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gold down $8
Not hearing the sirens yet :). It is nicer than holding through the downturn - and I have experience with that also.
F - nothing wrong with cash
Waiting for those gold sirens to start up their seductive song again *g*
Have not looked at JDAS or LIFC
And won't have time to look at much until after Christmas.
It has been a good year - close to a great year. Locking in some profits before Christmas and the end of the year. Comfortable in cash for now - down to AAPL, ADPT, a wee position in GPXM. There is that other account - a public employees 401k equivalent - which I do not actively manage except to choose percentages going into large growth, large value, small/mid cap and international. There are 3 or 4 other options available, but I am not in any of those. Up double the S&P on that one this year, but I do not count it when talking about my self-managed account here.
Sold oil service sector fund yesterday. Have sell orders in for natural gas fund and BEGBX which will execute after close today.
Have a ton of cash.
Made one more buy this morning
@71.60. Am where I want to be going into January
Let the games begin :).
This may mean something to all you smart fellers and womyn out there
SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- Winners in the holiday online shopping race appear to be Wal-Mart, Amazon and Apple Computer, which are doing the best job of turning browsers into buyers, according to an analysis of Web traffic patterns.
According to data compiled by Internet measurement firm Hitwise for Reuters, these three sites, along with perennial e-commerce leader eBay Inc., seem to be having the most success converting online window-shopping forays into real purchases.
These retailers showed the heaviest traffic between their Web sites and shipping company Web sites at UPS, DHL and FedEx, Hitwise analyst Bill Tancer said.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/12/19/retail.internet.shopping.reut/index.html
Sold the AUY and GRS I bought last week.
Gains of ~ 6% and 4% respectively.
Added to AAPL position - likely these will be trading shares to sell in January if they aren't stopped out before then.
Increased my AAPL position this a wee bit ago
@ 71.74. You guys may be wise to liquidate yours :)
Found some stuff on Apple's support site. Looks pretty easy with Quicktime Pro. I am assuming that the export for iPod functions works equally well in Windows
Oh, part 2 on video question: How about iMovie, is there an easy save for vPod or export to vPod? Seems like that would be the Mac way to do it.
Here is the process this person is going through now. I'm thinking there must be an easier way.
am going to assume that you have your video files transferred to your computer, and they are now .mpg files.
Go to: http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/iPod/
and download the iPod converter freeware.
Open the videora application and go to the "Setup" tab.
Change the "one click profile" to QB4stereo/96kbps.
Select the folder to which you want the videos transferred at "Output Videos to" tab.
Select the profiles tab. Under the "Existing quality profiles" tab, select QB4stereo/96kbps.
Change "passes" to "2" and change "Qscale" to "2".
Hit the "Convert" tab.
Select "trascode new video". Select your .mpg file from your hard drive. Hit "start". The conversion to an mp4 file will take some time, depending on the size of your file.
Now, you need to get it onto your iPod. I use Quicktime 6.0 pro. I downloaded it for $29. Lesser versions of Quicktime won't work.
Open Quicktime and under the File menu, open the new mp4 file. When the new video file opens, select "export" from the Quicktime "file" menu. Select "movie to iPod" at the "export" tab and hit save. This could also take some time.
Now, the next time you update the iPod, the movie will be added to the Movies library. You should also see it listed on iTunes. If it isn't in your iTunes library, click and drag it from your hardrive to the library.
It sounds pretty complicated, but if you follow these steps, its a piece of cake.
Question about video for iPod
Does QT Pro do all that is needed to take movies from .mpg to the size / format for the vPod?
Obviously I don't know diddly about this, but it may help make a sale to a wintel friend who loves the vPod.
RNC and Yamana Complete Acquisition of the San Andres Gold Mine
RNC Gold Inc. ("RNC") (TSX:RNC - News) and Yamana Gold Inc. ("Yamana") (TSX:YRI - News; AMEX:AUY - News; LSE (AIM):YAU) are pleased to announce the completion of the previously-announced acquisition of the San Andres gold mine in Honduras. The purchase was completed by RNC and facilitated by Yamana in connection with a series of transactions relating to the purchase by Yamana of RNC.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051219/20051219005443.html?.v=1
Here we go again, unfortunately. EOM
So I think Apple is going to have a pretty fair ole quarter
Whether Powell uses a Mac or not. :)
We have a winter storm warning for Portland. Very unusual over the past decade. In effect from 6 this evening till 8 Tuesday morning.
iPod talk and survey results on buying plans
"We continue to believe demand outstrips supply for iPods and that Apple is doing the best it can to supply both its own and traditional retail stores," analyst Rebecca Runkle wrote in a research note released to clients on Friday. The analyst recently conducted a survey of 2,500 US consumers and found that they plan to buy more iPod and related products than any other electronics category.
