Monthly Archives: February 2014

Magic Formulas and Raspberry Pis

Posted on February 23, 2014 by mcturra2000

Is investing like computer programming? The gut reaction would be to say “no”. Investing is a very “soft” skill, whereas programming is a “hard” skill, almost as uncompromising as mathematics. There are, however, some interesting points of commonality that I’d … Continue reading →

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Escaping the grip of the #Python

Posted on February 23, 2014 by mcturra2000

I’m a programmer with a knowledge of a fair range of languages: Basic (obviously), C , C++ (urgh!), Fortran, Java, VBA, Lisp, Scheme, Smalltalk, Forth, and my beloved Python. I did my PhD using Fortran, and professionally using C, maybe … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers | 2 Comments

Magic Hat portfolio turns 3

Posted on February 19, 2014 by mcturra2000

My Stockopedia “Magic Hat” Fantasy Fund (http://www.stockopedia.com/fantasy-funds/magic-hat-463/) recently turned 3 years old. It returned 41.6% over 3 years, compared with 15.1% for the FTSE 350. That’s pretty good, although not spectacular, as it represents an annual outperformance of only 7.2%. … Continue reading →

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CWC sold

Posted on February 11, 2014 by mcturra2000

I sold out on CWC (Cable & Wireless Communications) today. I changed my mind. The market reaction to the IMS was lukewarm. Also, I decided that on an EV/Sales basis, the company was on a similar rating to the rest … Continue reading →

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CWC – results soon

Posted on February 9, 2014 by mcturra2000

CWC (Cable & Wireless Communications) will release its Q3 IMS on Tuesday 11 Feb, which will be interesting. I first became interested in CWC at the beginning of year, when it came up during one of my trawls. It doesn’t … Continue reading →

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FTSE100 investors did badly

Posted on February 9, 2014 by mcturra2000

Near the end of August, I reported that AIM shares were significantly cheaper than the market as a whole. If you thought that might represent an opportunity to invest in AIM and outperform the market, then you were likely right! … Continue reading →

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High momentum and short portfolio

Posted on February 8, 2014 by mcturra2000

PRE-AMBLE According to The Globe and Mail (http://is.gd/CfG1gX), you can beat the S&P500 by 9.3% pa by investing in large- and mid-cap stocks that are heavily shorted. The gist of their article is that if you bought heavily shorted large … Continue reading →

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February Magic Hat Portfolio

Posted on February 5, 2014 by mcturra2000

Two days ago I said (http://is.gd/vQjAjv) that I had bought some FLYB, and adjusted my Magic Hat fantasy fund on Stockopedia (http://is.gd/ySBRN6) with another Magic Formula stock. I’m pleased to say that FLY has been rocketing since I bought it, … Continue reading →

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January 2014 artwork

Posted on February 5, 2014 by mcturra2000

I’m starting to learn to draw. Here’s a piece from January 2014.

Posted in Art | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

My Raspberry Pi

Posted on February 5, 2014 by mcturra2000

Being a bit of a Linux nut, I set up a cheap always-on “Raspberry Pi” to acts as a web server, remote shell, mail server, git repo, and accounting software app. And here she is: The “case” that you see … Continue reading →

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