This month was definitely not what I had hoped for. I essentially started Genesis at the very top of a market… within days of starting the mutual fund the entire sub-prime lending fiasco hit and the market tanked over 10%+. Although the markets have recovered a bit since the fiasco hit, my mutual fund hasn’t :-(. Genesis ended the month down 9.64% and has a NAV of $9.19.

Excuses, Excuses

Since my mutual fund was down within days, I decided to keep purchasing more stock while the prices went lower, effectively averaging my price down on some stocks. I rebalanced my portfolio three times this month, normally trying to have a minimum of 4.25% portfolio weighting within a stock. Only one stock was significantly larger, when I decided to take an 8% position in NAK.

I decided to sell GG, as I believed NAK would be a better place for my money. I also sold TNH as I had no clue why I bought that company to begin with.

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Recently I’ve seen an upswing in the number of “which camera is best” posts in some of the online forums I follow - perhaps due to a minor Gear Lust epidemic after announcements of new cameras by Nikon and Canon and others?

I posted a reply to one question about whether it would be better to purchase a Canon 40D or 5D and my response got some supportive responses - so I’m posting it here:

The 5D can produce better image quality than the 40D (unless some miracle is revealed when the camera is available for actual testing) because it has a) greater MP dimensions, b) larger photosites.

That said, the question remains whether the “betterness” is a) noticable, b) significant, c) worth the cost.

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You are on a jihad against franchising. You have no objectivity whatsoever. What is your problem?

Quizno's is a poor economic model for franchise investment and I would recommed folks avoid it. However you damn all all of franchising with your rhetoric and will not admit that franchisees often fail because they are poor businesspeople and operators. You cannot even bring yourself to say that franchisees cheat franchisors by under reporting royalties, are not compliant with their obligations and are a detriment and risk to their fellow franchisees.

Regarding dealing one on one with franchisees what is wrong with it? The relationship is franchisee to franchisor.

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Weekend Box Office: Kevin Bacon, You’re No Charles Bronson - “Death Wish” Redo Fails

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By Debbie Schlussel

Some interesting selections, this weekend, including Rob Zombie’s remake of “Halloween,” 29 years later. Sorry, readers, but I cannot review that movie. Knowing Zombie’s penchant for the most disturbing, most grotesque dismemberment and myriad other shock mechanisms in his movies, I wimped out of last night’s screening. (One sign that it’s bad: A movie that should have actually premiered on Halloween, is stuck in the August movie crypt reserved for bad movies.) I now heear it’s not as bad or scary as his other stuff, but, again, I didn’t see it. Here’s what I did see:

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‘[A]n undergraduate education merits nothing less than a lifelong warranty.”

When I read this statement by Sanford Pinsker, an emeritus professor at Franklin & Marshall College (in Lancaster, Pennsylvania), my first reaction was outrage.

One of the greatest challenges we face as educators is working with students who think their success is someone else’s responsibility. “You didn’t tell us we had to …” (It was written in the instructions.) “I didn’t know we were supposed to …” (If you been in class the day I said it, you would have known.) “My mom told me I should …” (Excuse me, is your mom in our class?)

But I’m not writing to condemn Pinsker’s essay. I can’t possibly disagree with this:

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Lies, damn lies and Google

I think now is appropriate time to wade in on the are paid links spam debate the big boys have been fighting it out to the point that blows were very nearly struck, to be honest both side have well thought out and constructive arguments. I won’t go to heavily into the debate but will include some great web links where you can get a good idea of what is going on. Instead I was to draw you to 2 issues I feel need to be raised that seemed to have been forgotten.
Google is a company

Google is not a state, country or a charity Google is a money making company being listed in Google is not your right and you have no legal control over making them list your site. Therefore we can debate till we are blue in the face but the Google Search engine is controlled by a company that ultimately has to make money to survive, one of its main revenue streams sits on the right hand side of your screen every time you do a Google search. Google bosses must have by now realised the problem, if people can pay SEO companies to buy good links and optimise sites to get to the number 1 spot in the search engines then it will provide a far better return on investment then short term Adword campaigns it is therefore in their interest to see this becoming harder and more expensive to do.

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Economy rebounds in spring (AP)

August 30th, 2007
zalmoxe–>

Economy rebounds in spring (AP)
AP - The economy enjoyed a strong revival in the spring although growing troubles in housing and credit markets have darkened prospects considerably since then.
Source: news.yahoo.com

Head of subprime-hit German bank resigns (AFP)

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Stocks fall as uncertainty remains

NEW YORK - Stocks dropped in early trading Thursday, with Wall Street taking few chances amid concerns that shrinking credit is hurting the economy and uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s intentions.

Thursday’s economic data disappointed investors. The Commerce Department said second-quarter gross domestic product rose 4.0 percent — its fastest pace in more than a year, but a bit lower than many anticipated. The report also suggested that business investment, not consumer spending, was the main driver of growth.

And to Wall Street’s surprise, the Labor Department said U.S. jobless claims rose last week to the highest level since April. Any signs of weakness in employment, one of the stronger pillars of the economy right now, raises concerns that problems in the housing market are spreading further.

