The Stock Market and Investing

ljflx

I don't know if any of you saw this today but here's what a parent of an Adam Lanza type goes through:

http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/

gagrice

Same article I posted that raises the questions on our mental HC system. We seem to be totally incapable of handling such children. I would bet Adam Lanza was just such a child. A loving parent never wants to give up on a mentally ill child.

ljflx

This is what's wrong with Wall Street with massive computer trades that do in a minute what used to take days or weeks, putting out recommendations with no respect to checking the accuracy of the data it's based on, looking at nothing but P&L's and projections and ignoring strong Balance Sheets etc etc. Most of these guys can't read a Balance Sheet and that's why Enron was a surprise to them. They don't understand that P&L's are created by opening and closing Balance Sheets that try and stretch GAAP rules based on what the needs of the company are in public reporting. They are one dimensional and yet they move markets which is why many of us think of them as stooges for hedge funds that try to manipulate stocks. You can't even trust your own instinct because Wall Street trades on perception, not reality and of course the mass traders try and control that perception because they can't control the reality. So you can be dead on about things and still lose because the perception moves prices too low or too high. That's what happens when the market becomes a gambling parlor rather than a real investment arena.

cyclone4

This is a very sad story indeed. Obviously, guns are not the only issue. However, in my opinion, guns make mass murders and murders in general a heck of a lot easier. And, I did not even mention accidental killings because of guns in the house.

dieselone

Our schools don't appear to have any security. At both the schools my daughters attend, I can walk in the main entrance. No security or even a locked door.

gagrice

Just for the record, there are an average of 10 drownings per day in the US and less than 2 from accidental gunshot. Swimming pools are far more dangerous than having guns in the home.

Sadly ours 180 degree disagreement is indicative of the divide in this country. Too many people have died over the years protecting our rights to allow them to be taken by ill informed liberals in our society. Time to open up the mental health records to the FBI for background checks. Just don't try to take guns from law abiding sane individuals.

There were guns in our home the whole time my children were growing up. We went out shooting when they were old enough to hold a gun. My son has no real interest in guns, as he is a fisherman. My daughter has a carry permit along with her husband. Just in case they are confronted by some nut case. They are both very proficient with their handguns. I would have a carry license if it was not so expensive here in the People's Socialist Republic of California. About $400 per year to carry legally.

houdini1

Maybe pull cops from speedtrap duty and put them to work protecting schools.

Brilliant !!

kyfdx

Our schools don't appear to have any security. At both the schools my daughters attend, I can walk in the main entrance. No security or even a locked door.

It's the same way where I live... Not that unrecognized visitors aren't challenged...

We like it that way.. Our children aren't under lock and key anywhere else. Why make it that way where they spend half of their waking hours? Who would want to live like that? Might as well put anti-aircraft guns on top of skyscrapers..

Arming teachers and principals at schools? Uh.. no thanks.. Just one more gun in close proximity to my child, that can be accidently discharged.

circlew

We like it that way.. Our children aren't under lock and key anywhere else. Why make it that way where they spend half of their waking hours? Who would want to live like that? Might as well put anti-aircraft guns on top of skyscrapers..

Times have changed...change with the times,afaic. What used to be isn't anymore.

I do not feel comfortable with this trend. For now, police at every school makes so much sense.

Less speed traps, more school security.

Regards,
OW

carnaught

...that the Administration who is talking about instituting strict gun control gave assault weapons to Mexican drug cartel members. How can the latter be sidestepped or dismissed by fellow gun control proponents? Then again, none at the top "knew" this was going on.

gagrice

County Police Chief Recommends Arming School Personnel

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/12/17/county-police-chief-recommends-arming-sch- ool-personnel/

carnaught

Over 2 million iPhone 5 sales in China in a few days......not too shabby.

fintail

Maybe once the nation can enact some sensible sustainable drug policy, more resources could be freed up as well.

kyfdx

Yeah.... we have a local county sheriff that says the same thing...

