Big Apple

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Big Apple Yesterday, Apple surpassed Microsoft as the largest US company ever measured by stock market value at $623.52 billion, and it closed today at $666.50 per share! With this news, I must admit to the worst advice I ever gave someone, and sadly it was to my son! He had just lost his $300 stake in the bankruptcy of Enron when my wife and I agreed to give him a fresh $300 to regain his confidence in the stock market. I vividly recall him suggesting that he should double down and put it all into Apple, which was trading at $13 per share. I told him he was crazy: “They are almost bankrupt!” Well okay, I was wrong. What a wonderful story Apple is. But I have a wrinkle. I pass by the Apple store in Grand Central Terminal every day and I do not bother to stop in for a look. Why? Nothing is new. I know that they are ready to issue the iPhone 5 and the new 7″ iPad, but these items are not cutting edge and exciting. Alas, the nature of business is that small stealth companies come along with new approaches and fresh ideas that permit them to grow faster and supplant larger ones. Show me the next $13 play and I’m in.