The Investing Sensei

2007-07-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

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Are You Lonely Tonight

2007-06-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

My favorite reason for waking up at 6 A.M. is Erin Burnett.

Day Trading Tools

2007-06-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

After 8 months of day trading I've finally decided to add 2 more tools to my list of indisposibles. Those are ice cold water bottles and foodstuffs. (Candy bars, chips, pop tarts, etc.)

I can't begin to tell you how much money I've lost or could have made if I wasn't hungry or thirsty during intense trading sessions. The adrenaline going through my body and the sweat that drips from my brow just makes me want to binge. I do give into my hunger and thirst every so often only to come back to my desk and see I'm down $1000 or Apple dropped 3 dollars / sh and rebounded by 4 in the 5 minutes I was gone.

A word to the wise: Never trade on an empty stomach.

How to Invest Like a Pro

2007-06-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

I just really liked this video. I love how honest Jim is about how the market really works and how real professional traders run their shops.

Mad Money LIghtning Round Recap 5/1/07

2007-05-02T12:41:00.001-07:00

Lightning Round

Anne
Booyah: None
Stock: Marriot Hotels (MAR)
Analysis: Likes Windham, thinks Anne should swap Marriot for (WYN)
Buy or Sell: Sell

Jan
Booyah: Booyah from Willmington Illinois
Stock: ACLI
Analysis: Don’t compete with the rails, be in the rails.
Buy or Sell: Sell

Rochelle
Booyah: Stuttering booyah!
Stock: Welfare Health (WCG)
Analysis: Surprised it hasn’t moved more. Likes Wellpoint and United Health Group better.
Buy or Sell: --

Josh
Booyah: Booyah Jim!
Stock: DEEP Superior Offshore Intl.
Analysis: Believes the sector is good.
Buy or Sell: Buy

John
Booyah: Big coastal Carolina booyah!
Stock: Louisiana Pacific LPX
Analysis: Thinks the stock is too cheap.
Buy or Sell: Buy

Gino
Booyah: Stutterin booyah!
Stock: Ebay
Question: Why did Ebay drop?
Analysis: Stock has stalled, liked the pullback. Predicts it will run to $37 a share.
Buy or Sell: Buy

John
Booyah: None
Stock: Medco Health MHS
Question: Why did Medco drop?
Answer: Context of their statement was horrible. Predicted things will go wrong.
Buy or Sell: Buy at $70 a share.

Robert
Booyah: A big booyah from the lone star state!
Stock: ICO ICG
Question: How’s my stock?
Answer: Swap ICO for Arch Coal or Peabody Cole
Buy or Sell: Sell

Louis
Booyah: Florida Gator Booyah to ya!
Stock: Monster.com MNST
Question: Buy or sell
Answer: Thinks Monster is a takeover target.
Buy or Sell: Buy

Vikash
Booyah: Finally sunny out here in Portland, Maine bah bah bah booyah!
Stock: SPWR SunPower
Question: What do you think of SunPower
Answer: Don’t buy Sunpower buy First Solar
Buy or Sell: Sell

Jim Cramer's Q&A - 5/1/07

2007-05-02T12:25:00.001-07:00

Scott
Booyah: Booyah Jim!
Question: Is Embarq (EQ) a growth stock or a buyout target?
Answer: No. Local communications services bad industry, high PE levels.
Buy or Sell: Sell

Mike
Booyah: Booyah to ya
Stock: Vodafone (VOD)
Answer: Verizon wants Vodafone’s slice of their wireless component. Likes Vodafone, but not as much as Verizon.

Karl
Booyah: Booyah Jim!
Stock: Motorola (MOT)
Question: Will Motorola turn around?
Answer: Ed Xander at Motorola won’t allow Carl Ichan to help fix the company.

Scott
Booyah: Big Booyah from Omaha Nebraska!
Stock: Sprint Nextel (S)
Question: Sprint Nextel has spent a lot of money of broadcasting equipment, does this make it a good speculative play?
Answer: Yes, potential takeover target.