I'll pass..

gagrice

I understand your distaste for living in a police state. I hate what the Patriot Act has done to flying. I can't get my wife to go anywhere on a plane as long as the goons require xrays and or groping. It is such a violation of the 4th amendment. No more trips to Hawaii until they dump the xrays.

It is really impossible to stop every nut job set on creating mayhem. Then the nut jobs that scream gun control only make things worse. How many of these gun buyers would not buy, if not all the talk of taking guns away?

DENVER (CBS4) – The day after the shooting in Connecticut a lot of people in Colorado tried to buy a gun.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation says it received 4,154 requests for background checks from potential buyers on Saturday. That was so many the CBI couldn’t process them all and the backlog grew to nearly 18 hours. The Unit could only process 3,001 checks on Saturday.

Extra staff was brought in over the weekend and workers are still trying to clear the backlog.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/12/17/cbi-deals-with-massive-influx-of-potential- -gun-buyers/

kyfdx

Hmmm...

that scares me more than the nutjobs.....

gagrice

Not sure it scares me more. I just see it as a reaction to the anti gun rhetoric spewed every time we have some horrific incident in the US. On any given day of the week we could have 27 murders in the USA. You don't see Bloomberg and other nut jobs jumping on the bandwagon. Hardly a week goes by that some innocent child is not gunned down playing in his yard by gang bangers. What have our leaders done to address those criminals?

Murder and violence are such a glamorized element of our society. If that was not the case, why are these producers playing down their violent movies on the big screens this week?

Did not seem to have any impact on the Stock Market yesterday. Business as usual.

PS
Quite similar to the public reaction to Hostess shutting down the supply of Twinkies. A lot of those people will regret buying that gun when the CC bill comes due next month.

gagrice

FORTUNE -- Do you know who owns more than a 6% stake in the maker of .223 Bushmaster rifles, like the one used last Friday to murder 20 first graders and seven adults in Newtown, Connecticut? California public schoolteachers.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) committed to invest a whopping $500 million into a $7.5 billion Cerberus fund that has helped bankroll Freedom Group. That means that it effectively could own a 6.67% stake in the gun maker, which filed to go public in late 2009 before pulling the offering in early 2011. In fact, the figure could be even higher since CalSTRS also committed $100 million to a $1 billion predecessor fund, which likely made the original investment.

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/12/17/the-money-behind-the-massacre/

slorenzen

Three times in my life, my carry weapon saved me and/or my family.

Once was at a rest stop on I-5 up near Redding, Ca. where 4 bikers were rather insistent that they be given a ride to Sacramento, and we all had to go with them...

Twice while walking with my wife on remote logging roads in Oregon.

Only ONE of those times did I have to pull the weapon, the other 2 times, the fact that these "good people" could see my holstered firearm, caused them to "re-evaluate their intentions"

You will NEVER convince me that firearms are bad.

EVER.

They are only only a tool, to be used when appropriate.

Nor will you ever read of such confrontations, so any data available is skewed. In other words, you don't hear about crimes that didn't ever happen due to a responsible gun owner having control of a situation.

gagrice

In other words, you don't hear about crimes that didn't ever happen due to a responsible gun owner having control of a situation.

Quite frankly I think citizens with carry permits have shown much better constraint when it comes to using their firearms, than many cops. I still cannot believe how stupid the cops in NYC are shooting 9 innocent bystanders. What happened to hitting your target? They only had one target and fired 16 rounds. They missed with at least 9 rounds that ended up wounding bystanders. I would have fired both of them on the spot.

dieselone

You will NEVER convince me that firearms are bad.

EVER.

They are only only a tool, to be used when appropriate.

Nor will you ever read of such confrontations, so any data available is skewed. In other words, you don't hear about crimes that didn't ever happen due to a responsible gun owner having control of a situation.

My FIL feels the same way and has a few instances where he too was glad he was carrying a hand gun where just showing it scared off would be thugs (he is licensed to do so) and he's a life long democrat.

His motto is he'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6.

cyclone4

I would definitely not be in favor of school staff having guns, but I am definitely in favor of having an armed police officer on duty while the school is in session.