"To hone in on this point, more people plan to buy an iPod this holiday season than a cell phone," the analyst said. "Also interesting, more people plan to buy iTunes gift cards this season than non-iPod branded MP3 players."
Of all the consumers planning to purchase an iPod this holiday season, only 4- percent said they would purchase another brand of MP3 player if a store was out of their desired model.
"We think this speaks wonders on iPod brand loyalty and ultimately ties consumers into an expanding portfolio of Apple products," Runkle said. The analyst notes that: "Of the current MP3 player owners planning to buy an iPod this holiday, 40-percent currently own a non-iPod MP3 player -- a sign of additional iPod market share traction."
Also
As further evidence that the iPod brand is drawing consumers to the Mac, the survey also revealed that iPod owners are three times as likely to seriously consider the purchase of a Mac as non-iPod owners.
F, I'm in the oil and gas patch
would not really call it big, a wee under 20%. I still like AAPL going forward - there is short term risk - with earnings and MacWorld announcments in the same week, it should be exciting anyway :). The spouse is enjoying her new 20" iMac that she got a couple of weeks ago.
I rolled GG profits from a sell on October 11 into Apple and an oil service fund. Apple is up near 40% since then, the fund about 13%. Those are both in my wife's IRA, which is at an all time high so I get to continue being her advisor :). GG is 19 cents lower now that it was when I sold that batch.
I have some cash. Maybe I will move some of that into energy also. Then there is this computer storage turn around story, ADPT that I opened a position in a couple of weeks ago.
Took me several years - started investing in 1998 - but I am starting to think that I may be not too many years away from getting the hang of who to read, how much weight to give their opinions, when to make moves :). Still odd sorting it all out though - Grandich says to get out of copper while the CEO of PAAS is giving speeches about Peak Copper :).
This from somone in Mexico with whom I communicate. If you ever head to Playa del Carmen, the hotel he manages has a great reputation. The beach restaurant is good, I can vouch for that.
who pointed out to me that the iTunes stores has TV shows for download, as well. Having finished the first season of Lost on DVD recently, we were pleased to see that for 2 bucks a pop, we can download files of each of the episodes of the second season (well, the ones already out, anyway). The quality is pretty good, too: even at full size on a 14-in monitor they only looked slight muddy here and there, and most certainly watchable with ease.
This in turn has triggered my interest in the recently released video iPod, which even at the more costly, higher-priced version is still the same price as the 4th gen iPod I bought a bit over a year ago, but comes with a color screen with the photo and video capacity, 50% more space (60 gigs) and is 10% thinner (according to that link). My arguments for converting my old iPod to being our restaurant's source of music are looking more and more valuable...
Thanks Frank
Barbera's column of 12/12 was influential in my decision to sell a bunch of PMs last week.
JimisJim, iPhones
1) To leverage the iPod brand, that is one reason why. A premium phone with music, an Apple-touched user interface, an easy way to bring down music and video content from the music store, perhaps.
It would not be a commodity phone.
2) To head off the mobile phone-music competition.
3) To make an insanely great product :)
4) To give Steve a choice of "just one more thing" things.
I don't know if Apple will do it. There has been a lot written about the possibility.
Other question:
Will Apple roll out a subscription music service in 2006?
Will there be a Sirius enabled iPod?
Fundamentally driven
I think that is the case for Yamana and for Gammon Lake (GRS, GAM.TO), which is the reason I am holding both of them.
GRS recently did a resource update and they own 25% of Mexgold, which reported positive operations update and drilling results this week.
I sold BGEIX, American Century Global Gold this past Monday, and Goldcorp on Tuesday - and did not buy them back - and don't intend to buy the fund back - that one goes back to 2002 when I was first learning about mining stocks.
I like being able to hold for at least a few months a lot more than I like trading - it is more consistent with my time demands for now. At the same time, I like making money and on Monday it gold was heading for the toilet. It may the case that AUY and GRS are just going to take longer to flush because of the fundamentals - but it may also be the case that they don't get flushed, to continue with the toilet metaphor :).
Anyone think that gold has a blow off top and his headed down quite a bit more ? (Besides M :O)
I don't know. I know the GRS and AUY positions I bought back this week are up 4% and 7.5% respectively - thought about selling this afternoon and didn't, but may tighten the stops up some this weekend.
I am sure the google -aol news makes Eric Schmidt very happy.
