Coffee heat rising

Of phones and securities and numerals…

So, to start with the securities part: We’re told yesterday’s crash is a “normal,” nay even a “healthy” correction. The US market has wobbled around all day, closing up 567 points, though that’s not true all over the planet. My investment guru doesn’t seem to be very exercised. Says he: “We were certainly due for a pullback as the market has been going straight up for some time. I don’t think it is anything to get overly worried about. We do have a position that we will sell to raise cash if the market breaks down further.” Meanwhile, at the endlessly entertaining circus playing inside the Beltway, we have this amusing story.

Ever feel like you fell off the tightrope spanning the Gorge of Unreality? 😀

Yesterday I flew into one of my fits of hummingbird rage when SDXB jangled me up in the middle of the tedious morning blood-pressure measuring ritual, causing a spike into the 140s. DAYum, but I hate the sound of the accursed phone ringing.

Once I calmed down and alit on a branch somewhere, I began to reflect upon the effing phones, which very rarely are rung by friends. Most people email me these days. Usually what’s on the other end of the line is a robocaller, and of course that’s what made me so angry — I assumed it was another nuisance call. The phone is so fucking annoying because — among other things — it is so fucking LOUD.

For safety (so that I can reach a phone if I fall), there’s an extension in every room, many of them within easy reach of the floor. All well and good, in a little-old-lady sense, except…that adds up to eight phones!

No wonder the things lift you up out of your seat when they ring in chorus!

Contemplating this state of affairs, I chanced to wonder if it was possible to adjust the volume on the things. Or even turn the damn janglers altogether OFF.

Dug out the owner’s manuals. Believe me, figuring it out was not easy — the instructions are scattered in three places through 40 pages of obscure how-to instructions for functions you do not want, never have wanted, and never will want. But finally, LO! I did discover that not only can the volume be turned way down, you actually can turn the ringers off. Not only that, but the annoying, incomprehensible talking caller ID on the ancient Panasonic hidden in the family room cabinetry — which mysteriously is compatible with the vast set of Uniden cordless phones — actually can be made to SHUT UP!

I’ve tried to shut that thing up in the past, with no luck. Even though the manual says it can be done, it directs you to a function button that does not exist on the set! Of course. But somehow, by accident, I managed to shut it off. The other handsets were pretty easy to fix; turned off all but two ringers, and those I turned down as low as they will go.

So now when the phone rings, it’ll be annoying but it should not be tooth-jangling.

Speaking of annoyances, I made a surprising little discovery. If you take a nap in the afternoon — or maybe just lay down for an hour or so, without even sleeping — you can beat the tendency of your blood pressure to rise late in the day.

Yesterday I was pretty infuriated (you wonder why my BP is high? Because I’m mad as a hummingbird about half my waking hours…) when as an afterthought I took an evening reading and found the damn blood pressure elevated into the 140s. It hasn’t been that high in weeks, even though the hip thing has had me too crippled to walk more than about a quarter-mile — and that far only in the past couple days.

Yesterday was the last day of Week 4 in my six-week effort to lower average blood pressure into the low 120s or (preferably) the 110s, and this stratospheric set of readings was the last reading of the week! To my dismay, it pushed the week’s average from 125.7/82 to 128.4/82.7. I was enraged, needless to say, since there hadn’t been a reading in the 140s for quite a while.

Think this happened because right beforehand I spent two hours with a computer on my lap and my feet crossed and propped on an ottoman, without once budging. Obviously, that kind of immobility can’t be good for you. But still…seriously??????? 146/90? Really????

This morning, though, after an hour or so of physical therapy exercises and dog wrangling, the figures were back in their more typical range: 121/82. Not as low as I’d like, but not life-threatening.

Out of curiosity, then, I decided to see what would happen if I took a nap. In the past researchers have imagined that a regular afternoon siesta may lower overall blood pressure (this is not a great source, but just now I’m feeling too lazy to look up the studies…they’re out there, though). Some speculate that the mere anticipation of an afternoon nap may lower the numbers. More recently, though, other researchers claim to have found evidence that napping increases the risk of hypertension.

Well, I’m not fond of sleeping in the daytime. Life is too short as it is, without wasting part of every day in bed. On the other hand, I sure don’t want to take those pills. So as a practical matter, I didn’t actually fall asleep this afternoon. But I did lay down and rest. The result: average at 5:30 p.m. was 118/81, one helluva lot better than yesterday, that’s for sure. And the lowest reading in that set was an amazing 114/81.

Cardiodoc would be ecstatic.

 

Down the Tubes by 1200 points…

Did I tellya so or not? The biggest sell-off in history, for cripes sake. I hope you were braced.

