty stealing EU) is the neocon globalist's dream.

ljflx

I will never understand logic like this. When you buy a stock you are not buying it's share price, you are buying it's multiple of earnings either for the last 12 months or in most cases the future 12 months. Apple is incredibly cheap when you view it properly because those multiples are quite low. But it seems that if Apple split at say 12:1 and it's multiple increased to 16 or 18X that people would view it as cheaper when in fact in that situation the stock just got much more expensive.

gagrice

I just see a psychological disadvantage to high priced stocks. I have never bought a stock over $100 and prefer stocks under $10. I have made the most on low priced stocks. That and the cheap b*****s running Apple not sharing the profit with stockholders. The projected dividend is not worth mentioning. I also do not consider them infallible. Technology and the market are fickle. Apple depends on their competitors for too much of their technology.

ljflx

If a stock trading at 20X earnings were selling at $10 would you view it as cheaper than Apple? In reality it would be 25% more expensive than Apple. And if it had a weaker Balance Sheet amd less growth it would be an awful lot more expensive yet. I haven't seen a Balance Sheet that can match Apple's and there's a simple reason for that. Their earnings and cash buildup match almost every quarter and their earnings are staggering.

gagrice

I am sure all you are saying is true. However my buying 100 shares of AAPL is not going to get it to move. And the people that buy 10,000 shares or more seem to be playing games with Apple stock. Quite frankly I don't trust the market. Most of our investment now are in 1st deeds of trust. On properties that are way under market with buyers that lost homes to the sub-prime debacle and cannot get financing. We charge 5%. Better than the bank and if they default we will likely have a home with some equity left. And we have helped out someone that was a victim of the Banksters and the Federal Government. They provide nice steady income without any hassles so far.

ljflx

A very well written and detailed story (it's a long one as well) on the success, morale, pay scale and loyalty of workers at the Apple stores. Revenue per employee is huge as Apple averages $470K per store employee and in the short time of their existence the stores now command $16bln in annual revenue. It's amazing how Apple has built so much, so fast in every endeavor they've undertaken in the past 8 years or so. I expected this to be another attack on Apple from the Times when I saw it (similar to the income tax story a month ago) and to a certain extent it is but overall it's got balance and shows the difficulty in managing a large retail organization along with the difficulty of employees to work efficiently given the huge traffic the stores constantly attract. It almost seems that most workdays are mini black Fridays. Apple has done a great job in bringing in a culture in the stores from sales and genius personnel that matches its customer base. But after reading the story I think they should do more for these employees. If I were Apple I'd cut some of the stock options awarded home base executives and personnel, which are simply becoming excess on excess, and set up a better more dedicated program for store personnel with them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/business/apple-store-workers-loyal-but-short-o- - - - - n-pay.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

cyclone4

This was a very interesting and informative article Len. I sure hope they improve the working conditions and offer even higher pay and more benefits for these employees.

I found your post very timely since my wife and I just got back home from a Greek convention in MSP (right next to the Mall of America). Well, you know darn well that my wife with some other friends of hers wanted to visit the Mall yesterday afternoon. Yes, I went along because I figured I would split from them and do my own thing.

Well of course the first place I visited was the Apple Store in this incredible Mall. I spent at least an hour in the place looking and playing around with the various displays. This included the MacBook Pro with retina display that I ordered back on June 12 but will not arrive until sometime between July 3-10 due to the overwhelming demand. I was very impressed with this laptop. I can't wait for it to arrive. But the most interesting part of my visit was chatting with with a delightful young lady in sales. Among other things, I asked her about the nice pay raise they are about to get. She then asked,"how did you find out about that". I said I know a lot about Apple since I keep up with the news because I own quite a bit of stock in the Company. Well, she said she is really excited about the prospect of getting a nice bump on her salary. She seemed really happy to be working at the Apple Store. Btw, the place was pretty crowded in spite of the fact that it was about 3:00 PM on Saturday afternoon. Anyway, I really enjoyed my visit at the Mall of America. My wife only spent about $100 in the place so this was a good surprise.

gagrice

Stockton’s road from boom town to insolvency has been a torturous one, riddled with missteps and unfortunate timing.

This city of about 292,000, some 80 miles east of San Francisco, was not so long ago a rapidly expanding bedroom community for commuters to the Bay Area. But in recent years, the city has been crushed by falling housing prices, foreclosures, the mounting costs of retiree pensions and hefty price tags for buildings paid for with taxpayer guaranteed bonds, including a hockey arena.

Since 2009, the city has cut some $90 million in spending and eliminated 25 percent of its police officers, 30 percent of its fire department and 40 percent of all other city employees.

Earlier this year, the city defaulted on several debt payments and as a result Wells Fargo repossessed a downtown building bought in 2007 for $40 million. Officials had planned a new city hall there. The bank also repossessed three city-owned parking garages.

“We have hit the wall; we are insolvent,” Mayor Ann Johnston said in a statement issued in early June, after city officials authorized the city manager to file for bankruptcy if mediation efforts failed, as they now have. “This is the action that we must take to keep the services that are important for the safety and health of our citizens.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/us/stockton-california-heads-for-bankruptcy-co- urt.html?_r=2&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065

gagrice

Sixty million euro has been stolen from bank accounts in a massive cyber bank raid after fraudsters raided dozens of financial institutions around the world.

According to a joint report by software security firm McAfee and Guardian Analytics, more than 60 firms have suffered from what it has called an "insider level of understanding".

"The fraudsters' objective in these attacks is to siphon large amounts from high balance accounts, hence the name chosen for this research - Operation High Roller," the report said.

"If all of the attempted fraud campaigns were as successful as the Netherlands example we describe in this report, the total attempted fraud could be as high as 2bn euro (£1.6bn)."

http://news.sky.com/story/952931/fraud-ring-in-hacking-attack-on-60-banks

gagrice

Soon after John Bates and his wife moved into their first home, the euphoria of realizing the American Dream gave way to a nightmare of foul odors, unexplained illnesses and spiraling costs.

A standard home inspection had revealed no problems with the home, in Suquamish, Wash., near Seattle. Bates, a Navy veteran and pipe fitter, and wife Jessie were thrilled to get the home on a 2-acre lot for $235,000, and they moved in with their then-7-year old son, Tyler, in March 2007. But soon after, the boy developed breathing problems, John Bates became "perpetually sick" and Jessie Bates developed strange skin rashes. It was a mystery until a year and a half later, when a neighbor casually mentioned what the previous occupant did for a living.

The Bates family was living in a former meth lab, soaked to the studs with dangerous chemicals. When Bates tore up walls and flooring, their worst fears were confirmed.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/27/meth-rehab-former-labs-nightmare-for-unwitt- ing-homebuyers/

fintail

And the realtor probably knew it all along...

Suquamish is only near Seattle as the crow flies...lengthy ferry ride or toll bridge excursion to get to that much more rural part of the world. Lotsa meth out there.