Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (66624)	8/22/1999 9:54:00 PM
From: re3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Michael, if you were buying the prst poots from 50 to 200, and you use a system of thirds, doesn't that mean you had to wait to say 125 and then to 200 to complete your thirds...you must have been very patient... do you have a mechanical system for your thirds, i.e. a certain number of points higher for each purchase, or is it more a monthly thing or what...or a judgement call... do you like reits , and know of any good ones ? ike

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (66624)	8/23/1999 12:33:00 AM
From: Richard Nehrboss	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike, The mention of Presstek curdles my blood. It beat the hell out of me as I short it from about $60 and kept adding cash to cover the maint. up to the $130s or so until I ran out of $$.. a broken man. I now only play the bull side of the market, as I'm basically an optimist and I think it's bad karma to go against your nature. Work's well since we've had quite a bull market. I'll likely regret it terribly in the next year or so. I'm still looking for a way to strap on some kind of spreads onto my highly appreciated INTC CSCO MSFT positions to generate 7% or so. All I can find are simult. covered calls with long puts at same strike for 5% or so.. ideas? Richard

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (66624)	8/23/1999 8:59:00 AM
From: Cynic 2005	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Contrary to expectations, productivity hasn't improved during the past decade. The amount of SG&A required to manage every dollar's worth of COG hasn't fallen, despite massive IT investments. There was a steady increase in SG&A from 1987 through 1993. Though I show gains in the productivity ratio since 1993, the cost of information management relative to COG was still higher last year than it was in 1987 and 1988. I completed a similar analysis for 16 of the largest U.S. banks. The declining trend in the ratio of revenue to payroll costs confirms a drop in productivity. SIGNIFICANCE FOR CIOS Information costs have risen, not declined, in relation to other production costs. Neither client/server, the Internet nor computer networks have so far materially improved the productivity of information handling by the premier U.S. industrial corporations. In 1996, $1.1 trillion in cost of goods required $300.5 billion in SG&A expense. That ratio is now lower than it was in the period from 1987 through 1990. I found a similar gap in the productivity for the U.S. banks I surveyed. I consider this proof that productivity of the information-handling workforce, which now accounts for 59% of U.S. employment, has worsened, not improved. ------------ computerworld.com