09/7/19

Afghanistan — No Peace, No Honor

The Trump admin is about to cut and run from Afghanistan. Worse, it is the right move. We are tired of Afghanistan, and it is not (never was) a strategic threat to the United States.

Stop right there — is that the right policy for the United States?

There are some who say it is given the current world situation and the lack of an American strategic interest in Afghanistan. Your Big Red Car agrees.

Some background as to how we were seduced into America’s longest war in its history.

 1. President Bush accused Osama bin Laden of masterminding the 9-11 attack (11 September 2001) on the World Trade Center twin towers.

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09/6/19

Apple Bonds — Making Applesauce

Beautiful day in the lovely city of Atlanta enroute back to Savannah from whence I fled Dorian the Hurricane Monster. It was a pleasant diversion with one of the highlights being the Georgia Aquarium, a recommendation from a pal/reader. Great recommendation.

So, Apple has just sold some corporate bonds. Corporate bond yields are trending down with the general flight from equities into bonds. But, Apple doesn’t pay general corporate bond yield prices — about 6% for others.

No, sir.

Apple placed $7B of 3 to 30 year maturities at very tight spreads above Treasuries. They had intended to place $3-4B, but the book grew so quickly (more than $25B in offers to buy Apple bonds), they went with the bigger number.

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09/3/19

Tariffs — The Tariffs Are Working

A lot of folks whose opinions I respect have been saying that the Trump admin tariffs against China will simply impact our lives in the form of increased prices.

I have maintained otherwise. I have consistently said the imposition of tariffs will create structural changes in the way American importers source and deliver goods to the US economy; and, they will change the way individuals buy/boycott Chinese goods.

As a personal example, I no longer buy any Chinese goods. None. I check everything to see where it was made. Made in China? Adios!

Now, we are seeing the truth of that. I was right. <<< Obnoxious utterance ALERT!

Allow me to rub your nose in it, may I, please?

Comes now the story of the American dollar store industry in the specific exemplars of Dollar General and Dollar Tree who were literally created by their ability to access low cost foreign made goods and to sell them to a slice of America who not only wants a bargain, but desperately needs one.

These stores are ground zero when it comes to selling foreign sourced goods. They are the canary in the mine shaft. The canary has begun to sing.

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09/3/19

Fleeing From Hurricane Dorian

Proving that no good deed goes unpunished, your Big Red Car agreed to do some light babysitting for My Perfect Daughter who is vacationing for the next two months — OK, just ten days, but it seems like a couple of months — with Her Perfect Husband, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and her saintly and gracious mother-in-law.

I had signed up for some timely deliveries of the Perfect Granddaughter to her school, long walks in Forsyth Park, some pool/beach time, early wake ups, early bed time by 6:30 PM, and an orderly, peaceful regimen, but fate intervened.

This Hurricane Dorian — female name or male name? — crashed the party causing the Big Red Car to have to relocate the good times to Atlanta from Savannah.

The good times include My Perfect Granddaughter, Bella the Labrador (winner of the “best traveler” award), Mimi, and mois. Short, little babies require a huge amount of personal infrastructure, have picky eating habits, and demand specialized entertainment (who is this guy Elmo?) that must be carted along.

There was, of course, that “mandatory” evacuation order for everybody east of Interstate Highway 95, but that’s just a technicality.

So, ten or so hours later, here we are encamped in Hot ‘Lanta enjoying the sunshine and the change of scenery.

Atlanta is the New South, hip AF and moving at speed. The people are nice. It may be the New South, but it is still the genteel, pleasant, friendly South. You notice it right away. Texas is the west, but Atlanta is the South. I love the South.

I hate you, Hurricane Dorian. Would you please just blow yourself out, turn north and ravage the Atlantic? Go away.

But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car.

 

08/30/19

Threesomes With Siri

If you own an Apple phone and use Siri — face it, who doesn’t — you may not realize that when you found yourself in an “intimate” moment, you may really have been enjoying a threesome with Siri.

Apple had a program wherein they captured “inadvertent” conversations including you doing the wild thing [or discussing that rash, or doing a drug deal, or plotting a watermelon theft] with your beloved and allowed contractors to evaluate them to see how this problem happened.

“Babe, who is that?” asks the beloved just as you unleash your secret, death defying, all satisfying power move.

“Oh, that’s Tim Cook’s pal, Siri.”

“Babe, that’s creepy.”

“Shh, now where were we, beloved? Oh, yes, my power move. Come here, dumpling.”

Of course, they forgot to tell you that you and the dumpling were providing “content” for the contractors.

Yes, this really happened.

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08/24/19

CEO Shoptalk — Teaching Yourself

I am fond of saying, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” It has been a cornerstone of my “Wisdom of the Campfire” CEO coaching consultancy with — wait for it — CEOs.

I get calls from a great number of CEOs who are looking for guidance for a specific situation and I have longstanding arrangements with others, some for several years.

The common denominator is they are “ready.”

An adjunct to that is that sometimes CEOs are both the teacher and the student. You may be teaching yourself. It is neither odd nor unusual and many times it is complementary to a steady arrangement with a CEO coach.

On the left, how the CEO sees him/herself. On the right, how the CEO may really be. The transformation is the teaching. Sometimes, you are teaching yourself.

Allow me to give you an example from my personal experience.

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08/23/19

Trump’s Folly — Greenland

Don’t let the title fool you, I am in favor of the United States buying Greenland and its 844,000 square miles of ice. I don’t really care that it was President Trump’s idea meaning I could like something even when it is disqualified by being an idea from “that” guy. [Tongue, meet cheek.]

Of course, it is not President Trump’s idea.

That distinction belongs to Senator Owen Brewster of Maine who spun the idea up in 1945. That idea was first proposed to the Danes by President Truman’s Secretary of State in 1946 and the US’s opening bid was $100,000,000. Classified archives burst open in 1991 revealing this nugget.

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08/22/19

CEO Criticism — Responding To Criticism

As a CEO, you will be the beneficiary of a wonderful phenomenon — the whole world will tell you about your shortcomings, what they would do differently, and the fact that you’re, well, a bum. They may question your intellect and opine that your mother dresses you funny.

It comes with the job.

Run a public company and deal with thousands of shareholders and the criticism is broader, deeper, and more pointed. Shareholders will even make fun of your dog. What kind of person makes fun of a man’s dog?

You will be tempted to respond, which will generate more criticism another response until the cycle becomes entrenched and begins to sap your energy.

This guy, who had a few critics in his day, is reputed to have said:

“You will never reach your destination if you stop

and throw stones at every dog that barks.”

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