Our report this morning centers of the experience of one reader, who we will not name, but who was recently separated from nearly $10,000 via an internet scam. At the heart of this international fraud, we find a stack of cash, an urgent trip to Amsterdam to a “private bank” – and a lot more. … Read More
One story going large this morning is how Hillary Clinton is blaming the web for the spread of “fake news.” Specifically, The Hill reports over here about her complaint to a group of financial backers and said Congress should do something about it. Cited was the case of a gunman, who allegedly walked into a … Read More
Status is no longer in style. We saw it last year on one of our casino jaunts, the one up to Choctaw to see the Commodores in concert. Oh, and take some money home, too… While there, a FEW women were dressed to the 9’s (including Elaine who looks like a million bucks). But the … Read More
Nowhere near it — yet. We need to be clear on something: Yes, the market went up yesterday. But in my (admittedly weird) approach to markets, that places us only about where we were two weeks ago. Yeah, sure, the Dow is in record country and so is the S&P. But in our work, the … Read More
WARNING: Mr. Grinch is at the keyboard. I love this time of the year – but hate it almost as much. Because of the gifting, mostly. Don’t get me wrong, the National Bank of Dad doesn’t mind sending out a few little goodies, but a gift should always have an element of surprise and should … Read More
Companies have them, but why should they have all the fun? They form the basis for a lot of budgeting work and setting the action and work plans for the coming year. So why not use a similar approach for yourself? I mean, you do have a personal income statement and an expense line or … Read More
There’s a notion that markets predict the future. Oh, not like you will see a red pick-up truck turning right at 9:17:44 AM today. No, it’s more like “We, the collective forces of the market, see a bell-shaped distribution of probable earnings and profits of this (or that) somewhere between nine months and 2-years into … Read More
After 2001 – Twin Towers – and the somewhat suspicious (too fast) roll-out of the so-called “Patriot Act” a number of people I know quit flying. Oh, not that they were on the no-fly list. But since they don’t take crap and understand people’s right to quietly “be” anywhere in the country, they didn’t want … Read More
That’s it. Don’t bother getting out of bed. Futures are up 70, and save the Italian election referendum, there’s little real “news” to talk about. In fact, our Monday here started off with a Win-10 update and a Western Digital Synch update for the home network attached storage units, so it has been one of … Read More
“What we really need a faster way to make a million bucks…” Since I take a generous one morning off each week to sleep in, we were doing what married couples do now and then; reviewing where we are and where we’re going. “The answer is probably in MARKETING something. Something which is already being … Read More
This is certainly obvious, but what would happen if non-stationary machines (robotic) were required to have Social Security numbers and pay…you know…income tax?We get into that along with some discussion of accounting rules about depreciation this morning.But first, let’s see how the president-elect has just basically put the whole U.S. State Department on probation, shall … Read More
We will dish up this morning’s Job numbers in a minute. But before we do that, let’s ask a theoretical question, shall we? Can the jobs picture be too good? Here’s the problem in dehydrated form: Too many job openings means everyone can find a job if they just get out and look for one. … Read More
Since I have most of the paper the F.C.C. has ever offered, like the Extra Class ham ticket, the old First Class Commercial ticket and the poor substitute General Radio Operator License, and since banging out 30 words a minute Morse really is fun, you’ll have to forgive me for offering some advice on the … Read More