My financial guy hasn’t had a word to say…he’s probably still dodging flying bricks down at his office. We’re pretty well diversified, but IMHO diversity ain’t much help when everything, everywhere is skateboarding toward Hell. Any of us who has any money in the market at all has lost a fair amount of our proverbial shirt.

Well, one good thing about it: this time I can’t lose my job. One bad thing about it: I don’t have a job to lose. 😀

As The Economist‘s Leo Abruzzi observed a few weeks ago, it’s time. Surely another recession is no surprise to careful observers. I will say that a vast, brain-banging market crash is a bit jolting…but with the regime that we have in charge of the country, I suppose it’s not surprising, either.

We have 3½ years before we can clean out the White House. Even if Trump is impeached — one would not like to see  harm to happen to another human being, but one would welcome a successful move to evict the man — we would still end up with Pence and Ryan. Unlike the present incumbent, Mr. Pence is not a freaking fool. And that makes him far more dangerous than the Orange Buffoon. Ryan is smarter than Trump, but he also is a bat-sh!t extremist who would like to drag this country back into the 1950s, socially and culturally if not militarily and economically.

He and Pence are peas in a pod that way

You could reasonably argue that America has not faced such great existential danger since the start of the Civil War.

Even if we manage to clean some of the crazies out of Congress in the 2018 mid-terms, it will not change the fact that our leadership and our nation are dysfunctional to the point of stalling out.

Meanwhile, we proles face a more immediate danger: How we are going to eat, what we are going to do if still more jobs are lost to us, and what chance do we have of attaining to or surviving through retirement if most of our savings go down the toilet?

At this point, it sure as hell doesn’t look good for yours truly: without a job and now too old to get a job, I depend on my savings and Social Security to live. SS covers less than half my living expenses. And the government forces me to take a “required minimum drawdown” from my IRA, which means enforced selling of shares at a time when I can’t get what they were worth a week ago. Fortunately, I don’t have to take that until later this year…but if memory serves, it took one helluva lot more than 10 or 12 months for the economy to recover from the Great Recession.

Mean-meanwhile, if my son loses  his job, he may very well lose his home. My house is paid for, but his decidedly is not. I can no longer afford to help him with the mortgage payments, which he took over quite some time back. If his father can’t fill the gap, he could very well be magnificently screwed.

What to do? If you still have a job, hang onto it but don’t assume you can do so for long. Make nice to the boss, rise and shine, but stash every spare penny into savings, build a side gig if you don’t already have one, and pay off as much debt as you can.

And for godsake, VOTE IN THE 2018 ELECTIONS.

In case you missed it:

“Trump was pitching the economic benefits of the GOP tax law in Cincinnati as the drop in the market intensified. The Dow fell 500 points while Trump touted rising wages and accused Democrats who refused to applaud him during the State of the Union of being ‘treasonous.’

“All three major cable networks showed the falling stock ticker on screen during Trump’s speech, and Fox News cut into his remarks when the Dow’s drop on the day hit 1,000.”

—Sylvan Lane, “Dow Falls More Than 1,000 Points in Biggest Daily Point-Drop Ever. The Hill, February 5. 2018

 

The money-making benefits of online trading or web-based trading

Web-based trading is a demonstration of purchasing and offering money related items through a web-based trading stage. Stocks, options, bonds, currencies and futures would all be able to be exchanged on the web. These stages are given by web-based merchants and are accessible to each individual who wants to attempt and profit from the world of online trading. You can learn a lot about your venture choices and make or write off a lot of cash while never addressing a specialist or exiting the confines of your house.

What are the benefits of web-based trading?

Web-based trading has a number of advantages and below, you can find the 7 principle benefits:

It is helpful

With regards to web-based trading, you just need to utilize a new trading account by means of the web when you’re ready. A financial expert at Wilkins Finance confirms that you don’t have a set time or place to do this, as long as you have access to the internet. Thus, internet trading is helpful and available from anyplace with a constrained issue. It additionally spares time.

It is less expensive

When stock trading, a dealer expense, which you should pay, is brought down when contrasted with the fee charged by customary technique. When you exchange a substantial amount of currency, you are able to have the capacity to arrange your specialist’s expenses.

You can screen your speculations at any time

Web-based trading enables you to purchase or offer offers as indicated by your comfort. It offers propelled sections and the capacity for speculators to perceive how their cash is performing for the duration of the day. Thus, you can utilize your telephone or your PC to assess your benefit or misfortune.

