So about two weeks ago, I was contacted by a journalist who was looking for someone to be interviewed on camera about the new ING checking account. Apparently, I was the first person to say yes. A camera guy came to my house and filmed me talking about the account, at my computer using it, and then about 15 minutes of footage of me feeding the guinea pigs (including a couple minutes of extreme closeup, where his camera was almost touching the cage and they were eating a piece of celery right in front of the lens.) No idea how this will turn out, but I hope that gets in. :) This story is essentially going to be sold to a bunch of smaller networks, who will have their local news anchor read the copy and dub it over, so hopefully it will start appearing on the Web in late March. I'll post one if I find it.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Gonna be on the tee-vee
So about two weeks ago, I was contacted by a journalist who was looking for someone to be interviewed on camera about the new ING checking account. Apparently, I was the first person to say yes. A camera guy came to my house and filmed me talking about the account, at my computer using it, and then about 15 minutes of footage of me feeding the guinea pigs (including a couple minutes of extreme closeup, where his camera was almost touching the cage and they were eating a piece of celery right in front of the lens.) No idea how this will turn out, but I hope that gets in. :) This story is essentially going to be sold to a bunch of smaller networks, who will have their local news anchor read the copy and dub it over, so hopefully it will start appearing on the Web in late March. I'll post one if I find it.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Avoiding the Vending Machine
Ladies and gents, I'm happy to say that I've received my first reader question to which I can actually provide an answer without having to look a bunch of stuff up or call on a smarty-pants friend/expert resource. Neat-o. (It's the small things that keep me happy, really.)
Anyhoo...this question comes from Sarah over at My Dainty Dollar, who seems like could use our collective support. She's having a hard time living within her means in New York while trying to pursue her passion for performing. She writes:
" I am a slave to the vending machines at work. Every day I get at least one thing. These snacks are never healthy and are 80 cents each. I'm sure over time that's going to add up. I think part of the reason I snack at work is because I'm so bored and my job is unfulfilling. Do you have any tips for staying away from this money taking calorie machine?
Thanks,
Sarah"
OK, I'm going to answer the question about vending machines for now and leave the career management bloggers to advise you about the job. But before I begin dispensing my snacking wisdom, I will say that life in general can seem pretty crappy if you hate your job and don't know what else to do. A lot of people find themselves totally bored out of their mind at work, feel stuck in jobs that are unfulfilling and develop bad habits to compensate. But remember that life is all about decisions, and that you are never a passenger in your own life. You are the driver. You get to choose where you want to go. That is the beauty of life. So, you know, drive. Make a turn or stop and ask for directions or something.
Ugh. This driving analogy's making my head hurt. Onto snacks.
Snacks, indeed... I love them. Every day at like 3:00 p.m., I start thinking about cookies. Big, lovely, sugary, chocolate-chipped yumminess. Or Doritos - a bag of cheesy, crunchy heaven. Or just about anything I ran past on my way to work in the morning or got a whiff of on the bus. Suddenly at 3:00, it's all I can think about.
Luckily, I have the good fortune to work with dietitians, personal trainers and other nutrition specialists at my job. And I have pumped them for information, well, like it's my job. So without further ado, here are my tips for staying away from the vending machine at your office.
1. Plan ahead. My best days are those when I manage to pack sandwich bags or Tupperware with enough snacks to get me through the day. The sandwich bags are key, because in my opinion, they give me the illusion I'm eating something sinful. So into my sandwich bags I pack dried berries, wheat crackers, baby carrots, cut-up red peppers, trail mix, pistachios and other fruits, vegetables and grains to get me through the day. When I feel like I need a bag of Doritos, I go for the crunchy carrots. When I need a cookie, I eat my dried berries.
2. Keep healthy food at your office. For days when you can't plan ahead, keep a few supplies at your office. I usually have an apple or orange, a packet of oatmeal and a can of soup at my desk in case of emergency. Trust me, they come in handy.
3. Buy in bulk. If you can buy granola or dried fruit in bulk, and then bag it, you'll save some cash. I don't really know where to buy healthy versions (without preservatives, sulfates or additives) of this stuff in bulk for cheap, unfortunately, since I don't really have cabinet space. Whole Foods bulk always seems really expensive. So let me know if you find a better alternative. People with cabinet space will thank you.
4. Fill up with fiber. To stay full, keep your energy levels high and help with your daily calorie count, eat foods that are high in fiber. You can find a great list of high-fiber foods here. I also have been known to use a fiber supplement (I like Metamucil Pink Lemonade) to tide me over for days when I'm really hungry.
