The Happy Gene February 1, 2011September 24, 2019 Thanks to all who saw the New York Times obit and e-mailed their condolences. I was so fortunate to have 16 years with this amazing guy. A second listing that follows the Times “paid death notice” format runs today and tomorrow. (At $2 a character it killed me not to abbreviate, but sometimes you just have to go all in.) To wit: CHARLES NOLAN NOLAN — Charles died peacefully at home January 30, at 53, with dignity and style. Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, Charles was a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology and a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He began his career working with Frank Tignino at Jerry Silverman, then with Bill Haire, and then Blassport among others . . . went on to design the Ellen Tracy collection and expose it to the international press . . . rejuvenated a bankrupt Anne Klein . . . left to join Howard Dean’s campaign . . . and then launched his own line, which debuted in six full windows on Fifth Avenue at Saks. His particular passion was his own shop, in the Meatpacking District, on Gansevoort Street. His other passion: wonderful women. (The famous “kiss” at the 2000 Convention? Tipper was wearing Charles Nolan. Elaine Stritch at the Carlyle and on 30 Rock? Charles Nolan.) He once successfully costumed Arianna Huffington on the fly as Queen Elizabeth, for a Renaissance Weekend skit, using only hotel tablecloths and a roll of tinfoil. Charles is survived by his father, Philip; his sisters Elizabeth, Joyce, Carola and Virginia; his brothers Philip, David, Kenneth, and Edward; his beloved nieces and nephews; his partner, Andrew Tobias; and his work, archived at charlesnolan.com. Visitation at Frank E. Campbell Tuesday February 1 from 6pm to 9pm, funeral service at Blessed Sacrament 11am Wednesday, February 2, 152 West 71st Street. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Women in Need, 115 W. 31 St NYC 10001. ☞ There’s a New Yorker cartoon I love by B. Smaller that depicts a young woman standing at the bedside of her dying mother (aunt?) saying, “If I could pick just one keepsake, I think it would be the mutual funds.” But what I actually I inherited from my Mom, who died three weeks ago, was the happy gene — an annoying tendency to look on the bright side. So while we’re getting this off our self-indulgent little chests . . . JUDY TOBIAS-DAVIS TOBIAS-DAVIS–Judy (nee Audrey Judith Landau) died peacefully January 3 at 91, positive and radiant to the end. The “Judy” of Judy and Jill, she last modeled professionally in 1937, returning to the runway 67 years later in the 2004 fall Charles Nolan show. Co-founder with Jane Russell, Helen Hayes and Perle Mesta of the New York Chapter of WAIF, she was at various times President of WAIF’s national board; Chair of the Child Study Association of America board; and board member of Citizens Committee for Children and of Goddard Riverside Community Center. For her pivotal role in launching their development program, she was co-honoree this past November of NYU’s Silver School of Social Work 50th Anniversary Dinner. Her philanthropy and civic engagement permeated Democratic politics, progressive causes, and women’s empowerment. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Seth Tobias, the award-winning ad man, in 1983; she lost her second husband and teenage sweetheart, Lewis Davis, in August. She is survived by her sons Stephen and Andrew, her granddaughter Sharon Male, her daughter-in-law Alice Webber, her son-in-law-if-it-were-legal Charles Nolan, her cousins Michael, Adam, and Susie (Lerman) Aron, Susan Halpern, and her spiritual companion T’ai Jamar Hanna. A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Goddard Riverside. ☞ When it rains, it pours – right? Nine days ago I attended the memorial service of my stepdad Lew Davis (see above), who died at 97 and whose kids did it so well everyone was laughing and clapping throughout. It should have been on HBO. THE ONLY RELATIONSHIP GUIDE YOU’LL EVER NEED Be good to each other, as I’m sure you already are; and find humor in the compromises, as I’m sure you already do – they’re worth it.
Two Videos January 31, 2011March 21, 2017 DEPO Guru reports the approval they hoped for; thinks the stock may open up a point today, then fall back in the current down market for biotechs . . . but could have good potential down the road. SEMPER FI A remarkable three minutes from the Commandant and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, who step out smartly for equality. Is this a great country, or what? HEALTH CARE Joe V.: “Everything you wanted to know about healthcare systems around the world and the US in one short lecture…TR Reid is an excellent speaker and journalist.”
