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Monthly Archives: October 2009

It’s Tough to be Really, Really Rich

October 8, 2009
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It’s Tough to be Really, Really Rich

Forbes Magazine seems to be addicted to the making of lists, and I have to admit that many of them make pretty good reading. Lots of them are just conversation starters about topics that can’t really be quantified, like “The 20 Most Important Tools Ever,” “The Top 100 Celebrities” and “The Most Livable Cities.” But the annual listing of the Forbes 400 Richest Americans is light on opinions and heavy on data, which means it’s right up my alley. I haven’t delved very deeply into the list beyond the featured Top 20, but there are lots of interesting insights...

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The New Normal and an Old Mistake

October 7, 2009
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The New Normal and an Old Mistake

There’s a new buzzword making the rounds on financial cable shows, Web sites and blogs.  It’s “The New Normal,” a phrase that’s supposed to reflect the changed economic landscape following last year’s epic meltdown. Here’s the basic argument.  First, you have a crisis that deep-sixes house prices and saddles financial institutions with mountains of smelly, indigestible mortgage-backed securities and other derivatives.  The result is a recession that’s both wide and deep. Second, you have huge job losses, with official unemployment levels approaching 10% (and probably higher if you add in those who have stopped looking). Third, employment woes cause...

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A Retailer That’s Bucking the Trend

October 6, 2009
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A Retailer That’s Bucking the Trend

Now to a stock that recently caught my eye. Most retailers have suffered greatly during the recession, but one is making waves with newly frugal shoppers. The company is Aeropostale (ARO) and it was featured in Cabot Top Ten Report this Monday, where Editor Michael Cintolo wrote: “While most retailers have been hit hard by the recession, Aeropostale’s commitment to bringing affordable clothes to teens has paid off for the company. Same-store sales were up a huge 9% in August, beating analysts’ forecasts. Aeropostale mainly uses a value-pricing approach, differentiating the company from many of its rivals. Earnings are...

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Readers’ Comments on Espresso Book Machine

October 5, 2009
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Here are a few of the comments we received from my post this weekend on the Espresso Book Machine. If you’re looking for more on it or the company that makes it, click here. Please add your comments here or on the original post. “Always interested in your emails. I personally love printed books. A Kindle isn’t likely in my life, at least not soon. I’m a pretty good customer of Amazon for this reason. On demand book printing, wow!!” E. — “Great information to know about. For a minute I thought it would be a machine which those...

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A New Way to Examine Your Portfolio

October 5, 2009
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A New Way to Examine Your Portfolio

Today I wanted to write a bit about portfolio management.  Don’t worry, though–this won’t be any of the nitty gritty that I often write about.  Instead, I just wanted to outline a rough “position sheet” that’s relatively easy to set up on a spreadsheet, but can also give you a great view of your portfolio’s risks and rewards. The inputs are simple:  Stock, purchase price (include commissions!), current price and stop-loss price.  This stop-loss can be a standing order with your brokerage house, or a mental stop that you will adhere to.  The key is to have a stop-loss...

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