Simple Trading System

Black Friday Comes Early At Amazon.com

2009-11-20T14:31:00.001-06:00

Here is link to the Amazon.com Black Friday sales page. It will start offering limited time deals, starting this coming Monday (Nov 23).

Carnival of road to financial independence #13

2009-11-17T23:45:00.000-06:00

My post on Buying Hyatt (H) was included in the Carnival of road to financial independence #13.

Gift Cards for the Holidays

2009-11-17T09:56:00.008-06:00

I have found that gift cards make great presents.

If you buy someone an actual item, they may not like it. If you give cash, it looks impersonal - that you did not think about what the other person likes.

A gift card falls in between. The person receiving the gift card then has flexibility to get what he or she wants, and they think that at least the giver thought about what stores and type of merchandise they like.

I recently found that Shop.com is a good way to buy gift cards online. They sell gift cards for the most popular stores and their page is divided into four parts - for boys, girls, men, and women.

So shopping is quick and easy. If you want to buy a gift card for a boy, for example, then just pick from the short list on the boys quadrant on the gift card page. No matter which choice you make, you are going to give a card for a store they can shop at.

Money Hacks Carnival #90

2009-11-11T22:03:00.003-06:00

My post on Buying Hyatt (H) was included in the 90th edition of the Money Hacks Carnival.

Just Bought Hyatt Hotels (H)

2009-11-06T10:14:00.001-06:00

Hyatt Hotels had a successful IPO on Wednesday. The opening price was $25, and the shares ended up $3 - at $28.

This morning, I bought some Hyatt at $27.92.

I think Hyatt is a good long term investment that should climb in the near term because I think a lot of mutual funds will be attracted to Hyatt. It will take them weeks or months to accumulate a position, and that should drive up the price.

I like IPOs of brand names that are following a strong competitor by going public. For example, I successfully bought the Chicago Board of Trade after it followed the Chicago Mercantile Exchange by going public. I also was successful with the Visa IPO, which followed Mastercard.

In this case, Hyatt and Hilton are the two strong hotel brands. Hilton was a public company until profitably taken private by the Blackstone Group.

Good Article and Analysis of Lichello's AIM System

2009-11-03T09:14:00.002-06:00

Doug Burke has done a great job with this article explaining and analyzing Robert Lichello's AIM system, which is a stock trading system that is a lot like the way I trade.

This is a good article to read.

Have A Belated, but Frightful Halloween

2009-11-02T09:25:00.001-06:00

A little late, but the link is good:

Golden Oldie …

Click below.....

Happy Halloween!

Carnival of Financial Planning - October 30, 2009 Edition

2009-10-30T23:41:00.004-05:00

Just in time for HALLOWEEN, it's my privilege to once again host the "Carnival of Financial Planning"!

As with previous editions, this carnival has been expertly edited by The Skilled Investor and takes a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals and families. The focus is on efficient and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.

The carnival is arranged by subject heading, so that you can browse efficiently.

You're in for a TREAT, as you learn some new financial TRICKS:

Budgeting

20smoney presents Two Jobs Where You Can Put Away A Ton Of Money posted at 20s Money, saying, "Two employment opportunities that allow above average savings."

Susan Savering presents Personal Budgets posted at Family
Financial Planners,
saying, "When you don't understand how much you spend and how much
you save and invest, you do not have a financial plan. This
dramatically increases your family’s long-term financial
risk."

Economics

Zach Scheidt presents Mortgage Crisis, Part Deux posted at ZachStocks,
saying, "Commercial Mortgages continue to clog bank balance sheets and
losses do not appear to have been recognized. Watch for weakness in
regional banks with heavy exposure to commercial real estate loans."

Estate Planning

Bucksome presents The Importance of a Living Will posted at Buck$ome Boomer's Journey to Retirement, saying, "A personal story about a parent on life support without a living will."

The Financial Blogger presents Estate Planning: 5 Reasons Why You Should Have A Professional Among Your Liquidators posted at The Financial Blogger,
saying, "managing an estate is more complicated than simply writing a
few checks! Fortunately, for those who can afford it, you can name a
professional among your liquidators."