Blah, Blah, Blah January 28, 2011March 21, 2017 BZ It worked! By selling 10% of my BZ warrants Wednesday at $1.42, I drove the remaining 90% up to $1.76 yesterday (and sold a few more to keep it going). FZ-BZ I haven’t played this in – what? decades? – as I have not lately had occasion to try to prove I was sober. But in trying (and failing) to think of a clever subhead for “BZ,” above, the game formally known as “Fizz, Buzz, Schmeckle” somehow popped to mind. The rules are simple (and I have no doubt many of you already know them): 5, multiples of 5, and numbers with “5” in them, are FIZZ; 7, multiples of 7, and numbers with “7” in them – like “17” – are BUZZ; 9, multiples of 9, and numbers with “9” in them, are SCHMECKLE. Ready? And here you just launch right in. I say, “one.” You say, “two.” I say, “three.” You say, “four,” I say, “FIZZ” (if I were to accidentally say “five,” I would have lost the game). You say, “six.” I say, “BUZZ” (and giggle), you say, “eight” . . . and so on, as fast as possible, with excitement building as we near BUZZ-SCHMECKLE (because 27 is divisible by 9 and has a “7” in it) and – oh, boy! – “FIZZ-BUZZ” “SCHMECKLE” “BUZZ” (for 35, 36, 37) and we both grin goofily at passersby who take us for sophomores on spring break. WMT I’ve been high on Walmart for some time now, having seen it rise from $45.74 to last night’s $57.57* – a staggering internal rate of return, when you include the dividend, of about 7%. No home run . . . barely a single . . . but better than a savings account. “Don’t sell,” says Aristides’ Chris Brown: “Walmart trades at 13x forward earnings – versus 26x for the Russell 2000 – while sporting an A+ quality rating from S&P. It is the poster child of cheap, high quality stocks in a world that loves expensive, low quality ones. It’s boring; calls on it are still cheap; and its shares have recently been moving higher. Including the effect of options, WMT has become our second largest position.” ☞ As Chris grew his fund 26.8% net of fees last year, with a diversified, hedged value strategy, I am inclined to listen. *Fizz-buzz-fizz-buzz. EVERNOTE SCANSNAP AND EBOOKS Richard Factor: “You mentioned Evernote and the Fujitsu ScanSnap. Evernote sounds very useful, but the Sync process presumably means that everything you put in a ‘notebook’ is accessible to the company and, arguably, anyone who hacks their system. Sort of limits its usefulness to non-private data. Meanwhile, the Fujitsu ScanSnap deserves a blog of its own. I discovered that it can make e-books for the iPad and used it to preserve my ancient, crumbling copy of Forbidden Planet. Fortunately, my copy of The Invisible Bankers is still in good condition.” ☞ Oh, thank God. GEEK QUESTION So when I look at my list of new emails in Outlook, a three line preview follows the subject line. So I can see that so-and-so and has written me an email about such-and-such and it begins, “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” OK? But then, sometimes – and I can’t see the pattern to when, but maybe 5% of the time (maybe only when the sender was sending from a Blackberry?) – I will open the email and the body of it is blank. Not even a single “blah.” I back up to the list of emails and see “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” But I open it again, or forward it to myself, or try to trick it some other way, and – nope, still blank. I tried Googling this apparent bug, but found nothing. Can one of you amazing readers point me to the solution? I expect you to spend your entire weekend on this while you wait for the snow to melt so you can get your car out.
Evernote January 27, 2011March 21, 2017 BZ I sold 10% of my remaining BZ warrants yesterday at $1.42, on the sophisticated financial theory that if I did, they would keep going up but that if I didn’t – oink, oink – they’d go down. This is a theory known to a lot of us with tales of stock market woe. Its very irrationality affords opportunity to more dispassionate investors – at least in theory – but that’s a different story. The point is, it worked: by the end of the day, the BZ warrants I continued to hold had closed up a further 22 cents at $1.64. Yet even there, with the stock still selling at a modest 8 times recession earnings, there’s always the hope it could move back up to 10 (which would push the warrants to about $2.50) or even the faint hope it could be higher. Here is a more sophisticated analysis of the underlying stock, which the writer concludes remains somewhat (though only somewhat) undervalued here. Here is another, also largely positive. I’m absolutely not suggesting you buy here; just that, if you’ve been taking profits all along – and, as some of you paid as little as 2 cents per warrant, the gains have been peachy – you might want to keep doing so yet still keep some skin in the game. EVERNOTE Greg San: ‘For years I’ve struggled with how and where to keep all of my ‘info-stuff.’ Evernote is the best answer to that problem that I’ve found so far. Evernote has apps for many devices, and keeps them all in synch. You’re a fan of the Fujitsu ScanSnap? ScanSnap is integrated with Evernote (view this 43 second demo video). I don’t use ScanSnap, but I expect that I will in the future, now that there is a place (Evernote) to put all of those scans. I have no connection to Evernote.’ ☞ Indeed: as suggested on page 38 of the new edition. DIVERSITY Is everybody aware that the Congressional intern widely credited with saving Gabby Giffords life, Daniel Hernandez, who was invited to sit with the First Lady Tuesday night is Hispanic? (Or that there are apparently 458,305 Hernandezes in the U.S.?) And that he’s openly gay? Or that Gabby herself is Jewish? (‘My grandfather, Akiba Hornstein, was the son of a Lithuanian rabbi. My grandfather changed his name to Giffords for reasons of anti-Semitism and moved to southern Arizona from New York more than a half century ago. In the 1940s, he founded my family’s tire and automotive business, El Campo Tire, which grew into a successful and thriving business for 50 years, which I ran for several years before serving in the Arizona Legislature.’ Read this wonderful letter to a constituent for the rest.) If you’re thinking one giant so what? to all of this, I’m right there with you. I just think it’s neat to note, as one of you did for us here recently, the great diversity we largely take for granted that is unlike any other in the world.
