Shake A Hand Shake A Hand

I know I gave you the history on that song about two weeks ago, but I could not think of a better working title to start today's blog.

I am a cradle Catholic. Being raised in a Catholic home and enjoying parochial school for much of my childhood subjects a child to wonderful things. By the time I was in grade school, the church was just digesting the rules of Vatican II, the global effort to "modernize" some of the dogmas of Catholicism.

Being an altar boy was a big thing in my family. I was excited because my mom told me her mother had a bounty on the first grandson who became an altar boy. They were to get $100.00. It must be held in trust for me in the Vatican as I have yet to see the dough. Mom said years later, I would get my reward in heaven. But I digress.

Being brought up Catholic, entailed a certain amount of mysticism and strong beliefs in things you could not always see or understand. God "knows all and sees all" is heavy imagery for a young kid. Everything I did that was less than righteous had me constantly wondering, "Does he really see and know EVERYTHING?"

Mom reinforced the classical Catholic guilt machine by always saying, "You better behave or the Good Lord will know." Then in a sadistic cruel kinda way, when I would hurt myself, she would say, "What were you doing to make the Good Lord angry at you?" Which even at a young tender age had me wondering, "Doesn't this guy have something better to do than care if I called Johnny Warner a jerk?"

By the time I was in high school I got used to the concept that God was Omnipresent. It probably helped me develop my theory (which I share with my lovely wife) of Karma. "Now hold it one minute.", you might say. Karma is a concept based in Buddhism and Jainism. How can a cradle Catholic embrace a idol worshiping concept from Buddhism. Great question.

We like the idea of Karma and feel it has its base in the same root structure as "Do unto others. . . " or "What so ever you do . . .". Devin and I have always shared the belief if you something god for someone else, it comes back a thousand fold. We consider ourselves truly blessed and whether we are right or not, it seems to work. OK, there was that flood thing that even we have a hard time explaining away, but in general, we like the idea.

So what does all of that have to do with Shake a Hand? Yesterday was a crazy busy day at the new house. We had service people, vendors and friends come by the new digs. (Good to see you Dave and thanks for stopping by.)

One of our folk who came by is our long time gardener and all around good guy Miguel. After seeing the house, he made some very nice comments about how happy he was for us and that a blessing like this should come to nice people like Devin and I. That was nice.

As he said that I had to go out back and check out the job our BBQ guy did refurbishing all the BBQ equipment. It was spectacular and everything looked darn near new. I went up to the guy who owns the company BBQ Renew, a big guy named BJ. I said nice job and he stuck out his hand.

Now I was so busy yesterday I had to cancel my "NEVER happy ending" physical therapy session with the proliferator of pain, Kristy. Well I should have gone, because BJ wrenched my hand and it is still hurting 24 hours later. I think he loosened 3 of the 4 Stryker screws in my hand and made bone meal out of a few of the loose bones. Of course I could be wrong because the lady at the Painful Pinky Paladium has determined I am not stoic.

So it goes to show you, when you are getting accolades about being nice and generous, be sure to remain humble, because "He really does see and know EVERYTHING."

Déjà Vu

It is fun taking Jack to school as we have had some interesting conversations in the 25-30 minute drive each way. Today he asked me if I have ever had a Déjà vu dream? He was explaining that he had been in the car with his Mom and a car had gone through a parking lot and he remembered dreaming that the same car was in the same parking lot. I explained to him that déjà vu is the feeling that you have experienced something before you actually experienced and the pre-perception can have it basis in a dream or imagination. That got us on this whole conversation about which comes first the experience or the precognition of the experience.

We beat the subject to death and I asked that he focus his precognition dreams on the S&P 500 and its components.  

With that let's check in with Mr. Market. (49 of out 77 readers just hit delete.) I should really save a juicy little nugget of Croninland Lore for you after the stock/economic/political rambling.

85 Billion Reasons

Yeah there are 85 Billion reasons the market should have been a lot more volatile today. As we mentioned, we were heroes picking that VXX call Monday morning. Tuesday we were not such heroes as we gave back about half of the gains on a similar bet. Tuesday and Wednesday's action took the wind out of our VXX play. We stopped out at a 40% loss.

We could not let it go and expected volatility today and put that bet back down this morning with a 26 dollar call on the MAY VXX at 2.00 a contract. We did have amore volatile day today but it went in both directions. We were down 19% at one time and we finished up 12%.

Apparently the casino bosses have built in the sequester bet into the roulette wheel this week. Some good and bad economic data today (GDP adjustment was disappointing and the job numbers were impressive) made for the volatility, but volume in the market was mediocre until the last 30 minutes of trading when the DOW came down about 40 points and the S&P came down about 15 points.

That could mean a rough opening tomorrow when the actual budget cuts go into effect. With the RED FLAG flying, we are not adding to any positions at the moment (We did buy more GLD on the dip Wednesday.). We will continue to play the VXX until we see what Washington comes up with to address the ST and LT aspects of the budget. (And more importantly what is going on in Europe. If Greece could cause so much angst two years ago Italy could give the world market the wobblies.)

Win, Place and Show

Now this is not a recommendation as much as a heads up. It looks like the flu bugs are getting nastier and nastier every year. As such, we have to come up with more clever vaccinations. Three major pharms are in process to develop what is know as quadrivalent vaccines which fight 4 different influenza derivatives. The 2012-2013 shots were triple headed these will be four headed. Between the three companies you will have 80% of the world market in influenza makers for the 2013-2014 season. The seasonal sales would start in a few months and should reflect in their third and fourth quarter earnings reports.

