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What I Think I Know by Damien Del Russo
Anita's funeral was Wednesday. The mass was held at the Church of the Epiphany, where she and Gene were married 12 years ago. The mass was personal and nice, with the real highlight being Gene's eulogy. He spoke from the heart is classic Gene form, telling a couple poignant stories and relating Anita's amazing personality and an important lesson he learned about fate and love. It was very moving, and I'm sure there wasn't a dry eye in the church.
Gene and Anita have a pair of plots, so while he is no rush to join her, they plan to be together in death as in life. Rest in peace, Anita.
Thursday, Thanksgiving, was the other side of life. We had a superb feast, hosting 5 members of our court. Our guests did the bulk of the cooking, including the turkey, which made our job much easier. Yin still managed to cook 3 or 4 dishes, including two incredible desserts. My contributions included setting the table, cleaning the dishes, cranberry pecan sauce, and two nice bottles of Pinot Noir. Every since I saw Sideways that's all we drink, which made for a fun table discussion. Everything went smoothly, with no embarrassments or faux pas, as everyone enjoyed the food and drink and conversation. Go 35 Court!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Tuesday and Wednesday were heathy days for the portfolio, as Apple and Google just will not quit. I love being long on Google while listening to others tell me how it's too expensive to buy. I tell them, that's what I said at $120! And $180! And $200! Not to mention $240, $280, and $300. But I pulled the trigger at $340 and now I can enjoy it rather than suffer others' success. And I have a tight stop (see below), so it's no problem!
Positions:
Apple Computer (AAPL), Price: $67.11, Stop: $65
Year-to-date Performance: +37%
Artemis hit a nice milestone yesterday, too. She is up over 40% for the year.
We'll be away for a couple days, so I'll leave you with an extra long Daily and a wish for a Happy Thanksgiving. Oh, and we also have some updated pictures of Artemis.
Yesterday was a pleasant day, a solid 1.5% gainer with all positions advancing. Apple is making a big move to guarantee supply of memory for their iPods, deploying some of their huge bundle of cash. Apple, by the way, is a zero debt company. That's a beautiful thing.
Starbucks is really at a testing point, closing yesterday at 31.90 on good volume with resistance at 32. I won't try to predict the way it's going - just know that if it closes above $32 it will be a buy, but if it closes down it will be a sell - provided there is enough volume to justify a judgment. It should be interesting and hopefully profitable.
Tivo is looking pretty bad - if you have it, sell it. Today they made a major annoucement to allow users to convert shows from their Tivo into video iPod-friendly format, but it looks like flailing to me. Tivo is never going to make money from this feature - if it's profitable, Apple will take it. If it's not profitable, they'll waste their time and money. The stock, too, only made a modest 4.36% gain on huge volume - not good. Expect a retracement. It's too bad, I love Tivo but the company is just in a tough spot. It's probably a great short but you have to worry if they suddenly become profitable or get a buyout offer you could be deep under water and given the nature of news a stop might not save you from a big gap up. Therefore I would just avoid Tivo altogether (while using it every day at home!).
In light of today's gains, I adjusted my stops again. My Starbucks is very tight - if it starts to slide, I want to get out early and look for another entry in a week or so. If I get knocked out during daily fluctuations but it closes above $32, I'll just buy again. That's the (potential) price of risk-avoidance. Today's action was definitely good so I am mildly optimistic (though I shouldn't be emotional at all).
Positions:
Apple Computer (AAPL), Price: $64.96, Stop: $62.75
Year-to-date Performance: +33.4%
I have sad news to report - our family member, Anita Van Severen, passed away Saturday morning. She has been in poor health for many years, but had recently made some strides towards regaining her independence and wit. Last time we spoke, she was quite lucid and funny, and we all hoped for her recovery. We're not sure of the exact cause of death, as she had several persistent medical problems resulting from Multiple Sclerosis. Our love goes out to her husband and my dad, Gene.
Otherwise we had a quiet family weekend, mostly spending time together.
On Friday I mentioned the buy signal on Starbucks (SBUX) when it closed above $30. Woops! The resistance was actually at $32, so it faces a test this week. I am not selling, but I am keeping my stop nice and tight.
I also have my eye on Ann Taylor (ANN), which will be another good short if it closes below $30. However, it closed above $30 on Friday on big volume, so it might be a good long right now. Mostly I am watching just to learn a lesson - I wouldn't want to put money on either side.
Positions:
Apple Computer (AAPL), Price: $64.56, Stop: $62.75
Year-to-date Performance: +31.4%
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