5. Keep a box of low-sugar, high-fiber cereal at your desk. This is a no-brainer. See the above note. (I like Kashi Good Friends.)
6. Drink decaf green tea. I read the book "Skinny Bitch" and one of the best tips I got was to drink decaf green tea to conquer cravings and provide a non-caffeinated energy boost. I drink Celestial Seasonings because it's typically the only decaf green I can find. It's also yumtastic.
7. Drink enough water. I also read that most of the time when people feel a craving for snacks, they're really dehydrated. So for a while, I required myself to drink a full 12-oz. glass of water before I had any snacks or soda. It was a punishment back then, when I used to drink cans of soda every day. But now, practically the only thing I drink is water.
As a sidenote, have you ever actually tried to drink 64 oz. of water in one day? I have. My stomach was so full that I couldn't fit any snacks in.
8. Go easy on yourself. All food costs money, especially the healthy variety. So don't beat yourself up over spending 80 cents per day on snacks. It's not like you're buying two $5.00 lattes every day. If you're trying to cut costs, take Suze Orman's advice and look for the bigger expenses first (expensive cable, two phone lines, etc.).
And in general, don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing an amazing job by just recognizing where you are in life and trying to do better! Congrats on taking your first steps towards financial fabulousness! Good luck and remember the little people when you get big and famous.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Key To Finding Cheap Car Insurance
The costs of car insurance, as with all things car related, have gone up in recent months for any number of reasons. Car insurance companies give all sorts of reasons for that, and most of them are complete garbage. Although we’ve all been taught to take everything with a pinch of salt, it doesn’t help you when you have to fork out for it after buying a new car! However, if you are with Tesco insurance you can save a lot of money.?
Tesco insurance insurance really can helps its customers in a number of ways. The choice of car insurance products is fantastic so you get the deal you need at the price you want to suit you perfectly. In fact, Tesco insurance can be the answer to your prayers. Obtaining a quote takes but a few minutes and is a decision that you will never regret!
Budgeting Babe on CBS Evening News
Hey friends, tune in tonight (Tuesday, April 1) to the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric at 5:30 Central Time/6:30 Eastern Time to watch yours truly talking fashion and finance with Kelly Wallace!!!!!! (...along with some of my fiercest best friends, of course.)
OMG, I have SO MUCH to tell you about it, but I'm a nervous wreck right now in anticipation of the piece so I have to bite my tongue until we see how it all turned out. All I can say right now is:
- It was an absolute dream to participate.
- If it turns out badly, we're pretending like it never happened, 'kay?
- If for some reason it DOES NOT air tomorrow night, they might hold it until later this week, so keep checking in. It's a features piece, and those sometimes get bumped for more "hard news" stories that come up.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Construction Update
You know, everyone tells you must add an extra 10% on top of your estimate on any construction project to get the final cost.
Of course, my bathroom remodel is going poorly and it’s sucking up my 10% overage.
There was some concrete under the tile in the bathroom that’s coming down. Unfortunately, to get an even surface on the wall, the concrete has to be removed. Don’t ask me why in the 1950’s they put up concrete halfway up the walls, but they did. All the extra labor hopefully will not be a huge amount more, but I have a feeling it will cost me another 20% on top of the estimate.
I wanted to have a special countertop cut for me so I can have a shelf over the toilet, just like I had in the original bathroom. However, it has a 10-day lead time for the order, which would mean I’d be out of my apartment for over almost 2 months. The contractor thinks he can get me a light grey granite countertop cut in the same shape out of scrap material from his usual granite supplier. It will only cost me $100 more but will take 3 days instead of 10. Is that worth it to me? You bet. It’s been over a month since I’ve slept at home and I’m cranky.
But things got a lot worse. The contractor had a drywall guy come in and they put in the ceiling piece early in the week. They came back the next day and the tub was full of water and the new piece was soaked. Apparently, there’s another leak coming from the unit above mine. ARGH.
I don’t know how all this is going to play out, but why do I feel like it’s going to cost me more money and time, no matter what happens?
Going once..
I posted before that I am looking to see if someone else would like to take over running the Under 30 Honor Roll and Festival of Under 30 Finances as I don't have the time to develop it into something better - if anyone's interested, please let me know!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
File Under: We're Not Anywhere Near Done With The Mortgage Mess
Early reviews of the 2007 vintage of Subprime, Alt-A and Prime Jumbo residential mortage-backed securities indicate it will be the worst ever in terms of delinquencies, judging from Standard & Poor's latest assessment.
As of the April 2008 distribution date, total delinquencies for subprime RMBS transactions were 36.79%, 37.11%, and 25.87% of the current aggregate pool balances for the 2005, 2006, and 2007 vintages, respectively. This is an increase of approximately 2% for the 2005 vintage, 4% for 2006, and 6% for 2007 when compared with March 2008 according to S&P.
