Revised data show speculators controlled nearly half of NYMEX oil futures - Financial Week

Revised data show speculators controlled nearly half of NYMEX oil futures - Financial Week

Trade Journal :TradeSmart

Here's the spreadsheet I am using to keep my trade log: Tradesmart v3

Warren Buffett lunch sells for record $2.11 mln | Markets | Markets News | Reuters

Warren Buffett lunch sells for record $2.11 mln | Markets | Markets News | Reuters: "Warren Buffett lunch sells for record $2.11 mln"

Sderot Presentation - Herzliya Conference

So easy not to care about this

Bacteria make major evolutionary shift in the lab - life - 09 June 2008 - New Scientist

Bacteria make major evolutionary shift in the lab - life - 09 June 2008 - New Scientist: "Bacteria make major evolutionary shift in the lab"

Uh-Oh: Dangerous Black Swan Chart Formation!

This is a very dangerous formation, as detailed in Nassim Taleb's Book The Black Swan. Traders should be very careful anytime this chart appears . . .

Click for full version of the exponentially regressed, parabolic, dreaded Black Swan:

FIVE MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE

Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.

The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.

When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.

Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.'


After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.


The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?'

'It was Bob the next door neighbor,' she replies.

'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'



Moral of the story:

If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.


Lesson 2:


A priest offered a Nun a lift.

She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg.

The priest nearly had an accident.

After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg..

The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'

The priest removed his hand But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.
The nun once again said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'

The priest apologized 'Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.'

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.

On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.'

Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.



Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.

They rub it and a Genie comes out.
The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.'
'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.'
Puff! She's gone.

'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.'

Puff! He's gone..

'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager.
The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'


Moral of the story:
Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 4


An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.

A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?'
The eagle answered: 'Sure, why not.'

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.




Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull.

'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.'
'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.'

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.


Moral of the story:
Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there..



Lesson 6


A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.

While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.

As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.

The dung was actually thawing him out!

He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.

Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.


Morals of the story:
(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.

(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your
friend.

(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep
your mouth shut!

THUS ENDS THE FIVE MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE

Recommended day trading community

I am member of the following community and recommend it:

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive: "Taleb Outsells Greenspan as Black Swan Gives Worst Turbulence"

Losing the Future - CommonDreams.org

Losing the Future - CommonDreams.org

A good read

Bank's billions burnt in 10 days - Times Online

Bank's billions burnt in 10 days - Times Online: "result of confusion"

Investing in the Looming Worldwide Water Shortage - Seeking Alpha

Investing in the Looming Worldwide Water Shortage - Seeking Alpha: "Investing in the Looming Worldwide Water Shortage"

Is Eyal Daytrading?

Blogged with Flock

Daniel Loeb Recruit Email

The recent Daniel Loeb letter to to PDL BioPharma seems to have reignited interest in that famous Loeb email exchange from 2005 with a London money manager who was sniffing around for a gig at Third Point. Here it is below, and a New Yorker piece from ‘05 on the exchange below and other Loeb letters.

