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Kindle Fire vs iPad – vacuum cleaner wars $AAPL $AMZN #kindlefire #ipad

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OK it’s game on between Apple and Amazon. Between iPad and Kindle Fire. Everyone is focused on what they can and cannot do. We are blinded by the user experience paradigms. What you are really seeing is an old fashion war between two vacuum cleaners. The two vacuum cleaners are designed to suck cash out of a consumer’s pocket as quickly as possible. Books, music, video whatever can make a buck is what we are talking about. The cost of the devices may come down to near zero. What shopping center charges parking. They want you in with your wallets open. Be quick about it.

Eventually you will see many with both tablets. Huh. Think about it! Have you ever shopped at two different malls? Sometimes in the same day. Have you ever sent your partner to one mall and you are at another for some heavy-duty comparison shopping?

Kindle Fire and iPad will eventually need to differentiate themselves in offerings and pricing strategy. We may even view Amazon and Apple as two competing department stores just like Sears and Macy’s. 

So much for thin, light weight, compact, gorilla glass, touch screen and all the other features. No one has a long-term competitive advantage. At the end of the day will the consumer click and salivate at iPad or Kindle Fire. I can’t wait for the cyclonic features which must be coming soon. Capitalism you gotta love it.

Disclosure: George Gutowski writes from a caveat emptor perspective. I click and salivate at many on-line stores. I have no positions in any stocks mentioned in this post. I have no plans to initiate new positions within the next 72 hours.

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Jamie Dimon risk addiction goes rogue Secretly interviewing for GOP cabinet post Regs be damned $JPM #GOP

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Bank of Canada

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Jamie Dimon recently blew his top when Mark Carney Governor of Bank of Canada chastised him for not supporting important changes to banking regulations. Specifically Jamie Dimon does not like Basel III. Jamie is like a rogue trader. He does not see the necessity of sobering bank regulations that protect the public. But he has no problem in accepting TARP money. Hey buddy that means you got into trouble and had to be bailed out.   

Why did he feel justified in crossing swords with a highly respected central banker. Now we learn that Jamie Dimon is not the White House darling that he wants to be. A long time democrat Jamie has not  contributed to the Democratic way. He also is meeting with Republican presidential contenders and obviously looking for a new job. He wants to be Secretary of Treasury.

Because Jamie Dimon sits on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York he cannot publicly endorse any presidential candidates. But he can have discrete meetings and exchange a few words here and there. With his democratic roots he has a hard time speaking out against White House approved financial reform policy. So he picks on the Canadian neighbour to the north Governor Mark Carney and calls him anti-American because he wants street cred with Republicans. The GOP is smarter than that.

Jamie Dimon is addicted to risk. The Canadians up north do not have a banking crisis. Maybe we should listen to them for a little bit.

Disclosure: George Gutowski writes from a caveat emptor perspective. I hold no positions in stocks mentioned in this post. I have no plans to initiate new positions within the next 72 hours.

 

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Apple pride drives poor iPad pricing. Kindle Fire changes tipping point $AAPL $AMZN #kindlefire #ipad

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Kindle Fire finally dove into the shark tank. Just remember technology eats its own babies. Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN) and Jeff Bezos have launched the smartest device to drive sales and revenues directly into Amazon. The Kindle price points have delighted the market. Compared to iPad a lot of new users will naturally gravitate to Kindle Fire. Jeff Bezos is very smart in not getting into a PR word battle about Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) losing its dominance. Just make the customer happy and laugh to the bank which is hopefully still solvent.

Apple is not stupid. They will monitor their sales carefully. They already have cut back the manufacturing orders. The moment iPad pricing is dropped to create more value you know the tipping point has been reached. Currently the apple game plan is to be cool with the most app’s thereby driving demand but at a high price. The price is not sustainable. If Apple tries to chase the price down it will alienate customers and signal to the world that it has it wrong.

You can imagine what the stock price will do as the energy changes from hyper-positive to hyper-negative. Market behaviours are manic-depressive and you know it’s coming.

Notice I’ve said nothing about the other tablets.

Disclosure: George Gutowski writes from a caveat emptor perspective. I own both iPhone and Kindle e-reader. I do not hold positions in stocks mentioned in this post. I have no plans to initiate new positions within the next 72 hours. 

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Half full vs Half empty – good or bad how to tell – macro trumps micro #stocks #macro #micro

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Tired of word spin? Tired of trying to figure it out? Half full or half empty what does it really mean? Half full is the positive thinking school’s definition of almost there. Half empty is a pragmatists view that a lot is lacking. Yeah but I’m still thirsty.

The positive school needs to spin your brain at half full without telling you if the glass was being filled up or drained. This is suspicious from the get go. Pragmatists don’t have a school they are probably doing something to fix the problem. Usually another pour.

What most people should realize is that it’s not what’s in the glass. It’s how easily you can refill it. Most people finish their drink. If you make larger glasses they will drink more. Check with McDonald’s about super size stuff. When you stare at your glass for too long you miss what’s on the shelf.

Advice: Always drink at well stocked bars and restaurants. Macro trumps micro – always.

Think about it!

Disclosure: George Gutowski writes from a caveat emptor perspective. I like a lot of different glasses. Big beer glasses, all sorts of wine glasses and nice old fashion glasses for great scotch. When I go out I like to frequent places with great selections. Macro over micro. Get it? Hurry up then!

