My Stimulus Plan
1) Obama’s Energy Policy/Program – TRASH IT! Every recent President or Congress has had an energy policy that didn’t work. During the 1970’s when energy prices first went to the moon, we initiated a Windfall Profits Tax on the oil companies thereby taking funds away from the very entities we needed to find more reserves. [...]
Common Stock Diversification
In 1990, John Wiley & Sons, the second largest publisher of business books, asked me to write the first book dedicated solely to the subject of asset allocation for investment professionals. The book, Dynamic Asset Allocation, was a big seller, having been in print for eleven years. The following are some of my thoughts back [...]
Dave Hammer: How The Beatles Changed Rock & Roll
I define “old-time rock and roll” as encompassing the period of 1955 to 1963 that mostly utilized two basic chord patterns. The first was the normal 12-bar blues pattern that may have originated in the cotton fields: I/ I/ I/ I/ IV/ IV/ I/ I/ V/ IV/ I/ I/. (Musicians use Roman numerals to denote [...]
Ralph Hammer: Dragony Guitars
“In 1998 I started searching for a D’Angelico arch top guitar, Gibson Super 400 or L5 to add to my vintage guitar collection. After years of searching and being unable to find a good performance guitar, I heard one of Joe Dragony’s arch top instruments at a live performance. Soon after, I met with Joe [...]
The Real Nature of Investment Risk
When I got into the investments business well over 40 years ago, nobody had figured out a way to actually measure the risk of an investment. But several people, notably some professors at well-known business schools, were working on the idea that risk could be considered the same as variability of periodic return. Even better, [...]
The Greatest Old-time Rock and Roll Musician
No one could argue about Elvis being the most popular rock-and-roll entertainer; let’s face it, he sold over one BILLION records. Despite his stage presence and velvet voice, I don’t think he was a great musician. No one could argue whether Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder had singing abilities and styles that were phenomenal. No [...]
What If You Were President?
If you were the person in charge of this nation would you do any of the following? 1) While corporate profits are sinking (causing companies to be less likely to create future jobs), would you raise corporate taxes like Obama wants to do, or cut them as I would do? 2) Would you reduce [...]
Dave Hammer’s Top 50 Rock and Roll Classics
Some people say that rock and roll began with the Chords singing Sh-Boom, but I can’t buy the idea that it was rock and roll. I believe it all began in 1955 when Little Richard Penniman screamed “a-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-bam.” Incidentally, Tutti Frutti’s lyrics are, to this day, misinterpreted (there is no “oh Rudy” or “bam-boom” in [...]
Simple Way of Boosting the Economy
Forget about all the increases in Government spending and taxes! President Obama’s rescue package is nothing more than using the economic downturn as an excuse to promote a socialist spending agenda and has little in the way of economic stimulus. All the Government has to do is cut the corporate tax rate to the same [...]
