10/2/04 It’s Hard Work
Lane Kirkland: "If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves."
Yesterday was the first day of the quarter and there must have been tremendous incentives to stimulate the buying on Wall Street. I know GM was not giving away new cars for free. I know it wasn’t because oil closed for the first time above $50 a barrel, or the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds had risen 20 basis points in a few days, or because Ichiro broke George Sisler’s record that has stood for 84 years, or that Mt. St. Helens erupted, or that commodities had a record week, or that gold closed above $420, or that natural gas for delivery next month is approaching $7 a thousand cubic feet, or that heating oil last year was 74 cents a gallon a year ago and is now almost $1.40, or that the inflation index is up 2.1% from a year earlier, or that the dollar fell to its lowest level against the euro since mid-July. It wasn’t because a G7 official opined there is "a recognition that oil reserves were scarcer than was thought a few years ago." It wasn’t because a U.S. government official stated almost 29% of daily output in the Gulf of Mexico remained shut down after Ivan, or that U.S. heating-oil inventories are 10% below normal after last month’s storms, or that, in the next three months, record daily demand is anticipated for heating, transportation, and factory fuels, or that the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index for September was much weaker at 94.2 than the consensus level of 96. It wasn’t because the latest ISM Prices Index indicated a significant upward pressure on prices, or that ISM’s New Orders Index declined 3.1 percentage points from 61.2 in August to 58.1 in September, or that ISM’s Supplier Deliveries Index registered 59.6 or 3.6 percentage points lower than August’s 63.2 percent, or that ISM’s Customers’ Index registered a monthly decline of 4 percentage points to 41.5, the 40th consecutive month the index has been below 50 percent, or that ISM’s New Export Orders Index declined 2.4 percentage points to 51.8 percent. Overall, there is a recent slowing in new orders and customers are maintaining smaller inventory levels. The customers are worrying more about demand than inflation. If it were the reverse, they would be stocking up on goods prior to price increases.
Billy Crystal: "Well the way things are going, aside from wheat and auto parts, America’s biggest export is now Oscar."
GM’s incentives rose 6.1% from August to September to $5,168 and increased 5.6% at Ford to $5,179 and decreased by $1 per vehicle to $4,861 at Chrysler. Toyota’s incentives are $3,506. The star performers were trucks due to large cash rebates. For the first nine months of 2004, even with growing rebates, GM’s share of the market still was a tenth of a percentage point less that it had in 2003. During the same period, Ford’s market share declined to 19.7% from 20.9%. It’s hard work.
Flip Wilson: "If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments."
Davy Crockett: "Remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have."
Burner Systems International is closing its Mansfield, Ohio plant and cutting 300 jobs. Wallace Computer Services is closing its San Luis Obispo labeling and printing plant and laying off 100 people. WestPointStevens will close its Long View, NC bedding plant and lay off 300 workers. Lawson Software will layoff 100 workers.
Recently, Boeing’s share price hit a new yearly high. Meanwhile, their third quarter plane deliveries only amounted to 67 (of which 49 are the 737) and that makes 218 for the first nine months of the year. They are right on schedule to have another lackluster year for making commercial jets. It’s hard work.
So why did the Dow rise 112 points, the Nasdaq 45, and the S&P 17 points yesterday? I don’t know. It’s hard work.
Governor Chou: "China’s forex regime could change on certain conditions but we need to do more preparation. It is impossible to do it now." It’s hard work.
Charlie McCarthy: "Hard work never killed anybody, but why take the chance?"
Author Kevin Phillips on Karl Rove: "He is the first strategist to elect a schmuck as president of the United States- to orchestrate the triumph of a relatively mediocre thinker who lost the popular vote and now has the chance to become a historical figure thanks to Osama bin Laden."
Friday, October 01, 2004
10/1/04 Will It Be A Red October?
Yesterday, a volcano warning was issued for Mt. St. Helens. Experts on the scene stated there is a 70% chance of at least a small eruption. At tradesports.com 63% have their money on Bush for president. I wonder what the chances are of that bet erupting?
According to the Pentagon, 42 U.S. service members were killed in Iraq in June, 54 in July, 66 in August, and at least 76 in September. Since the invasion, at least 1,052 have been killed and approximately 7,500 wounded. Ted Carpenter of the Cato Institute opined "I think we’re losing slowly but steadily. I think we’re sinking deeper into the quick sand."
Dick Cheney: "We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators."
