At this point it looks unlikely at that price. I decided to reach a little further... I have an order in for 500 shares at 341.11. I MIGHT adjust it a little, but I am still not comfy with paying much more.
KEEP ME POSTED OF YOUR PROGRESS AS THE DAY UNFOLDS.
I have 700 shares at varying price points... all at 343+ varying change, due to the execution. It was VERY difficult to manage this today, as I was VERY busy with only short bursts of free time, and I only had my phone with me, so I couldn't do my best, that's for sure. I got in at an average price of 343.50, which is almost (but not quite) the same as you. Yes, I also decided that I wanted to take a chance on Monday and maybe slightly beyond. And, I considered that the market in general has been down for 5 weeks in a row now... so, in that sense, stepping up a little to the price of 343 + change seemed OK to me. I ended up buying back the same stock I recently had sold off, but at a better price, so I am now already ahead in that regard.
I have to admit that I am a bit nervous about this, but I decided if I was going to do it, that I would do it significantly. So, 700 shares isn't pocket change, and if things don't go well for AAPL looking forward, I could take a bath.
I also noticed that Sprint was hammered today, and previously I had made a lot of gains on Sprint... so I bought 10,000 shares of Sprint. Small price changes with this stock can make a big difference, one way or another... so I am also a little nervous about Sprint.
I tend to believe that if I do suffer a short term blow to these two stocks, that my best bet would be to hold them until they recover again... but I would be willing to cut my losses, if that is what turns out to be the best scenario.
Hopefully, both of these stocks will show some gains in the near future, and I will be quite willing to cash in if/when that happens. And THAT's the whole point... to try to make some gains in this crazy market.
Don't worry about it my friend. I predict that you will come out way ahead next week. I hope the market gives me a chance to load up on a lot more AAPL Monday morning.
Don't worry about it my friend. I predict that you will come out way ahead next week. I hope the market gives me a chance to load up on a lot more AAPL Monday morning.
Well, I think it would be a very bad sign if AAPL shares go down, but if it starts out flat, you will have your window of opportunity to load up before Steve takes the stage and HOPEFULLY romances the investors enough.
How many shares are you thinking of buying?
I am still second-guessing myself here about getting back in the market, even though it's only two stocks... the quantities are significant enough to take a bit of a hit. It won't be the end of the world if I lose some $$, but it will feel bad because I worked hard to get to where I am now. To be honest, I acted a little impulsively yesterday (Friday), because I only had my phone, and I only had short moments of free time, and it was a bit frustrating. I did not really have the proper time and depth of information that I usually like to have before making a purchase. So, I kind of gave into the frustration and just moved ahead too quickly.
Again, hopefully it works out... but if I can get back out without too many burns... I am going to try my best to stay out for a while longer this time.
is presently doing a story on "high-frequency" trading.
In my world, anyone who turns anything over less than quarterly is "playing the market" as opposed to holding long-term.
Apparently, letting computers run things, with price deltas measured in pennies and time deltas measured in milliseconds, is the way to make big bucks, with no regard to fundamentals whatsoever.
Apparently, letting computers run things, with price deltas measured in pennies and time deltas measured in milliseconds, is the way to make big bucks, with no regard to fundamentals whatsoever.
That is EXACTLY right. Computer trading accounts for 1/3 - 1/2 of most trading on average, according to what I've read... and that's partly why the market is so messed up.
Stock prices do not behave as they should, thus making the stock market a VERY dangerous place at this point in time... and there are plenty of other reasons as well to get out of this market.
More, and more... the stock market has turned into a casino... so I will be watching for the safest exit I can find next week.
Good luck to all of you... today, and in the days ahead.
I MUST catch my breath... so I took advantage of the opening minutes. AAPL was up enough to land me a couple big ones in gains, and Sprint was actually up, so instead of suffering serious potential damage, I willingly sold it at a small loss of only several hundred dollars. So, given the larger AAPL gain, I was indeed able to exit the market as I really wanted to do... and did so without getting injured... and instead walked away with a gain.
I am glad about this. I really must take a break from the trading... for a while. It has consumed so much of my time and energy, and the market has been much too frustrating to really feel good about it.
Anyway, I wished for a safe exit, and I got one...
I hope AAPL does great today for Charlie and the rest of you that own AAPL shares.
That was on earlier this year and was very well done. Now HF traders are looking to expand their strategy into oil and commodities in general. All this does is open up exposure to another flash crash. Everyday we get further and further from a real market and more and more into a pure casino.