The following link has nothing to do with a police officer at schools, but take a look at what Jim Boeheim had to say last night after Syracuse won for the 900th time under Boeheim. I am obviously in 100% agreement with his heartfelt comments.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=323520183

slorenzen

I think the police only have to "qualify" once a year...

:sick:

I shoot 3-gun competition, but I'm usually not ranked compared to others...

slorenzen

My wife was a pretty strong opponent to personal firearms until that day at the rest stop.

She had an "epiphany" that day, as those 4 individuals were far larger and more prone to fighting than I am, and what could have been a VERY BAD situation was completely stopped without firing a shot.

After that incident, whenever we would road trip somewhere, she would ask me if I have a gun in the car...

I have conceal permits for Oregon and Utah. The Utah permit has a reciprocity agreement with 32 states, so I can legally conceal carry in 33 of our 57 states...oh, wait.

gagrice

I think the police only have to "qualify" once a year...

I would be much more comfortable with a teacher/principal that had adequate handgun training than a cop assigned to watch a school. First that would be considered crap duty. And it would put added cost on cities already over extended. What happens when an Adam Lanza shoots the cop standing at the front door from behind a parked car. Then he proceeds to do just what happened at Newton. I would rather give a pay incentive for teachers and staff to become proficient in firearm handling. The more well armed the school staff is the less likely to have any problems. Our country will be safer for its citizens when we have reciprocal carry agreements. I used to lay a loaded 45 colt on my chest when I would take naps at rest stops. I quit when I turned in my FFL and quit doing the gun shows around the SW. I don't feel safe traveling in many areas of the USA without a weapon. And I have NEVER had to use a firearm against another human being. I would if they threatened me or my family.

gagrice

House Dems now reject GOP 'fiscal cliff' offer they proposed

Back in May, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi proposed in a letter to Speaker John A. Boehner that the House should vote to raise taxes on household incomes of more than $1 million.

"A million and above," Mrs. Pelosi wrote. "Who can argue with that?"

Actually, Mrs. Pelosi can. Now that Mr. Boehner, Ohio Republican, has embraced the proposal in the "fiscal cliff" negotiations with President Obama, Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, and her team are urging their party's lawmakers to vote against it.

White House Rejects Boehner's Backup Plan

The White House rejected a House GOP proposal Tuesday to extend the Bush tax cuts for those making up to $1 million, saying it doesn't go far enough and wouldn't pass the Senate anyway.

The swift White House response came shortly after House Speaker John Boehner, along with other House GOP leaders, proposed the tax-cut extension as a fallback position, or "Plan B," in case the "fiscal cliff" talks failed.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100323798

fintail

I agree with that, at least with what I can see from the police in Seattle and Bellevue who make the news. Train the school leadership on some basic firearms and defense skills.

If cops are going to be used, take them off speedtrap and pot duty and put them to constructive use rather than hire more, and don't put the unstable roid raging [non-permissible content removed] on school patrol. Screening who gets to work school duty would have to be a key.

michaellno

I would be much more comfortable with a teacher/principal that had adequate handgun training than a cop assigned to watch a school.

My wife had a similar idea - call them "school marshals" and post big signs on the building that there are armed folks inside. Deterrence might well save a few lives.

My wife would be more than happy to take a firearms course through local law enforcement and carry a weapon.

On any given day, there are about 50 kids she is responsible for (ages 1-5) on her side of the building in 4 classrooms. The other side of the building houses the alternative high school with another 50 or so kids in it.

One armed teacher or staff member on each side would about cover it.

Regarding the suggestion to have policeman at every school - yeah, you could do it, but it may only serve to have the perp go to some other location where people congregate (shopping mall? saw that already) and start firing away.

anthonyp

Hi Charlie
Just to keep you up to date on the purchase by just me---two `air`, one iPad 4 .and numerous plugs, and earlier after a hassle one iphone5....That is just me, so think of all the other millions of people all over doing something like that....I noticed the `air` doesn`t have `retina screen` so you know there will be alot of people gettting that when it is available.......
As I have said, you long term holders really deserve all you get..:-) Tony ps How is your mac book retina? do you really think the retina is worth it?

cyclone4

Tony,

I really love my MacBook Pro with the retina display. The resolution is incredible. I don't think I will ever purchase a computer that is not Apple ever again. The ease of use and less concern about viruses is another huge plus for me.

imidazol97

>My wife had a similar idea - call them "school marshals" and post big signs on the building that there are armed folks inside. Deterrence might well save a few lives.