Craig Kilborn: "This was nice, President Bush wished the Iraqis God’s grace on their road to democracy. And then Vice President Cheney told them to go F-themselves."
Nortel to cut 3,250 jobs. Pepsico to close 4 Frito Lay plants- Council Bluffs, IA, Allen Park, MI, Beaverton, OR, and Visalia, CA- and eliminate 780 positions. Two Chelsea Industries located in Kentucky will close by the end of October and 109 employees will lose their jobs. Capital One will close an Irving, TX call center and cut 220 workers. The Chicago Transit Authority’s proposed doomsday budget would cut 1,000 union workers.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur: "There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity."
Merck traded at an 8-year low. The company’s Vioxx drug was approved for sale in 1999 and currently there are 2.5 million users. With sales exceeding $2 billion a year, it accounts for 20% of Merck’s profits. Yesterday the company pulled the drug off the market. It was a heavy blow to the company’s reputation, to the bottom line, and to its stockholders. Merck has had a terrific history. Hopefully, its future will be equally bright. Frequently, opportunity exists in unsettled times.
In the latest reading, consumer spending was flat and the pace of savings picked up. As the population ages, that trend, I believe, will be the norm.
The Labor Department stated that last week’s rise in the unemployment numbers was due to the hurricanes in Florida. I guess the recent rise in plant closings had nothing to do with it.
Last night Bush stated he is a decisive leader and that he made the tough decision to invade Iraq "because the enemy attacked us." Kerry reminded Bush that bin Laden not Iraq attacked us. Laura Bush must have been relieved to hear her husband state "I knew that."
Yesterday, a volcano warning was issued for Mt. St. Helens. Experts on the scene stated there is a 70% chance of at least a small eruption. At tradesports.com 63% have their money on Bush for president. I wonder what the chances are of that bet erupting?
According to the Pentagon, 42 U.S. service members were killed in Iraq in June, 54 in July, 66 in August, and at least 76 in September. Since the invasion, at least 1,052 have been killed and approximately 7,500 wounded. Ted Carpenter of the Cato Institute opined "I think we’re losing slowly but steadily. I think we’re sinking deeper into the quick sand."
Dick Cheney: "We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators."
Craig Kilborn: "This was nice, President Bush wished the Iraqis God’s grace on their road to democracy. And then Vice President Cheney told them to go F-themselves."
Nortel to cut 3,250 jobs. Pepsico to close 4 Frito Lay plants- Council Bluffs, IA, Allen Park, MI, Beaverton, OR, and Visalia, CA- and eliminate 780 positions. Two Chelsea Industries located in Kentucky will close by the end of October and 109 employees will lose their jobs. Capital One will close an Irving, TX call center and cut 220 workers. The Chicago Transit Authority’s proposed doomsday budget would cut 1,000 union workers.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur: "There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity."
Merck traded at an 8-year low. The company’s Vioxx drug was approved for sale in 1999 and currently there are 2.5 million users. With sales exceeding $2 billion a year, it accounts for 20% of Merck’s profits. Yesterday the company pulled the drug off the market. It was a heavy blow to the company’s reputation, to the bottom line, and to its stockholders. Merck has had a terrific history. Hopefully, its future will be equally bright. Frequently, opportunity exists in unsettled times.
In the latest reading, consumer spending was flat and the pace of savings picked up. As the population ages, that trend, I believe, will be the norm.
The Labor Department stated that last week’s rise in the unemployment numbers was due to the hurricanes in Florida. I guess the recent rise in plant closings had nothing to do with it.
Last night Bush stated he is a decisive leader and that he made the tough decision to invade Iraq "because the enemy attacked us." Kerry reminded Bush that bin Laden not Iraq attacked us. Laura Bush must have been relieved to hear her husband state "I knew that."
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
9/30/04 Mom Would Have Been 88 Today
This didn't take any guts. Pimco's Gross suggested selling positions in the 10-year Treasury bonds. Holders have big profits and you can't get hurt taking a profit. After all, the U.S. Treasury auctioned off $24 billion in 2-year notes at a yield of 2.60% or about a 1.44 differential with the 10-year paper. Maybe one should ask why there is a bubble in the 10-year. We have record deficits and require large daily funding from foreign sources. Our dollar is weak and the Administration has promoted a weak dollar to spur exports. The purchasing power of our citizens has suffered. Bubbles can last for a long time. Look at home prices. Consider the bubble in dot com stocks. Look at a chart on the Nasdaq. Our 10-year Treasury bonds are a resting place for petrodollars and for dollars coming back from China and Japan for their exports into the U.S. It's not to be nice. It's to keep the game going. The game is the recycling of dollars. We end up with less and less and foreigners lend us the dollars they received through their exports into the U.S. Soon we will be living in a country where the debt holders control us. That's what almost 4 years of Bush has brought us. That is a fear factor. That's real, and it's a code red. You can go to the bank on that- but make it one in Switzerland.
