The Da Vinci Code: Movie Review

If you read the book I don’t think you need to see The Da Vinci Code. Since I found out there was going to be a movie I avoided reading the book. I’m glad I did. I think if I had I would have fallen asleep. While I found the plot and its twists to be very entertaining, my date, who had read the book, fell asleep on several occasions. Even the 48 ounce Diet Coke we shared couldn’t keep her in the land of the conscious. The plot is ...

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Lightening Up on Closed-End Bond Funds. Buying FORD MOTOR CAP TR II.

I am using the recent rally in bonds as a chance to sell off some of my closed-end bond funds. I think I'll have the chance to buy them again after the yield curve steepens again.Other interesting positions:I'm staying long Natural Gas FuturesCovered the rest of the long British Pound /short EURO (GBP/EUR) position a couple days ago. I still like the carry (GBP pays high rates than EUR) but it had moved to my target of 0.6800. ...

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Watching Intel (INTC): The Time Will Come to Wade Into The Pool.

At some point Intel INTC is a buy. This stock is being sold because it is losing market share to AMD and management is not impressing portfolio managers and analysts with earnings downgrades and their lack of a good turnaround plan. The company is out of favor with the street. Intel is a big company full of smart people with some great marketing and production arrangements. CEO Paul Otellini (or some new management) will get scared and figure out how to turn this situation around in the next 6-24 months. And buying when the ...

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Stocks on Sale: Neubie Goes Shopping!

Stock market down seven days in a row. I finally got out and went shopping. What else had I been keeping all that cash on the sidelines for anyway?Today's Shopping list:STOCKS:AAUK - Anglo American PLC ADR: added a bit to bring my position in this UK global mining conglomerate to full.GG - GoldCorp: been avoiding this high flyer but gold wasn't even down today and the stock sill got killed. Bought this for a trade. (stock market has a different view of inflation than the gold market does)MSFT Microsoft Calls (Bought to close 27 strike calls written ...

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Gold Pullback

I've been getting emails and calls asking what I think about gold.In any bull market the downward moves are sharp as trend following speculators get out of positions. The fact that this selloff is sharp and not on the back of a news event that shifts thinking tells me the bull market in commodities is not over. As a matter of fact this "breakneck" move in the opposite direction is quite common in protracted bear markets as well.I do think at some point this protracted bull market in commodities will get to bubble status ...

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Pause in dollar decline - cover some short USD positions

Friday afternoon I covered much of my Dollar short by selling out of half YEN position at around 110. I also shorted GBP (British Pounds) at just above 1.90. I will re-establish the full size of my dollar short after the market stops focusing on the rumored central bank rate increases in Japan and Europe.Disclaimer: I am short GBP/USD futures (Globex 6BU6). I am long Yen futures (Globex 6JU6). I am long Japanese Yen in my brokerage account, I keep balances in various other non-us currencies including British Pounds.Nothing in this entry is meant to be construed as ...

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Film Review: Giuliani Time - A Nice Retelling of History But Nothing New

Back in the 1990's if you were living in New York or reading the New York Times you don't need to see Giuliani Time; it provides no new information or additional insights. However, if you don't know much about Rudy Giuliani beyond what you saw on 9/11 and the days that followed the film provides a slow moving retelling of the news and the issues. Kevin Keating, the filmaker, leaves out most personal details about Giuliani that would have a least made the film interesting for anyone who already knew the public history. For a docu-drama of his ...

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Cool Tool: Countries and States I Have Visited

A Map of Countries I have visited or lived: create your own visited countries map or vertaling Duits Nederlands Same thing for US states: create your own visited states map or check out these Google Hacks. ...

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Gold Mining Shares: A Better Bet Than the Metal Itself

I bought some gold coins a few years back when the price of the metal was in the $300-$400 dollar range. Since then I have been buying the mining companies. I started by buying the higher dividend stocks out of South Africa and the UK. (AAUK, GFI, FCX, AU) Now it seems that just about any of the gold miners provide better value than the metal. I’m happy with my exposure to gold for now but if I did have to add exposure at $720 an ounce I still prefer the miners. I'm even thinking about ...

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IAC / Interactive Corp: Added Slightly to Small Position

I continue to think this media property looks cheap. I had a below the market limit order from weeks ago that was executed today at $28.23. This brings my position in IACI to a timid 40% of maximum weighting*. I'll leave that here unless something really compelling** like a price happens to valuation. * Maximum Weighting = for personal risk management purposes the maximum amount of unhedged cost basis I will buy or short of a single stock issuer (non fund, non index).**Compelling change in valuation = price move in stock or change in underlying business prospects.Disclosure: ...

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