The Times has always been hard on Lexus and soft on rivals, including Infiniti. I'm curious to see if your experience is the same or different fom this column, which was in the Sunday Times.
The article seems accurate in a few areas, but with major mistakes... For example, the article claims that only the steering is effected in Sport Mode, but that is not true at all. The biggest and most noticeable change is the throttle response. It is soooooo much quicker than the Standard and Eco modes, and does indeed offer a sportier and quicker responding driving experience than thw other two modes, and definitely more so than a conventional Prius, for example.
The writer's comparison to the Prius is dead wrong. I've driven both, and I own the CT. I know better. In comparison to the Prius (especially in Sport Mode) the CT has a much better suspension layout (in all modes, of course), and has a quicker steering and throttle response, which makes for a sportier driving dynamic. Those three upgraded ingredients... suspension, steering, and throttle,... are significant benefits to the CT. The author is oblivious, no doubt about it.
It is clear to me that he author is not familiar with driving a vehicle with a CVT, because what he describes is typical for someone that has not logged a lot of miles driving a car equipped with a CVT.
I laid down a tire patch (small, of course, but wow) recently pulling out of a driveway. Now, let me be clear that this is no powerhouse car, that's for sure. But, it is more than adequate, and definitely performs better than the Prius... and is plenty of fun to drive.
For a car that gets 40+ MPG, it's a terrific choice. There are others, and that's fine. However, this author does not fully describe the CT correctly... and has some of his his facts mixed up. Facts should be facts, and not subject to opinion. Unless I missed it, he didn't even know (or notice!!) that the throttle response is significantly and profoundly increased in Sport Mode, for example. Only an idiot (and non-connected driver) would not recognize and point out that difference.
As I should be getting a few $ next month from a buyout of one of my stock companies, Friday I pulled the trigger. Traded my fabulous (paid-off!) '05 Acura TL for a Liquid Silver '09 Jag XK Coupe. First used car I've owned since my very first car, oh so long ago, a VW Scirocco (Recaro Seats, no A/C, wood shift knob and rust!). And, the fabulous feline is my first RWD! Been a New England skier all my life, so FWD ruled the day...
Less than 19,000 miles, a couple of warranty years left. Lots of leather and wood, even paired both my Blackberry and cell phone with the Bluetooth without issue. Of course, no cassette player (child of the '70s and '80s, I've got a pile of mix casettes, classic stuff!) but plenty of musical choices. The ELS system in the TL was great, I wasn't thrilled with the Alpine speakers in the '08 XK I test drove, but the '09 has the Bowers and Wilkins speakers which sound better.
Pace with grace, certainly not the most powerful car out there, but smooth, quiet, swift and beautiful. Of course, I'm already fearing winter but am researching snow shoes. Now I've got to try and sell the Dunlop Wintersports on alloys that I used on the TL (the Cat is shod with 19s, the Dunlops are 16s).
Also, without me!, son and wife stopped at Audi dealer on Sunday whilst running errands. Son has decided that Mom wants an A7, she concurs. But, she'll wait another year before buying (maybe we'll see what the year end deals are like?). I thought she was going to go A5 or 3 series, so the A7 is a new price strata. I "Black Magic" waxed her RX Sunday, looks better but it also looks its going on 10 years of service age. Of course, I'll be ordering some new Zaino for El Gato.
So, bon chance Abyss Blue TL. I will never forget you, an all around wonderful car. Hopefully, a new home with a caring, loving, Zaino-ing owner is in your near future.
What have I done???
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
As predicted, you came out smelling like a rose. Good job!
I screwed up as usual . I bought an additional 75 shares this morning at about $344. Nice going Charlie, you moron .
Wow!... you don't need to be so hard on yourself. The market is dangerous right now, and that's not your fault. If it was helpful at all, I left a post that I totally sold all my AAPL (and Sprint) shares this morning, while the market was still showing some small signs of strength, before it reversed itself.
You are supposed to listen to me!... LOL... just kidding.
Well... you have several choices, and these come to mind...
-You could buy more on dips and decrease your average cost per share.
-You could just hold and wait.
-You could sell at the next opportunity.
Apple is a great company and has been amazing, and will continue to do great things, IMO. But, it's important to not let ourselves have too much of a love affair with AAPL (or any stock), because it can compromise our investment decisions.
You have made a lot of money on AAPL over the years, and you are not seriously burned here, so let's keep this in perspective.
Give me some idea of what you plan to do.
If you want my recommendation, it is this... SELL ALL YOUR AAPL SHARES ASAP!
Am I being clear enough? I really hope so. Because I can only lead a horse to water...........
