Mergers produce synergies, as in (1+1) > 2, right? Yahoo!, after destroying billions in value during a half-decade free-fall is having a fire sale, ending soon (mid July 2016). Should anyone buy it? Mergers often fail to deliver promised synergies. Some firms do bad deals, while others do deals badly and, surprisingly, they often continue doing deals. Some firms are simply toxic. They acquire a great product, team, brand, customer base, etc., and soon enough, they screw it up. The teams leave, the customers leave, etc., and the synergies remain elusive.

So, Verizon (proud owner of AOL) is a front-runner in the bidding. Most any list of “top ten worst” tech deals will include: AOL-TimeWarner, Yahoo!-Tumblr, Yahoo!-Broadcast.com, Yahoo!-GeoCities, AOL-Netscape. Note any repeating names above? Seriously?

VZ investors: Run away.
YHOO investors: Hope this happens soon before another terrible quarter.

My decades-old caulking gun went missing and I need a new one. In my quest to support American jobs, I want one made in USA and “built to last” — no junk that will break and end up in a landfill. In my research I found only one brand that is actually made in the USA. Really? My list below is incomplete and surely contains mistakes, but is what I have found as of July 2016:

USA Products:
Cox caulking guns: (Michigan, USA; some made in UK) (GREAT REVIEWS)

IMPORTED – I saw some decent reviews on these:
Tajima: Japan (at least some models are made in Japan)
Newborn: China
Albion Engineering: Taiwan

IMPORTED – OTHERS:
Dripless: China
Kobalt (Lowes brand): China
HDX (Home Depot brand): China
PC (Protective Coatings) Products Co: Taiwan
Milwaukee (powered):  China
TBD: 3M, Tekton, Mintcraft, Silverline, Red Devil, Markson.