Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
So, how many wives do you have? :)
It is the problem of the missing apostrophe rather than the too many wives problem :)
Was at the Apple Store this morning.
A woman bought 4 Nanos and two plug in chargers. Some fellow bought a 20" iMac for his wives birthday, brought it home and is typing this note on the G4 while she unwraps it.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fox Filmed Entertainment is open to a deal with Apple Computer's iTunes music and video service, its co-chairman said on Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Of course, we'd be open to that. We believe it would be a great opportunity," James Gianopulos said at the Reuters Media and Advertising Summit.
Kastel,
Yeah, I did some of that crap stuff also :).
So I just continue to
hold, gold and silver and copper miners, oil service and natural gas funds and AAPL.
And over the past it has made money for me. Tis a different style than that of trading, I know - but the day job and a lack of who knows what keeps me from doing that.
I used to be more active in my account, till the evidence was clear that my wife's account was outperforming mine by a good margin - with investments in the same sectors and less activity.
Ron
sustainable growth
AAPL is up over 40% in the past three months, a double in the last year. Sustainble?
Shoot, I don't know. Not betting against it at this point.
AAPL up over 5% today
It is even outperfoming one of my metal stocks - but not all of them :). It is for sure a sweet day.
OT: New gold forecast :)
UBS also raised its average per ounce gold price forecast for 2006 to $520 from $455, and for 2007 to $500 from $435.
I did rather enjoy Mossberg's article, though. Enjoying today also - Apple, Gold stocks, natural ga,s and energy services all up this morning.- nice.
Mr. Wu may be underestimating
The fruit company. Along with him, my concerns have lessened and I am way long. I have made so much money on this company over the past 2 1/2 years that it is bound to turn around and spank me some day, but I suspect that day is not soon.
The vPod, I believe, continues winning quarters for iPod numbers. The interesting thing is going to be CPU numbers. I would expect those slated for early Intel adoption to have sales dips, but we'll see in January.
We'll be buying a 20 inch iMac - contingent on MW announcements - if we can hold out till then, and I suspect we can.
Also, contingent on Jan announcements, a laptop is in our future for 2006. Kathy is pretty much insisting on a Airport base station after looking at the form factors for it and the other wireless routers. The joy and pain and cost of living with a designer is sometimes evident in our household, but she brings love and beauty to my life and if it were not for her agreeing to marry me 28 years ago I'd likely have a Dell in our home office.
Ron
The holiday shopping season is off to a good start for online retailers, and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple is no exception. According to statistics NetRatings provided to The Mac Observer, traffic to Apple's Web site Get Linux or Windows Managed Hosting Services with Industry Leading Fanatical Support. shot up 100 percent on November 25, compared to November 18.
Apple had 435,000 unique visitors to its site on Friday, November 18, and 869,000 unique visitors on Friday, November 25.
http://www.macnewsworld.com/rsstory/47579.html
Tomm, has Merrill Lynch been silent on AAPL since they expressed some reservations on valuation?
Or I am thinking of the wrong analyst?
Ron
re: Major importance
The article makes it appear that content will not be much of a problem in fairly short order. One could conclude that lots of the video pods will be sold over the next couple of years.
Won't be long till the vPod killer stories appear. I know one guy who travels who says he is using the PSP for video and for some level of net access while on the road.
Central bank sales
Too bad you don't have data on central bank buys, then we could see the net effect.
Ron
Apple has become the Big Brother it once parodied
I'll make sure to get my goose-stepping practice in :).
Is everyone here eventually gonna own one of these things?
Nope. Happy with what we have. Next one will be one of them there expensive SLR doobies. Is "one of these things" one of them there things?
Glad thinksecret was able to bring laughter in the morning.
Conceptually, some of the pieces of an Apple media center are out there. It makes sense to me for Apple to do it sooner rather than later. Since Apple has been making moves in this direction (all the while denying it), at some point they will more ready to announce.
I'd like to see more steps in the direction of an integrated media hub revealed this January. Until then it can be interesting to report on what some of the rumor sites have.
Mac Mini - Tivo-killer??
If this has some of the details right - oh boy
thinksecret, of course
Road to Expo: Reborn Mac mini set to take over the living room
By Ryan Katz, Senior Editor
November 29, 2005 - Apple's Mac mini will be reborn as the digital hub centerpiece it was originally conceived to be, Think Secret sources have disclosed. The new Mac mini project, code-named Kaleidoscope, will feature an Intel processor and include both Front Row 2.0 and TiVo-like DVR functionality.
advertisement
While the specific model and speed of the Intel processor in the new Mac mini is unknown, sources are confident the system will be ready for roll-out at Macworld Expo San Francisco, in line with other reports Think Secret has received that Intel-based Macs will be ready some six months sooner than originally expected.