It nearly takes out the mediator

Internet trading enables you to exchange with for all intents and purposes no immediate specialist correspondence. Aside from decreasing the general cost, this advantage likewise influences the trading to problem-free. This makes the specific administration significantly more lucrative.

Financial specialist has more noteworthy control

Online merchants can exchange at whatever point they want to. Then again, in customary trading, a financial specialist might be stalled until the point that the individual can contact their agent or when the representative can submit their request. Web-based trading permits almost immediate exchanges. Thus, financial specialists can survey the greater part of their choices as opposed to relying upon a representative to reveal to them the best wagers for their cash. They’re ready to screen their ventures, settle on choices and purchase or offer stock individually with no outside impedance. Therefore, it gives them more prominent grip on their speculation.

Speedier Exchanges

Internet managing an account is quick and productive. Assets can be exchanged between accounts immediately, particularly if the two records are held at a similar keeping money foundation. All it takes to have the capacity to purchase or offer stocks are a solitary click of a button. By doing this, a snappier trade can be made which may likewise guarantee a speedier profit.

Understand your cash

There is a shrouded favourable position of web-based trading you wouldn’t have any desire to leave behind. Much the same as ordinary stock trading, you can foresee the market conduct and utilize this to anticipate an ascent or plummet in the cost of the stock. You’ll be handling your own funds and be in charge of them. After some time, you turn out to be more professional when it comes to understanding the market and great speculation opens from the awful ones. This information about cash is exceptionally valuable and having this on your job experiences make you more attractive to organizations hoping to fill a job position in the finance office. While making a snappy buck, you can also figure out how to end up more intelligent in both your expert and individual life.

It is important to remember that you need not be an expert to become an online trader, but if you have some background and solid knowledge to support your online trading habits, you will be sure to strike a great way of making money by trading currencies and so much more!

Why Consumers Are Favouring the iPhone7 over the iPhone 8

According to Reuters, the value of shares in Apple has been falling since October 19th because of weak demand for the iPhone 8, since its release on September 22nd. A survey of wireless carrier stores in the U.S. and Canada demonstrated that users prefer to buy older iPhone 7 models, rather than the recently launched iPhone 8, while others are waiting for the new iPhone X to be released in November.

It’s not uncommon for Apple fans to wait many hours in line to get their hands on the latest version of their favourite phone. However, all available data seems to show that the iPhone 8 hasn’t been particularly popular, compared with figures for other newly released iPhones over the years.

One advantage of the iPhone 7 over the iPhone 8 is its price. The iPhone 7 is much cheaper. Most customers fail to see the benefits of the iPhone 8’s enhancements that would justify spending about $150 more. Unlike the iPhone 7, the iPhone 8 has a new bionic chip and a glass back designed for wireless charging, among other new features.

The slow uptake of the new iPhone could also be due to less aggressive marketing and advertising ahead of its release, compared to the blaze of publicity for the iPhone 7. However, Apple sales – and its stock price – should get a major shot in the arm when the iPhone X, the company’s most advanced and expensive device ever, finally hits the stores.

Apple stock reached its highest level of $164 in early September, but has been declining ever since, falling as low as $150. From 2007 onwards, when the company launched its first smartphone, Apple’s fortunes have been tied to the iPhone. Previously, its main sources of income had been its computers and iPods. Apple now needs to deliver superior innovation and fresh products – not just new iPhones – to provide compelling reasons for investors to keep buying its stock.

Nevertheless, as a trader, Apple is always a good stock to have in your portfolio, due to the company’s large cash reserves and strong earnings growth. Whether you are bullish or bearish on this key stock, you can use online brokers and be a stock trader thanks to leading platforms such as UFX, which enable millions to take advantage of the price movements of many of the world’s most popular assets.

A Few of the Most Popular Online Trading Methods Available Today

Online trading has exploded in the world of finance. Millions of traders around the world – both novices and experts – have caught onto the trend. Here are three of the most popular and successful trading options available.

There are many popular online trading strategies available, as there are very popular platforms upon which to trade, such as Weiss Finance, which are certainly something you want to explore if you are looking for a credible and capable platform upon which to trade online.

Coming to Grips with Online Trading

The internet has facilitated the emergence of an entire new dimension of trading. Never before have so many stocks and assets, currencies and figures been created, bought and sold. This is an exciting and lucrative time in the financial world.

Online trading has created a far simpler and accessible method of trading assets. The average person with an internet connection can, at any time, go onto an online trading website and enable a trade in literally seconds.

This ingenuity has of course garnered much criticism. The extreme ease with how an online trade can be enabled has led many to label it as gambling. After all, it is just as easy to go into a gambling website and fool around in there.

