john1940

Readers Pick the Top 20 5-Year Horizon Stocks

I'm not impressed. The list feels more like a popularity result than carefully considered financial analysis. They are all US companies (was that a requirement?) although I admit they have good international positions. For the next five years, I would have picked a more international group with China, Brazil, and commodity based companies. Anything depending on the US consumer is suspect in my opinion. My best? Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels. It's the owner of the Peninsula hotels. 45 (that's it's HK exchange symbol) is expanding in Asia and is best in class. Disclose? I own 45 but not enough yet.

Buying Apple Today: Like Buying Microsoft in 1998?

One thing Apple has to deal with is pricing power erosion. Computers are dropping in price (including Apple). The iPhone is overpriced and should come down soon. The iPods have already eaten their own tail in pricing or substitute Apple products. To offset this revenue decline takes incredible new products at premium prices (because that's what they're replacing). I think there's risk out there for Apple and at current prices, it's time to lower your risk to this company by selling or hedging some of your position. That's conservative investment advice, not AAPL advice.

A Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger Would Be Justified

BS!!!!!! Picture Insanity. You've lost your way. The object of all business is to provide a product or service efficiently. Your case is one for creating a monopoly and merger fee for some investment bankers.

I have had experience with Time Warner, Comcast, and ATT. They represent the poster child and case for what's wrong with regulated monopolies. Their service and offerings are the poorest of any I experience. I've found that to get repair, an attempt to terminate your service and simultaneously request new service is sometimes successful. This response coincidentally is the first email I have sent in four days because of the third outage in one month with beloved ATT. By the way, I use ATT because I had Comcast/Time Warner and they were worse. So here comes more nonsense on the consumer so some bankers can get a merger fee.

Picture this. Open up communications to a free market and let anyone who wants to take the risk compete with these antiques. They'll be gone in sixty seconds with wireless distribution over existing towers or some other technology.

Three Strikes from Apple and Palm May Be Out

Pretty good summary, but over time any market leader can be toppled. 10 years ago, I had a Palm pilot, Motorola cell phone, large camera, and Sony Walkman. Now those are all gone from market leadership and I have an iPhone. It's one the greatest consumer products ever, but it's not right yet. The phone is average, the camera awful, battery poor, music outstanding, internet applications (email, web) fair, contact manager poor. There is room here for a new contender to find a market. The applications for iPhone are interesting, but how many tip calculators and games does a person need? And if you are a developer of the applications it would seem to be a no brainer to recode and market to the Pre owners. I agree Sprint is a negative but the price point seems reasonable to me. By the way, who needs a tip calculator?