The new Mac mini is also said to sport a built-in iPod dock, a feature that was scrapped from the Mac mini Apple first introduced one year ago. Other hardware specifics are unknown, such as whether the Mac mini will feature video recording out of the box or whether an add-on will be offered for those looking to employ the Mac mini not as a second computer but as their living room command center.
It is similarly unknown whether Apple will scrap the 2.5-inch hard drive currently featured in the Mac mini in favor a standard 3.5-inch hard drive, both to boost storage capacity that heavy media users demand and to trim costs; such a move would undoubtedly result in a larger Mac mini.
Specifics surrounding Front Row 2.0 and Apple's DVR application are limited at this point, although sources with knowledge of the project have dubbed the latter a "TiVo-killer." The moniker might not be without some bias, however, as sources report that talks of an Apple-TiVo deal recently fizzled, prompting TiVo to independently announce this month that it will soon offer customers the ability to copy stored content to a video iPod.
While Apple surprised watchers when the company delivered Front Row alongside updated iMac G5s recently, Apple's media center intentions have become startlingly clear in the past year since Apple first delivered the Mac mini and customers first started connecting the system to home theaters and installing it in automobiles. Sources have hinted that additional media announcements will further propel Apple's strategy, and with the hardware, software, and iPod sales behind it, Apple now seems poised to firmly plant its footprint in living rooms.
OT Spot Gold Price went over $500 an ounce this afternoon. EOM
Gee who to believe
Given that the target of interest is so narrow - (Apple sales), I would not venture a guess. The notes about consumer electronics being a winner come closest to that narrow target, I'd estimate, but it is still not what one would call narrowly focused data.
Veremos.
Ron
I am just wondering what we will see - in addition to or as part of the overhauls - that will continue to tweak/shift the landscape and blur the boundaries.
In terms of accomplishments this past year, I think the Nano/flash player story and video on iPods and at the Music store qualify as that category of introduction - maybe the Mac Mini in a muted sort of way.
Then we have the under the mainstream radar occasional story about beefing up business solutions selling.
It will be an interesting 2006, for sure.
More analyst comments from marketwatch
Apple gains in pre-open amid positive analyst comments (AAPL) By Tomi Kilgore
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Apple Computer (AAPL) rallied $1.17, or 1.7%, to $70.51 in Instinet pre-open trading after several Wall Street analysts spoke positively of the company following an apparent strong beginning to the holiday selling season.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster reiterated his outperform rating but raised his stock price target to $79 from $68, after his checks with Apple stores and third-party retailers indicated that iPod demand was very strong.
Deutsche Bank's Chris Whitmore affirmed his buy rating, raised his stock price target to $78 and upped his 2006 earnings estimate to $1.85 a share from $1.70. He sees a demand shift to more expensive iPods, which should improve average selling prices.
Goldman Sachs' Laura Conigliaro said that based on demand for iPods and iPod accessories, Apple's ability to drive earnings higher should be secure through this quarter.
J.P. Morgan's Bill Shope said that while Apple aggressively moves to replenish inventories, he believes demand will continue to exceed supply, which suggests his 10.8 million iPod unit sales estimate will prove conservative.
Thanks lango.
A more robust product year. Holy Moly.
Munster raises price target to $79
briefing.com
Apple Computer AAPL Piper Jaffray Outperform $68 » $79
Not reports are as high as the National Retail Federation.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/051128/holiday_shopping.html?.v=3
November sales will be reported on Thursday, guess the picture will achieve more clarity then. The National Retail Federation numbers were based on a survey of over 4000 shoppers. Wonder what the margin of error was?
Stocks Face Early Pop
By Robert Holmes
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
11/28/2005 7:11 AM EST
Despite a weak Friday, Americans appear to have opened their wallets in droves in the traditional first weekend of the holiday shopping season, with most of the buying focused on discount and electronics stores. The National Retail Federation says weekend sales were up 22% from a year ago at $27.8 billion while traffic jumped almost 8%.
gold sitting at 497.70
When I wrote of the 500 in 05 club, not being willing to join the 700 club, I was not at all sure it would happen. Looks like it has a chance to now - even if uranium is a better investment :)
Cyber Monday
from moneycnn.com
Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, is quickly becoming one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.