2007 Worst-Ever Vintage for US Subprime, Alt-A RMBS [Reseach Recap]
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Deliver Us From Human Resources
Somebody over at Tower Perrin doesn't have enough to do as evidenced by this 'study.' I struggled through it but not sure I can draw any conclusions except that Mexican companies have the greatest percentage of 'engaged' employees. From what I saw in Mexico they are engaged because they just feel damn lucky just to have a job.
Interesting remarks about Japan as well. Well, interesting if you are in Human Resources.
On the 'road to engagement?' What is that?
Read on and figure out your own conclusion. Please share any insight because I'm not sure I get this. Or even want to.
Few workers are 'engaged' at work and most want more from execs
Sunday October 21, 10:28 am ET
By Andrea Coombes
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Only 21% of workers worldwide are "engaged" -- that's human-resource-speak for ready to expend some extra effort at work -- while 38% are either disenchanted or disengaged, according to a new survey.
Engagement is not satisfaction or happiness, but the degree to which workers connect to the company emotionally, are aware of what they need to do to add value and are willing to take that action, said Julie Gebauer, a managing director with consulting firm Towers Perrin, which surveyed almost 90,000 workers in 19 countries.
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"Happy employees don't necessarily create better financial results, but there is a definite link between engagement and a company's financial performance," Gebauer said.
The survey found 21% of workers worldwide are engaged, and another 41% are "enrolled," which means they're on the road to engagement, Gebauer said.
More than 80% of the engaged employees say they contribute to the quality of company products, services and customer satisfaction, while only 40% of disengaged workers agree.
Engagement helps retention too: About 50% of engaged employees say they have no plans to leave their company versus 15% of the disengaged.
'Dollars-and-cents issue'
The fact that almost 80% of workers are less-than-engaged is likely costing companies money, Gebauer said."The notion of engagement is really a dollars-and-cents issue. Organizations that have employees that are highly engaged deliver better financial results than those that don't," Gebauer said.
In a separate study, Towers Perrin assessed data on 40 global companies over a three-year period, measuring employee engagement at a certain point and then looking at the companies' financial results over the ensuing three years.
Companies with highly motivated workers enjoyed a 3.7% increase in operating margins and a 2% rise in net profits, while companies with a lower level of worker commitment saw both measures decrease slightly.
Countries vary widely
The portion of engaged workers varies widely by country, according to the survey.In the U.S., 29% of workers are engaged and 28% are disenchanted or disengaged, while in Mexico, 54% of workers are engaged -- the highest among the 19 countries surveyed -- while 16% are disenchanted or disengaged.
The lowest portion of engaged workers on the list is Japan, where 3% of workers are engaged and 72% are disenchanted or disengaged.
Still, other reports find higher levels of worker commitment among U.S. workers, at least. A separate survey finds that 72% of workers would recommend their company as a good place to work, up from 62% two years ago, and 64% say their company values them as employees, according to a survey of 2,000 U.S. workers in September by Rasmussen Reports LLC, a research firm, for Hudson, a staffing and recruitment firm.
From the Towers Perrin report, here's the full list of engagement levels by country:
| Region | Engaged | Enrolled | Disenchanted | Disengaged |
| Global | 21% | 41% | 30% | 8% |
| Mexico | 54% | 30% | 13% | 3% |
| Brazil | 37% | 38% | 22% | 3% |
| India | 36% | 46% | 15% | 3% |
| U.S. | 29% | 43% | 22% | 6% |
| Switzerland | 23% | 50% | 23% | 4% |
| Canada | 23% | 44% | 25% | 7% |
| Spain | 19% | 35% | 31% | 15% |
| Russia | 18% | 46% | 30% | 7% |
| Germany | 17% | 47% | 28% | 8% |
| China | 16% | 51% | 27% | 6% |
| U.K. | 14% | 42% | 33% | 11% |
| Belgium | 13% | 47% | 31% | 9% |
| Netherlands | 13% | 47% | 32% | 7% |
| France | 12% | 41% | 35% | 12% |
| Italy | 11% | 40% | 36% | 13% |
| Poland | 9% | 37% | 39% | 15% |
| Korea | 8% | 45% | 40% | 7% |
| Hong Kong | 5% | 36% | 46% | 13% |
| Japan | 3% | 25% | 56% | 16% |
Engage me
So, what makes for an engaged employee? It's not necessarily pay. While the level of pay is important, it's not among the top 10 drivers of engagement, Gebauer said.Rather than using "the blunt instrument of pay," Gebauer said, companies should survey their work force, much as they might study their customers, to assess what employees are seeking.