Financial Planning

Jeff Rose presents Can You Reverse/Undo a Roth IRA Conversion? posted at Jeff Rose.

The Dough Roller presents Enough Practice – Make Your Credit Score Perfect! posted at The Dough Roller,
saying, "A FICO credit score can determine a very large number of
decisions in your life. Where you live, what you drive, where you work
and where you and or your kids go to school can depend on a 3-digit
magic number."

MoneyNing presents Help Your Children Visualize Money Mangement with the Four Jars Approach posted at Money Ning, saying, "I was taught the four jars approach when I was young to learn personal finance. How about you?"

Tom Drake presents A Look At Ponzi Schemes In Canada posted at The Canadian Finance Blog,
saying, "With the current condition of the economy, there have been a
couple ponzi schemes that have unraveled, leaving investors wondering
what happened to their money."

Patrick @ Military Money presents How Much Life Insurance Do Military Members Need? posted at Military Finance Network,
saying, "Military members may have different life insurance needs than
civilians. Here is information regarding how much life insurance
military members should buy, and some resources for finding the best
life insurance deals."

Dividend Tree presents Building Core Competency for Long Term Survival posted at Dividend Tree,
saying, "whether it is running a business or individuals’ investment
portfolio, it is important to build a core competency for long term
sustainability. In my case, I focus on good quality companies that
consistently pay or have potential to pay growing dividends over time."

Susan Saverton presents Financial Advisor Pasadena California posted at Pasadena Financial Planner,
saying, "Appropriately setting your personal asset allocation in line
with your personal risk tolerance is a critical decision for every
investor. The percentages that are allocated to various asset classes
tend to change slowly over time, so it is important to get it right at
the outset."

Allan Inocente presents Top 10 best personal finance books of all time! posted at Rich Money Habits, saying, "Rich Money Habits' top 10 best personal finance books of all time!"

FaithAllen presents How to Rollover Your 401k Plan to a New 401k Plan | eHow.com posted at FaithAllen, saying, "This is an article how rolling over your 401k to another 401k. It has step by step instructions on how to do that."

Financing a Home

Colin Robertson presents When Do Mortgage Payments Start? posted at Mortgage Tips and Credit Help, saying, "New homeowners often wonder when mortgage payments
start, as there’s sometimes a considerable gap between closing and the due date of the first monthly payment."

Brandon Laughridge presents How Much House Can I Afford? posted at Mortgage Loan Place, saying, "Check out our new widget that helps home buyers estimate how much they can afford."

Alex Fotopoulos presents When to Refinance a Mortgage? posted at My Trader's
Journal, saying, "Some key points to consider when
refinancing your home."

Financing Education

Praveen presents Will Education Follow the Housing Bust? posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, "Tips for students to avoid excessive loans and debt"

Health Care

Lisa Taylor presents Top 10 Best Free and Cheap Ways to Quit Smoking posted at Dental Assisting School,
saying, "With the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
only five months old, associated issues have once again become pushed
to the forefront of society’s consciousness."

KCLau presents Withdraw EPF Fund to Pay Insurance Premium? posted at KCLau's Money Tips, saying, "Vincent Lee from Penang generously shares an idea to use your EPF"

Income

Linders presents 8 Ways the Internet Can Make You Richer posted at Money Hacker - Australia's Personal Finance Blog,
saying, "Hello there, this article suggests a few easy ways to make
some money via the internet, some tips are well-known, others are not.
I hope you enjoy the read. And thanks for considering the post. All the
best, Linda"

Dividend Tree presents Three Companies with Sustainable Dividends posted at Dividend Tree,
saying, "Even in soft economic environment, there are companies out
there that are continuing to increase dividends for their shareholders.
While dividend increase is good, it is more critical to make sure we
understand that companies can sustain their dividends."

FMF presents The Top Ten Turnoffs About Networking posted at Free Money Finance,
saying, "Networking is a key part of making the most from your career.
This piece lists some of the circumstances that keep people from
reaching out to others."