How did Steve Jobs do in his conference yesterday? I have no idea what iCloud is or what I would use it for. I am not into walking around with earplugs listening to music. I like a comfortable chair and my old B&W speakers driven by my 30 year old tube amp. I have reluctantly downgraded to CDs from vinyl. Still prefer a good direct to disc recording over anything offered in the digital world. Not enough to drop $7000 on a new turntable and cartridge like my buddy just did.
Definitely. We are not quite through with this correction, IMO. UNLESS.....
BEN BERNANKE could be a positive game-changer today. We'll see. Unless he says and does the right things to satisfy Wall Street, the market will slide more. If he indicates we will have a QE3, then we will see a genuine rally, not a false rally.
I have no idea what iCloud is or what I would use it for. I am not into walking around with earplugs listening to music.
With a house of 4 people who all buy music and have different devices to access it, "the cloud" is handy. We use both Itunes and Amazon for music and I have too much music to store on my android phone. I can access the music anytime, anywhere I have a cell signal or wifi connection. It's great while I'm on our boat or in the car.
Plus it's another way to back up my collection. If my hard drive crashes, I still have my music. I don't have to re-rip all of my CDs or worry about losing any digital music files I've bought. I use google storage for the gigs of photos I've accumulated over the years. IMO, it's the easiest way to have offsite back up and maintain instant access (though the transfer speeds are still to slow).
My main concern over the cloud is security. I want off site back up of my financial files etc. I've got a lot of data I'd hate to lose. Yes I have external back ups, but I don't have any offsite backups. A fire etc, would likely destroy all of my files.
IMO, the cloud is the answer to all of this. If you buy MP3 music from Amazon, it's automatically stored on your cloud account. I'm definitely going to look into Apples service. With more and more connected devices it definitely makes sense.
I expect a bump or two, as the service gets off the ground and into the cloud... haha... but it makes tremendous sense.
A risk is that the data centers are massive facilities, and are therefore physically vulnerable, as well as cyber-vulnerable. Millions of people's media libraries, and potentially billions of dollars worth of data could be at risk.
A risk is that the data centers are massive facilities, and are therefore physically vulnerable, as well as cyber-vulnerable. Millions of people's media libraries, and potentially billions of dollars worth of data could be at risk.
That's my concern. I'm not worried about the music or my photos, it's more personal data that concerns me. (I don't have any Anthony Weiner type photos that I back up to the cloud;))
Data centers usually have offsite backups that can offset the risk of physical destruction and ensuring 7/24, or close to it, availability. I am just not sure how they would make money from it since it looks to serve only the general public and not the big corporations.
Concerning the "cloud technology", what advantages does Apple have over Amazon or Google, who were there first ?
Google was first of the 3. I've been using Google docs, and photo storage through Picasa and video through Youtube for years.
I haven't had a chance to look at all what Apple will offer with their cloud service. They all seem to have their own advantages. All offer some level of free storage (usually up to 5GB) then they charge monthly or annually for extra space.
There are other players in the cloud storage space. DropBox (great for storing docs on the cloud and having instant access across multiple PCs). Microsoft is getting in the game to with Skydrive. I've not used it and there are many other competitors which I'm not familiar with.
Data centers usually have offsite backups that can offset the risk of physical destruction and ensuring 7/24, or close to it, availability. I am just not sure how they would make money from it since it looks to serve only the general public and not the big corporations.
Corporations need this too. They want scalability, and security of data. The cloud is huge for big, medium and small corporations.
When Amazon's servers crashed a few weeks ago with the sale of .99 Lady Gaga digital albums it took down several websites hosted on their server farms. Cloud computing really isn't only about storage, it's also about server/processor capacity/and software.
Many corporations are going to the "cloud" for SaaS (software as a service), it can reduce costs and improve performance (load demand) for large corporations with large enough of users across a large area. The idea is to not have to have all the computing power one company needs for peak demand that might only happen periodically.
Say your an accounting firm and your server load is extreme during tax season, light the the rest of the year. Through virtualization you could say tap into Amazon's server farm for additional processing capacity during your peak business season.
That's my concern. I'm not worried about the music or my photos, it's more personal data that concerns me. (I don't have any Anthony Weiner type photos that I back up to the cloud;))
Those servers are backed up as well. A good data protection service wears a belt, suspenders and then uses duct tape...
No matter what you guys post here, I am going to hold onto my opinion that can and there will be issues with the cloud technology.
Valuable information will be compromised.
Sony's recent monster problem with its Play Station Network is just one example, and the recent attack on Lockheed Martin's data is another example... both just within recent weeks.
