Friday, September 30, 2011

A RETAILER MAKING COMPUTERS?

BLOG FIRST PUBLISHED APRIL 2011

Many months ago when I bought my first IPAD I said to my business partner, "Holy Moly-this product is going to have some huge impact on PC sales". Months have passed and I have begun to think of how many people are employed in making PCS and their ancillary equipment.


The gadget that brought down an industry and we didn't see it coming. Holy Moly???


P.S. I must be crazy. "Laugh of the Day"



Many months ago I first published the blog above about the IPAD. Now a second catalyst has caught our attention and seems to be just as destructive as the IPAD. The fact that a retailer (Amazon) is now manufacturing its own tablet is incredible. Not only does it appear that Amazon's tablet is quite a capable machine but it's also to be sold at a significant discount to its competitors. Look at what's happened to both Hewlett Packard and RIMM with their venture into the tablet business. One can only wonder what the implications are for the rest of the computer hardware industry.

At one point in time the only device used to draft written correspondence was the typewriter. With the introduction of the personal computer the days of the typewriter were limited. Will the same fate lie ahead for the manufacturers of portable computers as the competition increases and the prices decline with the perfection of the industry?

Thursday, September 22, 2011

1930 REVISITED?

While the Democrats focus on "class warfare" and the Republicans focus on spending cuts the "battle to right the ship in a storm" is being lost. (The Forgotten Man)

Both parties are focusing on the wrong battles. The Republican party is so split that it's hard to see how they can beat Obama, in spite of his huge failings.

In June 1930, as the Depression was unfolding, the Congress actually passed a tariff bill intending to protect American business from competition. Instead, there was worldwide retaliation.

A stronger dollar, at this time, under these conditions is exactly the same as the tariff bill passed in 1930.

All the above, tax increases, confidence lost, potential for stronger dollar and balanced budgets are so wrong as to make one think the country is being run by people who actually want us to go down the drain. Let's hope that President Obama has the courage to resign.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

BLOG OF THE DAY

In a recent blog we discussed the extraordinary risk to the marketplace that computerized trading is likely to cause at some unexpected time.

The recent trading loss that occurred at UBS is another example of activities that clearly shouldn't be allowed in the banking system.

Permitting banks to be in the trading business, usually conducted by young inexperienced personnel, is so dangerous to the monetary and fiscal well being of the banks, the government and individuals that there are few words to describe the risks involved.

In America we have depository insurance which would leave untold billions of depositors uninsured in the case of huge losses by traders.

The banking system should not be in the trading business with derivatives and options, etc. It is wrong, dangerous and must be stopped.

Unfortunately, when traders make money they get big bonuses, buy big apartments and consequently the huge risks are not faced unless there is a significant crises. One of these days, with these kinds of absurd activities continuing to be permitted, government policies will not be able to fix the problem fast enough. This will make the housing crises seem trivial.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

ECONOMIC MISERY CREATES HATEFUL ENVIRONMENT

To see the President of the United States cowering behind his Union supporters seems to indicate that he is certainly no George Washington where courage is concerned. For alot of different reasons I happen to think well of the Teamsters Union and its leader, but to hear him talk in terms of "war" sounds almost like a call for a fascist state. The "common man" will not cower in the face of demagogic bluster.

Friday, September 2, 2011

WHAT MADE OBAMA QUALIFIED TO BE PRESIDENT?

The poor struggle for subsistence. The middle class realizes that our manufacturing jobs have been sent far away. The rich, no matter what they say, are tired of being made scapegoats for the country's problems. The corporations, where most Americans still work, are made out to be the enemy. Banks are attacked as if they were supposed to have known what mortgages to write and what mortgages not to write. The Unions hang on to antiquated work rules. The Politicians have no creative capacity. The Tea Party, well meaning or not, advocates totally disastrous economic policies. The liberal left actually believe people are "entitled" without having to earn it. The public school system is frozen and outdated. Wasteful financial transactions are accepted as a crucial part of capitalism's strength.

You could write all the offsetting positives to the above you want, but as long as the standard of living is stagnant, you would just be plain wrong.

No jobs, no growth, no improvement...just the opposite.
 

Shepard Osherow. All Rights Reserved