Jim Cramer's Q&A - 5/30/07

2007-05-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

Jim Cramer's Telecom Portfolio

2007-05-02T12:24:00.001-07:00

Verizon
ATT

Jim Cramer’s Telecom Portfolio

The Defensive Plays
Stock: Verizon
Symbol: VZ
Analysis:
High 4% yield versus ATT’s 3% yield
Best retention rate in the industry, customers like their service and keep it
Verizon increased subscriber by 14.% year over year.
High Retention Rate
Likes Verizon’s triple play: phone, cable internet
Accelerating earnings growth
Added 141,000 customers this quarter
Competition from Vonage will be less of an issue

Alltel
Symbol: AT
Analysis:
Has subscribers, in particular wireless subscribers
Potential takeover target by Verizon and ATT because Alltel can provide subscriber growth
AT&T CFO said “To the extent that there are opportunities to strengthen our wireless business which is a major source of growth we will continue to look at growth opportunities there as well.”
Short supply of wireless stocks, leading to higher PE ratios
Conference call indicated that the company was open to bids
Bottom Line: Believes Alltel is a takeover target

Speculative Telecom Plays

Tell Labs and Ciena Corp
Symbols: CIEN TLAB
Speculation:
Spending cycle for telecoms has come full term, large telecoms ready to buy new equipment

Tell Labs
Symbol: TLAB
Speculation
Really bad quarter didn’t hurt the stock, tells you something is going on with this company
Leads in “Last Mile Technology” produces local Telecom infrastructure
Tell Labs prevents bandwidth bottlenecks
Has 1.6 billion in cash, may be considering a buyback
Levered to access or last mile products

Stock: Ciena Corp
Symbol: CIEN
Speculation
Verizon needs to offset land line losses, investing in “triple play”
67% of Ciena’s business is optical networking, selling switches that go into network backbones that makes them run faster.
Ciena is levered to backbone or transport products, the telecom technology away from your home

Final Thoughts: These stocks are volatile, take quick profits, don’t hold these stocks. These recommendations are TRADES! Both these stocks could be a takeover target by Lucent Technology.

Sudden Death 4/30/07

2007-05-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

Stock: Quest Diagnostics DGX
Analysis: Dead in the water, no buyback.
Buy or Sell: Sell

Stock: Cepheid (CPHD)
Analysis: “Like it for the upside.”
Buy or Sell: Buy

Stock: Terra Nitrogen (TNH)
Analysis: Time out, no analysis
Buy or Sell: Buy

Lightning Round Lightning Round 4/30/07

2007-05-01T18:24:00.001-07:00

Call In Questions

Caller Name: Eric
Booyah!: No booyah!
What biotech or phrama stocks do you see as potential buyout candidates.
Jim Cramer’s Answer: Onyx Pharmaceutical has a liver cancer inhibitor and may be acquired by baher. Cellgene may be acquired. Medimmune deal suggests “hunger” or demand for biotech and pharmaceutical takeovers.

Carl:
Booyah!: Carl: Music City Booyah!
Jim Cramer: Volunteer State Booyah!
Carl’s Question: Why has Healthways not garnered more attention given their niche?
Jim Cramer’s Answer: Thinks Healthways does not have enough data out to be bullish or bearish, should wait for another data point such as the earnings report in June.

Brian
Booyah!: None
Brian’s Question: Why don’t biotech stocks move with earnings reports relative to other industries?
Jim Cramer’s Answer: Biotech stocks move rise and fall with drug approvals and disapprovals.

