Saturday, March 24, 2018

Facebook


We can defeat Facebook, a survey company, by giving them false info. If they're not useful, they will not use them. Here is mine.
I am a female born in April 1, 1800, living in 1 Main Street, graduated with a B.S. (real BS) from University of Lies and is working as the assistant to Trump being his sister-in-law. The only true info is I spend too much time in Wall Street Breakfast and have written a best seller in investing - more effective by mixing false info with true info.

What's yours?

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Big boulder

Our top motor bike will lose the world market (it cannot even compete today) as the competitors (such as Honda) can buy steel and alum. cheaper else where.

How many times we pick the largest boulder and hit our own toe? The funny part is we always declare victory and smile while we should cry.

Against Canada, not China

US imports about 0.1% of steel from China.

Hence, it is not against China. Trump and Xi must be sleeping in the same bed in a hotel operated by Trump.

US vs China

Arguing who is on top.

High-speed train. China has about 60% of the global h-s rail and most widely used. Initially China had none. Hard to say who has the top technology today as there are so many metrics. However, China's new train is quite good and fast, the food is excellent for the price (I tried it)... The new one has the same toilet from the west, not a hole on the floor.

Drones. The commercial version was invented by a Chinese student attending a Hong Kong university and returned to China to set up shop in Shenzhen. His company captured the majority of the global commercial market.

Military Drone #1 goes to US in terms of capabilities. However, China could be #1 in sales due to low prices (about half of the US) and few restrictions to sell. Very popular in Middle East countries where Israel does not win a sale.

Artificial Intelligence.  #1 goes to US. However, China is a close #2. China started late. I can see they will leap frog each other in the coming decades.
.
Supercomputer. China #1 with the top two (US #4 or #5) and the top number (US #2) in Top 500 list. They're racing for the next generation of supercomputers. 15 years ago China had zero in the Top 500 list.

5G network. China is one of the 3 countries while we do not even build 4G.

Space exploration. China is filling the gap very fast. To me, it is for prestige. At one time, China and Russia were the only countries that could send supplies to ISS. In a decade or so, China could be the only country that has a space station.

The annual expense is 6B for China and 40B for the US. It seems China gets the bigger bang for the money. 

Who is the top dog is a fool's game. The world will be better if we can share our technology. When you need a drug for survival, do you care whether it is from US or from China?

Chinese product quality

Some Chinese steel are of the top quality. They are finishing a cross-ocean bridge China-Macau-Hong Kong. Without top quality, it will not last long.

Boston selected China to buy cable cars from many foreign vendors - should we design one and build it ourselves?

Many still argue Chinese junk quality. Yes, there are some low quality stuffs for folks to make a quick buck. The quality control lies on the outsourcee. Do you find Apple's iPhones have quality problem?

What car you're driving

Japan & S.Korea are the best cars for the price. My friend has her car for over 10 years and driven over 150,000 miles in harsh Toronto climate. She saves the environment.

My friend just bought a EU car to boost his social standing. The problem with most of the mentioned cars is the cost of maintenance.

American cars. When they cheat me twice, shame on me.

Only a joke

Trump twitted me offering me the job of communication manager. I told him I could not speak English well. In addition, even if I could compete with the 29-year-old model in the look, my age betrayed me.

He told me that was perfect. Just nod and you will never be fired as long as you're loyal and do not beat your spouse. Now, I think I'm fully qualified as long as I do not comment in this blog.

Abandon the burning ship

I do not know why the staffs in Trump were let go that often. I enjoy the young folks on TV such as her daughter and son-in-law. Her daughter is not a puppet and for that it is a breeze of fresh air besides being an eye candy. Do we have a law that you cannot hire everyone from your family?

Our problems and some actions

1. We consume more than we produce. Cut down consumption, both citizens and government.

2. We borrow more than we save. US saves about 2% while China saves about 15%. Save more and do not max out our credit cards.

3. We are not as competitive as we're in 50s and 60s. Do not give out money generously to foreign countries.

4. The world is more competitive (esp. China) and it looks like it is getting worse. Do better negotiation with our trade partners. Trade wars should be avoided if possible.

5. The expenses of endless wars should go to investment for our future such as infrastructure. Why we protect Japan and some countries who are wealthier than us?