The difference comes in the wealth of knowledge and stratagem based within online trading. Technical analysis strategy involves a wide array of analyses and study. A strategy such as this intellectualizes what many brush off as a damaging scheme.

There is a ton of intelligent and mathematical investment put into mastering online trading. Getting to grips with a method like Technical analysis strategy takes careful and timeous application. Novices who refuse to involve themselves with the homework and literally just gamble will of course lose out.

60-Second Trading

This kind of trading is literally the quickest around, obviously because each trade only lasts a minute. This blindingly fast trading option is thrilling and can make you more money in a minute than people make in a day.

The difficulty here is having the quick thinking and financial alacrity required to properly engage in this method. Utilizing a strategy such as basic options strategy essential with this method, as much money can be lost quickly and you want the right decision making and protection to deflect as many rapid costs as possible.

The biggest draw for 60-second trades is of course the surprising speed in which you can make money, generally trading small price movements. The kind of trade movements that are illogical in the longer trading periods of hours or days.

With the massive number of minute trades, it helps having the basic options strategy to aid in speedy decision making and micromanagement. One will find themselves placing multiple 60-second trades at once. The correct level of rational option choice is essential.

Using 60-second trading options is a double-edged sword, as one can imagine. You might be able to make a lot of money quickly, but you can also lose it just as fast. A minimalistic approach to cointegration trading strategy is very beneficial in this instance.

Using the cointegration trading strategy can really help pairing multiple 60-second trades together, this correlation halving the amount of time and often frantic effort it takes arranging and activating.

Long-Term Trading

Here we have the antithesis to 60-second trading, the polar opposite kind of trade. These are profound investments that can last for years, sometimes several decades. These kinds of trades range between one to over thirty years of holding.

“Long Term” obviously means something different to each person, depending heavily on their trading strategies. We all have different investing plans, for differing periods of time. It all depends how long you plan to stay in the game for.

Having a powerful algorithmic and signals application is essential for this method. Having the current climate of the market your trade is invested within means a lot less homework and stress for you. The application will continually monitor your trade and provide you with its health status.

It doesn’t hurt having algorithmic and signals applications for any kind of online trade, but having years of information available to you is excellent. Many applications are also powerful predictive mechanisms, accurately estimating just how your trade will fair in time to come.

All of the above mentioned online trading options are potentially profitable and enjoyable in the right hands. One can make a killing, but they can also be killed. The necessary care and rational investment is needed to successfully venture into this world.

This article is for informational purposes only. Funny about Money is not a financial adviser, and no part of the site should be construed as investment advice or guidance.

 

Preparing for the Trump Recession?

Ghost riders in the wind?

So I had a chat with my financial advisor on Friday. Turns out I’m not the only one who suspects our gold-plated financial house of cards will not stand the test of time. He said quite a few of his clients had come in and asked to be positioned so that their assets will withstand a major recession, which they expect to occur…oh, some time in the next four years.

Interestingly, too, at Scottsdale Business Association, on Thursday our speaker was our member who’s a financial advisor. And interestingly, he spoke on instruments that will provide a (relatively) safe haven for your investments…and some that look like they will but are real or potential rip-offs. He warned against putting a substantial amount of assets in instruments that lock up your money so you can’t get it out without a penalty and that pay no more than or even less, over the long run, than equally conservative tools that keep you liquid.

So anyway, my guy is less pessimistic than I am, but still cautious. We’re invested about 40/60 in bond instruments that pay less but lose less in a crash and in stocks. Meanwhile, the investments we do have are going batshit. My investments have returned over 47% since I went with Stellar in 2000, despite the Bush catastrophe. If we hadn’t enjoyed the worst recession since the Great Depression, the return would presumably have been even higher, and today I would be able to pay for the car without worrying how I’m going to buy groceries.

Last month the big IRA returned 13 grand.

Still, I wonder. That fund is capable of losing twice as much in a month, and at times it has. The reason I survived the Bush Recession without too much long-term harm is that I bucked said advisor’s wishes and paid off  my house.

He felt I should  have kept the money in securities. I realized that once the alimony ran out, my salary would not cover the mortgage payment (at that time I had no other debt) and also my routine living expenses. As it turned out, if I hadn’t paid off the mortgage at that time, I certainly would have lost the house in the wake of the Great Recession.

So…there’s a point at which you have to think for yourself.

However, not knowing what to think as the country spins toward a colossal train wreck, I suppose the best thing is to stay the course.

It probably doesn’t matter. At this point, anything you do with your money, short of taking it all out of the market and burying it in tin cans under the roses, comes under the heading of moving deck chairs.

Image: Depositphotos, © rrraum