The top 10 drivers of employee engagement across all 19 countries are a mixed bag that includes both the behavior and actions of senior management and individuals' own actions and abilities:
- Senior management sincerely interested in employee well-being
- Improved my skills and capabilities over the last year
- Organization's reputation for social responsibility
- Input into decision-making in my department
- Organization quickly resolves customer concerns
- Set high personal standards
- Have excellent career advancement opportunities
- Enjoy challenging work assignments that broaden skills
- Good relationship with supervisor
- Organization encourages innovative thinking
Many employees "are looking for a greater demonstration of senior management's interest in their day-to-day work," Gebauer said.
"What employees are looking for is open communication, communication that reflects the fact that senior management really understands how the work gets done, and recognizes and appreciates that," she said.
Senior management's interest in employees can be expressed in a number of ways, Gebauer said, "including organizations' willingness to help employees balance work and activities outside of work, to sponsor competitive benefit programs, to focus on career development and training," she said.
"Those are things that will translate to employees as senior management being interested in my well-being," she said.
Communication helps, too, even the electronic kind. "CEOs who will provide a monthly Web cast or a voicemail just letting people know about key developments in the industry and in the company -- those are some of the things that help employees put at least a voice and a face to senior management," she said.
The study's findings refute other studies that find workers' immediate supervisors are most important to employees' sense of well-being.
"It's not to say the manager isn't important, but imagine the best manager in the world working in an organization that doesn't have a good performance-management system, doesn't have good advancement opportunities," Gebauer said.
"How is that manger going to help the employee navigate through an organization that is actually not working so well?"
Beats the hell out of me.
May 12 Everyday Finance Porfolio Update and Market Commentary
Market Moves
In brief, I cleared out the oil options play that was heading in the wrong direction, as initiated in the synthetic options play a few weeks ago (here). Fortunately, oil dipped back below $125 per barrel and I was able to buy back the naked calls for net neutral outcome, while still holding the USO 104 contracts long for May expiry. Banking on a short term reversal in the decline of the US dollar and some of the mania surrounding oil of late, I opened a new put position in USO for June expiry. My thinking is that if we have a short term spike due to say, continued interruptions in Nigeria or another pipeline explosion, I can exercise the May 104's. If oil continues to head south (as it should from a fundamentals perspective IMO), I will be in the money on the June contracts.
I also wanted to highlight some notable market news from today:
Goldman Sachs sees 'exceptional value' in Russia
The article's here, but the gist of it is that Goldman Slacks (just kidding, they're pretty much the only guys who got this subprime thing right this cycle) foresees a major advance in Russian equities given mispricing or underestimation of the benefit of oil revenues and an impending tax break and the trickle down effect. Aside from the obvious Lukoil plays and some other smaller outfits listed, they also cite Vimplecom and Wimm-Bill-Dann, which are current holdings in the Everyday Finance portfolio (the former in tradition and latter in IRA). They have performed quite well and I intend on holding for this projected runup. I like Eastern Europe in general and also recommend CEDC and CETV, which were not mentioned in the article, but highlighted in my Interational Hotties post almost a year ago.
Earthquake in China Kills Thousands; Mild Market Impact
Aside from the unfortunate loss of life, including many children in a school in a central province in China, the earthquake had only a modest impact on the market, resulting in a decline of less than 1% as of the timing of this post. In China, I posted recently that I was eyeing VISN and JRJC, each of which were up pretty nicely in Monday trading. I currently have no position in either and will potentially purchase on the next pullback.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Yay!
TIAA-CREF found my thousand dollars. All is well again.
I'm more heavily thinking about sinking most of my salary into the retirement plan.. I am going to pay SO MUCH in taxes this year that I am trying to stick as much of it into tax-sheltered accounts as possible. (Still filling the Roth though, since I can't retroactively fill it five years from now when I am in a lower tax bracket.)
Life is just chugging along. I am really incredibly busy with CashDuck.. and of course I am not making it any easier for myself by advertising so much and getting lots of new users, and working on new site doodads. :)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Auction Rate Securities Victim Watch: The Culinary Institute of America
When the Culinary Institute of America needed to raise money to pay for a new building they turned to a Goldman Sachs banker for advice. He told them to issue auction rate securities. That piece of advice cost them nearly half a million dollars when the market seized up and the interest rate of the securities shot up to 14 percent, Bloomberg reports.
Auction-Rate Collapse Costs Taxpayers $1.65 Billion [Bloomberg]
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Reader questions answered: Saving for a Condo
Random reader question time!
