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Phillip B. Lamb

Member since: May 30th, 2006

Phillip B. Lamb's Latest Comments

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BloggingStocks2 Comments
Switched1 Comment
WalletPop1 Comment
Daily Finance2 Comments

Recent Comments:

Panic strikes, and investors sell gold and buy dollars -- yet again (Daily Finance)

Nov 28th 2009 9:21AM I have been a full-time, ethical buyer and seller of gold, silver, scrap jewlery and bank notes for thirty years. I know more about gold than most people, having ridden scary elevators far down into some of the mines in South Africa. Mining gold is dangerous, expensive and environmentally risky. For the nut(s) who think that guys like me make a lot of money, you are truly idiots. In recent months I have bought gold at about spot and sold for only up to about $25 profit for a one-ounce gold bullion coin. Merrill Lynch charges us to $250 commission for a trade of merely $1,000 in securities.

Gold is not for everyone. Gold is insurance for intelligent investors who, though they may appreciate and invest in real estate and stocks, want the utlimate piece of mind and a universal investment not entirely controlled by politicians. (Political officials do play some role, more or less, in the value of precious metals, real estate and in any other investment you can think of.) If you have the least doubt about gold, do not buy it. Many of you crazies are only drawing a salary because your company or industry is subsidized by direct or indirect payments or tax credits from Uncle Sam. But you are often the ones screaming about federal waste and fraud. Don't blame Bush or Obama. Far too many Americans are prostitutes for "Miss Sam", and this is why gold is going to continue to rise in price over the next decade, and possibly for a much longer period.

I worked for the Internal Revenue Service years ago and I saw widescale cheating by certain classes of Americans. We are ripping off our System, abusing it and trying to destroy it, in some cases from the Left and much more so from the reactionary and destructive Right--the group secretly demanding--and needing--more assistance from Uncle. Get a life. You are free to vote with integrity or to destroy with hatred and greed.

Gold is a proxy for a unqiue form of moral intuitiveness, and those who buy it can live with, and truly understand, the volatility which comes with the territory. True gold investors do not panic with steep drops in prices; neither do they brag or spend lavishly when values rise dramatically. We do not necessarily buy gold from lack of confidence in the System. We do buy and cherish gold because it represents financial freedom and independence in perhaps its purest form.

Comparing grocery prices, Aldi wins overall, but Target beats Walmart (WalletPop)

Sep 9th 2009 8:20AM I travel widely in my self-owned small business and probably have shopped at 300 or more Walmart Supercenters and maybe 100 Target stores. Walmart, in my opinion, has the overall lowest prices by far. Furthermore, Walmart stocks many more brands of food products than does Target. I own stock in Walmart, so I am always conscious of prices and quality in Walmart. One reality is happening at Walmart that many marketing pros have not picked up on. Walmart is dropping many upscale food products that I miss and about which I have complained to management in my local store and elsdewhere.
Walmart is constantly expanding and rotating the $1 items offered in a special area. King W has also done away with most fresh seafood sections, which mainly offered thawed out shrimp, fish, etc. Unless Walmart can control the price of a product, you won't find it in most stores. Walmart is also taking out many self-checkout lanes because of equipment malfunction, but mainly to try to control theft. More humans at checkout lanes has speeded up the pay and exit process. Maybe the added labor costs outweigh the costs of thievery. I like Target for some items and Sam's for a few, selected items. Sam's, by the way, has a much better wine section than Walmart, even discounting the benefits associated with the turnover of bulk purchases. My views....PBL

A bear market as bad as the 1930s? (BloggingStocks)

Mar 26th 2008 1:06PM Why are we so shocked by the crisis in financial markets and declining financial markets? Huge financial institutions cannot make ever higher and massive profits without dealing in risky, exotic investments and charging pawn-shop interest rates on credit card and consumer debt. The federal treasury is printing IOU's by the billions (actually in the trillions) and the buying power of the dollar will only recover and gain strength in the lifetime of a 2-day-old infant. Americans can expect rescue only by enormous, depressing tax increases or blood-chilling cuts in federal programs and increasingly addictive entitlement transfers. Be thankful for what you have.

Two-Hour New York-Tokyo Flights Coming Soon? (Switched)

Dec 18th 2007 7:32AM Dramatically-faster flights could overwhelm the air-traffic control system and require the FAA too hire specially-bred chimpanzees to man the screens in control centers. Since most flights serve mainly peanuts, flying may become merely monkey business. If apes were ever trained as low-cost pilots, then beware! The friendly skies could turn into a real jungle.

Is it time for a big buyback, Microsoft? (BloggingStocks)

May 30th 2006 7:55AM I favor a reverse stock split. It would essentially be impossible for Microsoft ever to earn enough profit, with the present number of shares, to increase the dividend to the level that it would become a "dividend" play--for the dividend itself to become a major, motivating factor in owning this stock. There are several reasons why the price of Mama M is lethargic, some internal. But the harsh reality is that there are some serious, competing companies, admittedly minus the huge cash hoard, which are dramatically growing demand for their products and services, significant increasing their cash reservoirs and much more honestly rewarding their stockholders with growing dividends and improving cash value than Microsoft. Rain is a major asset, but spread eratically across too many areas, it floods some regions and starves others. Early holders of Microsoft are still green and lush; new owners can only expect to fight for dust and dribbles.