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Posted at 11:46 AM in Art, Healthy Lifestyle, Ideas, Just for Fun, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
Goldman Sachs released a chart that shows how tech companies have dominated recently.
It highlights top companies by size, charted for the past 10 years.
2015 marked the first time the top three largest companies in the world were all technology firms.
Goldman Sachs via Business Insider.
As the falling oil price pushed Exxon Mobil dropped out of the top three for the first time. Meanwhile, Google (sorry, Alphabet) and Microsoft took two and three this year.
The list is dominated by tech companies, which take five of the top ten slots. It also shows the relative decline of the financial sector, which had three companies in the top 10 before the 2008 crisis. This year, Wells Fargo is the only bank.
Posted at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Getting ready for the New Year!
Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.
Posted at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
My son got me a Squatty Potty as a holiday gift this year. Not nearly as shitty as it sounds ... I kind of like it.
Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.
Posted at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
After months of hemming and hawing, the Federal Reserve announced that it was raising interest rates.
It's the first increase since 2008 (when the Fed cut rates to almost zero).
The good news is that this means our economy is showing signs of strength. But what, exactly, does raising interest rates mean? And how will it effect the economy (and our wallets)?
Turns out the answer is complicated and hard to explain (even, confusingly, if you're the chair of the Federal Reserve).
The process reminded the New York Times of a Rube Goldberg machine (you know, those incredibly intricate devices built to accomplish a simple task).
Here's the video:
via The NYTimes.
The entire article, which explains each step in the machine in detail, is also worth a read.
Posted at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
The first reactions to 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' are here, and people are thrilled ... Even Wired liked it.
Ah, the Hero's Quest ... a formula that has worked for centuries.
Check out this document showing the differences between the plots of Harry Potter and Star Wars.
J.K. Rowling has said, "I haven't the faintest idea where my ideas come from." Well, Wikipedia lists over two dozen influences and analogues (and is interesting, if you like that sort of thing.)
Or, you could just glance at the following infographic. It highlights the similarities between Harry Potter and Star Wars pretty clearly.
Sometimes it is better not to analyze the trick and just enjoy the magic.
Other times, just let Saturday Night Live do a parody of it.
Posted at 09:58 AM in Art, Books, Current Affairs, Just for Fun, Movies | Permalink | Comments (4)
This was an interesting week. It started with a quick trip to Washington, DC to visit my older son and his fiancé. For dinner, I thought they were taking me to the "Tipped Cow" (which sounded good). Instead, we went to a Laotian restaurant (called "Thip Khao") which serves lots of vegetables and mixes their colors.
In addition, I had hand surgery. While not pleasant, it should result in my ability to hold things - and to use my hand again (which I consider favorable).
Finally, I went to Auburn, Alabama for my younger son's college graduation. I am very proud of him. His grades got continually better, the longer he was there ... and he's been there a long time.
Graduation marks the end of one level in the beginning of a new level. In this case, there is a ceremony with caps and gowns, a procession, and everyone knows what it means.
In business, graduations take many forms. It could be a promotion, a product release, or the launch of a fund.
In any case, the strategies and skills that got you to this point only represent the strategies and skills they got you to this point. It often takes a different set of strategies or skills to excel at what comes next.
In that vein, We just finished our annual planning session for 2016.
Onwards.
Posted at 08:10 PM in Business, Personal Development | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google is good for a lot of things. Watching the auto-complete choices is often fun. According to this, PDF might be the fourth most popular religion.
Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.
Posted at 02:05 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Ideas, Just for Fun, Market Commentary, Trading, Trading Tools, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
Deutsche Bank research found that nearly 20% of men between the ages of 25 and 34 live at home.
As a point of comparison, about 12% of women this age are living at home.
Ultimately, you can see this dynamic one of two ways: either the number of young people living at home is a bullish force for the housing market going forward, or this is indicative of a lost generation that has suffered the ill-effects of a deep recession, massive student loan debts, and a general proclivity for incompetence.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. But, it is so easy for my generation to hate on Millennials.
Posted at 02:13 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Market Commentary | Permalink | Comments (0)
Your Portfolio Guide to Rising Interest Rates. [Infographic]
Here is an infographic on market environments during rising interest rates.
via RCM's Alternative Blog - “Your Portfolio Guide to Rising Interest Rates.”
Posted at 12:48 PM in Current Affairs, Market Commentary, Trading, Trading Tools | Permalink | Comments (0)
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