Today's super fab question comes from fellow Chicagoan Aideen, who asks:
"I love you website! I am 26 and a former NYer who moved to the windy city. I try to budget and am doing an okay job of it. Do you have any posts on the best ways to save for buying a condo or house. Is socking away money in a savings account the best way or should I invest the money. i'd love to know what other people do."
That's a great question, Aideen. And since I am in the same boat as you, I'm probably not the best person to answer your question. But I am totally curious, so I asked someone who's a little more credentialed on finance - Eric Brotman, CFP, CLU, MSFS, and president of Brotman Financial Group, Inc. - to help us out. Here's what he said:
A: "Where to save for a first home is largely dependant on the amount of time it will take someone to put together the amount needed for a down payment and closing costs.
Normally, the best option is in a money market account, as they tend to pay a higher rate of interest than a traditional savings account. There are several good online options, including ING Direct and HSBC. (Budgeting Babe note: This is what I'm doing, and I'm at Emigrant Direct.)
Another option is a certificate of deposit, with one caveat. The CD must either have no penalty for accessing the funds before maturity, or a maturity date must be selected which is in advance of the anticipated home purchase.
Investing the money for a first home is only a reasonable idea if the time-horizon is at least two years out, and if that is the case, a moderate allocation portfolio with low transaction expenses would make the most sense. First-time home buyers can also access their Roth IRA for up to $10,000 towards the purchase. Checking with a CPA or tax advisor to see if someone is eligible for a Roth IRA is a good first step. It will provide tax-favored growth while the savings/investments are being accumulated, but not everyone is eligible."
Eric Brotman is President of Brotman Financial Group, Inc., an independent financial planning firm specializing in wealth creation, preservation, and distribution. Mr. Brotman began his financial planning practice in Baltimore in 1994, and founded Brotman Financial Group in 2003. He provides investment, retirement, estate, insurance, and business planning for professionals, executives, and business owners. Mr. Brotman's clients benefit from his technical expertise, extraordinary client service, and a knowledgeable team of insurance and investment specialists.
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As a side note, Aideen, I was tracking with Eric's answer until he threw out the term "moderate allocation portfolio." I looked online and determined he means that if you choose to invest in a mutual fund or group of stocks, pick one that's not too high risk. You don't want to lose your downpayment fund when you're three years away from buying a house! (If you like this moderate risk option, a lot of people on my site have said that Vanguard is a good place to start investing because it has really low transaction fees.)
I got kind of lost during the Roth IRA part, so I appreciated that he mentioned seeing a professional. I heard that borrowing against yourself is pretty common, but I wasn't sure it was recommended by financial professionals. I'm sure peeps will write in the comments about it. If you have an answer, let us know! I'll also go back to Eric and ask him if that's risky or recommended if you're eligible.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A 10% Return Overnight by via ING Referral!
ING is offering a new member referral bonus and all it takes is a simple email and application to earn $25 on your first $250 deposit!
For full disclosure - I get $10 for referring you. You can then refer your friends and family via emails, you don't need a website. Here's what you have to do:
Send me an email with your:
First Name, Last Name, Email address you'll be using with your ING account.
to: everydayfinance "at" yahoo.com [replace "at" with @, spam measure]
I will then forward you a link to join the ING network and they take over from there!
Friday, May 16, 2008
House Flipping In The Real World-Part 8-Doing The Numbers
That Donald analysis bothered me all day and finally dawned on me that I did not include the repayment of the loan. As they say, duh. It bothered me that Donald was doing so good in his part of the analysis.
So here is the analysis the right way, I think
Income $73,195
Payback of Loan with Loan consisting of Principal of $21,600 (Purchase Price of $27,000-20% Downpayment=$21,600) plus loan to pay renovation cost, taxes, fees and interest of $31,889=Total Loan Repayment of
$53,489
Net Gain $19,706=ROI of 37% or 8.2% per annum over 4.5 years
Will look at this again in the morning light but does go to show, again, that you can make money at real estate but it is not as easy as the guys would make it look in the infomercials. And glad I don't have to do financial analysis for a living anymore.
Everyday Finance Portfolio Update April 6, 2008
The Everyday Finance Porfolio gained 6.7% for the prior week versus a 4% return for the S&P500. Given the relative high Beta and leveraged Financials/Gold ETFs in the portfolio, it isn't unexpected to see an improved return over the major indices. Attached below are the individual returns for each holding:
To highlight a few standouts:
- BIDU has been on a tear lately. I think the stock has been brutally beaten down for the best in class Chinese equivalent of Google. It's got real earnings and even greater growth potential than Google. With a 19% gain for the week, I think it's just getting started on its return to old highs.