That said... I definitely like the idea of cloud technology, but I embrace it with all its potential faults... the same way I generally embrace my cars... lol. You gotta love 'em, even though they ain't perfect. Unless we're talkin' a lemon, of course.
Currently, my understanding is that Corporations would not pass audit requirement if they stored their data on clouds. What you are saying is correct if the scalability requirement does not contain sensitive data.
I agree on vulnerability of sensitive data. Until recently Apple was not a target like IBM Microsoft compatible computers. With their market growing in cyber space they will be targeted by those hacker types. I have two large backup systems that are very portable. They run in the background on all our computers on our home network. When we go on vacation I unplug and put them in our 2 hour fire safe. Most of it is on my laptop that I carry on vacation. With 100s of 1000s of pictures the problem is finding one I took 10 years ago or longer. I have never trusted webmail. I still use Outlook Express and have all my emails back to 1998 when I failed to back up and lost them all. If I run for President I don't want any Weinergate incidents to bite me in the butt. :shades:
I can guarantee you that we are all very interested in your latest perspective and strategy with regards to your AAPL investment. Speaking for myself, I am not only interested, but I am also very hopeful that you end up making a smart decision. The stock continues to slide. IIRC, you have accumulated shares from waaaayyyy back, when the stock was cheap, and if that is the case, your average cost per share is very, very low. That would mean that only the recent e-trade purchases are the ones that are in the red. If that is your situation, then you can cut your loss on the e-trade shares, and then sell at a big profit overall.
Did you sell this morning when the share price was only down a small amount? Or are you hanging in there? Or something else?
The world is changing. A new reality is emerging for organizations of every size from every part of the planet. It’s called the cloud—a profound evolution of IT with revolutionary implications for business and society, creating new possibilities and enabling more efficient, flexible and collaborative computing models.
IBM is helping clients excel in cloud computing, providing secure and reliable Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solutions.
Currently, my understanding is that Corporations would not pass audit requirement if they stored their data on clouds.
I don't know about that. But companies have different types of data, so maybe Product/sales/contact management type data could has to be handled differently than financial data.
Was it something Jobs said, or was it the way he looked that has AAPL down this morning?
Great question!!!
I don't think it's just one thing. I think there are a number of reasons, and they all are working together to cause this situation. If you read the news and listen to the commentaries, you get a lot of different perspectives, but some of the chatter and news seems consistent enough.
Heres' my take...
A little over two years ago, AAPL was trading under $100. The stock soared with the continued success of the iPhone and the introduction of the iPad, which stumbled briefly, but then took off. The company has been setting records in sales and has been accumulating tons of cash. The company has updated some of its products, and particularly started re-inventing the MacBook Air, which I believe is only fractionally through with its ultimate evolutionary destiny... that is unless Apple introduces a seperate model. The reason I say this is because there needs to be a number of things happen that have not happened, and that leaves Apple vulnerable to the competition getting there first.
From a product perspective, since tablets are becoming the real deal and in some capacity replacing desktops, and even notebooks, those tablets need to have an assortment of models, just like there is an assortment for desktops and notebooks. IOW, there should be different size tablets and different capabilities. Apple only offers the one size. Other companies already realize that a smaller, more portable size makes sense, but Apple has yet to offer the iPad in a 7" (or thereabout) version. IMO, there should be three sizes... the same way notebooks are often offered in three sizes.
iTunes (or the iCloud) needs to compete with Amazon and Barnes and Noble with regards to book media. iBooks is a joke, and Apple has allowed the competition to get ahead of them when they could have done so much better.
How much can be expected from Apple, and from Steve Jobs? The company has a long history of blunders as well as amazing achievements. With Steve's health deteriorating, it is a crapshoot to put major money in a stock that has shot up so much in such a short time, yet has nothing concrete to show investors that it can and will own the market like it has done with the iPhone and iPad. Competition is as intense as war right now, and companies the likes of Google and Microsoft and Intel and others will NOT lay down and surrender to Apple. They will FIGHT, and fight hard.
Then we have to consider that we have a general downturn in the stock market right now. Apple is not immune to it. We have been in a correction for over 5 weeks now.
Yesterdays' event with Steve did NOT show anything that would cause investors to sit up and take notice. There was NOTHING that the consumer would drool over... at least not yet. And, yes, Steve's appearance was certainly a reminder that he is not well, even though he "feels good".