6. We need to give up some sectors such as the those that are labor intensive and/or environmentally harmful (examine benefits and losses).

7. We need to motivate our able welfare recipients to work to take up the jobs currently performed by illegal aliens.

8. We need MORE (not less) H-1B visas to attract top scientists, engineers... to remain in our competitive edge. However, only let the immediate family members come.

9 We need to balance the budgets, cut down entitlements, fund research, fund infrastructure (including security to protect our IP)...

10. We need to be doers instead of talkers. We're still talking about the high speed rail in California (could be less beneficial compared to the densely-populated China). To start, get the two parties to sleep in the same bed. They disagree with each other if the idea is not from their own party.

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  Check out my book "Complete the Art of Investing". Click here or search it from Amazon.com.

Suggestion to run for the presidency

I have to falsify my birth country.

I cannot because I'm too honest, not counting my better look with my real hair.

When I'm in power, I would do the same thing and will go to hell.

Patriot shopper

If you're patriot, only buy stuffs made in USA. It is hard to find. Some may be assembled with foreign components.

Sam Walton was a patriot. When he passed away, his children started selling Chinese stuffs as they found out Sam calculated wrongly for the margin. They become the richest family of the world - yes richer than Buffett and Gates as a family.

Everyone for himself

When you go to a store, you buy the best stuff at the lowest price no matter you're leftist, rightist or centralist (I belong to this neglected group).

Yes, the consumer does not really care about your job.

Trump and his economical advisor

If your chief economical advisor quit disagreeing with you, is it the same as "your beloved mother calls you ugly."

Please do not find the biggest boulder and aim at your own toe. We have done this stupid things too many times.

There are more harm in these excessive tariffs. If our industry need so high a tariff to compete with foreign steel without transportation cost, we should give up this industry. Do not grow sugar cane in Alaska.

Welcome March

Here are many comments I made recently.

Do not be offend if you're a Trumpet. I do not same to Obama.

We need to understand our problems before we can fix them.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Oscar nominated: Small Enough to Jail

A small bank was prosecuted for the 2008 and all the big banks were bailed out and fined (with the bail money).

If you think there is no discrimination in US, think again.

The prosecutors should walk in chain, their ugly pictures circulated in social media and then be FIRED!!!

Click here or type

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-steady-as-traders-brace-for-powell-redux-2018-03-01

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Tariffs on steel & aluminum



As of 3/2/2018, President Trump's planned tariffs on steel and aluminum - 25% and 10%, respectively raised fears of a potential trade war. Most global markets were down. Brazil and Canada would be affected more than China which has been criticized for product dumping (due to overcapacity) and huge trade deficit with us.

This article examines why we have a huge deficit with China and the consequences of a trade war.

Why huge trade deficit with China

The U.S. trade deficit with China was $375 billion in 2017.

·         The above figure is a little exaggerated. Using iPhone as an example, it is designed by Apple and assembled in China with components from many countries. The design cost is not included into the total cost and the cost of the phone is considered as the import cost. It applies to many products using China’s cheap labor.

·         A foreign country dumps the products to drive our companies out-of-business and then raises prices. So far, China has not raised prices in most products. Some said some Chinese steel products have lower cost than the component costs. Most likely the component costs are based in US, not in China.

·         We need to negotiate with China (or any country) to take out tariffs and trade barriers on our products.

·         Are we losing competitive edge in some sectors? It could be the victim of our own success. The workers have to be protected with regulations and higher wages, so is our environment.  Our debt is high as a percent of our GDP.

It could be due to our political system. The politicians do not plan anything longer than four years. They buy votes by satisfying the majority of voters. The tool is borrow more money. All these will reduce our competitive edge as our taxes are used for consumption (such as wars) instead of investing (such as building bridges).  

The consequences of a trade war

1.       China (Canada too) will retaliate or keep it low-key (as China still has a high trade deficit). They will target on the sectors that would make the loudest noise against the government. I would stay away from BA... for a while.

2.       Consumers will suffer. It is the invisible tax.

3.       The stock markets around the world will suffer.

4.       Some industries are less competitive globally. For example, EU companies can buy cheaper steel and aluminum without tariffs to produce products cheaper than us.