Lightening Round

Christine
Booyah: Boo boo booyah!
Stock: AAPL
Down trend for a day, could come down more but it shouldn’t.
Buy or Sell: Buy

Jan
Booyah: None
Stock: Flextronics
Analysis: Tech will be down despite good tech numbers. Bearish Technology sector.
Buy or Sell: Sell

Angelo
Booyah: Buh buh buh buh booyah!
Stock: JSDA
Analysis: We’re in a downturn, bears will come after high performing stocks. Buy at $19.
Buy or Sell: Sell

Ed
Booyah: None
Stock: Ford
Analysis: Believes strongly in Ford’s managent and predicts many more good quarters in the future.
Buy or Sell: Buy

Joe
Booyah: None
Stock: Abbott Labs
Analysis: Abbott had moved up so much before earnings people took profit after they posted amazing numbers. Buy at $55 and the company is well run.
Buy or Sell:

Peter
Stock: Cemex
Analysis: This is a housing stock, bearish an all housing stocks despite Cemex’s Mexican component.
Buy or Sell: Sell

Erik
Booyah: Go Red Wing Booyah!
Stock: Dawson Geophys
Analysis: Liked the most recent numbers, saw buyers mark up the stock only to see it fall $4 a share from $55 to $51 a share. Wait for a drop then buy.
Buy or Sell: Buy on a dip

Bill
Booyah:
Stock: Level 3 Comm
Analysis: LVLT still bullish on this stock, reducing debt.
Buy or Sell: Buy

Blake
Booyah: Georgia Tech Booyah!
Stock: MEMC Electronics
Analysis: Sells to solar and semiconductor companies, solar sizzling semiconductors bad.
Buy or Sell: Sell

End Comments
Predicting a downturn for Tuesday in the face of a huge run up. Take some money off the table and take some profits.

Jim Cramer's Mad Mail: 4/30/07

2007-05-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

Mad Mail

See Jim's Performance on Stock Pickr!

Question
Big fan of the show, nice work! I know you always have our backs but I’m wondering what your thoughts are on NYSE Euronext? I’ve been taking a bit of a bath and I’m wondering if I should hold on… or bail out?

Sean

Jim Cramer’s Response
Still bullish on Euronext and hinted that next earnings release will be strong. Bullish on this stock “for the next 3 – 5 years” and don’t buy above $80 a share.

Question
You’re my “ambassador of kwan.” Sold out of Cummins on Friday, nice 37% return in five days. Please forward all your hate mail to me, I’ll be more then happy to reply to your critics from the beaches of Nassau. I’ve been down here since Saturday morning; all the other flights conflicted with Mad Money.

Lefty

Jim Cramer’s Response
”Most important thing you’ve done is you took a profit. No one ever got hurt taking a profit.”

Hi Jim,
Last week, you questioned yourself about why you do the show. You have allowed us to have insight and gain some control over the devisions that we make about our money. On a lighter side, you have a gift for entertainment! (Althought I still don’t like the knife – there are children watching.)

Jim Cramer’s Response
It was a gift from his cameraman and it isn’t a real knife. Wait, it is real.

Why is Rockwell Collins not participating with the other defense stocks? Thanks – love your show, love your books, staff is great, and you are the best!

Lois

Jim Cramer’s Response
He prefers Northup Grumman or General Dynamics, “particularly on a pullback.”

Yahoo! Finance
Quote for NYX

Jim Cramer's Portfolios: The Three B's

2007-05-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Three B’s Portfolio
Portfolio Bio: Medical industrial portfolio designed to withstand a weak economy. This portfolio is made up of United States companies that don’t export but still have strong growth prospects domestically.
Portfolio Positions:

Company Name: CR Bard Inc.
Company Symbol: BCR
Company Profile: Medical device maker, controls 65% of the market for peripherally inserted central catheters, 60% hernia repair patches, market leader in foley catheters used to treat urinary tract infections. 80% of Bard’s sale came from markets where Bard was #1 or #2
Speculation:
1. Potential Buyout Candidate
Bard is a potential takeover target. Their large market share would make a takeover nearly impossible for antitrust issues under a democratic White House, forcing any company considering a buyout to act soon.