When we combine the fact that AAPL shares have had a massive increase in value in such a short time, and that we are currently in a correction, and that Steve's time left on earth is sadly limited, and certainly his medical leave has distanced him from the company, and the unknown result of his ultimate departure, as well as the current lack of anything amazing from a product perspective, and the ever-increasing competition from very powerful sources, as well as the recent recognition of the vulnerability to the supply chain, and the ongoing question about what Apple will do with the load of cash it is holding... all these factors add up to one thing. And that one thing is a big QUESTION MARK.
When there is a big question mark like that, I don't think it is likely we'll see large amounts of money pouring into the company's stock.
However... I do think that there WILL be great days ahead for Apple, and they are not all that far off. Once it is resolved that Steve is gone, either by his resignation or by his earthly departure, and it is known that the company can and will prosper without him... that will help. Once we see the next incredible product, or a terrific evolutionary step in a current product or a number of products... that will help. Once we see the share price get attractive enough and we are out of a stock market correction... that will help. Once they announce some more amazing financial reports that blow everyone away... that will help.
Once George Soros mysteriously disappears... that will help. Hold on, that's another post... just joking... although that wouldn't be such a bad idea. LOL.
Anyway, it's like a planetary alignment for AAPL shares to go down to a more reasonable level, and they are doing so. At some point, the level that satisfies investors will present itself. I already predicted somewhere between $300 - $325, but we'll see if it gets that low... before it eventually starts its big climb again to over $400.
Comments
TM
Beware of the false rally.
TM
At what price are you a buyer of AAPL shares?
TM
I would love to buy AAPL at $340. I think I am going to place an order to buy at $340.90.
KEEP ME POSTED OF YOUR PROGRESS AS THE DAY UNFOLDS.
TM
DO IT!
TM
EDIT: I bought another 50 shares just before the close. Now we'll see what Monday morning brings. I obviously want to own a lot more AAPL.
I have to admit that I am a bit nervous about this, but I decided if I was going to do it, that I would do it significantly. So, 700 shares isn't pocket change, and if things don't go well for AAPL looking forward, I could take a bath.
I also noticed that Sprint was hammered today, and previously I had made a lot of gains on Sprint... so I bought 10,000 shares of Sprint. Small price changes with this stock can make a big difference, one way or another... so I am also a little nervous about Sprint.
I tend to believe that if I do suffer a short term blow to these two stocks, that my best bet would be to hold them until they recover again... but I would be willing to cut my losses, if that is what turns out to be the best scenario.
Hopefully, both of these stocks will show some gains in the near future, and I will be quite willing to cash in if/when that happens. And THAT's the whole point... to try to make some gains in this crazy market.
Gonna be a long weekend.
TM
Well, I think it would be a very bad sign if AAPL shares go down, but if it starts out flat, you will have your window of opportunity to load up before Steve takes the stage and HOPEFULLY romances the investors enough.
How many shares are you thinking of buying?
I am still second-guessing myself here about getting back in the market, even though it's only two stocks... the quantities are significant enough to take a bit of a hit. It won't be the end of the world if I lose some $$, but it will feel bad because I worked hard to get to where I am now. To be honest, I acted a little impulsively yesterday (Friday), because I only had my phone, and I only had short moments of free time, and it was a bit frustrating. I did not really have the proper time and depth of information that I usually like to have before making a purchase. So, I kind of gave into the frustration and just moved ahead too quickly.
Again, hopefully it works out... but if I can get back out without too many burns... I am going to try my best to stay out for a while longer this time.
TM
In my world, anyone who turns anything over less than quarterly is "playing the market" as opposed to holding long-term.
Apparently, letting computers run things, with price deltas measured in pennies and time deltas measured in milliseconds, is the way to make big bucks, with no regard to fundamentals whatsoever.
Oh boy.
That is EXACTLY right. Computer trading accounts for 1/3 - 1/2 of most trading on average, according to what I've read... and that's partly why the market is so messed up.
Stock prices do not behave as they should, thus making the stock market a VERY dangerous place at this point in time... and there are plenty of other reasons as well to get out of this market.
More, and more... the stock market has turned into a casino... so I will be watching for the safest exit I can find next week.
TM
I MUST catch my breath... so I took advantage of the opening minutes. AAPL was up enough to land me a couple big ones in gains, and Sprint was actually up, so instead of suffering serious potential damage, I willingly sold it at a small loss of only several hundred dollars. So, given the larger AAPL gain, I was indeed able to exit the market as I really wanted to do... and did so without getting injured... and instead walked away with a gain.
I am glad about this. I really must take a break from the trading... for a while. It has consumed so much of my time and energy, and the market has been much too frustrating to really feel good about it.