Here are your three horses in a 4 horse race.

SNY Sanofi researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products worldwide. Its principal pharmaceuticals include Lantus and Apidra analogs of human insulin; Insuman range of human insulin solutions and suspensions; Amaryl, an oral once-daily sulfonylurea; BGStar and iBGStar blood glucose meters; enzyme replacement therapies, such as Cerezyme to treat Gaucher disease, Fabrazyme to treat Fabry disease, and Myozyme/Lumizyme to treat Pompe disease; Taxotere, a taxane derivative for various cancer types; Eloxatine treating colorectal cancer; and Jevtana for patients with prostate cancer. The company's other products comprise thrombosis medicines, such as Plavix anti-platelet agent indicated for atherothrombotic conditions and Lovenox for the prevention and treatment of deep vein thrombosis and for unstable angina and myocardial infarction; cardiovascular medicines consisting of Multaq, an anti-arrhythmic agent and Aprovel/CoAprovel for hypertension treatments; Renagel/Renvela oral phosphate binders used in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis to treat high phosphorus levels; and Synvisc and Synvisc-One viscosupplements used to treat pain associated with osteoarthritis of certain joints. It also offers pediatric combination, influenza, adult and adolescent booster, meningitis, and travel and endemics vaccines. In addition, the company provides pharmaceuticals and vaccines used by veterinarians, farmers, and pet owners; consumer health care products; and other prescription drugs, including generics. It has alliance arrangements with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Warner Chilcott; and strategic collaboration with Selecta Biosciences, Inc. Sanofi distributes its products through its sales force, as well as through physicians, pharmacies, hospitals, distributors, veterinaries, chemists, and wholesalers. The company was formerly known as Sanofi-Aventis and changed its name to Sanofi in May 2011. Sanofi was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

AZN AstraZeneca PLC engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology, and infectious diseases worldwide. Its principal products include Atacand for hypertension and heart failure; Crestor for managing cholesterol levels; Nexium for acid reflux; Losec/Prilosec for the treatment of acid related diseases; Seloken/Toprol-XL for hypertension, heart failure, and angina; Seroquel IR for schizophrenia and bipolar disorders; and Seroquel XR for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorders. The company principal products also comprise Symbicort for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases; Synagis for RSV, a respiratory infection in infants; and Zoladex for prostate and breast cancer. In addition, it has 86 pipeline projects, which include 79 projects in various clinical phases of development and 7 approved or launched projects. The company markets its products primarily to primary care and specialist doctors through distributors or local representative offices. AstraZeneca PLC has a strategic partnership with KNODE Inc. for the development of web-based solution; a strategic alliance with Regulus Therapeutics, LLC to discover, develop, and commercialize microRNA therapeutics; and a strategic alliance with Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the discovery and development of novel generation antisense therapeutics. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

GSK GlaxoSmithKline plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products, over the counter (OTC) medicines, and health-related consumer products worldwide. It offers pharmaceutical products in various therapeutic areas comprising respiratory, HIV, central nervous system, cardiovascular and urogenital, metabolic, anti-bacterial, oncology and emesis, vaccines, and dermatologicals. The company provides prescription medicines to treat a range of conditions, including infections, depression, skin conditions, asthma, heart and circulatory disease, and cancer. It also markets a range of vaccines to prevent life-threatening or crippling illnesses, such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, typhoid, influenza, and bacterial meningitis. In addition, the company provides OTC medicines, including Panadol, a paracetamol-based treatment of headache and joint pain, fever, and cold symptoms; Gaviscon, a range of antacid products that relieve heartburn due to acid reflux; and NicoDerm, NiQuitin CQ, Nicabate, and Nicorette for the treatment of nicotine withdrawal as an aid to quit smoking. Further, it offers oral healthcare products comprising Sensodyne, a range of toothpastes and toothbrushes; Aquafresh, a range of toothpastes, toothbrushes, and mouthwashes; and Polident, Poligrip, and Corega, which are denture adhesives and cleansers. Additionally, the company provides nutritional healthcare products consisting of Lucozade, an energy and sports drinks; Horlicks, a malted, milk-based drink and food; and Ribena, an apple, orange, raspberry, and pomegranate flavored fruit drink, as well as markets skincare products. It has drug discovery research collaboration with Yale University to design various medicines that degrade disease-causing proteins. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Brentford, United Kingdom.

We did very well with this play in 2006 nearly doubling our money in 11 months with GSK Roche, and MRK. It was ambulance chasing at its best. DO YOR HOMEWORK.

Ok we promised a little teaser if you hung around. Here it is.

This is the room off the back of the new house. There is a beautiful Barbeque off to the left of this picture. The shutter on the right close up and there are built in warmers in the ceiling as well as surround sound. We have a nice heavy table and chairs coming very soon. This will be the place where I see us hanging out a lot with small groups of folk.

 
Since 2/25/2013
G to Y 2/21/2013
Y to G 12/31/2012

I am not a professional investment adviser. Anybody reading my blog and investing accordingly must be out of their minds. I have made more money than I have lost. Except for a nasty VXX trade is 2012.   There are many more qualified people than I to actually tell you how to invest your money.

BAGAKOAA=Boys And Girls And Kids Of All Ages

Salve Lucrum=Latin for Hurrah for Profit.

Brian's estimate :

2013 Year Ending

Dow 14,361

S&P 500

1,610

2012 Year Ending

Dow 13,073

Actual 13,104

S&P 500 1,358

Actual 1,426

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