Bought Yamana @5.55. Stop loss in place. EOM
HUI - I'm thinking 240 has a chance of providing some support - lower BB and 50 SMA are around there. May not though.
But then, it may start back up tomorrow. Know I'll sleep well tonight
Giving back everything to gold
Some folks might, and I gave a lot of it back in 2004. Lesson at least partially learned. I sold all PMs on Monday and Tuesday, bought back one position on Tuesday and it is up some now - have a stop loss on it.
Most of these positions were established in September. Wasn't in the mood to give much back. I have been amazed though that the shares have not fallen more than they have so far.
Will I be back in at some point? I think so. Even with 2004, I have made a bunch of money there over the past 3 1/2 years. Small to intermediate producers with growing production or just entering production and with low cash costs and capital costs covered are where I am the most comfortable.
In the meantime there are other fields in which to play...and unlike earlier, I don't mind a chunk of money earning 2-3% while waiting and watching - given my somewhat limited time for this stuff.
auld lang(o) syne
Well, once again Apple has blown it. Gosh if they only had enough iPods to fill all the orders :). At least they will sell some refilling the channel in January.
Wonder if Apple will warn. The pod debacle depends, in part, on how many videoPods they have to sell. If they sell 2.5 million or so of those, I wouldn't worry.
Gotta be a wee bit concerned about Powerbooks, iBooks and the Mini. I would think the iBooks and Mini would have some Osborne effect - buy maybe most consumers don't have a clue about what is going on there.
YABO - need a bigger clue than that :). eom.
Down 2.29
We've been through this drill before. Analysts do their thing we react, doing ours. You gotta figure there is going to be volatility this time of the year.
The analysts could be right. I see the vPod as doing very well, the music store growing rapidly for a while via video sales - though music sales seem to be lagging. Transition to Intel provides some short term challenges, but farther out I think it is a good thing.
Then there is MW coming up. Little pieces of this and that have been dribbling out - video Pod, remote control with the iMac, rumors of this and that.
I have had stop loss orders at 69 and 69.50. They cover all of our shares - so that will probably be the low :).
Glad I sold all my gold shares Monday and Tuesday. Nibbled back on a silver project going into production Q1, but down to energy, AAPL and an international bond fund and that one silver project for now - in self-managed accounts.
Bank of America downgrades Apple but raises price target.
ABC news just ran a segment on mobile video devices as porn delivery systems with warnings for parents etc. iPod prominently featured, along with Ron Jeremy - an aging porn star it seems
Big deal, MTV
If it is needed, Apple can roll out a subscription service. I do not think that Apple has put itself into a position where it has to lose out of stubborness.
iPod is a platform, an ecology with many different interlocking life forms. The platform is by no means invincible, but it does have a moat that, for the time being, is populated with competitor-slowing crocs and gators.
Rumors are that the MW might deepen and widen the moat.
Capital preservation mode
Yep, been shifting into that mode. Last quarter was great and this quarter is just a couple of percent below last quarter. I don't wanna give too much of it back to Mr. Market.
Last year Apple reported earnings on Jan. 12. MacWorld, in the world according to google was Jan. 10-14. Keynote was on January 11, so you were right, earnings were announced soon after the keynote.
Timing -> everything :)
Well, it may be backwards :) It has been a long day :)
AAPL going into earnings and MacWorld
I've been doing some thinking about how to manage our way overweight (pleasantly so for now ) AAPL position over the next few weeks. Here is one scenario I am considering:
if AAPL continues to chug upward between now and earnings and reaches - say somewhere around or north of 80 before earnings:
Sell 1/2 for a large profit. Hold 1/2. If AAPL drops after not meeting inflated expectations, buy back before MW. If it flies through expectations and goes on a run - I dunno, pick some other investment or plow back into to an overpriced but rising AAPL.
Or, maybe I'll just hold - but our IRAs are 1/3 AAPL right now - some of that through price appreciation - Ms. Roni's current batch it way up, while mine is merely up.
OT Sold some
mining investments today. Still have some left, but lightened up by approximately 60% since early December.
After watching POG/POS this afternoon, I sold 1/2 position in Gammon Lake @10.23 this afternoon, in at 8.27 on September 19. Also sold a gold mutual fund I had held since May 2002. Will sit on the cash for now. Still hold Gammon, Yamana and GG, but in reduced amounts.
I sold some of my positions in GG and Yamana on December 6, so I lightened some on PMs - but for the intermediate term past the combination of AAPL, PMs, oil services, nat gas, some international bond fund and a pinch of molybdenum have been working well.
Middle of the night
hehe. I wake up when my cats wake me up :). Going with what works, works well.