State of the Union January 26, 2011March 21, 2017 It’s going to be a long road, but we’re finally on it. Actually, a couple of years down it. That’s the big picture – a potentially bright one: THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 25, 2011 Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery State of the Union Address Tuesday, January 25, 2011 Washington, DC As Prepared for Delivery Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans: Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. And as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this Chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague — and our friend — Gabby Giffords. It’s no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that’s a good thing. That’s what a robust democracy demands. That’s what helps set us apart as a nation. But there’s a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passions and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater — something more consequential than party or political preference. We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled. That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation. Now, by itself, this simple recognition won’t usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow. I believe we can. I believe we must. That’s what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they’ve determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all — for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics. At stake right now is not who wins the next election — after all, we just had an election. At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else. It’s whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. It’s whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map, but a light to the world. We are poised for progress. Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again. But we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children. That’s the project the American people want us to work on. Together. We did that in December. Thanks to the tax cuts we passed, Americans’ paychecks are a little bigger today. Every business can write off the full cost of the new investments they make this year. These steps, taken by Democrats and Republicans, will grow the economy and add to the more than one million private sector jobs created last year. But we have more work to do. The steps we’ve taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession — but to win the future, we’ll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making. Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown. You didn’t always need a degree, and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors. If you worked hard, chances are you’d have a job for life, with a decent paycheck, good benefits, and the occasional promotion. Maybe you’d even have the pride of seeing your kids work at the same company. That world has changed. And for many, the change has been painful. I’ve seen it in the shuttered windows of once booming factories, and the vacant storefronts of once busy Main Streets. I’ve heard it in the frustrations of Americans who’ve seen their paychecks dwindle or their jobs disappear — proud men and women who feel like the rules have been changed in the middle of the game. They’re right. The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there’s an internet connection. Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They’re investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became home to the world’s largest private solar research facility, and the world’s fastest computer. So yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn’t discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember — for all the hits we’ve taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any other place on Earth. What’s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea . the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That is why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It’s why our students don’t just memorize equations, but answer questions like “What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?” The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can’t just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, “The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.” Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age. Now it’s our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit, and reform our government. That’s how our people will prosper. That’s how we’ll win the future. And tonight, I’d like to talk about how we get there. The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation. None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be, or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn’t know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do — what America does better than anyone — is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It’s how we make a living. Our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. But because it’s not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout history our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. That’s what planted the seeds for the Internet. That’s what helped make possible things like computer chips and GPS. Just think of all the good jobs — from manufacturing to retail — that have come from those breakthroughs. Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we’d beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t there yet. NASA didn’t even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs. This is our generation’s Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race. In a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology — an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people. Already, we are seeing the promise of renewable energy. Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard. Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. In Robert’s words, “We reinvented ourselves.” That’s what Americans have done for over two hundred years: reinvented ourselves. And to spur on more success stories like the Allen Brothers, we’ve begun to reinvent our energy policy. We’re not just handing out money. We’re issuing a challenge. We’re telling America’s scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we’ll fund the Apollo Projects of our time. At the California Institute of Technology, they’re developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they’re using supercomputers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s. Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they’re selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: by 2035, 80% of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all — and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen. Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America’s success. But if we want to win the future — if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas — then we also have to win the race to educate our kids. Think about it. Over the next ten years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school degree. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren’t even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to 9th in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us — as citizens, and as parents — are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair; that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline. Our schools share this responsibility. When a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance. But too many schools don’t meet this test. That’s why instead of just pouring money into a system that’s not working, we launched a competition called Race to the Top. To all fifty states, we said, “If you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we’ll show you the money.” Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than one percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning. These standards were developed, not by Washington, but by Republican and Democratic governors throughout the country. And Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what’s best for our kids. You see, we know what’s possible for our children when reform isn’t just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals; school boards and communities. Take a school like Bruce Randolph in Denver. Three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in Colorado; located on turf between two rival gangs. But last May, 97% of the seniors received their diploma. Most will be the first in their family to go to college. And after the first year of the school’s transformation, the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said “Thank you, Mrs. Waters, for showing that we are smart and we can make it.” Let’s also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child’s success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as “nation builders.” Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. And over the next ten years, with so many Baby Boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. In fact, to every young person listening tonight who’s contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child — become a teacher. Your country needs you. Of course, the education race doesn’t end with a high school diploma. To compete, higher education must be within reach of every American. That’s why we’ve ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students. And this year, I ask Congress to go further, and make permanent our tuition tax credit — worth $10,000 for four years of college. Because people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today’s fast-changing economy, we are also revitalizing America’s community colleges. Last month, I saw the promise of these schools at Forsyth Tech in North Carolina. Many of the students there used to work in the surrounding factories that have since left town. One mother of two, a woman named Kathy Proctor, had worked in the furniture industry since she was 18 years old. And she told me she’s earning her degree in biotechnology now, at 55 years old, not just because the furniture jobs are gone, but because she wants to inspire her children to pursue their dreams too. As Kathy said, “I hope it tells them to never give up.” If we take these steps — if we raise expectations for every child, and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they’re born until the last job they take — we will reach the goal I set two years ago: by the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense. Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. I know that debate will be difficult and take time. But tonight, let’s agree to make that effort. And let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young people who can staff our research labs, start new businesses, and further enrich this nation. The third step in winning the future is rebuilding America. To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information — from high-speed rail to high-speed internet. Our infrastructure used to be the best — but our lead has slipped. South Korean homes now have greater internet access than we do. Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports. Meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation’s infrastructure, they gave us a “D.” We have to do better. America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, and constructed the interstate highway system. The jobs created by these projects didn’t just come from laying down tracks or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town’s new train station or the new off-ramp. Over the last two years, we have begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. Tonight, I’m proposing that we redouble these efforts. We will put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. We will make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based on what’s best for the economy, not politicians. Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying — without the pat-down. As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway. Within the next five years, we will make it possible for business to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98% of all Americans. This isn’t just about a faster internet and fewer dropped calls. It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor. All these investments — in innovation, education, and infrastructure — will make America a better place to do business and create jobs. But to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success. Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and it has to change. So tonight, I’m asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field. And use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years — without adding to our deficit. To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014 — because the more we export, the more jobs we create at home. Already, our exports are up. Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs in the United States. And last month, we finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs. This agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor; Democrats and Republicans, and I ask this Congress to pass it as soon as possible. Before I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers, and promote American jobs. That’s what we did with Korea, and that’s what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia, and continue our Asia Pacific and global trade talks. To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I’ve ordered a review of government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. But I will not hesitate to create or enforce commonsense safeguards to protect the American people. That’s what we’ve done in this country for more than a century. It’s why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. It’s why we have speed limits and child labor laws. It’s why last year, we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies, and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. And it’s why we passed reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients. Now, I’ve heard rumors that a few of you have some concerns about the new health care law. So let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you. We can start right now by correcting a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses. What I’m not willing to do is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a pre-existing condition. I’m not willing to tell James Howard, a brain cancer patient from Texas, that his treatment might not be covered. I’m not willing to tell Jim Houser, a small business owner from Oregon, that he has to go back to paying $5,000 more to cover his employees. As we speak, this law is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their parents’ coverage. So instead of re-fighting the battles of the last two years, let’s fix what needs fixing and move forward. Now, the final step — a critical step — in winning the future is to make sure we aren’t buried under a mountain of debt. We are living with a legacy of deficit-spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people’s pockets. But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same. So tonight, I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. This would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president. This freeze will require painful cuts. Already, we have frozen the salaries of hardworking federal employees for the next two years. I’ve proposed cuts to things I care deeply about, like community action programs. The Secretary of Defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without. I recognize that some in this Chamber have already proposed deeper cuts, and I’m willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. But let’s make sure that we’re not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. And let’s make sure what we’re cutting is really excess weight. Cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine. It may feel like you’re flying high at first, but it won’t take long before you’ll feel the impact. Now, most of the cuts and savings I’ve proposed only address annual domestic spending, which represents a little more than 12% of our budget. To make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. It won’t. The bipartisan Fiscal Commission I created last year made this crystal clear. I don’t agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. And their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it — in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes. This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. Health insurance reform will slow these rising costs, which is part of why nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. Still, I’m willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that Republicans suggested last year: medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits. To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. And we must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans’ guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market. And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Before we take money away from our schools, or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break. It’s not a matter of punishing their success. It’s about promoting America’s success. In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual tax code. This will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed interest in doing this, and I am prepared to join them. So now is the time to act. Now is the time for both sides and both houses of Congress — Democrats and Republicans — to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. If we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to win the future. Let me take this one step further. We shouldn’t just give our people a government that’s more affordable. We should give them a government that’s more competent and efficient. We cannot win the future with a government of the past. We live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black and white TV. There are twelve different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different entities that deal with housing policy. Then there’s my favorite example: the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they’re in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they’re in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they’re smoked. Now, we have made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse. We’re selling acres of federal office space that hasn’t been used in years, and we will cut through red tape to get rid of more. But we need to think bigger. In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. I will submit that proposal to Congress for a vote — and we will push to get it passed. In the coming year, we will also work to rebuild people’s faith in the institution of government. Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. Because you deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, I ask Congress to do what the White House has already done: put that information online. And because the American people deserve to know that special interests aren’t larding up legislation with pet projects, both parties in Congress should know this: if a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it. A 21st century government that’s open and competent. A government that lives within its means. An economy that’s driven by new skills and ideas. Our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility, and innovation. It will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs. Just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. No single wall separates East and West; no one rival superpower is aligned against us. And so we must defeat determined enemies wherever they are, and build coalitions that cut across lines of region and race and religion. America’s moral example must always shine for all who yearn for freedom, justice, and dignity. And because we have begun this work, tonight we can say that American leadership has been renewed and America’s standing has been restored. Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high; where American combat patrols have ended; violence has come down; and a new government has been formed. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America’s commitment has been kept; the Iraq War is coming to an end. Of course, as we speak, al Qaeda and their affiliates continue to plan attacks against us. Thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we are disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. And as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family. We have also taken the fight to al Qaeda and their allies abroad. In Afghanistan, our troops have taken Taliban strongholds and trained Afghan Security Forces. Our purpose is clear — by preventing the Taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny al Qaeda the safe-haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11. Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home. In Pakistan, al Qaeda’s leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe-havens are shrinking. And we have sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe: we will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you. American leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. Because Republicans and Democrats approved the New START Treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists. Because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before. And on the Korean peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons. This is just a part of how we are shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity. With our European allies, we revitalized NATO, and increased our cooperation on everything from counter-terrorism to missile defense. We have reset our relationship with Russia, strengthened Asian alliances, and built new partnerships with nations like India. This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador to forge new alliances for progress in the Americas. Around the globe, we are standing with those who take responsibility — helping farmers grow more food; supporting doctors who care for the sick; and combating the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity. Recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power — it must be the purpose behind it. In South Sudan — with our assistance — the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. Thousands lined up before dawn. People danced in the streets. One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: “This was a battlefield for most of my life. Now we want to be free.” We saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. And tonight, let us be clear: the United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people. We must never forget that the things we’ve struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere. And we must always remember that the Americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country. Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they have served us — by giving them the equipment they need; by providing them with the care and benefits they have earned; and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation. Our troops come from every corner of this country — they are black, white, Latino, Asian and Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. And with that change, I call on all of our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and the ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one nation. We should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. Reforming our schools; changing the way we use energy; reducing our deficit — none of this is easy. All of it will take time. And it will be harder because we will argue about everything. The cost. The details. The letter of every law. Of course, some countries don’t have this problem. If the central government wants a railroad, they get a railroad — no matter how many homes are bulldozed. If they don’t want a bad story in the newspaper, it doesn’t get written. And yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn’t a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth. We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything’s possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from. That dream is why I can stand here before you tonight. That dream is why a working class kid from Scranton can stand behind me. That dream is why someone who began by sweeping the floors of his father’s Cincinnati bar can preside as Speaker of the House in the greatest nation on Earth. That dream — that American Dream — is what drove the Allen Brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. It’s what drove those students at Forsyth Tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. And that dream is the story of a small business owner named Brandon Fisher. Brandon started a company in Berlin, Pennsylvania that specializes in a new kind of drilling technology. One day last summer, he saw the news that halfway across the world, 33 men were trapped in a Chilean mine, and no one knew how to save them. But Brandon thought his company could help. And so he designed a rescue that would come to be known as Plan B. His employees worked around the clock to manufacture the necessary drilling equipment. And Brandon left for Chile. Along with others, he began drilling a 2,000 foot hole into the ground, working three or four days at a time with no sleep. Thirty-seven days later, Plan B succeeded, and the miners were rescued. But because he didn’t want all of the attention, Brandon wasn’t there when the miners emerged. He had already gone home, back to work on his next project. Later, one of his employees said of the rescue, “We proved that Center Rock is a little company, but we do big things.” We do big things. From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That’s how we win the future. We are a nation that says, “I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company. I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree. I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try. I’m not sure how we’ll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we’ll get there. I know we will.” We do big things. The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong. Thank you, God Bless You, and may God Bless the United States of America. ☞ Having watched to the speech, I’m filled with pride in our President and hope for the future. That may not be fashionably cynical, but there you are. And speaking of hope . . . here is yet another reason not to sell your BOREF, much (and rightly) maligned speculation though it may be.