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Apple greater than Exxon? We kill for oil. iPad meh. $aapl $XOM #ipad

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Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) market cap is challenging Exxon’s. (NYSE:XOM) Many are declaring a new world order. We go to war over oil. We allow our young people to die in strange lands for oil. We refuse to conserve oil. We want to drive not push our cars. iPad or iPhone if they malfunction meh live goes on. Usually something with Android.

Careful about conclusions based on comparative market caps.

Disclosure: George Gutowski writes from a caveat emptor perspective. I have no positions in any stocks mentioned in this post. I have no plans to initiate new positions within the next 72 hours.

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#Buffett angst Bets on himself Secret investing signal $BRK.A $BRK.B #buffett #sharebuyback #valueinvesting

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Well the Oracle from Omaha has decided to buy back shares in himself. Berkshire Hathaway that is (NYSE:BRK.A) Quite the swan song move in the twilight of a brilliant investing career. Buffett has signalled that his trigger finger is itchy with over $40 Billion in unused cash. Despite a bizarre desire to pay more taxes the ultimate value investor does not see adequate investment bargains out there. I’m sure he looked. He even cold called Bank of America (BAC) but they could only take up $5 billion.

The share buy back strategy begets a few questions. He plans on giving most of the shares to charity but in the mean time he starts the buy back thing. So all those deserving causes will get a little bit less. I assume that he will not take any cash himself letting the market enjoy the cash. But Warren if you can’t figure it out us little folks don’t have a chance.

Also is he secretly saying his replacement players will not be able to identify value plays and the cash has to come off the table. A shrink might say he is protecting his reputation. The successors will not have the cash to do the deals. Hmm.

Is this a secret message to value investors. There is nothing out there of any consequence. Except for Berkshire. Hmm reverse psychology with the investor relations program which he claims he does not really have. Quite the poker move in some ways. If you know Berkshire is looking at you know you have some competition so maybe the big buck buyout is not coming that quickly.

Disclosure : George Gutowski writes from a caveat emptor perspective. I hold no positions in stocks mentioned in this post. I have no plans to initiate new positions within the next 72 hours.

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$UBS wrongful dismissal dilemna #hr #jobs

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UBS (NYSE:UBS) is facing huge losses greatly because of an inability to control rogue trading. Not impressive. So now they are taking the opportunity to cut jobs and fire thousands of innocent employees who had nothing to do with the rogue.

Is it just me or can you see the class action lawsuit. Management screws up with billion dollar mistakes. So bank employees must pay the maximum capitalist cost and get fired. Fair? Not bloody likely. If management failed in their fiduciary duties to manage why should thousands suffer.

This will be a lawyers delight.

Disclosure: George Gutowski writes from a caveat emptor perspective. I have been fired in the past, sued and won a nice settlement. There is nothing like their cash in your bank account after that one. I have no positions in stocks mentioned in this post. I have no plans to initiate new positions within the next 72 hours.  

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Rogue traders how to spot ten signs #banks #roguetraders #corpgov #trading #derivatives

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Glass and Me

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How to spot rogue traders!

  1. Their claret coloured Rolls Royce is more pimped out than the chairman’s Rolls Royce.
  2. They are really good at compliance and rarely have minor difficulty.
  3. They don’t piss off others because of strong personalities. It’s all under the radar.
  4. Their Facebook  and Twitter comments seem to be coming through a plate-glass window. Like they are hiding a secret existence or something.
  5. Comments about markets seem distant. It’s like they have to think everything through twice. Once for real and once for compliance.
  6. Sometimes they have an extraordinary familiarity with flight schedules to Switzerland and places like that.
  7. They have trouble taking vacations because someone else may realize what they are doing.
  8. They have a hubristic contempt for the system and know, I mean really know they can beat it.
  9. They always seem to get caught on the job because they rarely know when to stop or how to get out.
  10. The law of unintended consequences seems to catch most of them. Swiss Franc appreciation popped that bastard’s bubble at UBS.
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Meg Whitman looks for validation. Follow the money $HPQ #megwhitman #ceo

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Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPQ) has lost control of their communications. I blame the board. They have always had a problem keeping a secret. How can it be anyone other than Meg Whitman. Could you imagine the poor sap that and the PR problems? So maybe it was Meg Whitman that leaked it. She is political you know.

Meg Whitman is not a minimum wage employee. She did not spend that much money on politics. So she will be looking for validation. That means creating shareholder wealth quickly. So watch for stock options and performance fees.

Disclosure: George Gutowski writes from a caveat emptor perspective. I hold no positions in stocks mentioned in this post. I have no plans to initiate new positions within the next 72 hours.

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Hewlett Packard How many CEO’s 2 fire before Board needs replacement. Shareholder uprising soon? $HPQ

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Financial press is rife with rumour and innuendo that Hewlett Packard’s board (NYSE:HPQ) will be firing the new guy they just hired. Leo Apotheker. Leo must be checking the rip cord on his golden parachute. This board is sick very sick. Nothing but misstep after misstep. And they make a lot of mistakes too.

Meg Whitman has the stature to not listen to the board. But she is yesterdays news and todays political wannabe. A high-tech company needs some one with balls, vision and fire in the belly. Mark Hurd and Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL) must be laughing themselves silly.

Disclosure: George Gutowski writes from a caveat emptor perspective. I hold no positions in stocks mentioned in this post. I have no plans to initiate new positions within the next 72 hours.

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