windsurfar

The Rally, When It Comes, Will Be a Doozy

The problem with the "so much cash" on the sideline argument is the following,
1) Baby boom controls most of this "cash on the sideline" and they are at the age where stocks should make up less and less of an ideal portfolio, they cannot risk it on the stock market anymore.
2) Competition for capital, the next 12 to 24 months is going to see enormous amounts of government debt come to market. Trillions will need to be raised in US bonds, and Europe will be even greater, with losses from eastern European investments forcing western european countries to issue trillions of euros in to the bond market. The debt market will absorb most of this cash on the sideline, and people will be only too happy to get a risk free return, no matter how small the return, from Uncle Sam.

Cash on the sideline is a myth, it will go into bonds, it simply has to... because if these bonds don't attract this cash, then you will see some real panic! Governments without the ability to raise cash now would be a disaster.

Breakout or Fake-Out?

With the 50MA at 870 and the recent high close at 875 on the S&P 500, it looks like strong resistance just above fridays close?
I also note the intraday chart for friday was not the usual for a strong short covering rally that could take us higher. Strong buying in the morning, DOW hit 8300 just after 1pm, no follow through buying in the afternoon with an 8280 close. The short covering rallies have shown a disturbing pattern over the last 3 months, being smaller in amplitude and duration.
Is the stimulus plan priced in or will it push some more covering monday, and of course the big bank announcement on monday as well could cause more covering.
So many predicting a "bear"market rally now, yet almost everyone saying we retest the lows, ha, it should be interesting.

Apple Will Flourish With or Without Steve Jobs

digitimes...
You are proving my point. You prefer the touchscreen, and you have that option... for those that prefer a physical keypad, Jobs has decided not to offer them that choice, i say offer 2 versions, then all consumers regardless of their keypad preference could have an apple alternative, and sales would be even better for the apple phone.

Apple Will Flourish With or Without Steve Jobs

digivision...

The full QWERTY key board is a validated and very popular way to enter text and emails, it does "simplify" and speed up text entry for some potential consumers... RIMM's incredible success demonstrates this, offering the consumers the choice would be wise in my opinion and would positively effect iphone sales, especially in the enterprise.
Overall i like Job's choices, as a shareholder i would prefer a small amount of flexibility on some issues, that i believe would enhance sales ie revenue.

Apple Will Flourish With or Without Steve Jobs

I couldn't agree more with the tone of the article. Steve Jobs has been the architect of the resurrection of apple for sure, but i wonder if he is truly managing the success as well as it could be. For example not letting content suppliers to set their own prices on iTunes. I would love to have access to older songs and movies for less than current pricing, and i fully agree that a current release may demand a higher price. It doesn't matter to me. However he seems to be making it difficult for these suppliers to believe in him as a negotiator interested in the idea of a win-win for all. Prices would be controlled ultimately by the consumer on iTunes. if people decide not to pay more for a current release it will show in the sales revenue, and the studio would then react to lower the price.
WIth the iPhone... why not make a version that has a physical QWERTY key board as well as the full touch screen iphone? Let the consumer decide which one is better for them, as opposed to Steve telling them which one is best for them. If they had released a 3G full QWERTY key board version, with the touchscreen version, there would no doubt be higher sales, many i know who have considered the iphone and decided not to go with it, was because of the bad feel and slow rate of typing they experienced while testing the touchscreen. Why reduce your potential market by just saying NO to those who would prefer a full QWERTY key pad, give the consumer the choice.
No removable battery is another issue that is significant amongst enterprise users. Would this be such a bad thing? Yes it may disrupt his sense of how the "style" and design of the iphone would come out, however important "form" is, "function" must not be ignored, the non-removable battery is a non-starter for many in enterprise, while the consumer crowd like myself really couldnt care less if the battery was removable.
As successful as itunes and the iphone are and will be, they may have been even more successful if he were to compromise a little on these and other issues.
Lets face it, he is a difficult guy to like, or deal with, and that can always effect business relationships.
An accomplished/polished CEO along the lines of Schmidt from Google may be just what Apple needs to succeed even more in the future.