New Year's Message - 2017

Thanks to a great new 2016 subscriber to RTE for sending this message that I present as a New Year's message.  If it can't make you smile I don't know what can. 

 

Happy 2017.

 

Silent Night

click on photo to enlarge

 

Click here to hear Placido Domingo sing Silent Night accompanied by a piano, a cello, & a children choir.

 

Reference Post: The Christmas Scale

 

Stock Market Quiz

Here is a stock market quiz regarding the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closing above 19,000.   I think most people will be surprised @ the result of the quiz – including the many investors in the readership.

 

Stock Market Quiz:

 

The graphic below shows the DJIA increasing from the 1,000 point breakthrough in November 1972 to 19,000 in November, 2016  

 

What is the real (inflation adjusted) compound annual rate of return from November 1972 to November 2016 for the DJIA given a compound annual inflation rate of 4.04% during this time?  Do not consider broker fees, dividends, taxes, timing regarding the payment of taxes, or slippage between the expected price of a trade & the price @ which the trade is actually executed.

 

I will post all correct answers or alternatively will send the solution privately to anyone who requests it if no one figures it out.

 

 

click on graphic to enlarge

 

Holiday Season Cyber Crime Message From The FBI

Thanks to the Borough of Somerville for sending the timely subject message.  It provides several red flags & reveals common schemes to be aware of that cyber criminals use to steal money & personal information.  If you are unsuspecting you will find the message very educational.  For others it will be a good reminder of things to look out for. 

 

Since reading the FBI message I have noticed reports of malicious software disguised as legitimate apps for Android smartphones & tablets that have gained control of over one million Google accounts (out of 1.4 billion) – specifically the Trojan-horse software Gooligan & its predecessor Ghost Push.

 

I sent all of the above information to the best computer expert I regularly work with who offered the following advice – "follow the Google recommendations, download only from official app store, and don't rely on outdated versions of operating systems."

 

Hope the information herein is useful.