Slowing Economy
In the face of a slowing economy, consumers will still purchase Bard’s medical supplies. “BCR makes the medical devices that we just can’t live without.”

Cash
Bard has approximately half a billion in cash. ($500,000,000)

Company Name: Becton Dickinson & Co.
Company Symbol: BDX
Company Profile: Produces medical devices and diagnostics. Becton responded to growing American waste lines by providing longer medical needles.
Speculation:

Stock has had a run up, but still has room to go with a robust 1st quarter and increased guidance.

Company Name: Baxter International Inc.
Company Symbol: BAX
Company Profile: Provides a wide range of medical products and services for a diversified income stream.

Speculation:
Cramer asserts that this company’s strength is its diversity. Hemophilia, immune conditions, drug reconstitution sets, IV solutions, drug formulation, packaging kits, and dialysis systems.

Notes: Wait for a pullback before you pull the trigger.

Yahoo! Finance
Quote for BCR

Finding New Stocks

2007-04-29T22:09:00.001-07:00

One of the questions I get most when I talk to friends, family, and random people in bars is “how do find new stocks?” Well, that’s definitely something I have an answer for and something I’ve been wanting to blog about.

Look Around (Litterally)
Unless you live in Nowheres Ville, USA chances are you shop at or drive by a publicly traded company every day. One of the first stocks I followed and purchased a modest stake in was Vulcan Materials. The company owns and mines rocks from a quarry a few miles from my house. I see the trucks hauling sand to and from processing plants almost every day. Make it a point to memorize a few company names you see and google them when you get home.

Watch TV
If you’re looking for a company to invest in watch CNBC for an hour or two a week. Jim Cramer’s Mad Money and Fast Money focus on analyzing stocks and you’ll hear about 10, 15, or 20 different stocks every episode in a span of 60 minutes.

Internet Tools
The internet is probably the single most important tool used by long term investors and short term traders today. Sites like Google Finance, The Street, and Market Watch are filled with news and commentary. Just browse and click around for a few minutes, you’ll soon be inundated with investing ideas.

News
When I say news I don’t mean the business section of your newspaper or even CNBC. I mean The News. Using this method to spot potential stock investments is probably going to take a little training but can really pay off. Every time you see a news story ask yourself “Does somebody profit from this.” Once in a while you’ll catch a segment like “Kids Destroying TV’s with Wiimote” or “Blackberry Thumb Reduces Productivity”. Research the companies behind the headlines and profit!

Bernanke's Question Time

2007-03-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

Bernanke always looks nervous, almost as if he's about to cry when he's being questioned by the Senate Banking Committee.

Anyway, he said what I was expecting: construction slow, housing slow, rest of the economy booming or stable. Yes, the Sensei does have a crystal ball.

Pigs Get Slaughtered

2007-03-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

I bought a 26k position inValero earlier this morning and rode it to a $250 gain.

I got greedy and held on till all my gains were nearly wiped out.

I walked away with 17 bucks after commission/margin fees.

I need to develop an out plan that I stick to! It will help me steal money away from the novices.

I would have sold before Bernanke's comments today if I had done my research for today's trading.

Oh well, live and learn and then get Luvs.

Day Trading for Dummies

2007-03-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

I won't bother you with an explanation of how interests rates affect the stock market.

I will however comment on how easy it was to make money today.

Now, days like today are a Godsend for people like me who prey upon long term investors jitters and frenzies. I'm there when they want to sell their shares of Google at 438.something a share and when they buy a stock for the long term after a 50% rise in share price. (Thank you Jones Soda)

I went to bed last night knowing I had a big check to deposit tommorow. I had a feeling the fed wouldn't change rates and that would be enough to spark a rally. I bought shares of Apple and Google this morning and rode through a couple small dips and held until the fed announced a decision on interests rates. It came and stock prices soared accross the baord.

Today I made more in 5 hours than I used to make in a month.