While I'm against having the teachers loaded with yet another duty in the education process, I like your point. The presence of armed and able folks deters the mentally ill and those determined to commit mayhem.

The shooter in the Oregon mall recently stopped when confronted with an individual who heard the shots, stowed his wife and child in safety, and headed toward the shooting. The shooter, who was having gun jam problems, used the next bullet on himself.

The Colorado theater shooter went past several theaters to the one with a sign banning concealed carry guns.

There are many stories of people with a gun stopping the violence. The media always ignores those facts and stories because they don't fit the agenda. But the reality is that the more folks have concealed carry and might stop an idiot, the less likely these things are to happen there.

I still recall early in the days of this argument the hijacker shot by the car owner (BMW) whose car he was trying to take from the owner. I recall the outrage of the antigun folks about the perp being shot dead.

I may have told about the jogger in a park overlooking downtown Cincinnati who shot his robber dead. Guess the perp didn't think someone jogging in a nice, well-to-do park area would have a gun.

So have guards around a school and encourage staff members who are comfortable with carrying to have handguns secured but accessible in their areas or on their person.

gagrice

So far the Obama plan is my way or the highway.

Boehner's office noted that Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) have previously expressed support for raising tax rates on annual income above $1 million.

But a Schumer spokesman said things changed with the reelection of President Obama, who campaigned on a pledge to raise tax rates on annual income above $250,000.

"Republicans should've taken Senator Schumer's offer two years ago when they had the chance," Schumer spokesman Brian Fallon said. "We've had an election on the president's tax plan, the president won, and Republicans can't turn the clock back."

gagrice

houdini1

If there is one city in the U.S. that all Democrats could be proud of, it is Chicago. The Dems have owned this city for years and have complete free reign to do whatever they want there.

Chicago is the Dems utopia, and all their dreams have been realized there. One of the largest cities in the country and also a beautiful city.

In Chicago, the left has also realized their dream of having the strictest gun controls of any city in the U.S. But...they also have the most gun violence at an astounding average of 41 murders per month.

We have wall to wall and coast to coast media coverage of the tragedy in Newtown, and every liberal Democrat in the country calling for more gun control, but we very seldom hear anything about the mayhem that happens daily in Chicago. The reason is simple...there is no way the media can blame these murders on the lack of high taxes, the lack of big government, or the lack of gun control, or those nasty Republicans...in short, there is no way they can take advantage of all these murders, so they are silent.

gagrice

Logic and facts are irrelevant to people with an anti-gun agenda. I am wondering when the shoe will fall on the state of CT for the Sandy Hook murders? The cops there are playing dumb. And very little media attention is being spent on the attempt to have Adam Lanza committed to a mental institution. Witnesses say he was extremely angry over his mother's attempt to have him institutionalized. If proof comes out that it was bogged down in state red tape, I would say the families of the victims have a very good case against the state of CT.

France just found a Psychiatrist guilty of manslaughter for not committing a patient that showed violent tendencies, after he chopped up a victim.

MARSEILLES, France (Reuters) - A French psychiatrist whose patient hacked an elderly man to death was found guilty of manslaughter on Tuesday in a groundbreaking case that could affect the way patients are treated.