- DGP, the 2X leveraged Gold ETF dropped 4% on the week. I've been long gold for quite some time now. I initially locked in profits on the 1:1 ETF GLD and traded it in for this turbocharged ETF. With another rate cut on track for April, I envision continued weakness in the US dollar and at least another foray into the $1,000 per ounce range again.
- UYG, the 2X leverage Financials ETF holds great promise. At the very lowest point in the Financials' index, I called the bottom (full rationale/analysis here) and went 2X long before virtually anyone had done so. Not to toot my own horn, but this week on CNBC, virtually every pundit and investor is now calling for a return to investing in Financials. This portends additional gains on top of the 12% return this week.
- VIP - Vimplecom, the Russian telecom is not for the faint of heart. I had more than doubled my money in it last year, sold some off and then saw decent declines. Now, it's returning to old highs again. I'm a holder, banking on continued growth in the standard of living and telecom growth in Russia due in great part of oil revenues in the post-$100 per barrel world.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Keep Moving The Chains!
Booya, Tim. After the jump, we reveal Tim's first pick.
People Moves: Anyone Need A Lawyer?
Supposedly, the lawyer who "mistakenly" included the clause about JPMorgan being responsible for Bear's losses regardless of whether or not the deal goes through is "no longer with the firm," as of this morning. For the life of me, I can't imagine why. Personally, we feel he injected a much needed dose of comic relief in that place.
And let me just add:
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Everyday Finance Portfolio Update and Trades Week Ended April 18, 2008
Here are the results of last week's portfolio and trading updates. The EverydayFinance portfolio bested the S&P return of 5.5% with a 6.2% return for the week. There was a notable trend in the portfolio this week: massive standard deviation. While the portfolio eeked out a small gain over the index, but were multiple holdings up or down in excess of 20%.
BIDU and GOOG turned in a stellar performance on Google's earnings beat last week. China Mobile and FMCN moved in different directions, further illuminating the wide swings in Chinese stocks of late and the lack of correlation in individual holdings that didn't exist in 2007 (they all move up 100% per quarter!). KTII continues to be the most impressive risk-adjusted returning asset in my opinion at another 14% for the week. UYG turned out to be a great call (and they're not all in that bucket as evidenced by SIRI and TKC below), picking the exact bottom of the financial wreck on St. Patty's day (here). I had sold 1/3 share at a 40% return and the shares have returned to that level again. Time to unload some more or ride it out?
Trading: I sold my SIRI shares, as jumping in on merger news was ill-informed and researched. The stock did not react as I had anticipated and I took a small loss on the move. I also exited Turkcell (TKC) given the degrading outlook of the Turkish economy and the stock's prospects. I've chose to remain in the other emerging market cellular plays China Mobile (CHL) and Vimplecom in Russia (VIP).
In addition to these stock holdings, I took a bold move on the projected decline in oil prices. I may have been a bit early, as oil has now broken above $116 per barrel. As long as it stays below $120, I'm in the clear. For more on this move and synthetic options in general, click here.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Thank you for shopping at SmallMart
Not very long ago, I listened to an audio-lecture on NPR about shopping and investing locally. This was from a man named Michael Shuman, he is the author of the book ‘ The Small-Mart Revolution.' In this book he talks about the benefits of a locally owned and operated businesses. During his lecture he talked about these issues as well as some of the problems involved in attracting local investors in a fiscally responsible way.
Each community needs to develop its own self reliance and maximize the opportunities presented. This will help them to grow in a sustainable and reliable way.
Michael currently runs the site Smallmart.org and I found this article. About halfway down he has a list of things that will help you appear attractive to local shoppers.?? This list includes...
- Being locally owned - The most needed part of the equation!
- Develop a local identity - Let people know that you are local and be proud of it.
- Behave Responsibly - Respect the workforce and the environment if you want anyone to respect you.
- Give back to the community - Let them know your business cares.
- Maximize ‘Local value added' - Do more than locate your headquarters here, put your factory or do your business here as well.
- Cater to local markets - You can still sell to the rest of the world, but make sure you sell to those around you first.
- Develop local partners - This could be contacting other businesses for one time events, or perhaps shopping in local stores for any supplies you need.
- Grow deep - Expand your offerings to the local crowd.
- Avoid predatory behavior - Just because you offer some of the same goods or services doesn't mean that the other company is your enemy, just your competition.? Perhaps possibly even a local partner in the future.
- Exit locally - When you close up shop, who will take over your business?