Mark Twain: "In the long run there is more terror in threats than in execution, for when you get use to terror, your emotions get dulled." I hope the voters understand this.
Plato: "Only the dead have seen the end of the war."
Bush & Company have a clear agenda. It's simple. The Iraq war is part of the war on terror. Never mind the WMD that didn't exist and the lies that were told to get the official backing to the Iraq war. That's all over now- except for the dead and the wounded and the families who are left with the tragedies. Their war continues and continues and continues. Mourning does not end.
Second quarter GDP was revised upward to 3.3%. It takes 89 days to revise the prior quarter. It must be difficult assembling information on exports, imports, and inventories. Maybe we should hire some more government workers. Just a bad joke.
Paul Wilkinson: "Fighting terrorism is like being a goalkeeper. You can make a hundred brilliant saves but the only shot that people remember is the one that gets past you."
Belo Corp. to cut 250 jobs. Many of the positions eliminated will be at the Dallas Morning News.
The joke of the week: Chief executive officers of GM, Ford, and Chrysler asked Treasury Secretary John Snow to urge Japan not to resume yen sales that they say unfairly make Japanese cars less expensive in the U.S. Maybe the consumer prefers the Japanese cars, such as, those made by Toyota.
The dome at Mt. St. Helens was raised to the second highest danger alert level. The local officials didn't even ask Homeland Security for permission. My faith in the human race has taken a leap forward.
Jay Leno: "The reason there are two senators for each state is so that one can be the designated driver.
This didn't take any guts. Pimco's Gross suggested selling positions in the 10-year Treasury bonds. Holders have big profits and you can't get hurt taking a profit. After all, the U.S. Treasury auctioned off $24 billion in 2-year notes at a yield of 2.60% or about a 1.44 differential with the 10-year paper. Maybe one should ask why there is a bubble in the 10-year. We have record deficits and require large daily funding from foreign sources. Our dollar is weak and the Administration has promoted a weak dollar to spur exports. The purchasing power of our citizens has suffered. Bubbles can last for a long time. Look at home prices. Consider the bubble in dot com stocks. Look at a chart on the Nasdaq. Our 10-year Treasury bonds are a resting place for petrodollars and for dollars coming back from China and Japan for their exports into the U.S. It's not to be nice. It's to keep the game going. The game is the recycling of dollars. We end up with less and less and foreigners lend us the dollars they received through their exports into the U.S. Soon we will be living in a country where the debt holders control us. That's what almost 4 years of Bush has brought us. That is a fear factor. That's real, and it's a code red. You can go to the bank on that- but make it one in Switzerland.
Mark Twain: "In the long run there is more terror in threats than in execution, for when you get use to terror, your emotions get dulled." I hope the voters understand this.
Plato: "Only the dead have seen the end of the war."
Bush & Company have a clear agenda. It's simple. The Iraq war is part of the war on terror. Never mind the WMD that didn't exist and the lies that were told to get the official backing to the Iraq war. That's all over now- except for the dead and the wounded and the families who are left with the tragedies. Their war continues and continues and continues. Mourning does not end.
Second quarter GDP was revised upward to 3.3%. It takes 89 days to revise the prior quarter. It must be difficult assembling information on exports, imports, and inventories. Maybe we should hire some more government workers. Just a bad joke.
Paul Wilkinson: "Fighting terrorism is like being a goalkeeper. You can make a hundred brilliant saves but the only shot that people remember is the one that gets past you."
Belo Corp. to cut 250 jobs. Many of the positions eliminated will be at the Dallas Morning News.
The joke of the week: Chief executive officers of GM, Ford, and Chrysler asked Treasury Secretary John Snow to urge Japan not to resume yen sales that they say unfairly make Japanese cars less expensive in the U.S. Maybe the consumer prefers the Japanese cars, such as, those made by Toyota.
The dome at Mt. St. Helens was raised to the second highest danger alert level. The local officials didn't even ask Homeland Security for permission. My faith in the human race has taken a leap forward.