Anyway, I wished for a safe exit, and I got one...
I hope AAPL does great today for Charlie and the rest of you that own AAPL shares.
TM
The Times has always been hard on Lexus and soft on rivals, including Infiniti. I'm curious to see if your experience is the same or different fom this column, which was in the Sunday Times.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/reviewing-the-lexus-ct-200h/
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/yes-apple-announce-sexy-products-tod- - ay-company-headed-145736352.html?sec=topStories&pos=9&asset=&ccode=
The writer's comparison to the Prius is dead wrong. I've driven both, and I own the CT. I know better. In comparison to the Prius (especially in Sport Mode) the CT has a much better suspension layout (in all modes, of course), and has a quicker steering and throttle response, which makes for a sportier driving dynamic. Those three upgraded ingredients... suspension, steering, and throttle,... are significant benefits to the CT. The author is oblivious, no doubt about it.
It is clear to me that he author is not familiar with driving a vehicle with a CVT, because what he describes is typical for someone that has not logged a lot of miles driving a car equipped with a CVT.
I laid down a tire patch (small, of course, but wow) recently pulling out of a driveway. Now, let me be clear that this is no powerhouse car, that's for sure. But, it is more than adequate, and definitely performs better than the Prius... and is plenty of fun to drive.
For a car that gets 40+ MPG, it's a terrific choice. There are others, and that's fine. However, this author does not fully describe the CT correctly... and has some of his his facts mixed up. Facts should be facts, and not subject to opinion. Unless I missed it, he didn't even know (or notice!!) that the throttle response is significantly and profoundly increased in Sport Mode, for example. Only an idiot (and non-connected driver) would not recognize and point out that difference.
TM
As I should be getting a few $ next month from a buyout of one of my stock companies, Friday I pulled the trigger. Traded my fabulous (paid-off!) '05 Acura TL for a Liquid Silver '09 Jag XK Coupe. First used car I've owned since my very first car, oh so long ago, a VW Scirocco (Recaro Seats, no A/C, wood shift knob and rust!). And, the fabulous feline is my first RWD! Been a New England skier all my life, so FWD ruled the day...
Less than 19,000 miles, a couple of warranty years left. Lots of leather and wood, even paired both my Blackberry and cell phone with the Bluetooth without issue. Of course, no cassette player (child of the '70s and '80s, I've got a pile of mix casettes, classic stuff!) but plenty of musical choices. The ELS system in the TL was great, I wasn't thrilled with the Alpine speakers in the '08 XK I test drove, but the '09 has the Bowers and Wilkins speakers which sound better.
Pace with grace, certainly not the most powerful car out there, but smooth, quiet, swift and beautiful. Of course, I'm already fearing winter but am researching snow shoes. Now I've got to try and sell the Dunlop Wintersports on alloys that I used on the TL (the Cat is shod with 19s, the Dunlops are 16s).
Also, without me!, son and wife stopped at Audi dealer on Sunday whilst running errands. Son has decided that Mom wants an A7, she concurs. But, she'll wait another year before buying (maybe we'll see what the year end deals are like?). I thought she was going to go A5 or 3 series, so the A7 is a new price strata. I "Black Magic" waxed her RX Sunday, looks better but it also looks its going on 10 years of service age. Of course, I'll be ordering some new Zaino for El Gato.
So, bon chance Abyss Blue TL. I will never forget you, an all around wonderful car. Hopefully, a new home with a caring, loving, Zaino-ing owner is in your near future.
What have I done???
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
From a guy that owned a Jag for over 5 years to a first-time Jag owner... let me tell you that it was one of the best cars I ever owned.
Jags are special and often very misunderstood and grossly misaligned by those that "have no idea", and just "don't get it".
You have officially been seduced by a Jag and have acted accordingly.
Best of luck with that sexy feline.
TM
Jealousy bleeds from my bones! :shades:
Regards,
OW
I screwed up as usual
You sound SO much happier than you did a couple years ago.
I screwed up as usual . I bought an additional 75 shares this morning at about $344. Nice going Charlie, you moron .
Wow!... you don't need to be so hard on yourself. The market is dangerous right now, and that's not your fault. If it was helpful at all, I left a post that I totally sold all my AAPL (and Sprint) shares this morning, while the market was still showing some small signs of strength, before it reversed itself.
You are supposed to listen to me!... LOL... just kidding.
Well... you have several choices, and these come to mind...
-You could buy more on dips and decrease your average cost per share.
-You could just hold and wait.
-You could sell at the next opportunity.
