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-- Posted Friday, 18 April 2008 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
Rick’s Picks Friday, April 18, 2008 “Phenomenally accurate forecasts” Sometimes we hear on the evening news that the stock market finished up or down only slightly on days when the averages have swung wildly all day. Yesterday was not one of those days. The Dow finished up a mere 1.22 points, and that pretty much tells the story. Most of the vehicles that we trade made their respective highs or lows early in the session, and from that point on, the biggest challenge for anyone monitoring the markets would have been staying awake. If you’re getting a sense of déjà vu, it might be because we were in almost exactly the same place, both literally and figuratively, a week ago. At the time, we found ourselves hoping that Friday’s traditionally whacky price action would provide some comic relief. It did, and we got our wish in the form of a 250-point drop in the Industrial Average.
Will lightning strike twice as yet another tiresome week draws to a close? We certainly hope so, since we don’t want to be found slumped at our desk, dead of boredom – not with the local weatherman predicting a weekend of sunshine and warm temperatures. That would be a nice change for the Denver area, which usually trips and stumbles its way into summer with a series of snowstorms punctuated by all-too-fleeting periods of spring-like weather.
Jersey Drizzle
We’re not sure where in this country the springtime of poetry actually occurs. In New Jersey, where we grew up, spring was a cold, ceaseless drizzle that eventually gave way to a hot and muggy summer commencing after Memorial Day. Here in Colorado, spring weather is freakish rather than merely drizzly, and it can snow as late as mid-June – did snow, in fact, not long after we moved here in 1999. It was a hot, sunny, windless day, and we were watching our son go through his paces at the local skateboard park. All of a sudden, the temperature dropped 50 degrees in a matter of minutes, swept in by an icy gale and light snow. In our short-sleeve shirts, we huddled behind a Pepsi machine, trying to keep from freezing. It made us briefly nostalgic for the San Francisco earthquakes that used to rattle the dishes every now and again.
*** Mac Clone a Hoax?
We wrote here recently about an upstart company named Psystar that was selling Mac clones for $399. But was it all a hoax? That’s a possibility, according to this item reported at www.macobserver.com:
Psystar announced on Monday that they're selling a Mac clone for US$399 that will run Mac OS X. Now that whole affair appears to be a hoax, according to Gizmodo on Thursday: “The Psystar site went off the air for most of Monday. Then the physical address started changing with dizzying frequency. Credit card transactions online were not secure. Finally, the company was unable to take credit card numbers altogether.
"Yesterday, we decided to take it a step further and see if they actually exist, in the physical sense," Gizmodo wrote. "How could a company so brazenly challenge Apple and have little to no record of actually being a company? We sent the Gizmodo army down there to get pictures of both their supposed addresses, and found that they're as much vaporware as the Phantom Console of yore." Like a detective story unfolding, Gizmodo followed the address changes, checked the physical locations, took pictures and pointed to web links that actually downloaded files. It was all very suspicious. They came to the conclusion that no one should buy anything from Psystar until they've cleared everything up.
Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not be construed as an indicator of future results, so let the buyer beware. Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers’ initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2008, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved. www.rickackerman.com
-- Posted Friday, 18 April 2008 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
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