Investing

Darwin presents The Gold-Dollar Correlation Explained and Why it Broke Down posted at Darwin's Finance,
saying, "With the daily gold price capturing headlines, it's worthwhile
to understand how the decline of the US Dollar is correlated with gold
and which investments are actually better suited to reflect this
trend."

Engelbert Hudson presents The Definitive Oil ETF Guide (Five Minute Edition): Crude Oil ETFs posted at ETFdb.

Super Saver presents Why Stocks Still Make Sense to Me posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "I still believe stocks are a great investment."

Praveen presents India Fund (IFN) Trade Example posted at My Simple Trading System,
saying, "An example of how having a trading system gives you
an edge, and let's you take advantage of market moves outside of your
control."

ABC presents Stock Purchase – Bid/Ask Prices posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, "Bid and Ask prices - Information if you are buying or selling a stock."

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Gold Investment posted at Financial Highway,
saying, "With increasing Gold Prices, investing in gold has become a
hot topic. Although I do not like gold as an investment, here are some
reasons why people do invest in gold."

Investing Toolkit presents Why Trade In The Forex Market? posted at Investing Toolkit, saying, "Some thoughts on why forex trading may actually work well for some people."

Manshu presents What is an ETF? posted at OneMint, saying, "A post explaining what an ETF is and its similarities with stocks and mutual funds."

Jules Wells presents Best Investment Strategy posted at Financial Planning Software,
saying, "Personal investing seems incredibly complex, but the best
investment strategy also tends to be a more simple investment
strategy."

The Skilled Investor presents Investing Strategy posted at Personal
Investment Manager,
saying, "Investors more easily understand investment costs that are
directly measurable, such as fees deducted on investment statements.
However, many investors ignore or are unaware of the opportunity costs
of their sub-optimal investment behaviors. Opportunity costs are
usually much more difficult to measure directly, but these investment
costs can be even higher than more visible investment fees."

Tomas Escent presents Professional Investment Management posted at Nerds on Wall Street,
saying, "Think of this book as sort of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to Wired
Markets. There are no robots parking cars for six million years, but
there are robots trading millions of shares in six milliseconds, so
maybe that’s close enough."

Curt presents More Debt is Not Going to Help Small Business posted at PennyJobs.com.

Stacie Young presents 100 Best Blogs for Future Investors posted at Online Schools.

Evolution Of Wealth presents It's Just 3 years posted at Evolution of Wealth,
saying, "Most people underestimate the difference a few years can make
when investing. Let's look at what it costs you in the long run. Did
you realize early years come off the end?"

Tushar Mathur presents Can't Control the Markets? Try controlling the Costs posted at Everything Finance,
saying, "As 2008 proved, the financial markets are prone to
unpredictable periods of turbulence. That can make investing feel a bit
like a roller-coaster ride. The disappointing results that many mutual
funds posted in 2008 and at the outset of 2009 may have left you
feeling concerned over your financial future. You're not alone."

The Smarter Wallet presents Lending Club Review: Lending Money For Profit posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, "Alternative investing using a lending platform."

Frank Vertin presents Low Cost Index Fund posted at Best Index Fund,
saying, "Buying an S&P 500 index fund through an investment
counselor can substantially increase your initial purchasing costs and
and drive up your annual management expense fees. Unfortunately, the
vast majority of individual investors buy mutual funds and ETFs through
brokers and investment advisers. Rarely do financial advisors recommend
that you buy index funds with low fees. This is because low cost, no
load mutual funds do not pay them as well as loaded, high fee mutual
funds."

Zach Scheidt presents First Cash Financial Reports Strong Earnings posted at ZachStocks,
saying, "First Cash Financial Services (FCFS) announced earnings for a
very strong third quarter. The pawn shop expansion into Mexico is
driving profit growth and investors appear to be ready to push the
stock higher."

Soo-Young presents How To Choose An Online Stock Broker posted at Bullishness.com, saying, "A comprehensive, unbiased, ad/affiliate free guide to finding the perfect online stock broker."

The Financial Blogger presents The Financial Blogger » Blog Archive » Canadian ETFs That Pays Dividends – Am I in Heaven? posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, "There are a lot of people that love dividends. There are 2 major reasons why so many investors love them.

