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sylvia kronstadt

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  • An "Enthralling" Blogger Unlinks Herself from this 'Chain of Fools'

    By sylvia kronstadt - December 24, 2012 | Tickers: IVZ

    When I declined to be involved in a team effort to reconfigure and re-release my Edward Jones series,  Motley Fool editors retaliated in an adolescent fashion.  Now, I'm retaliating right back. I can be as adolescent as anyone, if I feel like it! I can even still flip the bird, despite my advanced age. Consider it flipped.

  • Big Business Transforms Getting Old into a Sexy New Fad

    By sylvia kronstadt - October 25, 2012 | Tickers: BSX, KMB, PG, SI

    With the assistance of some way-cool new aids and accessories, old people will soon become the planet's hippest generation.

  • Abercrombie & Fitch Profits are Falling Down, Right Along with Its Pants

    By sylvia kronstadt - September 14, 2012 | Tickers: ANF, GPS, HOTT

    It's delightful to learn that today's young adults prefer fashion that's less sleazy and more dignified. They've already seen so much nudity that they aren't currently in the market for more.

  • BIG DATA: Is it Artificial Intelligence, or Authentic Stupidity?

    By sylvia kronstadt - August 24, 2012 | Tickers: ACN, EMC, HPQ, INTC, IBM, TDC

    When I began coming across web pages about me -- my associations, my tone, my impact, my achievements and my "threat level" -- all of which were grossly but delightfully incorrect, I decided to reverse-engineer all that snooping and do a bit of "robust authentication" myself. My look into the big-data phenomenon indicates that it is grossly oversold, overused and often just plain hilarious.

  • HEARTLESS: Lax Oversight of Medical Devices Makes Stock Market Sick

    By sylvia kronstadt - August 21, 2012 | Tickers: BSX, MDT, STJ | Editor's Choice

    A report highly anticipated by Wall Street analysts regarding the safety of a new-generation defibrillator component may affect the price of St. Jude stock, according to an Aug. 21 New York Times article. The study raises serious concerns about Optim, a coating for heart-device leads. The material, which was announced with much fanfare by St. Jude, has been used on leads that have already been implanted in 276,000 patients worldwide.

    Recalls of and lawsuits against Class III medical devices drive the stock market crazy. They also cause incalculable harm to patients -- who are injured, permanently disabled or killed by these products. And since device makers are free from liability, it costs Medicare and Medicaid billions of dollars a year to pay for the aftermath of device failures.

  • Monster.com Founder Has a Monstrous New Scheme

    By sylvia kronstadt - August 9, 2012 | Tickers: FLWS, MWW, NWSA | Editor's Choice

    Tributes.com has devised an ingenious strategy in the battle to dominate the obituary market. It is now using the Social Security Death Index as an "aggregator," to create online obituary pages for everyone who dies, without informing or getting permission from their families, and then trying to turn each one into a lucrative "gathering place" for grievers. It aspires to provide "one centralized national web destination" for all death notices.

  • Dr. Oz has transformed the wellness-industrial complex

    By sylvia kronstadt - August 8, 2012 | Tickers: GNC, SNE, WBMD, WTW

    Products mentioned on the show "have a habit of being conspicuously absent from store shelves the day after being blasted into notoriety by Dr. Oz," Forbes magazine says.  "Is the TV doctor trend creating a nation of heath-disordered people? Do we have unrealistic expectations of health, by being constantly bombarded by the latest secrets, tips, and fads?"