Month: June 2007

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Fun Stocks

I like Discover Card

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Last Updated on June 13, 2007 by stlplace

Yesterday after I bought air ticket, and refurbished iPod nano, I received an unexpected call from Discover card. It’s from “fraud prevention” department. Very good. This is a kind of customer service phone call that I like to hear. Because credit card threft (and identity threft) is not uncommon these days.

I like discover card also because of  its various bonus (5%) cash rebate program. It’s a bit complicated, but essentially they gave out 5% cash back for different things every three months. For instance, when I bought my last air ticket in the Jan., I got 5% cash back (about $50 for a $1090 ticket).

Categories
Technology

Spammer Got Smarter

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Last Updated on June 13, 2007 by stlplace

I got this email from spammer, it feels very much like a real one except in the end it says “please act within 24 hours”. You know how desparate the spammers want your identity.

Be careful about those messages look like from eBay and PayPal.

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Fun

Air Ticket Is Expensive

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Last Updated on June 13, 2007 by stlplace

I bought air ticket for my late July trip back to Shanghai. It cost me $1260, American Airlines, STL to PVG (via ORD). Compared to $1090 I paid for my March trip (UA), it’s a little more expensive. The main reason is of course the soaring oil price lately.

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Fun

iPod refurbished deal ?

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Last Updated on June 12, 2007 by stlplace

This sounds like a deal (dealsea), $129 for a refurbished iPod nano. If you want more discount, you can click through fatwallet. You need to register at fatwallet to get the cashback.

iPod nano pic

For those iPhone junkie, here is an opportunity to win an iPhone, by participating in the stock picks contest hosted by WR Hambrecht and Motley Fool.

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Fun Stocks

Lessons Learned from NINE

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Last Updated on June 12, 2007 by stlplace

1) Don’t jump into an IPO on its first day. Do some research if you really want to jump.

2) A controlling shareholder is also the CEO: usually not good for small shareholders.

3) One customer (Chinese goverment), one product (custome declaring software), be very worried.

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Categories
Windows

Mr. Softy got a bit evil

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Last Updated on May 28, 2009 by stlplace

Obviously the new Vista is creating problems for competitors’ product, such as Google Desktop Search. See this news. I remember four or Five years ago the US justice department ruled to split Microsoft into two companies, because of its monopoly practice. That rule was over turned.

I don’t know all legal issues but I am aware many geeks don’t like Microsoft and its people. Once I went to a UNIX user group meeting in which a Microsoft guy did presentation, he got booed frequently.

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Categories
Fun Stocks

Personal Finance experts

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Last Updated on June 13, 2007 by stlplace

Here is the Yahoo Finance experts’ blogs. Among them I like Ben Stein the best, because of his wit and humor, Laura Rowley and Jeremy Siegel are also my favorites. Laura talked about “happiness and money”, as you may know there is a balance between those two. Her background in theology makes her talk more interesting too. Jeremy is a professor in Finance at Wharton, I read his recent book “The Future for the Investors” 2 years ago. His analysis is good, but I don’t like his conclusion: basically he is saying individual investors have no way to beat the market, so go buy the index fund and settle for the market return (about 10% annually). While I think what he said has some merits, I do believe there are chances for individual investor, if one has the time, disicipline and average IQ.

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Fun Stocks

CROX Pre-split run

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Last Updated on June 13, 2007 by stlplace

The split day is June 14, Thursday. It has a nice run since last week. I will wait it calm down a bit before adding my postions. Obviously, I missed the buying opportunity about two weeks ago when there were some insiders sellings. It pulled back to 76~78 at that time. Oh well, no rear mirror view for stocks.

A bit reality check, Crocs 2006 Revenue is 354.7 m; 2007 est. Revenue 675 m, a 90% growth, note the company says sustainable growth rate over next few years is 45%. The market cap as of today is 3.64 b (stock closed at $90.97), so the P/S ratio is roughly 5.39. PE (ttm, trailing twelve month, according to Yahoo Finance) is about 44.77, I think it’s fairly valued at this time.

Also as you may know, President Bush was wearing Crocs. You can see a picture of him wearing Crocs (courtesy of CrocFans).

Categories
Fun Stocks

Starbucks, McDonald and Milk

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Last Updated on June 12, 2007 by stlplace

Went to a newly opened Starbucks at Olive and Price yesterday. This is a very nice place, compared to the one at Olive and Craig (much older). The traffic there was OK consider this was Sunday morning.

A lot things are against Starbucks business lately, according to a guest at CNBC this morning.

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Fun

Week in Review 06-03 to 06-09

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Last Updated on June 11, 2007 by stlplace

Bill Gates got Harvard degree finally, 30 years after drop out from Harvard;

Gates Harvard degree

Dell announced to sell laptop at Sam’s Club (Major’s comment: too little, too late);

Andy Xie, former chief economist of Morgan Stanley Asia, says the odds of making money in Chinese stock market is lower than casinos (40% vs. 48%); 

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