Jay Leno: "The reason there are two senators for each state is so that one can be the designated driver.
9/29/04 Fear Factor
Lloyd Douglas: "If a man harbors any sort of fear, it makes him landlord to a ghost."
Bush is ahead in almost every poll. He is running on the fear factor. His is the administration of raising the homeland security alert. Maybe the fear represents more than that like fear of losing a job; fear of not getting a job; fear of losing benefits; fear of not afffording health insurance; fear of losing one's pension; fear of not having sufficient federal funds for medicare; fear that foreign countries won't give us the necessary $2 billion per day to make up the daily budget gap; fear of losing your constitutional liberties; fear that the killing and the wounded lists in Iraq will continue to mount for years to come; and fear that these two presidential candidates are the best America has to offer. The choice sucks.
Helen Keller: "Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold."
September U.S. consumer confidence fell to 96.8 from the prior month's 98.7. Attitudes about the current economic situation fell to 95.5 from 100.7 The number of consumers who believed jobs are plentiful declined in September to 16.8% from 18.4% while those who found jobs hard to get increased to 28.3% from 26%.
Teddy Roosevelt: "the only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts about reality."
Pliant Corp. is closing its Burrillville, R.I. plastics plant and eliminating 60 jobs. VF Corp. is closing two sewing plants in El Paso and laying off 1,035 workers. La Crosse Footwear is closing its Claremont, NH plant and laying off 70 employees. J&J is closing its Royston, GA plant and laying off 300 workers. Russ Berrie is cutting 75 jobs. Computer Associates is cutting 800 jobs. No wonder consumer confidence is waning. Delta Airlines is cutting executive and employee pay by 10%.
Lenny Bruce: " If Jesus had been killed 20 years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses."
Lloyd Douglas: "If a man harbors any sort of fear, it makes him landlord to a ghost."
Bush is ahead in almost every poll. He is running on the fear factor. His is the administration of raising the homeland security alert. Maybe the fear represents more than that like fear of losing a job; fear of not getting a job; fear of losing benefits; fear of not afffording health insurance; fear of losing one's pension; fear of not having sufficient federal funds for medicare; fear that foreign countries won't give us the necessary $2 billion per day to make up the daily budget gap; fear of losing your constitutional liberties; fear that the killing and the wounded lists in Iraq will continue to mount for years to come; and fear that these two presidential candidates are the best America has to offer. The choice sucks.
Helen Keller: "Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold."
September U.S. consumer confidence fell to 96.8 from the prior month's 98.7. Attitudes about the current economic situation fell to 95.5 from 100.7 The number of consumers who believed jobs are plentiful declined in September to 16.8% from 18.4% while those who found jobs hard to get increased to 28.3% from 26%.
Teddy Roosevelt: "the only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts about reality."
Pliant Corp. is closing its Burrillville, R.I. plastics plant and eliminating 60 jobs. VF Corp. is closing two sewing plants in El Paso and laying off 1,035 workers. La Crosse Footwear is closing its Claremont, NH plant and laying off 70 employees. J&J is closing its Royston, GA plant and laying off 300 workers. Russ Berrie is cutting 75 jobs. Computer Associates is cutting 800 jobs. No wonder consumer confidence is waning. Delta Airlines is cutting executive and employee pay by 10%.
Lenny Bruce: " If Jesus had been killed 20 years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses."
Monday, September 27, 2004
9/28/04 Home Prices Are Falling--Finally! As 10-year Treasury bonds traded below 4% and the Dow inched downward to the 10,000 level, the U.S. August median price for a new home declined from July's $214,400 to $208,900, a drop of almost 11.7% in just one month. Of course, a single month does not make a trend; however,there was more information released. New home sales are down 0.4% year-over-year and the number of new homes for sale increased to 404,000, the highest number in 25 years. This is taking place during a month of declining mortgage rates. What would happen if there had been an increase? The headlines read a good bit differently- that frequently takes place with July new home sales revised downward by 52,000 units to 1.082 million; however, August results jumped9.4% to 1.184 million. Without the change in July, theincrease for last month would have been 50,000 unitsor a rise of 4.4%. I think we should re-visit thissubject in another month and see whether the resultsare similar to August's numbers. The CEO of Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, predicted a flat Western European market in 2005. Harry Truman: "Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day." There have already been over 600 earnings warnings for the third quarter. Companies frequently blame the weather, higher energy prices, and higher unit labor costs. Managements might consider an additional reason- the topline growth is puny in most cases. Should Bush win the election, many money managers are looking for a Bush market bounce. Since Bush arrived at the White House in January 2001, the indices haven't exactly been kind to investors. Maybe the aforementioned money managers have grown accustomed to below-par results. A three-day auto clearance sale begins today. Despite heavy discounting, I still do not expect much of a pick-up for GM or Ford. On Friday, Commerce One said it woud lay off 56 employees. The company is left with $300,000 in cash. The Atlanta Braves won their 13th Division Title in a row. AT&T cut 140 call center jobs in Fairhaven, Mass. Thecompany is closing its customer service center in Charleston, W.Va., eliminating nearly 300 jobs. In addition, they are closing call centers in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Knight Ridder's Nancy Youssef wrote that, since April, U.S. air strikes in Iraq have killed twice as many Iraqis (including many civilian bystanders) than those at the hands of nationalist guerrillas. Crude closed at a record $49.64 a barrel, and in evening hours traded at $50. Steve Allen: "The hair is real; it's the head that's fake."
