lakeside

Pfizer: Low Expectations Make Great Investments

I agree; GE has been a real disaster. There are a hundred and one (101) energy related stocks that you could talk about -- a lot of newbie investors are getting burned by articles like these.

Newspapers' 'Near Death Spiral,' Courtesy Web 2.0

I'm a newsaholic and I have quit subscribing to all print media except Wall Street Journal - something to read with my daily coffee and doughnut....but that's it. Down from four or five magazine and three newspapers to one WSJ.

The Great Oil Deception: Part Two

I guess you must be correct. In Saudi Arabia where oil almost comes out of the ground is as expensive as drilling for oil under the ocean. No, that can't be right. Explain your thesis to me again. Was this published on April Fool's Day?

Ballmer Is Bad News for Microsoft

Ballmer missed the importance of the Internet!? Excuse me. MSFT's missing the Internet goes back to Bill Gates. Steve Jobs eliminated the floppy disc to extent possible, knowing that a) floppies brought viruses into the schools; and, b) the internet was how folks would share information -- not through floppies. But yet, every PC that Gates wrote software for included floppies. Every stage of the way, Steve Jobs was eliminating legacy memory devices.....

Is the Minimum Wage Increase Behind the .50% Jobless Rate Jump?

"but minimum wage is the source...what claptrap."

Employers cannot absorb the increase in oil prices, the "half-solvent" consumers, etc., so employers do what they can --- and one thing they can do immediately is not hire more folks. Basic Econ 101.

Investing Into the End of the Hydrocarbon Age

We are not even close to the end of the hydrocarbon age (in terms of decades). Coal alone will last another century or so; oil sands, oil shale, etc., -- $500 in 10 years; only if there is hyperinflation and everything goes up proportionately. Hydrocarbons -- if free market allowed to act as a free market -- would provide bridge during the ten years we need to bring nuclear energy on line, which in turn would be the bridge for 10 - 20 years while we bring solar and wind on line. But leadership and lawyers worldwide will manage to maximize pain for all.

Why Exxon Still Denies Peak Oil

"sewing doubt" --- I'm not sure one can "sew doubt." Columnist must be product of American public school education. I think the correct idiom is "sowing doubt" as in "sowing crops." [Any typos, errors, etc., in this comment are also due to American public school education.

Ten High Dividend Securities To Watch

As long as you brought up Master Limited Partnerships (e.g., EEP), tell me how you classify your distributions for tax reporting purposes. I understand the distributions are not taxable, but they decrease the cost basis of your shares.

Ben Stein Watch: In Defense of Exxon Mobil

I don't understand the concern folks have with how much money XOM makes. It doesn't affect me at all. Prices at the pump have nothing to do with XOM per se. If XOM went away overnight, prices wouldn't change. XOM only produces 3% of the world's oil. "We" got way bigger problems than XOM's profits.

Oil Profits and War: Just Coincidence?

You have "cause and effect" backwards. You are saying that when the oil company profits are in the "danger zone" (the cause), "they" manipulate a crisis to increase the price of oil (the effect). It's just the opposite. When a crisis hits (not through any conspiracy), the price of crude goes up. Over time, people become complacent, they forget about the earlier crisis, they think things have cooled down, gotten better. In fact, the oil companies or the media or the politicians often "spin" the story to say things are better. And when people think things are better, speculators lower their prices for crude and the prices go down. Human psychology of fear and greed are a lot easier to understand and accept than conspiracy theories. But, in the end, does it matter. If you are a trader, learn to watch the "danger zones" for industry profits and the "crisis" events. And then trade as indicated.

Blu-ray's Fatal Flaw?

This article failed to mention the capacity on Blu-Ray discs. Standard DVD's hold 10 GB of memory or less. HD DVD generally run 45 GB or less. Blu-Ray are now approaching 100 GB of memory. Folks can download movies, but many folks buy DVDs for the "extras," generally something one does not get by just downloading the movie. Obviously, that can be done, also -- downloading the extras, if available -- but capacity of these DVDs is probably a bigger selling point than clarity at this time. And yes, the majority of movie watching is not yet on the computer screen.

Apple's New MacBook: Favorable Price Comparison to Dell

Mac's software alone is worth the price! Compare everything (the software) you get on the Mac with the Dell. No comparison!