Odds and Ends for Friday the 13th
I’m off to Bloomington, Indiana for the weekend, but there were a few loose ends I wanted to clear up before leaving.
Web sites – When dealing with an Application Service Provider (ASP) you should expect that all their operational issues are being handled by another 3rd party provider who specializes in those areas. Operational areas deal with the functioning of the computer engine that runs the web site. They provide the hardware, operating system, communications, on-line security, power, someone to watch the hardware (systems engineers) and the like. Still when investigating an Application Service Provider you must find out this sort of thing.
For more clarification an Application Service Provider is an individual or company that allows subscribers to perform specific transactions over the web. Think e-bay. There is much more going on behind the screen to complete a simple bid transaction.
If someone asks you to sign a non-disclosure agreement without a time period specified don’t worry. Any agreement that restrains one party from for an unspecified period of time is unenforceable. The same holds true for non-compete agreements.
I just have to stand back and marvel at yesterday’s US stock market – 284 points. There surely will be some profit taking today. Still it wasn’t a particularly high volume rally. There is a bit of a rush to quality out of the more volatile markets. What is troubling is the fact that there have been 7 moves of more than 1% of the value of the Dow since June 1. There were only 24 such moves in all of last year.
If your a frequent trader, especially one who went short lately, that has to make you nervous. If, like me, your a buy and hold kind of person. It’s not bad.