Tonight January 25, 2011March 25, 2012 Set your TiVo — 9pm Eastern Standard Time. I’m still on vacation.
VVUS January 24, 2011March 21, 2017 I liked the Martin Luther King holiday so much, I’m taking it off twice. But since the stock market is open let me offer a least this much: VVUS Suggested at $7.25 three months ago, VVUS was bouncing nicely above $11 last week until . . . oh, no! Weltanschauungians had best not take it to the bank quite yet – even at Friday’s close of $8.74 we were still up 20% or so. But Guru is nothing if not frustrated: So VVUS met with the FDA. We all thought the main issues were resolved. Then some @#$ person at the FDA said they want Vivus to look at Johnson & Johnson’s data on the use of topiramate to prevent migraines to see what the incidence of cleft lip is. (WHAT does this have to do with obesity?) The FDA knew that topiramate caused teratomas four years ago when they granted VVUS an SPA. There were no teratomas in VVUS trials. WHY are they obsessed with this now? Makes no sense. I “believe” this will get resolved favorably – but when I am trying to model irrationality, I come up short on how to do it well. The sense is it will take another 6 months to complete this study, at which point I am guessing it is a 2 month review, but it is possible this exercise will stretch the approval for this already-approved drug to 2012. ☞ So if we ever do get a further run-up in the stock, Guru believes it will be some months delayed.
The Dream Lives On January 21, 2011March 21, 2017 To clarify from yesterday . . . the new edition of my book suggests two ways to do even better in the stock market over the long run than the most popular index funds – which themselves have long been suggested in prior editions as an easy way to outperform most stock market investors (because of their very low fees, very low internal transaction costs, and the very low capital gains tax they expose you to). The new edition suggests “equally-weighted” index funds and the “Formula Investing” family of funds. Less and I are both high on the former. Less is not high on the latter – the case for which I make in the book – both because they have a much higher expense ratio and because, in a taxable account, you will likely be exposed to a much higher tax bill. No one can know what will happen. And the stock market itself could collapse, so even an “outperforming” fund could leave you wrecked. But one could imagine that the typical load fund might grow by, say, 5% or 6% a year over long periods of time; an index fund by 7% or 8% (unburdened as it is by all the fees and transaction costs weighing it down); an equally-weighted index fund by 9% or 10%; and the Formula funds – and here is where my friend Less will lament the loss of my sanity – by 11% or 12%. If that proved to be the case – and, obviously, both as to exact amounts and to relative performance it may not – then it would make sense to have a good chunk of your tax-deferred retirement account in Formula funds. But it would be a much closer call in your taxable accounts. If you’re in a low tax bracket in a no-income-tax state (for example), you might still go with the Formula funds. But you might do better in the tax-deferred index funds. (Tax-deferred, not tax-free, because if you ever started selling the funds to, say, buy stuff, you’d then have to pay tax on the accumulated gains.) The larger point here is simply that, by and large, index funds are generally a lot better than the actively-managed mutual funds most people buy . . . that there’s good reason to think that equally-weighted index funds will continue to do better still . . . and that, certainly in a tax-deferred retirement account, I think there’s good logical reason to think the Formula funds will do better still. Less disagrees, which is what makes horses race and America great. Whichever of us proves right, I like to think that, over time, both approaches will have served you relatively well. That said . . . DON’T SELL YOUR BOREF I mean, really: how could you? First of all, if you have a lot of it, you’d drive the price – $2.31 at last trade – down below zero. (I’m not sure how, but this company is unique.) Second, you have to visualize the alternatives. Alternative One: the stock does indeed, eventually, go to zero – just as first predicted here 11 years ago. You’re disappointed but . . . oh, well. Alternative Two: you sell, get your $2.31 a share – and the stock hits $100. You slit your wrists. I would. After waiting all this time? I’d jump off a bridge. No, I’d fling myself in front of an onrushing 737, as it taxies along the tarmac like a golf cart, as envisioned here: PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC and GIBRALTAR-20 January 2011 – WheelTug plc is pleased to announce that a video summary of 737NG tow tests conducted in Prague has now been released to the public. . . . Isaiah Cox, WheelTug plc’s President and CEO, explained: “The tests we conducted verified the preliminary design of the in-wheel WheelTug system. We collected considerable data about the forces required from an onboard electric drive system, and we had the added bonus of working in very adverse conditions, including during the middle of a snow storm which resulted in snow, ice, and wet runway conditions.” The video shows Chorus® electric motors attached to the nose wheels of a Boeing 737-800 driving the aircraft at taxi speeds and executing nose-driven 180-degree turns entirely under pilot control. Mr. Cox continued, “The data we gathered are being applied to the demonstration program for the first WheelTug. This system, which is now at the final engineering stages prior to the actual build, will be within the wheel well envelope to avoid extensive modifications to the airplane.” . . . The equipment used in Prague was solely for data gathering purposes. Production versions of WheelTug will be integral to the wheel, and will be fully retractable. The patented and proprietary WheelTug® hybrid-electric drive system uses high-performance electric motors installed in nose gear wheels of an aircraft, providing full mobility while on the ground, without the use of the aircraft’s jet engines or external tugs for both pushback and taxi operations. WheelTug enables aircraft to be electrically driven from the terminal gate to the takeoff runway, and upon landing from runway exit to the gate. The resulting improvements in efficiency, flexibility, fuel savings, and reduced noise and engine foreign object damage (FOD) yield projected operating cost savings of more than $500,000 per aircraft per year, plus significant reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions. . . . ☞ The dream lives on.