I really enjoyed the lecture that he gave, but I think I'll need to pick up the book in order to extract as much of his ideas as possible.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Fattening Myself Up: Jaleo
We had a visitor this weekend so we took her to the Library of Congress’ re-opened exhibit areas and then to Jaleo for tapas dinner on Saturday night. Then we went back to Napa 1015 for the totally awesome brunch Sunday morning. (Where they recognized me and boyfriend from a few weeks ago. Gratefully there were a lot more people there for brunch and I also got a friend to go there for dinner last week for her birthday and she said it was amazing. But I digress.)
Jaleo is by far the best place in DC I’ve been for tapas. La Tasca doesn’t even compare. And fortunately, Jaleo is in several locations around DC.
The food ranges from the very traditional Patatas Bravas, roasted potatoes with aioli and tomato sauce, to funkier stuff like artichoke hearts with grapefruit slices and olives. OMG was dinner delicious I am salivating just recalling the dinner.
We got 9 dishes total, 2 desserts, a glass of sherry and a bottle of wine. Damage was about $135 + tip. Dishes ranged in price from about $6-10 each and the wine was a Rioja for $34. This was dinner for 3 and way too much food, but we wanted to impress our guest and give her a lot of options for her first taste of Spanish food.
I got the artichoke hearts with grapefruit and olives, wild mushroom rice (basically a risotto), and cannelones with foiegras and pork. Boyfriend got Chorizo in crispy potato pastry, chicken croquettes, brussel sprouts with grapes, apples and apricots, there was mashed potato in cabbage leaf with goat cheese (’Trinxat’), sauteed cauliflower and Patatas Bravas.
Dessert was the warm chocolate birthday cake with with bergamot flavoring and yummy vanilla ice cream and Basque cake with semolina cream, cinnamon-vanilla sauce & ice milk, and a very nice sherry for the guest. Dessert was amazing. I highly recommend the chocolate cake if you go soon. It’s a seasonal special.
In retrospect, 9 dishes was too much for the three of us. Jaleo has huge portions. 2-3 is usually enough for a person. But I’ve been places where 3-4 is more the norm. (Thirsty Bear in San Francisco comes to mind, but I also remember their fish cheeks and beef with rosemary dishes. Yes. That good.)
They also have a wine shop near their Crystal City location. CRAP. I wish I knew this before. boyfriend and I had a really amazing wine there before that just knocked our socks off. But now I can’t remember what it was, else I would buy a case of it tomorrow. A rioja. Of course. What else would you have with tapas?
Sunday, May 11, 2008
House Flipping In The Real World-Part 6-Fixing Things
When we last left the smashed up house, Cynthia was working away, scraping and painting the inside of the house. Alice was having tests for liver cancer and things weren't looking good. I was reduced pretty much to buying supplies and staying out of Cynthia's way.
I got a few calls generated by the dyslexic 'For Sale' sign in the front yard. Two separate individuals wanted to see the house, set up appointments and neither showed. Then two Sunday afternoons ago I got two calls. One from my realtor handling another house (I have three) saying we had an offer and then a call from Marion. Marion sounded like 'Mame' and wanted to see the house that Cynthia was working on. Made an appointment and they showed up--three generations of Mame. Marion, her daughter Patricia, and Patricia's daughter.
In the real estate business, you indulge in some rental profiling and can size up your customer pretty fast. Given my track record, I wasn't very good at it but learning fast. Marion, late 50's, loud, no ring, no husband, Toyota, pretty well dressed but not my style. May have a few dollars laying around. Patricia, blond, young, 23-25, four year old daughter, no ring. She was a nanny. Not exactly Bill Gates but then I figured out I didn't really need to care because I was not going to carry the credit risk. No more playing banker for me. If they didn't get financing, no sale.
I stood outside and let the trio take a look around after I told Marion the price. They came out and I told them about everything that had been done within the last three years--new electrical service, basically new plumbing, heating and air conditioning (originally the house had space heaters--stay away from those), new paint in and out, and all new windows. Marion indicated they had seen every house in the neighborhood and the price was right and they took it, full price. Patricia wrote a check for $500 as earnest money and we agreed to sign some document later.
Patricia called three days later and we met. She had a document that basically said everything would be working in the house when she took possession. I xed out a few things and signed. Patricia looked concerned but signed it. Sue assured Patricia that the house would be in order.
Later I told Sue that I think I gave away the store to Patricia. Sue said, "She's just a nervous kid that knows nothing about houses or buying a house. You were pretty nervous when we bought our first house." I said I had a lot of reasons to be nervous. (See Category 9-Buying a House for 30% Off.)