Coming from a historical bear: No, I don't think sub prime is going to crash the world economy. China will continue to grow, America will continue to consume, and the economic machine will continue to hum.

SUB PRIME IS NOT A VORTEX.

Beggining Day Trading Tips

2007-03-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

I want to make a little note to all the day traders just starting out:

1: If you've been flagged in violation of Regulation T, don't worry, you're not going to jail.
When You Violate Regulation T:
When you violate Regulation T your brokerage flags your account as having done so. They'll probably send you an annoying email or two about it, but there are no legal ramifications. Once flagged, you're simply prevented from making day trades until your account has been approved for margin trading and your account has a balance of $25,000.

2: Streaming Quotes aren' Real Time Quotes
Streaming quotes provided by Yahoo! Finance and Google Finance are not real time. The prices displayed are likely the prices 15-20 minutes ago. A lot can change in a few minutes.

Real time quotes provide current prices within a few seconds. (Sometimes stock prices move so fast, computers can't keep up with the changes.)

3: Trading On Margin: Yes, you can trade on margin and it's not so risky so long as set a pre-determined amount to lose and set up Limit orders and trailing stops to prevent catastrophe.

4: Never, ever, ever, ever use a market order. Market orders license your brokerage to buy and sell securities at any price monies and stock can be exchanged for. Don't give somebody else this kind of leeway with YOUR money. Trailing stops and limit orders allow you to set prices YOU are willing to pay and you are willing to sell for.

5: Always, always have a game plan.

If you start day trading and don't set a point at which you'll throw in the towel or ring the register you're probably going to lose money.

A good plan looks like this:

Buy 1000 shares AAPL at $88.50.
Sell after a .0025% loss or a .005% gain.

It doesn't have to be a dollar or % gain amount, it can be conditons.
(Yes, this is going to look like a VB script.)
Condition: If AAPL drops 1.75% /Sh, buy 1500 of AAPL.
Then
Sell AAPL after a .0025% drop or a .007% gain.

Summary: Game plan, Margin trading not risky, Limit Orders, Trailing Stops, Real Time Quotes are Not Streaming Quotes, Regulation T violations are no big deal.

Day Trading Results

2007-02-16T18:49:00.000-08:00

Most active traders probably eyed Onyx Pharmaceuticals some time this week. It jumped about 120% over the past 5 business days and I've seen people screaming like mad for a correction but that correction didn't come today...if it even needs one. (I wouldn't know, haven't checked the news and fundamentals.) Anyway, I bought about $10,000 worth and rode it for a 5% gain today. That was awesome. I also had a few Google shares from yesterday, they jumped and I took about a $100 of profit.

I didn't do too much trading besides what went on yesterday and today. I had some other things to take care of earlier in the week and I didn't feel like waking up at the opening bell, and I just got Lost Planet, it's a great game for X-Box live. I'm supposed to have Gears of War comming in, which reminds me, I need to write something up about the console Wars and how I have or have not profited from them.

All in all, it was a good week. I walked away with about $600 even though I only traded 2 days this week.

Yahoo! Finance
Quote for ONXX/

Bernanke's Comments

2007-02-15T00:12:00.000-08:00

I've been looking forward to Bernanke's comments for a while now. I'll wait till after tommorow to post my thoughts.

Reflections of Day Trading

2007-02-14T23:24:00.000-08:00

Today I made a little over $250 day trading. This made me realize how my perception of money has been changed over the course of my life. When I was in junior high and high school I measured how expensive things were by how many weeks worth of lunch money it took to buy a video game, when I was working the 8-5 and sometimes six I judged prices by how many hours of work it took to pay them.

Now that I'm day trading I judge how expensive things are by how much money they're going to cost me in the long run. Take for example a typical weekend outing: Arcade, $20, a couple beers, take on another $10, food, that's another $10, gas, that's about $5. So, we have a typical night out costing around $45, for the sake of this post we'll round to $50.