Less and I Make a Bet January 20, 2011March 21, 2017 CRAZY ROTTEN FORMATTING? There are things about the Paleolithic way I post my column that cause unsightly browser quirks. If you see this page in a mishmash of fonts, try refreshing the screen a few times until it looks right. You’d think that each time you’d get the same thing. It’s the same HTML code, after all. (No?) But sometimes – not always – around the third or fourth or fifth try, it all comes out looking right. A mystery of the cyberverse. ANONYMOUS ‘HOLDS’ Click here to add your name to those who want to see the awful Senate rules improved. (Senators McCaskill, Durbin, and Whitehouse write: ‘The use of ‘anonymous holds,’ the arcane procedure that allows a single senator to secretly torpedo any piece of legislation, has skyrocketed in the last few years. And with its rise, our ability to pass strong legislation — and hold senators accountable for their actions — has nosedived.’) DEPO – II Ted Graham: ‘Thanks for yesterday’s suggestion to get out of DEPO. You might mention that if your gains are about to go long-term, it may make sense to hold off for that. I bought at $2.40 on 2/22/10, so others may be in the almost long-term situation.’ ☞ Ah, the profits I have foregone letting the tax-tail wag the buy-sell-decision dog. But of course you’re right: if the stock is as likely to be higher as lower going forward (i.e., the market, acting as book-maker, has set the odds about right by arriving at the current price), then the tax differential can indeed tilt the decision toward holding. As does the follow up I received from our esteemed Guru: The company’s conference call made a strong case that they should derive some kind of significant value from this – there are contractual milestones of at least $85 million and Abbott, as late as November, was pursuing orphan drug status from the FDA presumably as part of its launch plans. DEPO said they are willing to take back the product if they get sufficient funding from Abbott to launch it themselves. By the end of the year, the data in hot flashes in women should be out and should be positive. I expect the stock will be more than 7 on that news. Until then, I’m going to let the dust settle. Abbott could drag this out for a while. We do have an upcoming PDUFA of Jan 30 for the drug. All indications are that they should get approval. Of course, if there were a delay in this approval, then it would adversely affect valuation. Welcome to the wild world of biotech. I’ve never seen this specific situation before. LESS AND I MAKE A BET Less Antman: ‘The new Formula Investing funds you mentioned a week ago are not appropriate for taxable accounts because of the high capital gains distributions that will likely result. May I suggest that equally weighted index funds, which you also recommended in your current edition, are a more appropriate choice here? The Rydex S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) has been in operation for nearly 8 years, and has outperformed the Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX) over that time by 3.4% per year, which is impressive considering the fact that they invest in the exact same stocks, and the only difference is the use of equal weighting instead of weighting based on total market capitalization. As you note [in your current edition], transparent, back-tested results show that equal weighting has beaten market weighting by more than 2% a year since 1957. The expense ratio of RSP is only 0.4%, less than one-third the Formula Investing funds. But most importantly for the matter at hand, it has never made a capital gains distribution, meaning it has been as tax-efficient as the Vanguard fund. This month, Rydex added international and global ETFs that follow the same strategy, so I offer 4 ETFs to add to compare to the funds you suggested: RSP, EWEF, EWEM, and EWAC. When you add the Formula Investing funds to your retirement account, may I suggest you try the above for your taxable account? In fact, for do-it-yourself investors looking for one fund to cover all their stock needs, you could do worse than EWAC, which will hold more than 2,000 stocks spread around the globe, and I believe it will do better than the Formula Investing funds, even in retirement accounts, in the years to come, in part due to the expense advantage. I’ll offer you a wager: the Formula funds include 2 domestic and 2 international funds. I’ll put up 2 servings of RSP and 1 serving each of EWEF and EWEM against them, and bet that an initial investment at the close of the market today, untouched until the day the next edition of The Book goes to press, will do better at the Rydex ETFs than in the Formula funds, even in a tax-sheltered account. If I win, you extend my subscription to your daily commentary for a year, and if I lose, I extend your subscription to Ask Less for a year.’ ☞ It’s on, baby. But I agree: because of taxes, a sensible strategy would be to use the Formula Investing funds for your retirement account and the equally-weighted index exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for your taxable stock market accounts.