#1 they are usually issued by very stable companies which mean less volatility in a stock portfolio.

#2 they pay quarterly income, which is great for revenue seekers."

Larry Russell presents NoLoad Mutual Funds posted
at Best No Load
Mutual Funds,
saying, "Taken as a whole, the vast body of investment research studies
show that there really are better approaches to buying and owning
mutual funds and ETFs. You do not need to frantically chase fund
performance. Performance chasing simply does not work."

FMF presents Bond Primer: Yield vs. Total Return posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "The basics of investing in bonds."

ABC presents More Exciting Facts About Stock Indexes posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, "Some interesting facts about stock indexes."

Joe B presents 5 steps to follow to make sure you do not lose everything to the next Bernie Madoff posted at Gather Little By Little,
saying, "Here are 5 steps I would personally recommend to reduce the
possible exposure/loss but also to avoid investments in fraudulent
funds.
#1-Don’t believe everything friends and family tell you
#2-Know what you own
#3-Fund & Returns history
#4-Fund Allocation
#5-Diversify managers"

Dividends4Life presents 15 Hot Dividend Increases posted at Dividends Value,
saying, "Dividends from a quality, well-diversified portfolio are much
more predictable than capital gains and good companies routinely raise
their dividends well in excess of the inflation rate."

Managing Debt

April presents Should You Stop Funding Retirement to Focus on Debt? posted at Get Rich Slowly,
saying, "Whether you should halt your retirement contributions in order
to focus debt is one of the most heavily debated dilemmas in personal
finance. Variables such as age, career, risk tolerance, and even
personality type make each situation unique."

jim presents Chase Blueprint Payment Program Review posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Best 0% APR Credit Card Offers posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Some ways to reduce debt: use lower interest credit cards!"

MoneyNing presents Credit vs Debit Transactions with Your ATM Card posted at Money Ning, saying, "Are there any difference with saying credit or debit when you hand over an ATM card?"

The Smarter Wallet presents How To Get A Credit Card That's Right For You posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, "How to shop for the right credit card."

FMF presents Make Sure Your Credit Card Has Smart Features posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "Use the right credit card and make it work FOR you -- not against you."

The Smarter Wallet presents How 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards Can Save You Money posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, "You can save money with the right kind of credit cards!"

KCLau presents Case Study: Consolidating Personal Loan, Mortgage and Credit Card Debt posted at KCLau's Money Tips, saying, "Managing debts"

Miscellaneous

Tyler Tervooren presents Is Life Getting in the Way of Your Life? posted at Frugally Green,
saying, "Lately I've been deep in debt, but not with money - with time.
Funny thing is, the feelings associated with time debt aren't that
different from money debt. Overwhelm, stress, and frustration can get
the best of us when we get behind with anything. Here are the steps I'm
taking to solve my own time management problem. Hopefully you can apply
them as well."

nissim ziv presents Business Analyst: Interview Questions for Business Analyst Position posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, "The Business Analyst job description may vary from one company to another.
And the job requirements of a person filling the Business Analyst position depend on the business nature of a given company.
This article provides sample of job interview questions for or business analyst position."

No Load Bond Funds presents Low Cost Bond Funds posted at Bond Index Fund,
saying, "Simply put, if you pay higher bond mutual fund fees, then
these bond management expenses tend just to be a deadweight loss to
you. The best bond fund buying strategy is to pick only very low-cost
no load bond funds."

Susan Savering presents Personal Financial Strategy posted at Family
Financial Planner,
saying, "When pursuing optimal financial planning and investing
strategies and controlling your costs and capital gains taxes, you also
need to establish a time-efficient system to monitor, adjust, and
adhere to your financial plan."

Roshawn Watson presents Should You Buy A House Outright? posted at Watson Inc,
saying, "Suppose you find yourself in the somewhat unique predicament
of having the resources to purchase your house outright without a
mortgage. Is it then financially-wise to make the purchase?"

FMF presents The Basics Will Make You Rich posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "If you follow a few, simple steps, you will become wealthy."