A court in Marseilles said Daniele Canarelli, 58, had committed a "grave error" by failing to recognize the public danger posed by Joel Gaillard, her patient of four years.

gagrice

Harry Reid in 2010: “I Carried a Gun Every Place I Went”

“I had a lot of bad people after me and I carried a gun every place I went. . . But for me, guns are more than that. In fact, the most important part of guns as far as I’m concerned in my personal life is the recreational aspect of guns.”

http://freedomslighthouse.net/2012/12/18/democratic-senate-majority-leader-harry- -reid-in-2010-extolled-the-virtues-of-guns-i-carried-a-gun-every-place-i-went-bu- t-for-me-guns-are-more-than-that-about-self-defense-video-2010/

Gabby Gifford should have had someone in her entourage that was proficient and carried. The killer could have been shot and those 18 people would not have been shot, with 6 dead. She had received threats to her life. Her irresponsible actions are a contributing factor.

Hopefully Reid will block any nonsense from the radical anti gun lobby.

cdnpinhead

Hopefully Reid will block any nonsense from the radical anti gun lobby.

Hide and watch.

Kirstie_H

I've been watching this discussion carefully, and while the conversation has been pretty respectful, it's time to move on and away from political conversation (e.g., gun control). We can discuss fiscal policies, as long as it doesn't get all partisan and too into politics, but let's stick with issues that directly impact the stock market. Thank you.

gagrice

Both Ruger and Smith & Wesson took a big hit Mon & Tues. They came right back on Wed with 7% gains. Will Cerberus sell Freedom Group in the aftermath of Sandy Hook? They have made a lot of money for their stockholders, including the CA Teacher's Pension plan. Will it be bought by a foreign country and we lose more workers as the jobs are sent somewhere else? They should put it on the stock market with an IPO.

ljflx

I've not read anything about this anywhere and that continues to show me that Wall street doesn't look at balance sheets or if it does it has a reason to be very quiet about this. But take a look at Apple's cash flow and balance sheet and you'll see that they are making massive investments in capital expenditures and anything they are doing on the third link has not hit the Balance Sheet yet. In fact the capex is accelerating quickly and in the most recent quarter reached a run rate of nearly $14bln vs the TTM's $8bln and change. Something major is going on. So what are they up to? It could be they are building plants that could be a harbinger of them doing their own production, possibly in the US. It could be they are doing it for overseas production and market expansion. It could be they are capitalizing development costs (salaries or outsourcing costs) of new product development. If the latter then they have to justify an ROI that would satisfy auditors. Take out their normal $2bln and you have $6bln incremental, and possibly much more based on the acceleration in the most recent quarter. If that's capitalized development costs then the revenue to generate an ROI to satisfy auditors into allowing it has to be huge. I don't know what they are up to but whatever it is it's huge and massive capex like this over their norms are not the sign of a growth company that is dying. Companies that have flattened out - which is what Wall street wants us all to believe - just do not invest more money in capex in a year than most fortune 50 companies earn in a year. Anyone have any thoughts.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cf?s=AAPL&annual

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=AAPL+Balance+Sheet&annual

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2012/12/19/apple-breaks-ground-on-1-mill- - - - - - - - - - ion.html?ana=yfcpc

BTW - for the company to have generated the growth in cash and AR (that was about to turn into cash at the close of the last quarter) that they have in light of this level of capex and dividend payments means the company's operating cash flow was even greater than I expected or even realized. I hadn't noticed the capex earlier and only did now when I looked at the balance sheet for rational in the stock selloff. I'm now very anxious to see the next quarters results, more so to see the cash flow and if the big capex items seen in the past few quarters continue. If they don't or they slow appreciably I would think an announcement will follow not too soon after the quarter. I also would expect a high cash flow quarter due to a major drop in AR so I'm anxious to see their AR position as well. They shouldn't have the type of AR growth they had in the 9/30 quarter as that had to be due to the lack of lead time in collecting cash from the 9/25 and later shipments of iPhone 5's leaving them very little time to realize cash collections. If the AR drops a lot and the actual cash flow increases that'll mean I was right with my thoughts on iPhone 5 collections.

ljflx

Maybe it really is a major push into TV with a new idea similar to the original iPhone:

http://finance.yahoo.com/video/breakout-itv-could-double-apple-130000737.html

anthonyp

It`s possible, with all the changes in the accounting world, that there is doubt about all the numbers.....I think it will take time for people to trust the new CEO, and his team....I personally think the `old` fashioned way,and that is that the owners of the company should share in the success ...The investors are the ones who took the risk, stuck with the company, and should be getting a meaningful return on their investment......