U.S. retail gas prices at the pump rose 5 cents last week to $1.96 per gallon on average.
Walter Williams, professor emeritus at the University of Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs: "Bush's dismal policy failures in tax cuts and Iraq are being sold as achievements- and apparently being bought by large numbers of the public."
U.S. retail gas prices at the pump rose 5 cents last week to $1.96 per gallon on average.
Walter Williams, professor emeritus at the University of Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs: "Bush's dismal policy failures in tax cuts and Iraq are being sold as achievements- and apparently being bought by large numbers of the public."
9/27/04 Malfunctioning Traffic Signals
Beware at intersections. Jeanne has left malfunctioning traffic signals in its wake. Over a million residents remain without power.
On Saturday and Sunday there were more than 10 quakes below the dome on Mt. St. Helens ranging from 2.0 to 2.8, the most in a 24-hour period since the eruption in October 1986. Seismologists suggest there could be a small explosion soon.
How will Fannie Mae's accounting troubles impact the housing market and the economy? Will it be simply a small explosion? Maybe we should ask a seismologist rather than the Wall Street experts.
Colin Powell: "We have seen an increase in anti-Americanism in the Muslim world...we are fighting an intense insurgency. Yes, it's getting worse." That sounds a bit different from the message Bush has been delivering to the American people. Why am I not surprised?
Crude is trading at $49.37 a barrel.
If you visit Florida, bring bug repellent. Jeanne has left such wet conditions that mosquitos are loving every minute of it.
For the first time in 27 years, the San Francisco 49ers did not score any points yesterday. For the first time since 1969, the Miami Dolphins began the season with a 0-3 record.
At the Electric Drive Transportation conference last week, experts stated fuel cell cars are 15 years off.
Donald T. Terry, a senior InterAmerican Development Bank official, stated that about $38 billion was sent to Latin American and Caribbean countries in 2003- mostly from the U.S. He expects the total to reach $45 billion in 2004. Interestingly, Latin America and the Caribbean received $29 billion in foreign aid and foreign investment combined in 2003. The IDB said the average wire transfer is $235, and that overall, 10% of Latin American and Caribbean residents receive remittances each year.
Elaine Worzala, professor of real estate at the University of San Diego: "A lot of people are already spending 50% of their income on their mortgage payment. If the interest rates go up, they're all of a sudden very cash poor, putting themselves in a position where they have to default on their loan and lose their house." As Dan Ruiz, a mortgage broker remarked, "what's the incentive of staying if you have no equity?"
Beware at intersections. Jeanne has left malfunctioning traffic signals in its wake. Over a million residents remain without power.
On Saturday and Sunday there were more than 10 quakes below the dome on Mt. St. Helens ranging from 2.0 to 2.8, the most in a 24-hour period since the eruption in October 1986. Seismologists suggest there could be a small explosion soon.
How will Fannie Mae's accounting troubles impact the housing market and the economy? Will it be simply a small explosion? Maybe we should ask a seismologist rather than the Wall Street experts.
Colin Powell: "We have seen an increase in anti-Americanism in the Muslim world...we are fighting an intense insurgency. Yes, it's getting worse." That sounds a bit different from the message Bush has been delivering to the American people. Why am I not surprised?
Crude is trading at $49.37 a barrel.
If you visit Florida, bring bug repellent. Jeanne has left such wet conditions that mosquitos are loving every minute of it.