5.       China and other countries will withdraw our debts to them.

6.       Companies on aluminum and steel will make good money initially.

At the first sip of coffee, I can think of the above, so there should be more. It will not be good for global economies with excessive tariffs. The better actions is not excessive and ask China and other country to take out trade barriers for our products.

Most likely, the tariffs will be reduced and the affected countries will retaliate. The suffered sectors in US would voice their opposition and the tariff would be non-consequential. Both sides declare victory. Seen this many times.


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The above is from my book "Can China Say No?" from Amazon. Check March promotion for 0.99.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

March book promotion



Here are the monthly promotions of my books. If you already have my book “Complete the Art of Investing” and/or “Profit in bull, bear and sideways markets”, there is no need for other books except sending this link to your friends.

My best sellers (Profit from bull, Swing, Sector Rotation, Momentum and Complete the Art of Investing) usually have no promotion as they are low-priced already. Free books and the priced-reduced books are Kindle versions only. If the reader finds the book useful, s/he can buy the full version or “Complete the Art of Investing” which has 920 pages (6*9) and/or “Profit from bull, bear and sideways markets” which is a combination of several books on sector rotation and momentum investing.

Most have printed copies. Check out Amazon’s policy. Amazon’s “match” gives you a low-cost (free for my books) of the Kindle version when you buy the printed version. To me, the royalties of the print copy and the Kindle version are about the same. The price difference is the cost of paper. There are many advantages of reading printed books such as making notes and underlining. Most versions are identical with the exception of “Complete the Art of Investing” that has 600 pages.

It is harder to read my investing books than others as they are full of information and techniques. Most have been proven. However they may not work in today’s market as all markets are different. I encourage the readers to try them out via paper testing.

If you do not have any of my travel books, download a free one as offered. It includes how to plan and save your vacation plus my planning worksheet and some basic photo tips.

Check out some books are 30 pages and have the best rating. If they are not written precisely and in gold, the reviews most likely were written by their friends. As of 02/2018, I do not know any reviewers before they wrote the reviews and all book profits are donated to charities.
Click the book name if available to access to more info in Amazon.com. Alternatively, type the name of the book in Amazon.com.  The following are subject to change without notice.

Books (Kindle version only &
printed books may also be available)
List Price
Promotion
Price
Discount
From
End on






Art of Investing: Trade
$2.99
Free
100%
03/03
03/07
State of the United States
$2.99
Free
100%
03/09
03/13
Insider – Concise Edition
$2.99
Free
100%
03/16
03/23
My World Travel
$2.99
Free
100%
03/16
03/20












Profitable Applied Technical Analysis
$3.99
$1.99
51%
03/24
03/31
Profitable investing for retirees
$6.95
$1.99
72%
03/23
03/30
Dividend investing
$5.95
$1.99
67%
03/16
03/23
Top Down Investing
$6.95
$0.99
84%
03/02
03/09
Can China Say No?
$2.95
$0.99
67%
03/09
03/16


















Investing for beginners
$0.99
$0.99

Now
Eternity












My best sellers:




Size3
Complete the Art of Investing1
$9.99

Already
discounted
920
Profit from Coming Market Crash
$7.95

Already
discounted
265
Profit from bull, bear and sideway markets4   (new book)
$9.95

Already
discounted
400






Swing Investing 4rd Edition2
$9.95

Already
discounted
350
Sector Rotation 3rd Edition
$8.95

Already
discounted
295
ETF Rotation for Couch Potatoes
$8.50

Already
discounted
150
Momentum Investing. 2nd Edition
$6.95

Already
discounted
240

1 If you have my book for over a year, it is time to upgrade the book.
2 This book has all the basic articles in Sector and Momentum. If you are into these two strategies, buy this book as it has several chapters not found in Complete the Art of Investing.
3 6*9 and Kindle version. Same sizes for printed version with the exception of “Complete the Art of Investing”.
4 This book has all articles in Swing Trading: Sector, Momentum and ETF Rotation plus a new price-based strategy. Best buy over all swing books. The hard copy is more expensive due to the expensive paper cost.
Some of the list prices or book names may be wrong but the discount percentages should be fine.