Apple is a great company and has been amazing, and will continue to do great things, IMO. But, it's important to not let ourselves have too much of a love affair with AAPL (or any stock), because it can compromise our investment decisions.
You have made a lot of money on AAPL over the years, and you are not seriously burned here, so let's keep this in perspective.
Give me some idea of what you plan to do.
If you want my recommendation, it is this... SELL ALL YOUR AAPL SHARES ASAP!
Am I being clear enough? I really hope so. Because I can only lead a horse to water...........
TM
I think it's quite possible we will see AAPL shares dip to somewhere between $300 - $325, and then go nowhere for a while.
IMHO.
TM
As for me, I am gaining some valuable insights as to the quandary the frog finds itself in as the water gets hotter and hotter....
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
As for me, I am gaining some valuable insights as to the quandary the frog finds itself in as the water gets hotter and hotter....
Experience--That valuable commodity that you usually acquire just too late to do you any good !!
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
BEN BERNANKE could be a positive game-changer today. We'll see. Unless he says and does the right things to satisfy Wall Street, the market will slide more. If he indicates we will have a QE3, then we will see a genuine rally, not a false rally.
TM
With a house of 4 people who all buy music and have different devices to access it, "the cloud" is handy. We use both Itunes and Amazon for music and I have too much music to store on my android phone. I can access the music anytime, anywhere I have a cell signal or wifi connection. It's great while I'm on our boat or in the car.
Plus it's another way to back up my collection. If my hard drive crashes, I still have my music. I don't have to re-rip all of my CDs or worry about losing any digital music files I've bought. I use google storage for the gigs of photos I've accumulated over the years. IMO, it's the easiest way to have offsite back up and maintain instant access (though the transfer speeds are still to slow).
My main concern over the cloud is security. I want off site back up of my financial files etc. I've got a lot of data I'd hate to lose. Yes I have external back ups, but I don't have any offsite backups. A fire etc, would likely destroy all of my files.
IMO, the cloud is the answer to all of this. If you buy MP3 music from Amazon, it's automatically stored on your cloud account. I'm definitely going to look into Apples service. With more and more connected devices it definitely makes sense.
I expect a bump or two, as the service gets off the ground and into the cloud... haha... but it makes tremendous sense.
A risk is that the data centers are massive facilities, and are therefore physically vulnerable, as well as cyber-vulnerable. Millions of people's media libraries, and potentially billions of dollars worth of data could be at risk.
TM
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
That's my concern. I'm not worried about the music or my photos, it's more personal data that concerns me. (I don't have any Anthony Weiner type photos that I back up to the cloud;))
Google was first of the 3. I've been using Google docs, and photo storage through Picasa and video through Youtube for years.
I haven't had a chance to look at all what Apple will offer with their cloud service. They all seem to have their own advantages. All offer some level of free storage (usually up to 5GB) then they charge monthly or annually for extra space.
There are other players in the cloud storage space. DropBox (great for storing docs on the cloud and having instant access across multiple PCs). Microsoft is getting in the game to with Skydrive. I've not used it and there are many other competitors which I'm not familiar with.
Corporations need this too. They want scalability, and security of data. The cloud is huge for big, medium and small corporations.
When Amazon's servers crashed a few weeks ago with the sale of .99 Lady Gaga digital albums it took down several websites hosted on their server farms. Cloud computing really isn't only about storage, it's also about server/processor capacity/and software.
Many corporations are going to the "cloud" for SaaS (software as a service), it can reduce costs and improve performance (load demand) for large corporations with large enough of users across a large area. The idea is to not have to have all the computing power one company needs for peak demand that might only happen periodically.
Say your an accounting firm and your server load is extreme during tax season, light the the rest of the year. Through virtualization you could say tap into Amazon's server farm for additional processing capacity during your peak business season.
IMO, this is only the beginning.
Those servers are backed up as well. A good data protection service wears a belt, suspenders and then uses duct tape...
facebook connect
I'm not worried about losing my data in the cloud, I'm concerned about unauthorized access and someone other than me having access to it.
No matter what you guys post here, I am going to hold onto my opinion that can and there will be issues with the cloud technology.
Valuable information will be compromised.
Sony's recent monster problem with its Play Station Network is just one example, and the recent attack on Lockheed Martin's data is another example... both just within recent weeks.
That said... I definitely like the idea of cloud technology, but I embrace it with all its potential faults... the same way I generally embrace my cars... lol. You gotta love 'em, even though they ain't perfect. Unless we're talkin' a lemon, of course.