Retirement Planning

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Where Do You Get the Best Roth IRA Rates? posted at Cash Money Life,
saying, "A common question people ask is where to find the best IRA
rates, which doesn't really have an answer because IRAs are an
instrument for investments, not an investment themselves. This article
explains more."

Top Stock Index Mutual Funds presents Stock Index Funds posted at Top 10 Index Fund,
saying, "To build your retirement portfolio, buy some of these top 10 very low cost no load S&P 500 index
mutual funds directly. You do not have to pay the heavy added expenses
of buying through a stock broker, financial adviser, investment
adviser, or investment counselor."

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents 2010 Roth IRA Contribution Limits posted at Cash Money Life,
saying, "The IRS recently released the 2010 Traditional and Roth IRA
contribution limits. Now is a great time to get started on your
retirement and tax planning for next year!"

Risk Management and Insurance

Patrick @ Military Money presents COBRA Benefits 2009 Economic Stimulus Recovery Act posted at Military Finance Network, saying, "The 2009 Economic Stimulus Plan includes additional COBRA and unemployment benefits."

Mary Jones presents Top 10 Most Stolen Cars and 10 DIY Ways to Keep Them Safe posted at Online Criminal Justice Degrees,
saying, "The Insurance Information Institute estimates a car is stolen
every 24 minutes. To help keep your car from ending up like these top
ten, we have also included the top ten DIY ways to keep them safe and
protected from thieves."

Jeff Rose presents Term Life Insurance Vs. Cash Value Life Insurance: What Is the Difference? posted at Jeff Rose, saying, "Depending on what your needs are will decide if term life insurance vs. cash value is better in your situation."

Savings

Four Pillars presents $8,000 Credit For First-Time Homebuyers Extended 6 Months – Not Increased To $15k posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, "Home buyers credit extended 6 months."

FIRE Getters presents The Witch of Wall Street - Henrietta "Hetty" Green posted at FIRE Finance,
saying, "Over the last couple of years folks have become increasingly
cautious about spending. For good reasons that is - losing employment,
sinking portfolios, negative house equities and the list goes on.
Frugality is in - big time!"

Four Pillars presents Back To School Cell Phone Deals posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, "Comparison of the best cell phone deals for students heading back to school."

Taxes

Jeff Rose presents 2010 Traditional IRA to Roth IRA Conversion Tax Rules posted at Jeff Rose, saying, "Tax implications of converting from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Don't forget the after-tax contributions."

Super Saver presents End of Year Tax Planning - Deductions posted at My Wealth Builder,
saying, "For me, October is a good time to review my 2009 financial
status for tax return filing purposes. It gives me a few months to make
any changes that can lower my taxes."

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concludes this
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Arnold Schwarzenegger Hidden Message?

2009-10-29T22:21:00.001-05:00

Some think that Arnold encoded a message to his political opponents when he sent a note about a bill he recently vetoed. His office dismisses it as a weird coincidence.

Here is the letter:

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 1176 without my signature.

For some time now I have lamented the fact that major issues are overlooked while many
unnecessary bills come to me for consideration. Water reform, prison reform, and health
care are major issues my Administration has brought to the table, but the Legislature just
kicks the can down the alley.

Yet another legislative year has come and gone without the major reforms Californians
overwhelmingly deserve. In light of this, and after careful consideration, I believe it is
unnecessary to sign this measure at this time.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

In case you missed it, here is the possible message highlighted:

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 1176 without my signature.

For some time now I have lamented the fact that major issues are overlooked while many
unnecessary bills come to me for consideration. Water reform, prison reform, and health
care are major issues my Administration has brought to the table, but the Legislature just
kicks the can down the alley.

Yet another legislative year has come and gone without the major reforms Californians
overwhelmingly deserve. In light of this, and after careful consideration, I believe it is
unnecessary to sign this measure at this time.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Utah Government's 4 Day Work Week Saved Money - But Not The Way They Thought

2009-10-22T11:38:00.001-05:00

Utah's State Government switched to a 4 day work week (four 10-hour days vs. five 8-hour days) when gas prices were at the peak. They thought they would save $3 million a year through less spending on energy (less gas for government vehicles, being able to shut down buildings, etc.)

