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EUROPE AT DAWN OF WAR: RANDOM NOTES
I was in Paris the day Gulf War II broke out. Two days later I was back in Florida with a head full of notes.
A few newspapers and websites call me a business columnist. But, I'll always be an old New York and New Jersey police reporter at heart.
As war images dominate all our waking hours, here are some items far behind the headlines garnered from a business trip to Europe.

MORE THAN JUST IRAQ STRAINS EUROPE’S FUTURE
ANTWERP, Belgium (Mar. 15, 2003)—Queen Elizabeth cancelled a visit to Belgium this week because of international tensions, and one London daily’s headlines now spell the name of France’s Jacques Chirac as “chIRAQ.” These are just signs of rough times between the Euro World, the United Kingdom World, and the Rest of the World.

WELCOME TO THE NO CODE, DRESS CODE
BOCA RATON, FLA. (March 6, 2003)--It was a modest inquiry about dress codes or the lack thereof, but it triggered thoughtful, diverse, and sometimes rip-roaring responses.

TRUST CBS-TV? I'D RATHER NOT
BOCA RATON, FLA. (Feb. 25, 2003)--At this writing, it seems to me that
CBS-TV News anchor Dan Rather has been snookered by Saddam Hussein and his
handlers.

"I hate to be the one to say we need to prepare for an unprecedented fourth straight down year in the major U.S. markets since 1926, but the charts are persuasive." more...

EARTH TO BUSH: IT'S CAPITAL GAINS, NOT DIVIDENDS!
President Bush's proposal to cut or eliminate taxation on common stock dividends is a positive move toward overall tax reform. Yet, it pales in comparison for the need for a genuine, significant reduction--or elimination--of the tax on capital gains.

THE STROM THURMOND TRENT LOTT NEVER KNEW
BOCA RATON, FLA. (Jan. 1, 2003)-Let us start the New Year by clearing
the air about an aspect of the rise and fall of Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss)
which has bugged me from the moment I watched Sen. Strom Thurmond's (R-SC)
100th birthday party on cable TV.

MAYBE FRIST FORTUNE CAN RUB OFF ON THE NATION
NASHVILLE, TENN. (Dec. 28, 2002)--Senate majority leader-designate Dr. Bill Frist (R-Tenn)'s seems to ahvwe led a charmed life. This week his 19-year-old son, a freshman at Princeton, walked away from a small plane wreck near here with only minor injuries--a holiday blessing to be sure.

EXCITING WAL-MART AND McDONALD'S GAMBITS
Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, and McDonald's, the
biggest restaurant chain, have stirred Wall Street in recent weeks. Both have made bold headlines, and it might be surprising to some investors, that both provide fascinating and potentially windfall opportunities.

WHAT WALL STREET NEEDS FROM SANTA
LAKE WORTH, FLA. (Dec. 11, 2002)--Santa George looked down from his sleigh and decided that Wall Street needs a new ribbon-wrapped Treasury Secretary, SEC Chairman, and Chief Economic Advisor. Santa George was wrong.

EMPEROR'S CLUB HAS WALL STREET LESSONS
LAKE WORTH, FLA. (Nov. 25, 2002)--Kevin Kline's new Thanksgiving week flick "The Emperor's Club" won't beat Harry Potter or James Bond at the box office, but perhaps it should be mandatory viewing in the front office.

THE WAKE THAT WOKE UP THE BULL MARKET
BOCA RATON, FLA. (Nov. 6, 2002)--Little did the late Sen. Paul Wellstone know that his own wake could have been the catalyst for sparking a bull stock market rally.

OPEN LETTER TO FORD. BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
"Make it patriotic and cool to own shares of Ford, before it's too late."

MORE THAN 3,000 PEOPLE WERE KILLED AS THEY GOT THEIR COFFEE, ANSWERED THE PHONE, AND TOOK A PLANE TRIP TO SEE THE GRANDKIDS
Mr biz responds to an email

TABLOID ADVICE FROM THE REAL "TAILOR OF PANAMA"
With apologies to John Le Carre and a grade B movie starring Pierce Brosnan, we take you now to Panama´s sleaziest, but largest-circulation newspaper, for advice on business, life, and the human spirit, as told by the real ¨Tailor of Panama.¨
First, with due respect to the tabloid La Critica, which thankfully cuts through the daily political pomposity of some other dailies, today they did have the good sense to put the indefinite postponement of the space journey of boy toy Lance Bass on page 30. more..

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES...IT WON'T MATTER
El Valle de Anton, PANAMA (11 Sept 2002)--Three thousand people going
about their business one year ago, learned that if tomorrow never comes.
means more than the poetic title to a Garth Brooks song.
There are no guarantees of another precious day of life. There are no
guarantees that unsaid words of love, or a hug today, can be made up tomorrow. more...

A WEIRD (MONTE)VIDEO GAME
LAKE WORTH, FLA. (Aug. 7. 2002)--I'm not an investment banker in Uruguay
nor do I play one on TV. But what if--just what if, I'm on to something here?
I literally shook my head upon awakening at my usual 4 a.m. the other morning
to check international markets, to clear the cobwebs and my ear drums when I
heard that U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill was enroute to the capital of Uruguay
with a $1.5 billion bailout check to save the South American country's banking industry.
more..

WALL STREET'S CRYSTAL BALL
I just smile politely when people parrot, "Well, of course nobody can
predict the market...." because in a world of rocket scientists,
practitioners, and savvy veteran traders and floor specialists, the
macro-trends can be, and have been repeatedly predicted by the brave few who
are contrarians for many decades. more...

WARNING: DO NOT BUY STOCKS!
A client who owns a growing fitness club and is building a larger
club, has lost 10 per cent on paper this year in his annuity and called to
tell me, "I just know in my heart the market is going to zero, so I want to
sell everything." more...

IS IT TIME TO RUN FROM MARKET?
Looking at my old UPI alumni wire, I noticed an exchange from a
veteran reporter worried about his money, and a knowledgeable
financial services colleague offering advise. The exchange is
being replicated in coffee shops and brokerages houses around the nation. more...

U.S. INVESTORS KNOW WHAT GEORGE LACKS
Harry S Truman and Dwight D.
Eisenhower once had it, but Bill Clinton and George W. never did.
John McCain and Bill Bradley, and even Ronald Reagan had one, but Franklin
D. Roosevelt and Al Gore Jr. never did.
Still guessing? more...

YOUR TURN TO JUDGE HOMELAND SAFETY
Basically the Commander-in-Chief said, "It's time to keep our eyes and
ears open to trouble, and to troublemakers, in every neighborhood."
The vermin had hid amidst an unsuspecting population, training in
places such as South Florida, invaded domestic shores and attacked with
vicious vengeance from the sky. more..

HEY MARTHA! WHO DO YOU TRUST?
We were listening to the various versions of what Martha Stewart,
MOS (Mother of Style) did, and when did she do it, and wondered
about lingering questions, on and off of Wall Street, that America
would like answered? First, how come out of all of the companies in the world,
Martha ended up involved in her ImClone, her buddy's stock, in the first place? more..