According to the Shop.org/BizRate Research 2005 eHoliday survey released Monday, 77 percent of online retailers said their sales increased substantially last year on the Monday after Thanksgiving, a trend that is expected to drive serious online discounts and promotions on Cyber Monday this year.
"On Cyber Monday, consumers set their sights on surfing for holiday gifts and shopping online," Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, said in the report. "This year, online retailers will be capitalizing on the increased traffic by offering special promotions and discounts."
More than one-third of the 1,890 consumers surveyed for the report said they will use Internet access at work to browse or buy gifts online this holiday season. More than half of young adults the ages of 18 to 24, and nearly half of those aged 25 to 34 said they would shop online during work hours.
Among the most-shopped categories last year on Cyber Monday were jewelry, consumer electronics, gourmet food, furniture and home décor, the report said.
Total holiday online sales for the key November-December shopping months are expected to grow 24 percent this year to more than $19 billion, according to market research firm comScore Networks.
The Shop.org/BizRate report said many online retailers are planning to offer extra incentives on Cyber Monday, ranging from free shipping, to gifts with purchase, to deeper discounts.
"Once the parades have ended and the leftovers are put away, many consumers will find a few precious hours to get a jump-start on the holidays by shopping online," said Chuck Davis, chairman of Shopzilla, said in the report. "This year, retailers will be reminding shoppers that even though their stores may be closed, their Web sites are always open
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Credit-card company Visa said Saturday that total spending on its branded credit cards on the important Friday after Thanksgiving grew about 14% from last year to more than $3.9 billion, an indication holiday retail sales could be strong.
Spending on personal entertainment led the retail category, followed by spending at specialty retail stores and home-and-garden purchases. Wal-Mart said Saturday its 4.3% November sales gain was also driven in part by personal-entertainment goods.
"It's what we predicted, with gas prices dropping, consumers are more confident and are in turn hitting the malls in droves," said Paul Cohen, a vice president for Visa USA. See story on Friday frenzy.
On Friday, personal entertainment represented 19% of all Visa retail sales volume, rising nearly 24% from last year to $422 million, some 4.1 million transactions.
IMO, it was the best of the HP series. EOM.
Anyone have info on retail sales this weekend
At stores that sell Apple Computers? Fi? Anyone?
Ron
May she get lots of pleasure and use from her her new gadget!! EOM
Thanks M Paquette. Good to know. EOM
Was by the Bridgeport Apple store several times today.
First time around 11:00 this morning. Had traffic but not crowded. A 15" iLamp and a G3 Powerbook were at the Genius Bar. The owners were buying their new computer and then were going to get assistance transferring files. The iLamp was a System 9 machine.
One genious gave me the business card of a local company that has the airport cards - said they'd be about $130. Kathy is impressed with the 20" iMac and confirmed that it will be her next Mac.
Second time was after lunch and before Harry Potter movie. More crowded then. Went back by after the movie - about 4:30 pm. Way crowded. A couple of mid-teen boys ran into the store enthusiastically as we walked by.
This one is another one of the small store - smaller than the one at the Washington Square mall, by my eyeballs - but not a lot smaller.
Ron
Thanks for the info Tomm. Guess I will have to hunt around at some used Mac websites and the like if I want one. Have not dinked around with stuff for a few years :). May have to sell the iLamp and buy a Mac Mini :).
old airport card
You mean I cant' just walk into the Genius Bar and have them do it? Sheesh....that would be a disappointment.
Platform Companies- from John Mauldin's newsletter
But first, fulfilling the author's request:
f you would like to reproduce any of John Mauldin's E-Letters you must include the source of your quote and an email address (John@FrontLineThoughts.com)
Charles and Louis-Vincent Gave, along with Anatole Kaletsky have written a brilliant and easily read 150 page book called Our Brave New World. You can read the first part of my review by going to the archives and reading the letter dated November 11. Dennis Gartman wrote yesterday in his daily commentary, after reading this book, that:
"Share are higher once again and we shall reiterate the comment made here yesterday that the markets are moving higher on the strength of the companies that our friends at GaveKal refer to as 'platforms.' Until proven wrong, the trend of tech-dominated NASDAQ is higher, while the trend of the GM's, Ford's, Alcoa's, US Steel's and the like are downward in broad terms. The 'platform' companies sell high margin design; the others sell low margin manufacturing. In the post-industrial age, we need to own the former and to be short of the latter.