TM
What you are saying is correct if the scalability requirement does not contain sensitive data.
I can guarantee you that we are all very interested in your latest perspective and strategy with regards to your AAPL investment. Speaking for myself, I am not only interested, but I am also very hopeful that you end up making a smart decision. The stock continues to slide. IIRC, you have accumulated shares from waaaayyyy back, when the stock was cheap, and if that is the case, your average cost per share is very, very low. That would mean that only the recent e-trade purchases are the ones that are in the red. If that is your situation, then you can cut your loss on the e-trade shares, and then sell at a big profit overall.
Did you sell this morning when the share price was only down a small amount? Or are you hanging in there? Or something else?
?????
TM
IBM is helping clients excel in cloud computing, providing secure and reliable Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solutions.
Go Beemer!!
Regards,
OW
I don't know about that. But companies have different types of data, so maybe Product/sales/contact management type data could has to be handled differently than financial data.
Great question!!!
I don't think it's just one thing. I think there are a number of reasons, and they all are working together to cause this situation. If you read the news and listen to the commentaries, you get a lot of different perspectives, but some of the chatter and news seems consistent enough.
Heres' my take...
A little over two years ago, AAPL was trading under $100. The stock soared with the continued success of the iPhone and the introduction of the iPad, which stumbled briefly, but then took off. The company has been setting records in sales and has been accumulating tons of cash. The company has updated some of its products, and particularly started re-inventing the MacBook Air, which I believe is only fractionally through with its ultimate evolutionary destiny... that is unless Apple introduces a seperate model. The reason I say this is because there needs to be a number of things happen that have not happened, and that leaves Apple vulnerable to the competition getting there first.
From a product perspective, since tablets are becoming the real deal and in some capacity replacing desktops, and even notebooks, those tablets need to have an assortment of models, just like there is an assortment for desktops and notebooks. IOW, there should be different size tablets and different capabilities. Apple only offers the one size. Other companies already realize that a smaller, more portable size makes sense, but Apple has yet to offer the iPad in a 7" (or thereabout) version. IMO, there should be three sizes... the same way notebooks are often offered in three sizes.
iTunes (or the iCloud) needs to compete with Amazon and Barnes and Noble with regards to book media. iBooks is a joke, and Apple has allowed the competition to get ahead of them when they could have done so much better.
How much can be expected from Apple, and from Steve Jobs? The company has a long history of blunders as well as amazing achievements. With Steve's health deteriorating, it is a crapshoot to put major money in a stock that has shot up so much in such a short time, yet has nothing concrete to show investors that it can and will own the market like it has done with the iPhone and iPad. Competition is as intense as war right now, and companies the likes of Google and Microsoft and Intel and others will NOT lay down and surrender to Apple. They will FIGHT, and fight hard.
Then we have to consider that we have a general downturn in the stock market right now. Apple is not immune to it. We have been in a correction for over 5 weeks now.
Yesterdays' event with Steve did NOT show anything that would cause investors to sit up and take notice. There was NOTHING that the consumer would drool over... at least not yet. And, yes, Steve's appearance was certainly a reminder that he is not well, even though he "feels good".
When we combine the fact that AAPL shares have had a massive increase in value in such a short time, and that we are currently in a correction, and that Steve's time left on earth is sadly limited, and certainly his medical leave has distanced him from the company, and the unknown result of his ultimate departure, as well as the current lack of anything amazing from a product perspective, and the ever-increasing competition from very powerful sources, as well as the recent recognition of the vulnerability to the supply chain, and the ongoing question about what Apple will do with the load of cash it is holding... all these factors add up to one thing. And that one thing is a big QUESTION MARK.
When there is a big question mark like that, I don't think it is likely we'll see large amounts of money pouring into the company's stock.
However... I do think that there WILL be great days ahead for Apple, and they are not all that far off. Once it is resolved that Steve is gone, either by his resignation or by his earthly departure, and it is known that the company can and will prosper without him... that will help. Once we see the next incredible product, or a terrific evolutionary step in a current product or a number of products... that will help. Once we see the share price get attractive enough and we are out of a stock market correction... that will help. Once they announce some more amazing financial reports that blow everyone away... that will help.
Once George Soros mysteriously disappears... that will help. Hold on, that's another post... just joking... although that wouldn't be such a bad idea. LOL.
Anyway, it's like a planetary alignment for AAPL shares to go down to a more reasonable level, and they are doing so. At some point, the level that satisfies investors will present itself. I already predicted somewhere between $300 - $325, but we'll see if it gets that low... before it eventually starts its big climb again to over $400.
TM