How Hackable is Your Car?

If you own a Cadillac Escalade, a Jeep Cherokee, or an Infiniti Q50, you are at risk, big time!  The findings of Miller and Valasek are in the following table. A plus sign represents “more hackable,” while a minus sign “less hackable.” In the two researchers’ analysis, three vehicles were ranked as “most hackable”: the 2014 models of the Infiniti Q50, Jeep Cherokee, and the 2015 model of the Cadillac Escalade. The full results, summarized in the chart below, show that the 2010 and 2014 Toyota Prius didn’t fare well either.

 

Why does this happen? This happens because of the "remote access" features of the vehicle, which includes things such as remote start that are tied into the same "CANBUS" (Canbus, which was developed by Bosch,  allows automotive components to communicate on a single or dual-wire networked data bus.) in the vehicle that controls life-critical functions such as the transmission, brakes and accelerator! 

So, when you are driving down the road the next time remember that all those conveniences, such as all your bluetooth devices, maybe putting your life at risk.

Apple (AAPL)

Apple’s EPS of $1.85 was a modest beat of expectations of $1.81, while revenues also beat consensus of $49.4 billion fractionally, printing at $49.6 billion; and operating margin also beat slightly coming at 39.7% above the exp. 39.5%. So, what is the problem? Apple stock should be soaring with its announcement today. Well, the stock is not up, but it is down in after-hours by 7%.

Apple reported that it shipped 47.5 million iPhone shipments missing expectations by 1.3 million units.  But the biggest surprise was in China, Apple sales plummeted by 21% from $16.8 billion to $13.2 billion.  Also, there was no mention of the number of units sold for either the iWatch or Apple TV.

Therefore, given the above announcement by Apple today, can you identify its current Stage (1, 2, 3, or 4)? Maybe end of the Stage 3 Distribution Phase? In the old days of doing charts by hand, I noticed something very interesting. That is, when I ran out of room on either the bottom or top of the chart page, something usually happened, such as a key reversal. We maybe at one of those critical points now in that AAPL has run out of room at the top of the page. Entering Stage 4, anyone?

Goldilocks and the Bear

Physical gold was down approximately $38 today, July 20. However, those of you that have been using the 15/40-wks EMA Strategy on $GLD would have been out of this position since November 2012.  Thus, saving yourself a current paper loss of approximately 34%.

Note: Click-on chart to enlarge.

Look at What We Have Here -- EMA Strategy Flashes "RED" for Higher Interest Rate

As mentioned in the body of the chart, the 10-year TSY Note (currently at 2.38%) is the "key" interest rate used to establish rates throughout our economy, such as mortgage rates. If you are shopping for that "new home," you may want to hurry thae process before rates move higher. I believe that fixed rate mortgages, especially the 30-year type will be a thing of the past, which may occur as soon as 2016. As a matter of fact, a 15-year fixed mortgage maybe hard to find. We are going to see a whole lot of Option ARMs being oringinated by financial institutions, which, of course, are the worse types of mortgages that mortgagees should have in a rising interest rate environment.

Note: To enlarge the chart, double-click inside.

Real or Revisionist History of Lincoln's Legacy?

What is truth? From my perspective, truth passes through the following three stages: (1) It is thought to be ridiculous. (2) It is violently opposed. And (3) It is finally self-evident.  In other words, repeating a lie will never make anything true. Is that what a revisionist does? That is, make a lie into the truth. Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda for the German Third Reich under Adolf Hitler, said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." However, it is still a lie until it is exposed for what it is. Until then, that lie will be defended as the definite truth.

Let’s look at the perception of reality and maybe the real truth of Lincoln’s legacy in regard to the Civil War. To do this I have enlisted two books by Thomas DiLorenzo, Lincoln Unmasked and The Real Lincoln along with the following video. (For your own research, simply do a Google search on the subject. While you are at it, do a search on the "Proposed Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution to Prevent Secession, 1861 (Corvin Amendment.")  But, first, how is revisionist history defined?  Historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views of evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical events.