What is the Opposite of “Plastic” (circa 1967)? It may be hard to believe if you’re under 50 years old (60?), but once upon a time, Eastman Kodak — along with other technology pioneers like Polaroid, Xerox, and Motorola — held the same place in the American corporate pantheon now occupied by such companies as Apple,...Read More
Greek Deja Vu See if you can guess what I’m talking about: –It’s from Greece. –Leading American companies are playing a central role in creating and exporting it. –It’s likely to affect every American household. Give up? Greek . . . . yogurt!! (what did you think I was going to say, “sovereign debt?” “Financial...Read More
One Less “Crazy Cue” Here’s a shorthand for whether the kind-of-crazy looking New Yorker, talking to themselves, is really crazy — or just talking on their (blue tooth-enabled) cell: in the subway, they’re definitely crazy. Above ground . . . the odds are that they aren’t. —City Lakes Real Estate Blog (Aug. 7, 2010) Looks...Read More
Understanding Currency — But Not Denominations You’d ask the same question, too, if you saw your Father hand the waitress one bill . . . and get four bills back in return! Except that the one bill was a twenty, and my change was a five and three ones . . . P.S.: My daughter does play...Read More
According to legendary investor Jeremy Grantham, how much gold should you own? At least for his own account, “just enough to mute the irritation of watching gold [prices] rise.” Not very scientific — but neither is investing in gold. And oddly, that formulation sounds just about right . . .Read More
Did you know that General Mills’ stock went up more than $1 today? And yes, I’m aware that that’s not the news headline. If you’re like most people . . . probably better not to look.Read More