I am probably wrong, but I really don`t see that great an opportunity in T V....Mr Jobs invested heavily in Disney ( due to other investments he made) and probably anticipated aapl and dis doing something...Maybe aapl buying Disney...

If I remember correctly, a few years ago you were aware of the huge amount of money retained by corporations....I agreed with you at the time, and still do, that those funds should be returned to the investors....If it were done so, our economy would take off...This idea, coming from the Federal Reserve, of zero interest rates should not be the leading indicator for a return from` risk` taking in investments...A more sound indicator would be a normal return of five percent on NON risk investments and a higher number on risk investments.....The investment philosophy is turned on it`s head..... and that might be because the `money` managers are paid on the amount of funds under their management.....Tony

gagrice

It looks like we go off the Fiscal Cliff. What will that do to the Stock market over the next 5 trading days?

Harry Reid: 'We Are Not Going to Do Anything'

Senate majority leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, made his "fiscal cliff" position clear in a press conference today. "We are not going to do anything," said Reid.

Reid added, "We are not taking up anything they are working on over there."

The top Democrat in the Senate was explaining his inaction on the House plan, the proposal put forward by Republican John Boehner, the speaker of the House of Representatives. Boehner's plan is being referred to as 'Plan B.'

"Boehner described his Plan B as a fallback option to prevent a sweeping tax hike when tax cuts from the administration of President George W. Bush expire at the end of the year. Sources said the Boehner measure also would include extending the current estate tax and alternative minimum tax, two steps sought by Republicans," reports CNN.

The 'Plan B' option tracks closely to a proposal put forward by Democrats earlier this year.

But now Reid won't even allow the Senate to vote on Boehner's proposal.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/harry-reid-we-are-not-going-do-anything_6907- 95.html

cyclone4

Maybe it really is a major push into TV with a new idea similar to the original iPhone:

Bring it on baby! I want the cheating bears to suffer big time.

ljflx

Doesn't matter. Boehner couldn't even get his back up plan passed in the House. As for Reid - what a useless pile of garbage that man is. He and the tea party deserve each other. Both parties care 100% about themselves and very little for this country's people.

houdini1

I don't expect any deal until next year. Obama and the dems do not want a deal as long as the perception of the public is that its the republicans fault.

After we go over the so called cliff, Obama will then "come to the rescue" of the middle class with a bill to extend the Bush tax rates for everyone making under $1 mil. The bill will probably have some other nasty stuff in it as well.

If the republicans don't go along, they will be in the position of voting against a huge tax decrease. I hope they don't give away the farm.

carnaught

Reid refuses to take up and modify anything the Reps. propose or pass calling the passed House bills "non-starters" and "dead-on-arrivals". At least the Reps. have passed some bills. The Dems. have done nothing other than previously unanimously rejecting Obama's budget. Time for both parties and the Prez. to think of our economy and not themselves and politics.

gagrice

Obama and the Democrats are already campaigning for the 2014 election. They want control of Congress back and they will destroy the republic in the process. All we can hope for is it will backfire on them.

carnaught

......they will destroy the republic in the process. All we can hope for is it will backfire on them.

Not as long as they remain better at the spin and deception game.

It will take its toll on the stock market and the economy.

fintail

Yes, the Dems are singlehandedly running everything into the ground. If we'd only let the opposition "save us", everything would be rainbows and unicorns and kittens and good jobs for all who are willing streets paved with gold ...this regime is just Dubya part II without a sneering bitter old war criminal for VP.

I still think there will be a last second resolution to this arrogant idiocy that is once again proving the old adage - if "pro" is the opposite of "con", "progress" is the opposite of "congress" - and that holds true no matter which nearly identical party is at the helm. Hasn't made me want to get out of the market, but then again, my retirement is ages away, if it ever comes for private sector workers of my generation.