"We were asked yesterday, 'Is this not a marked change from your often repeated trading dictum that you want to own the things that if dropped on your foot will hurt?" Our answer is 'Yes, unequivocally!' Our notion first put forth several years ago, and repeated almost ad nauseum in the months and years thereafter, that we wanted to own ships, and steel, and railroads, and coal and ball bearings and the like served us very, very well. However, upon reading Gave, Gave & Kaletsky's book Our Brave New World we have come to the simple understanding that, in the words of Lord Keynes, 'The facts have changed, and when the facts change, we change.' The 'facts' of the world have indeed changed, and we want to own design firms, software firms, pharmaceutical firms, firms that sell high end services, companies like IKEA (if it were public) that sell high end goods but have all of the manufacturing hoved off to the cheapest place of manufacture and can drive costs down while holding margins high. The facts have changed and we need to understand that."
Dennis is a very savvy trader. He does not lightly change his base philosophies. I was very surprised to read that statement. But this underscores my suggestion that this is an important book. You can get the book for $20 (shipped) at www.gavekal.com. It is an important book and I urge you to read it.
Summing up from last time, they argue that "platform companies" are the wave of the future. These are companies which design and market, but let someone else manufacture. Thus they have lower capital costs and are less subject to economic downturns, as they have no factories to shut down or workers to lay off. There are no legacy costs and no unions to fight.
Some moan the loss of those jobs, saying it will cost those countries dearly. But so far, those who say so are wrong. Yes, the US has lost million of manufacturing jobs, yet today we have more employment than at any time in history. And further more, we are on average making more than at any previous time, and paying more in taxes. We can moan about the pitifully small rise in real and nominal wages, but they are in fact rising and not falling.
There are those that argue that losing that manufacturing capacity is going to come back to haunt us. We are being "hollowed out," as one observer (whose name slips me) remarked. GaveKal argues that those jobs are not economically important (except, of course, if it is your job). Other jobs will replace them. An analogy would be the farm jobs in the late 1800s, as machines, both labor saving and transportation meant more production at ever lower costs. It also meant the price of food dropped in a slow inexorable rate for almost four decades, as production of food did not have to be within a short distance from the markets.
Quoting from GaveKal's newsletter written this morning, "But platform companies don't have to sell a special product whose price is insulated from the broad economy. They can sell anything. In fact, if anything, given the nature of the global economy, there aren't going to be many products insulated from the global pricing structure - even services. So, platform companies are the new growth companies - not by virtue of what they sell, but by virtue of how they are organized.
Apple buying plans and thoughts
2006 is going to be an Apple buying year in the roni household. As always there are some decisions to be made.
Computer - currently have one of the intitial 17" iLamps. That is it. Ms. Roni does not compute at home much, but that will change some this year. She has a couple of free-lance gigs, one of them pretty sizeable. She will do part of that at her office, where they are upgrading hardware this year. Those gigs will be done mostly in Illustrator and InDesign. Ms Roni does not require a speed demon computer and a behemoth tower does not fit in with her sense of what is good and beautiful.
Mr. Roni wants portability, a home wireless network, and a Mactel. Would prefer dual boot capability as he already owns a copy of Windows XP and could probably get virus/spyware protection stuff for free from work.
Without knowing more details about the product roadmap, something that will probably be partially revealed in January, it looks like things are pointing to an iBook and a 20" iMac along with some sort of wireless router and a wireless thingie for the 17" iLamp, which would likely become the music box and Mr. Roni's computer when he wanted more monitor space.
The Airport Express/AirTunes thing interests me, but I need to learn more about it.
Ron
Didn't go to the Apple store
At Bridgeport Village yesterday. It is a pedestrian mall, very cute place, but it rained all day. We are going today in order to see a movie, so we'll stop by the store before or after.
Ron
mp3 players
There is a reason iPods have a 75% market share. The reason is that when one considers the player, the jukebox software and the music store combination it provides the best, most trouble free experience - according to most reviews I have read.
Disclaimers - wife has an iPod - I do not use one. I do own Apple stock and it is up over 400% in the past two years.
CNBC Apple ad
Yeah, I saw that. Funny, folks are talking about the iPod in similar ways that we talked about MSFT for so many years.
Freaking monopolists *grin*
They seem to miss the "whole experience" thing - music jukebox software, music store and player. It is the combination that makes Apple so potent in this space.