If you’re interested in a great read explaining why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are having so much trouble you might consider popping over the economist.com and perusing their most excellent analysis of the situation.
Best,
James
p.s. The title is taken from Shakespeare’s tragedy MacBeth, Act 4, scene 1.
Hi All,
Okay, here is today’s money saving tip. If you have heartburn, try getting a tablespoon full of baking soda and mixing it in a glass of water. It takes care of the heartburn right away.
Why is this? Well, the active ingredient in baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate is also the main ingredient in over the counter products like Alka-Seltzer. Of course Alka-Seltzer has some other stuff in it, like aspirin, but its mostly sodium bicarbonate.
So, instead of running to the store and dropping a couple of bucks on gas and $5.49 on Alka-Seltzer, just mix up some baking soda!
Best,
James
Hi All,
Two days ago, I posted my view that Washington Mutual was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy (here). Well, many people on the yahoo message boards did not want to hear it.
Check out some of the responses to my posting:
“You are such a disgusting scumbag to even suggest that! “
“I firmly believe that you should be put away, in hard labor, with a huge black dude in your cell and thrown away the keys…“
“desperate shortie. cover now or YOU will be going bankrupt. “
“Washington Mutual is going to 8.00 .can`t you get that figured out in your small short selling brain?“
“you genuine douche bag, stupid idiot shorty, where you got this stupid idea with your stupid blog, by the way who is interested in your stupid blog, wamu is heading over $10, the reason it got so low is because of shorties like you, you better buy now an cover, if not you will be buying at over $10….“
– Sometimes blogging can be a lot of fun!
Best,
James
P.S. stay away from WaMu, I still think they are going under.
So I’m in Dubai tonight before I head off to the states. I’ve been in Dubai/Qatar/Dubai the last couple of nights, getting more of a flavor for the Middle East.
While most of our readers might not find themselves in the Gold Souks of the Middle East, I figured I could share some of my experiences to go there virtually!
Tonight I’m staying with a group of twenty Afghan faculty members, and thus not at my standard Marriott dwellings. Though I imagine my bed tonight – for what few hours of sleep I will get – there are some advantages.
I’m right in the heart of the city, realizing now that there is so much more to Dubai than just the mall. Thank goodness!
I went out in search of buying gold, and was close enough that I was able to wander over to the Gold Souk – aka Gold Market. I swear that this area is like Time Square on steroids, with an international twist. Lots of bright lights and tons of people. Given that Dubai’s workforce is primarily from other areas of Asia, a great many nationalities were represented in the streets.
When I finally arrived at the Gold Souk there was no question of whether I had arrived. Blinded by shop after shop of gold – I knew exactly where I was.
James & I had discussed a few nights ago that we wanted to buy some gold as an investment. The gold here is both known to be of excellent quality and price. I found a nice little shop, teeming with other buyers, and landed myself with a beautiful 100 gram square of gold. It has a lovely picture of a woman with a blindfold and an arm full of gold coins, reminiscent of lady liberty.
It was a fun and fabulous experience. Wandering back I managed to find my hotel with only one wrong turn! I also picked up some mangoes for breakfast and managed to hold off on purchasing any designer sunglasses – which I’m in desperate need of – or knock off hand bags. Perhaps another day. I only wish James were here to experience it with me!
Now I’m headed stateside in the morning, with max of five hours sleep before 48 hrs travel to Eugene, Oregon.
Wish me luck!
Miel
Hello All,
Unless you are Nostradamus, predicting the future can be a risky endeavor. So, its with some reservation that I’m making the following prediction: Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. I’m saying this for a number of reasons, including polling numbers, lack of public enthusiasm for the GOP candidate, campaign management and fundraising levels – all of these point to victory for the Obama campaign.
Now, what precisely does this mean for your pocketbook? Again this is speculative, but here are three thoughts on the issue:
1) The Military, Energy & Conservation: Defining energy policy as a national security issues is currently an influential idea in the democratic party(1). This indicates the Obama campaign may define military use of oil as an important element of national security. This may ultimately mean that the DOD will focus on finding alternatives to petrochemicals and their derivatives. This suggests you might keep an eye out for defense companies that will benefit from grants and funding for these technologies. Electric tank anyone?
On a similar note – An Obama administration would likely implement tax policy to favor alternative energy technologies like: solar, wind, fuel cells, hybrid cars and fully electric cars (think: tax credits for the Tesla roadster)(1). In addition the high price of gas suggest that these alternative energy policies will remain politically popular, and will therefore be potential sources of business for the near future for companies positioned to profit from them.
2) Universal Health Care:
An Obama administration will have much more interest in comprehensive health care. than the current management. Accordingly you might consider researching companies that are making products for innovative health care management. For example, companies that focus on streamlining bureaucratic procedures for health management may do well under Obama.
3) Mortgage Regulation:
Obama’s economic plan calls for ensuring accountability in the subprime market, revamping loan disclosure agreements and closing bankruptcy loopholes for mortgage companies (1). This suggests that lenders and banks may find themselves in a more stringent regulatory environment. To be entirely fair, tougher regulation may happen anyways, but the Obama campaign’s platform makes calls for greater oversight explicit.
What does this mean for your bottom line? Mortgages companies may have to cope with greater regulation, so it implies that industries that rely heavily on mortgage lending will see their overhead costs increased.
Just to wrap this up, predicting the future isn’t easy. But if you’re a serious stock market investor, it might be worth your time to consider what could happen when the issue is decided on November 4th.
Best,
James
Hi All,
If you’re like us DINKs, you probably need to eat. And since the price of food is going through the roof, you’re probably interested in finding some ways to save money on your grocery bill. Here are some ideas to consider when going shopping:
1) Make only one stop: Instead of driving around all over town to locate hard to find items, try visiting only one grocery store. This will cut down on your gas costs.