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The Iraqi government is making the rounds, ahem, politely asking for regional investment, according to Gulf News:

Speaking at the First Iraq Business and Investment Conference, [Iraqi vice-president Dr Adel Abdul] Mehdi said a resurgent Iraq offers great opportunities to both regional and global investors. “There is a huge market supported by a population base of close to 30 million people. The country faces shortages in every sector of the economy, which guarantees adequate demand for all types of enterprises,” he said.

“Risks in Iraq will be abundantly rewarded,” he said.

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Sometimes, the things we learn about ourselves while planning a wedding can be surprising. Mr. T and I are very early in the process, but already I’ve been surprised by my change of feelings on engagement rings.

In past years, I’ve always been the girl who didn’t want an engagement ring. The whole concept struck me as materialistic, and I’ve never been into diamonds. A friend wears a beautiful antique wedding ring that had always been my ideal, so I assumed I’d skip the engagement ring completely and find something vintage to wear as a wedding ring.

But then along came my betrothed. He believes in engagement rings, and nice ones. His theory is that the ring is his way of showing his love for me to the world in a tangible way. And who wants to argue with that?

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Former Client Relations Manager now dedicated to Comprehensive, Enterprise clients

Lindy Norris, formerly the Client Relations Manager at Blizzard Internet Marketing, has moved into the role of Account Manager. As an Account Manager, Norris will be able to proactively work with Blizzard’s clients to support their strategic options and answer budget and contract questions. Norris brings to the position a background in website design, e-mail marketing, and customer service. She joins Kathy Barta as our second Account Manager dedicated to our Comprehensive and Enterprise Online Marketing clients.

Norris was a natural fit for the position given her previous position as the Client Relations Manager where she assisted many of Blizzard’s clients with such tasks as contract renewals, billing statements and payments, customer service issues, and rolling out the new hosting plans and Annual Design Maintenance Agreements. Using the knowledge she has gained in her former position will allow her to work in partnership with some of Blizzard’s top clients to maximize the clients’ return on investment.

Congratulations Lindy! We look forward to continued success and client satisfaction at Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc.

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Why Having a Budget Is the First Step to Getting Out of Debt

The following is a guest post. See the end of the article for author information.

Many people constantly complain about being in debt, but when you ask, “Do you have a budget; Do you know how much you owe,” or when you suggest they cut back on expenses they look at you as if you are speaking a foreign language, or they just plain out refuse. I am always amazed at this, how can you ever get out of debt if you don’t change your mindset or if you aren’t willing to work hard and make sacrifices? There is no quick fix or cure-all to get out of debt. It takes a long time to get in debt, and you will not get out of debt overnight.

Many people do not know how to create a budget for themselves and many don’t even know where to start. Luckily, I was taught at an early age how to create a budget for myself. I knew how much money I spent and how much I had left. This skill helped me when I became an adult and got into debt. How did that happen, you say? Well, although I knew how to budget my money I didn’t have a clue about how credit cards worked. I thought it was free money, but that is another article.

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Got $100 lying around in your checking or savings account? Why not take a shot at investing. You might think “oh no that would be way to complicated, screw that noise.” But let me tell you, it’s a lot simpler than you might think. If you’ve already invested and are actively trading, this article will be overly simplified for you as it is aimed at beginners. If you have never invested in your life, keep reading!

About a year ago I decided I wanted to invest. Why? I’d never done it before and I figured it would be a learning experience. I knew that I didn’t have much but I could put away $100-$200 and try my luck. And I did. I opened up a ShareBuilder account and got to work.

Why did I choose ShareBuilder? Well, I looked at a lot of options and most of them are for hardcore-tons-of-cash-investors, and that wasn’t me. I needed something cheap and easy and luckily ShareBuilder offers $4 stock trading. Now don’t be fooled, the $4 trading is a time system, not real-time. If you want real-time trading it will cost you $15~ per trade. The $4 system you can trade twice every month.

OK, I understand the ShareBuilder thing, now what do I invest in and how should I go about choosing?

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Reciprocity Will Not Protect Europe from Russian Energy Imperialism

From a new comment from analyst Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform:

The trouble is that Europeans and Russians mean completely different things when they talk about reciprocity. The EU wants a mutually agreed legal framework to facilitate two-way investment. The Kremlin wants assets swaps. Europe wants openness, Russia wants control. For now, reciprocity is working in Russia’s favour. Gazprom already has investments in 16, perhaps even 20, of the 27 EU countries. It owns distribution networks in some of the new member-states; it builds gas storage facilities in others; and since last year it has struck big bilateral deals with German, French and Italian companies that give it direct access to gas users in the EU. Meanwhile, the EU has made no progress at all in persuading Russia to ratify the ‘Energy charter treaty’, which would oblige Russia to open up its energy sector a bit.

Some Europeans now say that Gazprom should be banned from investing in the EU unless and until Russia allows more European investment. However, the EU cannot adopt the Russian approach without compromising its own free-market principles. EU rules strictly forbid discrimination against an investor on the basis of nationality. It would also be hard to pull off in practice. Who would tell European energy companies which assets they could and could not hand over to Gazprom? Their governments? The European Commission?