Tracking Numbers January 19, 2011March 21, 2017 DR. KING Dana Dlott: “Speaking of Dr. King, I saw this in the paper the other day. He was a Trekkie.” ☞ I am not nor have I ever been a Trekkie – but I love this story. You gotta read it. DEPO Sorry. Writes Guru: “Out of the blue, two weeks before the FDA deadline, DEPO’s partner, Abbott Labs, has suddenly informed DEPO it has no interest in commercializing the product for post herpetic neuralgia that is about to get approved. I’m afraid I must say ‘sell.’ The stock is already down another point in the aftermarket.” ☞ We bought at prices ranging from $4.50 to $2.36, so even if you didn’t take any profits as it rose to $7, it’s not the end of the world that it’s dropped to $5.57. Nor does this necessarily mean the stock won’t be higher a year or two from now. If Guru shares an opinion on that, I’ll pass it on. USPS VS. FEDEX I don’t mean to pick on the Postal Service, but the (very) short form of this particular saga is that a business three miles away called me Sunday, January 9, to say they had some very important documents they knew I was eager to have – did I want to pick them up? Well, I wasn’t that eager – could they just send them over? (Like, via messenger or FedEx, or maybe just have an employee drop them off on the way home? I didn’t literally verbalize those suggestions; they’ve been in business a long time and surely know how to do this.) When the documents hadn’t come by Thursday, I called and found they had chosen certified mail as the means of delivery. “Certified mail?” I marveled. “Yes, we chose that because we know this is important and they have tracking numbers.” “Tracking numbers,” I repeated, managing – barely – to keep my sarcasm in check. You know, there’s this new service called FedEx, which delivers by 10:30 the next morning, and they have tracking numbers . . . It developed that the business in question managed to rush the papers to the Post Office only by Tuesday, January 11, at 5:22PM (we know this from the tracking number) – so two full business days were lost just getting them into the system. (FedEx offers a pickup system of some kind. I think they have trucks.) Once the envelope was logged in, the tracking trail grows sparse. There were not a lot of updates. None, actually. Nothing like, “Here in lower Manhattan; getting ready to go uptown.” Or “Passing Herlad Square, stuck behind a bus.” Or “In letter carrier pouch, because neither rain nor snow nor sleet will delay the U.S. mail.” The point is, when the envelope actually arrived yesterday, January 18, at 1:30pm, seven days after it was dropped off (traveling, therefore, at a speed of 2.3 days per mile), I could not resist going back one last time to my old friend the opaque USPS tracking website to see what it would say. Here is what it said: Your item arrived at 4:40 am on January 18, 2011 in NEW YORK, NY 10023. The Postal Service expects to deliver the item on Thursday, January 13, 2011. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later. HOSPITAL VISITATION It didn’t require a law (if it had, the opposition party would presumably have worked hard to block it), but yesterday “Hospital Visitation Regulations” went into effect. President Bush could easily have done this, too, but didn’t. Writes Brian Bond, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement: “There are few moments in our lives that call for greater compassion and companionship than when a loved one is admitted to the hospital. In these hours of need and moments of pain and anxiety, all of us would hope to have a hand to hold, a shoulder on which to lean – a loved one to be there for us, as we would be there for them.” With those words on April 15, 2010 President Obama directed HHS Secretary Sebelius to initiate rulemaking to ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare and Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors. The President further advised that the rule should ensure that participating hospitals may not deny visitation privileges based on factors including sexual orientation or gender identity . . . ☞ Thank you, Mr. President. Tomorrow: Less and I Make a Bet