So that's were we stand. I have a check for $500, a one page contract, and Patricia is working with her lender. The good news is that the lender called yesterday to discuss the closing. We traded messages. So if the whole thing goes through, great. If not, not really out anything since Cynthia is still working. As for the $500 I'll just give it back if the deal falls through--I'm not that big a jerk.
Tomorrow, we'll figure out the financial return.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Vulture Investing with the Pros
In the current market environment, there are myriad investment opportunities that present themselves only once in a blue moon. Separating the gems from the train wrecks can be daunting for the individual investor. That's where the professional vulture investors come in. They both the experience and foresight to wait out the euphoria, allow trends to drive a market sector/market crash, and then pick up the valuable assets out of the rubble. They also have the capital to do so.
One such investment outfit is Leucadia National (LUK), which invests in distressed industries. Some recent investments it engaged in were subprime lender Americredit and financial services company Finova group. It is not solely a financial company though, as its holdings are as diverse as telecom, lumber and carpet padding companies.
The performance has been stellar, returning close to 80% during the past year compared to a loss of close to 8% fpr the S&P500. Shares are also up over 300% in the 5 year period vs. 32% for the S&P500. Given its exposure to some financials, it clearly picked the winners and steered clear of the CDO mess.
Disclosure: The author has no position in LUK.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
See Me On The Tee Vee
Check this out! They actually didn't use very much of my footage.. but I'm glad they pronounced my name correctly. :) And they didn't use any of the shots of the guinea pigs which I think were definitely way more interesting than me talking.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
When Brazil Has Better Credit Than You, It Is Time To Exit The Market
Or maybe its just another sign that Standard and Poor's is totally, utterly useless. Either way, you sort of have to chuckle when AAA tranches are expecting 40-60% losses (depending on who you ask) and Brazil is now "investment grade."
Well, yes, and it is fun to tease Brazil, but really the country has come quite a long way.
Brazil received an investment grade credit rating for the first time from Standard & Poor's, sending the benchmark stock market index to a record and yields on dollar bonds to an all-time low.
Brazilian Debt Raised to Investment Grade by S&P [Bloomberg]
Saturday, May 3, 2008
LifeCell Surges on Buyout - Another One that Got Away
The inevitable happened today, and Lifecell (LIFC) was bought out today by Kinetic. The stock had already been on a run of late and capped off its path with a 17% gain on today's news to $50 per share. LifeCell is a top supplier of tissue based products for reconstructive and other medical uses and its financials combined with lack of viable competition have provided shareholders with a masterful return over the years. Unfortunately, although I posted and recommend on multiple occasions as far back as June of 2007, LIFC didn't make it in to the Everyday Finance portfolio. This was an old investment club favorite back at $7 per share. I hope some readers were turned on to the stock and got to participate.
We're Moving
Moving this week which I hate but....
Back when the computer comes to life again, whenever.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Join the business, drink the koolaid!
During the first meeting, I learned that I was talking to a sort of affiliate marketer.? I also learned that there was a startup fee, as well as a monthly fee for the program.? Once you are in the system, you can make money in two ways.
First, by selling stuff and collecting an affiliate fee.? Secondly, you can recruit others to sell the junk and collect a referral fee.? And it's only going to cost you a set up fee of $126 and a monthly fee of $50 to keep your website running.? I don't know about you, but this has bad idea written all over it.? Especially when I got to the second meeting.
This time there were two people involved in selling me this system.? The same person from the previous meeting, and someone higher up the food chain came to talk to me.
They began talking, and half an hour later they were repeating themselves profusely; however, their circumlocutory speech was not the real issue.? They mentioned that setting up your business, and getting sales would pay for itself in the first month.? “Okay,” I asked, “So how do you get sales on your site?”
The two looked at each other, then at me before saying, “Well, how would YOU get sales?”
I mentioned I would find some relevant keywords and bid on them in Google Adwords to direct people to my targeted pages.
The two looked at each other, then at me.? They had no idea what I was talking about.? So I asked again what they did.
The way they get products sold from their site is to buy it themselves.? Now at 10% to 50% commission that means they are buying somewhere between $100 and $500 on their sites each month.? All this was to gain some sort of PV (or Point Value in their strange little world) witch somehow gets transformed into cash back.
The money with this is made of course once you get enough noobs under you to buy their own products.? Then you will get a small chunk of change from their sales.
I asked to see the backend of one of their sites.? I wanted to take a look at how much control the pupetmasters gave them.? But of course this must lead up to another meeting!? So I'll let you know what happens if this meeting ever does.
I feel bad for all of the people who drink the koolaid without knowing what they are getting themselves into.? Which sounds like a lot of people are doing with their ‘pie in the sky' wishful thinking.
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