Assuming I keep up my 25% a month return (unlikely) that means my 50 dollar outing will have cost me about $450 bucks by next tax season. When I see figures like these in print or think about them it makes me want to penny pinch and scrouge my way out of things like wedding shower gifts and rent money. But then I remember life isn't worth living if you don't spend a dime of your money on things you want.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is "in the long run, we are all dead."

Yes, I'm a fan of Keynesian economics...to a certain extent.

Jim Cramer Mad Money Recap: 2/10/07

2007-02-10T16:41:00.000-08:00

Jim Cramer's Mad Money Recap: 2/10/07

Stocks Rated Buys Stocks Rated Sells

MET: Buy half before and half after earnings reports.

BIDU: Buy after it reports.

Denn: Noted Denny’s has a lot of debt, sluggish bond market will allow Denny’s to refinance debt and increase profits. Wait for drop in price then strike.

CMG: Wait, expects Chipotle to dip on earnings report next week, buy after earnings report. Cramer foresees long term growth.

LNDC: Noted this pick was a risky pick.

CSCO: Also a risky pick.

Speculation Friday
OPTM
FNSR
OPXT

Lightening Round

Stocks Jim Cramer Rated a Buy
DIS: Buy
ESRX: Buy
RBC: Buy
AMSF: Buy
CAR: Buy
IACI: Buy
PG: Buy
PSYS: Sell
KBG: Sell before it reports earnings

Stocks Jim Cramer Rated a Sell
FINL: Sell
HOG: Sell at $65 a share

Yahoo! Finance
Quote for MET

My Goals

2007-02-09T20:11:00.001-08:00

Yes, I did post an iPod buyers guide. Why? Because I had no direction. Well, a few days later I woke up and told myself "success was my only option". I'm 21 and I have no major accomplishments. I've half done everything I wanted to do from learning a foreign language to getting a bachelors degree. I've almost nothing with my life with the exception of traveling to Japan.

Well, I'm done. I'm done with fast food. I'm done with spending money on junk. I'm done with laying around my house unemployed wasting away. I'm going to use to blog here often to remind myself I'm on a mission.

The Mission:

1: Move out
Yes, I live with my parents. I need to get out before I wind up like some other people I know.

2: Buy a Car
My 91 Honda Civic DX broke down and I'm not going to fix it again. I've burned nearly five grand on that car including a bill last month for $1700. It broke down requiring major repairs 6 4 weeks later. I hope to replace the DX with a Civic Si Sedan .

3: Live Abroad: I want to live in a foreign country. My trip to Japan when I was 18 increased my understanding of the world 10 fold. I want to go back to Japan for a year, then Beijing, New Zealand, Australia, any Pacific Island paradise, and drive through Europe in a compact car. Oh, and I want to do all the flying first class.

4: Learn 2 Languages
I want to Learn French and Japanese. I'm taken French in High School and Japanese in college. I have a basic understanding of both.

5: Get Healthy
Notice I didn't say lose weight. People often find weight once they've lost it that's why I didn't say I wanted to lose weight. I thought about all the garbage I've been eating: Bacon, Bacon, Ultimate Cheeseburger Combo, large, with Curly Fries and a coke and Cheese Sticks on the side, Chili Cheese Pastrami Burgers from my favorite local burger joint Star's Burgers in Baldwin Park, and the ultra awesome Teriyaki Cheeseburger with bottomless steak fries from the always delicious Red Robbin and realized it wasn't healthy. Yeah, yeah, I know, it may not be bad for me, I mean, there is that one in a million person who lives to a hundred seven years old and ate sausage, eggs, and bacon for breakfast every day, but I don't think I'm one of those people. I want to live long, and I won't be bedridden when I'm 70.

6: Rocket Bus
I've wanted a rocket bus since High School. I'll know I've made it when I can afford to strap rockets to a former school bus and drive it on a mile long strip of pavement somewhere in the Mojave Desert.