For the first time in 27 years, the San Francisco 49ers did not score any points yesterday. For the first time since 1969, the Miami Dolphins began the season with a 0-3 record.
At the Electric Drive Transportation conference last week, experts stated fuel cell cars are 15 years off.
Donald T. Terry, a senior InterAmerican Development Bank official, stated that about $38 billion was sent to Latin American and Caribbean countries in 2003- mostly from the U.S. He expects the total to reach $45 billion in 2004. Interestingly, Latin America and the Caribbean received $29 billion in foreign aid and foreign investment combined in 2003. The IDB said the average wire transfer is $235, and that overall, 10% of Latin American and Caribbean residents receive remittances each year.
Elaine Worzala, professor of real estate at the University of San Diego: "A lot of people are already spending 50% of their income on their mortgage payment. If the interest rates go up, they're all of a sudden very cash poor, putting themselves in a position where they have to default on their loan and lose their house." As Dan Ruiz, a mortgage broker remarked, "what's the incentive of staying if you have no equity?"
Sunday, September 26, 2004
9/26/04 Records Are Made To Be Broken
Analysts will provide the average rate for investment returns and/or interest rates over time and provide a caveat comprised of a standard deviation. It looks great on paper until the ways of nature are placed into the mix. The last time four large storms occurred within six weeks was in Texas in 1886; however, with Jeanne, as Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami observed, it was the "first time ever that we know of that two hurricanes landed so close (2 miles) in place and time." As the adage goes, and without standard deviation, there's no avoiding death or taxes except maybe taxes for the likes of GE and dozens like it.
Sandra Carey: "Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living, the other helps you make a life."
To survive a hurricane, communities provide get ready checklists that include all the items you should have handy. Unfortunately, the list does not provide a solution to the following: thousands are still without phone service from hurricane Frances; Florida Power & Light warned that customers seriously damaged by Jeanne may have to wait up to three weeks or more to get power. The company faced Jeanne with far fewer outside repair crews than were available at the start of Frances; the hurricanes have impacted the ability to obtain homeowners' insurance since most insurers do not write policies when a hurricane threatens; and real estate closings have been impacted by property re-inspections for repairs.
Prior to the storm arriving late last night, emergency measures were instituted: there were mandatory evacuations of at least two million people; curfews were put into place; bridges were closed; airports were shut down; malls closed around noon but Home Depot and Lowe's remained open to provide necessary supplies; people moved themselves away from coastlines, and all hotel rooms west of I 95 in Broward county, for example, were booked. This morning most residents in Palm Beach County are without power but in Broward county only about 80,000. It was only until 48 hours ago that most residents truly took the potential brunt of Jeanne seriously. How could 4 storms take place in such a short time? After all, standard deviation indicates this should not happen. Records are made to be broken.
Albert Einstein: "Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
Analysts will provide the average rate for investment returns and/or interest rates over time and provide a caveat comprised of a standard deviation. It looks great on paper until the ways of nature are placed into the mix. The last time four large storms occurred within six weeks was in Texas in 1886; however, with Jeanne, as Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami observed, it was the "first time ever that we know of that two hurricanes landed so close (2 miles) in place and time." As the adage goes, and without standard deviation, there's no avoiding death or taxes except maybe taxes for the likes of GE and dozens like it.
Sandra Carey: "Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living, the other helps you make a life."
To survive a hurricane, communities provide get ready checklists that include all the items you should have handy. Unfortunately, the list does not provide a solution to the following: thousands are still without phone service from hurricane Frances; Florida Power & Light warned that customers seriously damaged by Jeanne may have to wait up to three weeks or more to get power. The company faced Jeanne with far fewer outside repair crews than were available at the start of Frances; the hurricanes have impacted the ability to obtain homeowners' insurance since most insurers do not write policies when a hurricane threatens; and real estate closings have been impacted by property re-inspections for repairs.
Prior to the storm arriving late last night, emergency measures were instituted: there were mandatory evacuations of at least two million people; curfews were put into place; bridges were closed; airports were shut down; malls closed around noon but Home Depot and Lowe's remained open to provide necessary supplies; people moved themselves away from coastlines, and all hotel rooms west of I 95 in Broward county, for example, were booked. This morning most residents in Palm Beach County are without power but in Broward county only about 80,000. It was only until 48 hours ago that most residents truly took the potential brunt of Jeanne seriously. How could 4 storms take place in such a short time? After all, standard deviation indicates this should not happen. Records are made to be broken.
Albert Einstein: "Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
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