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Shareholder Activists Lobby Against Proposed Rule Changes
Submitted by: Subodh Mishra, Managing Editor

Two socially focused investor organizations are calling for the Securities and Exchange Commission to take no action on proposed rule changes affecting proxy access and non-binding shareholder proposals, arguing to do so may “irreparably harm the rights of shareholders.”

The Social Investment Forum and Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility on Aug. 29 launched a Web site which aims to enlist 500 institutions and financial professionals to back their position. The site will facilitate the filing of comment letters, with copies going to both the SEC and lawmakers, forum and center officials said.

“We strongly oppose proposals at the SEC to either eliminate the shareholder resolution process or make it more difficult to sponsor resolutions,” said Tim Smith, Social Investment Forum chairman and senior vice-president of Walden Asset Management, in a statement announcing the Web site’s launch. “We also oppose any step to make it more difficult for investors to help nominate directors.”

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Dunyasha M. Yetts was once the big man on campus at The Ohio State University. He was the Big Ten wrestling champion of his weight class in 1994 and made it to the semifinal round of the NCAA Championship in wrestling that year.

His passion in the ring was transfered in the sports agent industry. After college, Yetts set up his own agency, World Wide Sports Group, and quickly made a lot of “investor friends.” These friends entrusted Yetts with their money and never saw any return or their initial investment ever again.

Yetts finally admitted that he was involved in an investment scam that took a total of $1.8 million away from his so-called friends [Ex-OSU wrestling champ admits investment scam]. He was involved in mail fraud and was stupid enough to have marijuana shipped to the address of his sports agency. Yetts will now serve 18 months in prison, but could have had a much harsher penalty had he not offered a guilty plea bargain.

I was able to trace the issue back to 2001, when the SEC seemed to have first taken action against Yetts [Securities and Exchange Commission v. Dunyasha M. Yetts, Worldwide Financial Group, Inc, World Wide Sports Group, Inc. and Gordon Yocom, Civ. Act. No. C2-01-1263 (S.D. Ohio)]. One of his associates was tried separately and told to pay $86,495.35 in damages [SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Relief Defendant Gordon L. Yocom].

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John Edwards says he expects Americans to make a big sacrifice:  give up thier SUVs. 

The former North Carolina senator told a forum by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, yesterday he thinks Americans are willing to sacrifice.

Edwards says Americans should be asked to drive more fuel efficient vehicles. He says he would ask them to give up SUVs.

You have to give up the SUV America, because you are killing the Earth.  It’s really important.  Really.

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When Markets Melt Down

The media always plays up the gloom and doom when markets retract. However, there is upside to this very normal occurrence.

A Buying Opportunity

When markets correct, usually the small and mid cap company stock prices are ravaged. Investors sell those first. As with larger companies, there’s usually a support level, a price floor where stocks won’t move below. However this stock floor is lower than with the big names.

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Gedanken zu den viralen Schwaben und Reim/Sixt

In den letzten Tagen war ja die allgemeine Blogger-Aufmerksamkeit für den Schwabenspot bei YouTube kaum zu übersehen - selten erlebt man, dass ein Film so massiv von allen Seiten gelobt, empfohlen und weitergeleitet wird (Technorati zählt derzeit 307 Links). Bei YouTube werden derzeit rd. 260.000 Abrufe gezählt. Das sind keine US-amerikanischen Dimensionen, aber dennoch: alle Achtung. Der Film von JvM für Sixt, mit Matthias Reim und ‘Verdammt ich hab nix’, wurde ebenfalls viel beachtet, aber hat nicht ganz so viel Aufmerksamkeit in der Blogosphäre bekommen (Technorati zählt aktuell 87 Links), aber auch dieser Film wurde viel beachtet. (Und er gewinnt einen Lidschlag später schon irgendeinen Preis - bemerkenswert, wie man bei JvM die Sache mit den ganzen Awards immer deixelt…)

Was kann man von diesen beiden Filmen lernen?

Erstens: Unterhaltung, die nur sich selbst verkaufen muss, funktioniert meistens besser und schneller als solche, die einer Marke dienen soll. Der Schwabenspot hat kein eigenes Marketingziel, sondern ist eine parodierende Posse. Auch wenn man meinen könnte, dass er Viral Marketing als solches bekannter machen soll, greift er es eher als "Hype-Thema" auf und macht sich darüber und über verschlafene Marketingleute, die tollpatschig einem neuen Trend nachlaufen, lustig. Er dient letztlich nur sich selbst. Das ist bei der Sixt-Geschichte anders. Hier müssen Cabrios vorkommen und die Message "billig billig". Und schon wird der Aufwand höher, es wird schwieriger, das alles unter einen Hut zu bringen, man braucht einen ‘Promi’, der sich selbst auf den Arm nimmt, und die ganze Sache ist nicht annähernd so elegant gelöst wie bei der Star Wars-Parodie.

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