Of course there are side goals like finish reading a book. Not have to work for "the Man", make money blogging and day trading, open up a cafe or burger joint.

The Markets Aren't Logical

2007-02-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many times I've heard Jim Cramer say that. It's one of those things you understand but don't appreciate until you find yourself in the middle of it's meaning.

Today I bet that Google's stock would pick up some momentum in after hours trading if it had a stellar earnings report. As predicted, Google reported a robust quarter, nearly tripling profits, but this failed to translate to a rise in it's stock price.

Yeah, I'm disappointed. C'mon people, triple profits! No wonder the Vulcans didn't want to come to us, our money system alone would be enough to make their logical minds explode!

Oh well, I held on to my shares over night, I'm still hoping for a rally tomorrow. Hopefully the markets will come to its senses. Besides, the fed hinted at lower interest rates later this year and I think that's going to be enough to keep buyers bullish tomorrow. I'm predicting a gain on all three major indices and I expect Google to settle around $505 tomorrow baring a war with Iran. I might be a little wishful.

Look at the headline in red and feel my frustration.

What a Difference Seconds Make

2007-02-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

Time and time again I've learned just how much a difference a few seconds makes.

This morning I decided to buy 4000 shares of FORG. My order clocked in at 1.47 a share, about a minute later it dropped to $1.44. It's been hovering around $1.48 /sh since then. Had I waited another minute I would typing about my $200 gain instead of my $0 wash sale.

...and the bills keep building up.

Buena Vista Games (DIS)

2006-11-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

Company: Buena Vista Games (DIS)
Company Website
Profile: Buena Vista Games designs games for multiple console and hand held gaming platforms platforms including the PS2, Nintendo DS, X-Box 360 and Nintendo Wii. Their video game lineup includes titles inspired by several blockbuster Disney movies including “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”, “The Little Mermaid”, and “The Wild”. Buena Vista’s most notable video game franchise is Kingdom Hearts, widely considered by industry professionals to be a system selling game.

French Tax Breaks for Video Game Makers

2006-11-08T15:54:00.000-08:00

I read an article on 1up today reporting that France's cultural minister wants video games to be considered works of art alongside things like "cinema" and paintings. This has implications far beyond philosophy classes and French bistro conversations. If French video games are marked as “art” then companies like Ubisoft and Vivendi Universal would be entitled to the same huge tax breaks that movie companies receive. Tax breaks can mean fatter profit margins, but most likely investment into French game designers and programmers. I’ll be keeping a very close eye this story!

Vivendi Universal (VUE.TO)
Related Article: France Calls for Tax Breaks for Game Developers

Stock Profile: uWink (UWNK.OB)

2006-11-08T15:15:00.000-08:00

Company: uWink
Symbol: UWNK.OB
Profile: uWink is the brain child of Nolan Bushnell, a man instrumental in the development of Pong and the Atari 2600. He also played a significant role in building the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza chain. uWink is a bistro / restaurant designed to give patrons a "social experience" and provides video screens for ordering food, and playing trivia games.

I wish I had spotted this one a little earlier.

Nolan Bushnell, one of the men who engineered Atari’s massively successful home version of Pong and the Atari 2600 is running a company called uWink. uWink is a café / bistro that features an electronic menu, video games centered on trivia and pop culture, and uWink’s target demographic is women.

One of the interesting things uWink isn’t doing is violent video games reasoning that women are generally turned off by them. Skee-ball is out too. Bushnell envisions uWink as “a social experience” and not a gaming experience. While games are central to the restaurant’s success, uWink doesn’t want to be thought of a as an arcade company like Dave and Busters or Game Works.