2) Limit Your Trips: Instead of running to the store every day – yes some people do this – try buying groceries only once a week or twice a month. By doing this, you’ll save money on gasoline and you’ll limit your exposure to impulse purchases.
3) Stick to a Grocery List: Using a list will help keep you focused on what you need to be buying and should help you sharpen your thoughts on grocery budgeting.
4) Bring Coupons: Finding coupons is a great way to cut down on your grocery bill. There are a ton of good websites that help you find deals on coupons. For example we like coupons.com and supercoolcoupons.com. However, most of the time we just do a trusty google search to find the good deals.
Hope some of this helps!
Best,
James
The picture shows Ben Bernanke reporting on the economy to the Senate Banking Committee in Washington July 15, 2008. From the look on his face, the chairman isn’t having a great day.
I’m leaving Dhaka, Bangladesh today after a month here. Normally I don’t live with a TV, but when staying at hotels for long periods of time I have the chance to check out what the mainstream media is reporting.
On Oprah this morning, there was a piece on living within your means. She had a couple on the show who had $250,000 in debt – $60k in credit card debt & $140 in student loans.
They were pregnant with a baby, meanwhile showing off their closet full of shoes and a flashy car.
The thing is – that make $150k between the two of them.
I am fully aware of how easy it is to slip into credit card if you are out of job, don’t make enough in the first place, etc. I certainly sympathize that it isn’t always easy to do what you know is right.
But, cases like this example, COME ON!!!!! I’m sorry, but my sympathy is limited.
If you have $140k in student loans then you are obviously well educated. In my opinion this should also mean that you are smart enough to know that spending beyond your means is just no way to live.
I know that these extreme cases have to do with other issues such as self-esteem and so forth, but you’ve got to get it under control.
I know that not everyone is interested in saving money as we are, but most people can manage to live within their means if they make an effort.
The thing that kills me, is that these folks aren’t alone. There are many others like then in the states. I don’t know what their wake-up call will be, but I suppose they are adults that will have to face the consequences eventually.
Best,
Miel
Hi All,
Things in the financial sector are melting down. Fed Chairman Ben Bernake has abandoned his June assessment that the economy will grow by 1% this year and treasury secretary Paulson is currently in the processes of organizing a bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the nations quasi-public mortgage agencies in charge of secondary markets. Two huge behemoths with trillions in mortgage debt.
Now, the latest news is that one of the bigger regional banks, IndyMac has failed. What happened was there was a big run on the Bank – investors withdrew 1.1 billion. This depleted the banks reserves and federal regulators had to take over. Well, it turns out that people who got their money out before the bank went under were the lucky ones.
The LA times is reporting that there are long lines at IndyMac branch locations where people are waiting to withdraw their funds. The unfortunate part of this is that for those who had more than the FDIC guaranteed amount of deposits, their savings and investments may be gone forever. Customers in California are starting to get testy. Check out the LA Times Story and don’t forget to watch out the video, its indicative of the problems the bank failure is causing.
Best,
James
As our regular readers know, from time to time we get books to review from Harper Collins Publishers. We do so with full freedom to critique as we like. Thus far that has often meant that we’ve ripped them apart and begun thinking of publishing ourselves since the competition appears to be limited.
One of the most recent books we’ve received was Get Ahead by Going Abroad: A Woman’s Guide to Fast-Track Career Success, by C. Perry Yeatman and Stacie Nevadomski Berdan. Here’s a full summary from the publishers.
While this subject might not be for all of our readers, I do think that they did an excellent job of pointing out the advantages of working abroad and some pointers on how to get there. In my field working abroad is essential to any real career development, thus my currently being in Afghanistan. Yeatman and Berdan come from a more corporate perspective, but I find this to be a valuable asset to their book.
The arguments for working abroad in any field you can manage makes sense though. While there are certainly a great number of perks in working abroad, the benefits of real life experience are undeniable as well.
Even starting at the bottom of the totem pole, as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I do believe that a lot of credit is given to those individuals who can go abroad and hack it at any level. Initially going through the PCV recruitment process I remember thinking that ones ability to “hack it” would be high on the list of determining whether someone got in. I still find this to be a valuable lesson in hiring and promoting people. Essentially you want to know that you can depend on this individual to do what it takes to get the job done.
Demonstrating flexibility and critical thinking skills are also the icing on the cake. While many overseas posting can be a posh set up, it still takes a great deal to navigate unfamiliar territory. Getting to those posh jobs also builds a great deal of credit along the way.
Yeatman and Berdan lists five common traits that are built by living abroad:
Obviously these are all skills that are value anywhere in the world, a truly transportable set of skills.
They also pointed out a couple of biggies that have come up on James and my lists in our decision to have me take this job in Afghanistan. There are some very practical financial reasons that a woman interested in having a family would want to take an overseas posting.
Going abroad might not be for everyone, but those who do take the opportunity will be aptly rewarded.
Reading this book on my flights to Afghanistan definitely made me consider the I could be one of the anecdotes in their book. For me, as I take that as a compliment in choosing to take the fast track.
If we have any readers out there you have given it a go abroad we would love to hear from you.
Best,
Miel
P.S. Their bios also make sure that the book is based on reality:
By age 33, C. Perry Yeatman had worked in Singapore, Moscow, and London. Today she is a senior vice-president and one of the top 50 executives at Kraft Foods, the world’s second-largest food and beverage company.
Stacie Nevadomski Berdan became a vice-president at Burson-Marsteller, the world’s leading PR firm, at age 27. She later jumped from vice-president to global managing director after a three-year stint in Asia. She is now a successful author, speaker and consultant. 
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