Anice Hassim on Apple gets a tariff break - 'Michael, Tim Cook gets no respect. I have been calling him the “Rodney Dangerfield of CEOs” but it seems I have update my reference for the uncultured and the youngs 🙂'
on Daniel Ives: Top 5 Names to Play the AI Revolution into 2026 - 'Dan Ives is not known for proofreading what he writes before hitting Publish. His dearth of commas, for one thing, is simply mind boggling. Was hoping Santa would have brought him a copyeditor! Oh, well…maybe next year!'
on Apple gets a tariff break - 'Tim Cook’s corning glass and gold base gift to Trump is paying dividends. A CEO putting the company and shareholders ahead of any personal political viewpoints. As someone said a long time ago, you can’t fight the Fed. Same is true for this White House. Tim Cook is just impressive on so many levels. Glad to have him during these turbulent times.'
on Apple gets a tariff break - 'As regards Apple’s “benefits” from having a cozy relationship with this President, the main benefits stem from not being one of those being bullied. I suppose that’s kind of a quid pro quo, but it’s pretty small beans compared to some of the outright favoritism he’s shown to some.'
on Daniel Ives: Top 5 Names to Play the AI Revolution into 2026 - 'Why do you say “other than Apple”? Apple hasn’t gotten to safe, sane, and smart Siri yet. Unless you mean to say that Apple “developing it”.'
on The Motley Fool puts a Buy rating on Apple - 'My take: Does Motley Fool ever put a Sell on a stock? One would have to read MF to know the answer, which makes it a tough question for this group.'
on Daniel Ives: Top 5 Names to Play the AI Revolution into 2026 - 'Dan Ives’ body has apparently been snatched by a man much better dressed who applies bronzer with a firehose. I am suspicious!'
on The Motley Fool puts a Buy rating on Apple - 'I used to have great respect for Motley Fool. A long, long time ago. These days, they just say whatever they want. One day they love Apple, the next they’ll hate it. Their advice, like pretty much everyone else’s is just so much noise.'
on The Motley Fool puts a Buy rating on Apple - 'Well I guess this may have value IF it helps move the price up. Otherwise…..'
on The AI rich get richer - 'Although of course the flat tax only applies to people who pay personal tax, as would a $400,000 threshold for taxation as promoted by Gregg. People like Elon don’t make money that way. For the most part, he’s been borrowing billions against the equity of his stock at ridiculously low rates as the banks stroke him fo the opportunity of getting some of his associated corporate financing business. With that approach, not only do the Musks of the world pay zero income tax, but he probably also generates a deduction with the interest he pays on the debt he’s accumulating. Add in the odd stock sale and capital gains exemptions, or doing thing under corporate umbrellas, or simply parking investments and cash off-shore in a tax haven – or simply cheating on your taxes – and the end result is the personal assistant pays a much, much higher proportional amount of tax than the billionaire. Good tax lawyers make a lot for a reason, and the only people for whom it makes financial sense to hire them is if you’re dealing with far more than the average household income!'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'David, you should double check with your accountant but here is a line from Schwab’s website: ‘An in-kind IRA distribution resets the basis: When you use an in-kind RMD, your basis resets. The IRS sees the value at the time of the transfer as your new basis. https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/taking-kind-distributions-from-your-ira'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'Joe: We should chat some time by phone. I may be able to help, but of course all of that is up to you. Like you, I live in CA but am on the East Coast visiting friends and family thru Jan 6. Maybe PED can help with an email/phone number exchange?'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'It is challenging in the market this morning! All the major indexes are red. 57% of S&P 500 components are trading below Friday’s closing prices. Coming up on 11am on Wall Street and Apple is off $0.10 at $273.30. Financial stocks are getting hit this morning. Citigroup is off 1.42% at $118.71 and Goldman Sachs is lower by 1.41% at $894.23. Arista Networks is ahead 1.07% at $133.25. Lockheed Martin is higher by 0.87% at $487.21. Coca-Cola is in the green 0.61% at $70.30. Let’s see what happens in afternoon trading…'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'Like some of you out there, I have to take an RMD this year. Because all of my IRA is in Apple stock, I waited as long as I possibly could to sell it. Well, I sold my AAPL shares at $274. I put in the order before the open. Last year, I sold my IRA shares early at $222, for my RMD. So I guess I came out ahead this year. The timing this year, is critical, because having the time to sell shares and then take an RMD depends on the settlement date, not the trade date. As most of you no doubt already know, the Official trade date and the settlement date is called T+1. So if you sold the stock today, Monday Dec 29th, it wouldn’t settle until tomorrow, Dec 30th. That leaves only one day – Wed, December 31st – which I believe the markets are open – to transfer funds from your IRA and take your RMD before the December 31st deadline to avoid a hefty penalty of 25%. Alternatively,, I believe you can transfer stock out of an IRA for the RMD. But if instead you sell the shares first, and then take your RMD as cash – you can avoid paying the capital gains tax on top of the regular income tax from the RMD – for when you sell the stock later in your brokerage account. That’s why I think it’s always best to transfer cash. IMO. I had hoped to sell fewer shares at a much higher price to satisfy my RMD. But it appears the so-called Santa Claus rally is kaput. Frankly, I’m surprised the stock didn’t go higher by the end of this year – because the Apple news seems to be so positive, but the market apparently is more focused on the tsunami of general FUD that has little to do with Apple. Best wishes for the new year, everyone – and many happy returns!'