The program just finished its first year. Gas and energy costs dropped since then, and they only saved $502,000 from energy savings. About 1/6 of what they expected. They also saved $200,000 on janitorial expenses.

But - as an unexpected surprise - they saved a whopping $4.1 million on overtime! It turns out that working 10 hours in a day allowed employees to get things done and, after 10 hours, they wanted to go home.

From this data and feedback from employees, it looks like a four day work-week is very productive and a good work-life balance.

Man gets credit card offer with 79% APR.

2009-10-16T09:24:00.001-05:00

This isn't a typo:
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/around-town/shopping/No-Youre-Reading-That-Right-64173667.html

It's a bad deal aimed at people with bad credit scores.

2016 Olympics - How They Voted

2009-10-02T12:37:00.000-05:00

The first-round: Madrid 28, Rio 26, Tokyo 22, Chicago 18.

Second round, Rio 46, Madrid 29, and Tokyo 20.

Last round, Rio 66 and Madrid 32.

Rio Got 2016 Olympics! Chicago Out in First Round!

2009-10-02T11:55:00.002-05:00

It was disappointing that Chicago was eliminated in the first round of voting.

People thought it would be between Chicago and Rio. Instead, it was between Rio and Madrid.

But, all four cities are world-class, so it was a close contest.

I'm just glad that Chicago took a chance and got some international exposure.

2016 Olympics Voting Process - Go Chicago!

2009-10-01T17:43:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is The Day! We will find out if my hometown of Chicago gets the 2016 Summer Games.

The candidates are Chicago, Rio, Madrid, and Tokyo.

Each country will get a final hour tomorrow (45 minute presentation, followed by 15 minutes of question/answer). Then, the voting starts.

The voting process is interesting. There are up to 5 rounds of voting. After each round, if one country does not receive a majority of the votes, then the team with the lowest number of votes is eliminated.

At that point, IOC (International Olympic Committee) members from that country can join in the voting. Also, members who voted for the eliminated country have to vote for their next choice (which is why cities still lobby members who are known to favor a different country - they want to be the member's second choice).

This makes things unpredictable. Many times in the past, the country that received more votes in the early rounds ends up not winning in the final round.

Fw: Bicycling Band

2009-10-01T10:56:00.001-05:00

Seems to fit with the Oktoberfest season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvjPz4X7jqw

FW: hey Cobol fans - COBOL Turns 50

2009-09-25T12:00:00.001-05:00

Software written in COBOL still processes 80% of all financial transactions

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Applications/20-Things-You-Might-Not-Know-About-COBOL-As-the-Language-Turns-50-103943/?kc=EWKNLBOE09252009FEA1

Advice From the Oldest Man in The World - Skip Dinners

2009-09-24T22:45:00.001-05:00

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-09-24-oldest-man-diet_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

He is 113 years old and attributes it to eating only 2 meals a day: a big breakfast and lunch, then skipping dinner.

He also eats a lot of fruit, drinks a lot of water, worked until he was 99, and keeps his mind sharp.

Secretary by Day, King By Night

2009-09-16T18:07:00.001-05:00

I think this story would make a good movie:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/15/AR2009091503393.html?g=0

Southwest Airline's Creative Alternative To Baggage Fees

2009-09-03T19:13:00.002-05:00

Southwest Airlines is feeling the pressure to raise extra revenue.

In 2009, they might experience their first losing year since the 1970's. Analysts believe Southwest is losing hundreds of millions by not charging for checking in bags.

Now, Southwest came up with a creative alternative. Since they don't assign seats, they will allow customers to jump ahead in line by paying an extra $10.

It's possible that Southwest may start charging for bags in the future, depending on the economy. But, for now, they have substituted a voluntary source of revenue - as opposed to mandatory baggage fees.

It woudl be nice if the government could "think outside the box" - instead of raising taxes or piling on debt, they could keep a simple government and charge people add-ons they could voluntarily pay.

Plexico Burress: The Government is More Afraid of Citizens with Guns than Drunk Drivers

2009-08-31T22:01:00.001-05:00

The Libertarians and NRA should support him and work to get him free.

