STILL, IT CAN’T
BE GOOD FOR YOU
I know, I know – the Polonium 210 in cigarettes is of a dosage
very substantially less than was used to murder Alexander Litvinenko. But did you know cigarettes apparently do contain the
stuff? Washington, DC,
goes smokefree January 1. Maybe you should, too.
MAZEL TOV! YOU’RE UNIONIZED!
Think civil unions are all gay people should be allowed? Sounds like a reasonable compromise, no? Click here to see what happened to Roz’s
wedding bands. Two minutes well spent, if you’re trying to understand what all the fuss is about.
DOWN
23 POINTS IN A DAY?!
No, FMD split 3 for 2 yesterday, so it was actually up a couple of
points. Suggested March 6 at $38 and
change, which would be $25.50 on a split-adjusted basis, it is now more than
double at $53. My suggestion: don’t
sell.
And while we’re at it:
BOREF remains wildly speculative, etc., but no, so long as it’s money
you can truly afford to lose, I wouldn’t sell.
And I wouldn’t sell the Aldabra warrants (ALBAW), up from 70 cents and
38 cents where we bought them a few months ago to $1.20 last night, because my
hope is that over the next couple of years the stock may move closer to the
replacement value of its dredging fleet (Aldabra is closing an acquisition with
one of the world’s largest dredging companies), which if I’ve done the math
from their press release right comes out to about $15. I don’t expect it to get to $15, and who knows what awful surprises could muck this up
(get it? muck this up?) . . . but if the stock hit $7.50, the warrants (giving us the
right to buy shares at $5) would double from here.
(As to the other stocks suggested here from time to time, like the
oil stocks and AXP, CBH and so on, I haven’t sold these either. My life is so boring!)
GOOD ADVICE
CIRCLING THE INTERNET
Some of this may be a little paranoid, but by and large it’s
certainly worth reviewing – especially the quick action to take if you lose
your wallet. (I’d like to attribute this
to its source, in case any of you know whom to credit.)
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in
his company.
1. The next time you order checks have only your initials
(instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your
checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials
or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.
2. Do not sign the back of your credit
cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."
3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card
accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For"
line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card
company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your
check as it passes through all the check-processing channels will not have
access to it.
4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your
home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home
address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have
your SS# printed on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is
necessary. However, if you have it printed, anyone can get it.
5. Place the
contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each
license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the
account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a
safe place. Also carry a photocopy of your passport when traveling either here
or abroad. We have all heard horror stories about fraud that is committed
on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security
number, credit cards.
6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for keys
(and they all seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in.
Take them with you and destroy them. Those little cards have on them all
of the information you gave the hotel, including address and credit card
numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card reader, or employee of
the hotel, can access all that information with no problem whatsoever. [NOT TRUE - THIS IS AN URBAN LEGEND. -- A.T.]
Unfortunately, as an
attorney, I have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last
month. Within
a week, the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied
for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer
and received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information
online. Here is some critical information to limit the damage in case
this happens to you or someone you know:
1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards
immediately. The key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers
handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.
2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction
where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit
providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation
(if there ever is one). However, here is what is perhaps most important
of all (I never even thought to do this.)
3. Call the three
national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on
your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank
that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in
my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your
information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new
credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft,
all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks
initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing
the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves
threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to
have stopped them dead in their tracks.
Now, here are the
numbers you always need to contact about your wallet and contents being stolen:
1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW):
1-888-397-3742
3.) TransUnion:
1-800-680-7289
4.) Social Security
Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271