—–Original Message—–
From: Alan Lewis
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 11:34 AM
To: Daniel Loeb
Subject: CV
Daniel,
Thanks for calling earlier today. Enclosed is my cv for your review. I look forward to following up with you when you have more time.
Best regards,
Alan
Alan D. Lewis
Managing Director
Sthenos Capital Ltd.
—–Original Message—–
From: Daniel Loeb
Sent: 27 March 2005 23:08
To: Alan Lewis
Subject: RE: CV
what are your 3 best current european ideas?
Daniel Loeb
Managing Member
Third Point LLC
—–Original Message—–
From: Alan Lewis
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 1:03 AM
To: Daniel Loeb
Subject: RE: CV
Daniel,
I am sorry but it does not interest me to move forward in this way. If you wish to have a proper discussion about what you are looking to accomplish in Europe, and see how I might fit in, fine.
Lesson one of dealing in Europe, business is not conducted in the same informal manner as in the U.S.
Best regards,
Alan
—–Original Message—–
From: Daniel Loeb
Sent: 28 March 2005 09:50
To: Alan Lewis
Subject: RE: CV
One idea would suffice.
We are an aggressive performance oriented fund looking for blood thirsty competitive individuals who show initiative and drive to make outstanding investments. This is why I have built third point into a $3.0 billion fund with average net returns of 30% net over 10 years.
We find most brits are bit set in their ways and prefer to knock back a pint at the pub and go shooting on weekend rather than work hard. Lifestyle choices and important and knowing one’s limitations with respect to dealing in a competitive environment is too. That is Lesson 1 at my shop.
It is good that we learned about this incompatibility early in the process and I wish you all the best in your career in traditional fund management.
Daniel
—–Original Message—–
From: Alan Lewis
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 4:08 AM
To: Daniel Loeb
Subject: RE: CV
Daniel,
I guess your reputation is proven correct. I have not been in traditional fund management for more than eleven years. I did not achieve the success I have by knocking back a pint, as you say. I am aggressive, and I do love this business. I am Half American and half French, and having spent more than half my life on this side of the pond I think I know a little something about how one conducts business in the UK and Europe.
There are many opportunities in the UK and Europe, shareholder regard is only beginning to be accepted and understood. However, if you come here and handle it in the same brash way you have in the U.S. I guarantee you will fail. Things are done differently here, yes place in
society still matters, where one went to school etc. It will take tact, and patience (traits you obviously do not have) to succeed in this arena.
Good luck!
Alan
—–Original Message—–
From: Daniel Loeb
Sent: 28 March 2005 10:23
To: Alan Lewis
Subject: RE: CV
Well, you will have plenty of time to discuss your “place in society” with the other fellows at the club.
I love the idea of a French/english unemployed guy whose fund just blew up telling me that I am going to fail.
At Third Point, like the financial markets in general,”one’s place in society” does not matter at all. We are a bunch of scrappy guys from diverse backgrounds (Jewish Muslim, Hindu etc) who enjoy outwitting pompous asses like yourself in financial markets globally.
Your “inexplicable insouciance” and disrespect is fascinating; It must be a French/English aristocratic thing. I will be following your “career” with great interest.
I have copied Patrick so that he can introduce you to people who might be a better fit-there must be an insurance company or mutual fund out there for you.
Dan Loeb
————————————————

From: Alan Lewis
To: Daniel Loeb
March 28 2005

Hubris.

————————————————

From: Daniel Loeb
To: Alan Lewis
March 28 2005

Laziness.

Holiday at Madeira

 

Fading the Gap

Interesting study / stats for the ES about gap fading:

http://www.mypivots.com/articles/articles.aspx?artnum=43&page=1

How Spain's open-border policy is driving an economic and social revival

Imagine what would happen if a prosperous Western nation threw open its borders, allowing immigrants to flood in virtually unchecked. Soaring unemployment, overstretched social services, rising crime, even rioting in the streets?
Not in Spain.Over the past decade, the traditionally homogeneous country has become a sort of open-door laboratory on immigration. Spain has absorbed more than 3 million foreigners from places as diverse as Romania, Morocco, and South America. More than 11% of the country's 44 million residents are now foreign-born, one of the highest proportions in Europe. With hundreds of thousands more arriving each year, Spain could soon match the U.S. rate of 12.9%.
And it doesn't seem to have hurt much. Spain is Europe's best-performing major economy, with growth averaging 3.1% over the past five years.
Since 2002, the country has created half the new jobs in the euro zone. Unemployment has plummeted from more than 20% in the 1990s to 8.6%, within shooting distance of the 7.2% euro zone average. The government attributes more than half this stellar performance to immigration.

-BusinessWeek

Cool intuitive, interface-free touch-driven computer screen

Now this is cool !!



Jeff Han is a research scientist for New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences . Here, he demonstrates — for the first time publicly — his intuitive, "interface-free," touch-driven computer screen, which can be manipulated intuitively with the fingertips, and responds to varying levels of pressure. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 09:32)

Galia

DSC01077
Originally uploaded by ilan_the_3rd.

Here's Galia Goldberg. Ilan's daughter. We're so happy to welcome her !!

Le Nombril

J'ai l'immence plaisir de vous presenter le livre de Bellina: Le nombril .

Pour le commander en ligne, cliquer ici.

Merci et a tres bientot.

N'oubliez pas de laisser vos commentaires!!! :)