"Consider the nonautomotive case of Plaxico Burress, who accidentally shot himself with an unregistered, concealed gun. Stupid? Yes. Illegal. Yes. End result? A painful leg injury (to himself)—and two years in jail.

Now compare that with fellow NFL player Leonard Little, who in 1998 ran a red light and smashed into a car whose driver died the next day from her injuries. Little was found to have a BAC of 0.19, more than twice the legal limit in the state of Missouri. Stupid? Yes. Illegal? Yes. End result? Another person lost her life. Little's sentence, compared with Burress', was minor: 90 days. He missed only eight football games and was able to keep his license."

From "In Praise of Traffic Tickets" by Tom Vanderbilt

Warren Buffett's Children and Philanthropy

2009-08-31T16:59:00.001-05:00

When Warren Buffett donated $30 billion to the Gates Foundation, he also gave $1 billion to each of his children's foundations to give away. He challenged them to actively get involved in giving away the money and making a difference.

Fast Company has an article on the lessons they have learned since then.

Very Well-Written and Researched Article on The Healthcare Crisis

2009-08-31T15:58:00.001-05:00

In "The New Yorker", Atul Gawande has a very good article on the health-care crisis. It is 8 pages, but well-worth reading.

Basically, he looked at McAllen, Texas which is a border town that has the highest medical expenditure in the country. Why are the prices high? Texas has medical tort reform. Because of poverty, there is a high amount of alcoholism and obesity, but about the same rates as El Paso, which spends a lot less.

Ultimately, he concludes that it comes down to the doctors and their mentality. In McAllen, the doctors are entrepreneurial, and look at patients as a source of revenue. More than in other cities, the doctors own partnerships in for-profit hospitals and diagnostic centers and tend to schedule more diagnostic tests and follow-up visits.

At the Mayo clinic, by contrast, they have some of the cheapest and best heathcare. There, it is set up that doctors are on salary and profits are pooled and distributed. They put patients first over maximizing revenue. The critical thing is that doctors meet and brain storm together, as an alternative to ordering more tests.

Gawande feels that all the current proposals (having private insurance companies vs. public options vs. single-payer vs. health savings accounts) are all missing the point.
The only way to reduce costs and improve health care is to provide incentives for physicians to privately form associations to work together.

Are European Stocks Currently Under-priced and Good Investments?

2009-08-23T00:36:00.004-05:00

Forbes magazine recently recommended these ETFs:

Vanguard European (VGK)

Market Vectors Russia (RSX)

SPDR S&P Emerging Europe(GUR)

iShares MSCI Sweden (EWD)

All of these funds should do well through buy and hold, or by trading them according to the Stock Trading Riches system.

The middle two picks (RSX, GUR) might be especially volatile and, hence, generate a lot of trades in my system.

India Fund (IFN) Trade Example

2009-08-21T15:51:00.002-05:00

After I published my book on stock trading, I found that, when we would go to parties, all the guys would start talking to be about the markets and finance, trying to get hot stock tips.

Some people have told me things like investing in stocks is gambling, and that you have no control. I don't agree because a good system will give you an edge. Instead of being like a gambler, you are more like the house/casino. As long as you set "table limits" (e.g. don't over-trade) you can build wealth over time.

Here is a real trading example I had. It shows my Stock Trading Riches system (and its edge) in action:

I initially bought 142 shares of the India Fund (IFN) at $14.07 in January, 2005 and then turned over the management of this position to my formula.

Here are the buys/sells that the formula recommended in January of each year:

2005 Buy 142 shares @ $14.07
2006 Sell 72 shares @ $28.27
2007 No Trade @ $28.61
2008 Sell 19 shares @ $39.05
2009 Buy 66 shares @ $16.97

Even though IFN went up 21% from 2005 to 2009, the formula was up 82%.

Another Example of How Government Censorship is dumb and useless

2009-08-21T13:06:00.001-05:00

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/aug2009/bw20090820_237166.htm

Alabama banned a California wine because they thought the label was too racy.

All it did was explode interest and sales for the winery...