Stephen Frankola

Sugar ETN Is Looking Sweet

hmm, i remember people saying the same thing when oil was at $150/barrel last summer


On Aug 18 12:11 PM Mad Hedge Fund Trader wrote:

> xcvn. I have been watching with some amusement the price action in
> world sugar, which has exploded from 16 cents/pound to 22 cents since
> June, because the world’s largest consumer, India, flipped from being
> an exporter to an importer. Besides demolishing the budgets this
> year for the big sugar users here, the chocolate, soft drink, and
> cereal companies, (and McDonald’s), the sugar spike is a wakeup call
> for everyone else in the commodity space. When sugar last peaked
> at 63 cents during the seventies, the Club of Rome was in vogue,
> and discussion of resource shortages and imminent global starvation
> was rife. That is over $1.50/pound on an inflation adjusted basis
> today. When global supply/demand get’s out of kilter for something
> everyone has to have, the sky is the limit on prices. Instead of
> the normal 10%, 20%, and 30% moves traders expect, they will be served
> up with gyrations of 10X, 20X, and 30X. I expect all commodities
> to have major moves up in the decade ahead. Sugar was just the first
> in line.

Google: How One Wedding Video Shows YouTube's Potential

lmao

Why Apple's iTouch Tablet Will Become Its Flagship Product

gotta love the apple trolls comin out in full force

this article reaches, and badly.

Morgan Stanley teen intern Matthew Robson says teens have no interest in Twitter, and describes online advertising as 'pointless.' After asking the 15-year-old to describe in writing teens' likes and dislikes, Morgan sent out Robson's comments as a research note, saying it was "one of the clearest and most thought-provoking insights we have seen." Here's the full note.

laughable.

The Post Office, FedEx and UPS Model for Health Insurance

stupid comparison.

fedex and ups prospered because their superior services are easily affordable, often cheaper than the inferior USPS, and lead to greater profitability for businesses.

free, public health insurance would cause profit-seeking companies to abandon the superior for-profit insurance to maximize their own profits while leaving employees holding the bag.

Google: Where Failure Is Instructive

1. Google's share price high water mark of $747 happened during a ridiculously euphoric era and is very far out of reach today.

2. I used loved Google Print, and like Adwords, it allowed small advertisers to play in the big kid's sandbox. RIP.

3. ebor: Google might have a better brand image, but all companies, large and small, still use Excel and PowerPoint.

4. Mr. Corn: instead of giving this article's true author a "shoutout," why dont you encourage/let him actually publish under his own name next time?

Smartphones: The Mobile Industry Is About to Get 'Blown Apart'

disagree with the overall theme. dumb phones will still be around for a while.

when my old moto slvr broke, i re-upped with an enV2. perfect for what i do - texting and calling. i dont want to pay for a phone that can browse the web. neither do blue-collar 40+ year olds.

Amazon's New Kindle-DX: $489 for an E-Reader?

cdwilliams, its refreshing to see your commentary. i'm a college student too and I have the same feelings... but not many people can relate. or maybe they just don't wanna hear it...

Amazon's New Kindle-DX: $489 for an E-Reader?

I agree. Compare that to the kindle specs:

www.amazon.com/Kindle-...

Amazon got into the game first, but it will be facing tough competition going forward.

Amazon's Kindle 2.5 Doesn't Seem Worth the Buzz

Phil,

Well-written comment with some good points.

However:
I don't know when was the last time that Jeff used a textbook... but I currently do, and I'm surrounded by 40,000 other kids that do. I'm sure that Amazon has done plenty of market research beyond my small anecdotal observations, but I still think they're wrong if they believe they can convince college kids to spend an extra $500 that they dont have. However, if Amazon's distribution is different - free Kindles with book purchases, university-owned Kindles, rented Kindles, etc... there might be a better chance of catching on. But if Amazon execs honestly believe that they'll sell the devices straight-up to the average (non-ivy league) college kid, they are delusional.

Considering your use-of-resources argument, sharing, reusing, and recycling traditional textbooks is pretty environmentally-stable. Not many people are willing to throw something worth $100 in the trash, and even when books can no longer be resold, both my university and independent bookstores accept books for recycling.

Amazon will continue to face tough competition in this e-reader space, with offerings like Plastic Logic's reader (www.plasticlogic.com/) challenging Amazon's dominance. I will agree that the Kindle currently is the premier player in this space, but considering the still tiny overall market, another device could unseat the current king.

My overall opinion on Amazon, once again, is that it's a great company, but the Kindle will not add meaningfully to its bottom line anytime soon.

And for any interested reader, in case Seeking Alpha doesn't post it, I published a follow up to this original post on thenobuylist.com

12 Reasons Why Amazon Should Buy Twitter

I think you're really stretching for your conclusions.

I think the culture of twitter and its users will be adverse to any type of commercializaion whatsoever.

Amazon's Kindle 2.5 Doesn't Seem Worth the Buzz

First, in the article you link too, I primarily talk up the quality of Amazon as a company while saying that the Kindle 2 is no game-changer (sentiment that I still stand by). At the end of the piece I stated that I wouldn't buy or sell AMZN shares; sure, I missed out on some upside, but I had no short position either.

In terms of your life suggestion - very cute comment. I won't make a personal reply, so enjoy your lulls.

On May 06 08:36 AM raytayzmd wrote:

> HAW!!...let's see, you wrote a similar article back in February:
>
>
> seekingalpha.com/artic...
>
>
> ...of course, since then the stock has doubled in price...maybe market
> analysis isn't your "forte" -- so to speak...maybe you're destiny,
> in fact, is to sell "ski wax" from your bedroom...think about it,

Despite Massive Layoffs Nationwide, These 28 Companies Are Hiring

research in motion. maker of blackberry


On Apr 24 01:14 PM User 370149 wrote:

> What company is RIM?

Why I Wouldn't Buy Amazon

Ray -
It's the Seeking Alpha editors that you can blame for that... not me.


On Apr 23 11:00 AM raytayzmd wrote:

> ...uhhh, are you simply redundant or desperate?...you posted the
> same thing under a different title just a little while ago:
>
> seekingalpha.com/artic...

Amazon.com Remains Strong Despite Offending Gay Community

I totally disagree... though it should keep performing well, perfection is already priced in with the current P/E.


On Apr 13 03:20 PM Cetin Hakimoglu wrote:

> AMZN great stock. Def. see it going to 120 in the short term. It's
> immune to the over-hyped recession.