Stock in uWink trades on the pink sheets and has just dropped in value. If you’ve been looking to get in on the ground floor of something this is a stock you might want to consider. uWink doesn’t trade on any major exchanges so you’ll probably have to pay a little extra in trading commission fees to buy it.

uWink Official Site
uWink's Description of Itself

Emerge Victorious From the Console Wars

2006-11-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

So the console wars has your portfolio acting like a camper in Counter Strike and you haven’t seen any CT’s run past you yet. What do you do? Well, fortunately you don’t have to predict the winner of the console wars for your portfolio to benefit. All you have to do is spot companies with sound finances and good games or peripherals. I'm compiling a list here of publicly traded video game companies for your investment dollar consideration.

THQ (THQI)
My Initial Thoughts on THQ
THQ's Video Game Lineup

Video Game Stock THQ (THQI)

2006-11-07T10:15:00.000-08:00

The first company in my lineup of all star video game stocks is THQ. I like THQ because of its diverse line of video games whose titles range from Cars to Full Spectrum Warrior. THQ is doing a great job at reaching out to multiple age ranges, though admittedly their games are geared more towards the 12 and under crowd.

They’re also releasing their child and preteen games across multiple gaming platforms. I know it’s hard to believe that parents are going to shell out $50 for 10 hours of game play for their child, but the past performance of other blockbuster animated feature movie-game adaptations says they will. “Mommy I want one” is still one of the most powerful selling strategies that exists.

I do have a few reservations. When I wrote this article THQI was trading near it’s 52-week high. I suggest waiting for it to drop off in price before making a purchase. My second concern is the extremely high P/E punching around 1/73.

Complete THQ Video Game Lineup:

Xbox 360
Cars
Saints Row
MotoGP '06
The Outfit
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007

Wii
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Barnyard
Cars
SpongeBob: Creature from the Krusty Krab

Nintendo DS
Alex Rider: Stormbreaker
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Bratz: Forever Diamondz
Cars
Danny Phantom: Urban Jungle
Monster House
Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island
Nicktoons: Unite!
Ping Pals
Scooby Doo!: Who's Watching Who
Scooby-Doo!: Unmasked
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger
SpongeBob: Creature from the Krusty Krab
Tak 3: The Great Juju Challenge
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
Worms: Open Warfare
Zoo Tycoon DS

PSP
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Cars
Juiced: Eliminator
MX vs ATV: On the Edge
Scooby Doo!: Who's Watching Who
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger
Worms: Open Warfare
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007
WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2006

Complete List of THQ Games

2006-11-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

Wii
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Barnyard
Cars
SpongeBob: Creature from the Krusty Krab
Gameboy Advance
Alex Rider: Stormbreaker
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Banjo Pilot™
Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge
Barnyard
Bratz: Forever Diamondz
Bratz: Rock Angelz
Cars
Crazy Taxi Catch a Ride
Danny Phantom: The Ultimate Enemy
Danny Phantom: Urban Jungle
Disney Princess
Evergirl
Fairly Odd Parents: Clash with the Anti-World
Fairly OddParents
Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo/Monsters, Inc.
Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures
Hello Kitty® Happy Party Pals
It's Mr. Pants
Jimmy Neutron: Attack Of The Twonkies
Lego Knights' Kingdom
Let's Ride!™ Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story
Let's Ride!™ Sunshine Stables
Monster House
Monsters Inc.
My Little Pony™ The Runaway Rainbow™
Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island
Nicktoons: Unite!
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
Paws & Claws Pet Resort™
Power Rangers Space Patrol Delta
Power Rangers: Dino Thunder
Power Rangers: Ninja Storm
Power Rangers: Ninja Storm/Time Force
Power Rangers: Time Force
Sabre Wulf
Scooby Doo!: Mystery Mayhem / Cyber Chase
Scooby-Doo! and the Cyber Chase
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem
Scooby-Doo! Two: Monsters Unleashed
Scooby-Doo!: Unmasked
Sonic Advance 2
Sonic Advance 3
Sonic Battle
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom / Fairly OddParents: Breakin' Da Rules
SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!
SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman
SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman / SuperSponge
SpongeBob: Creature from the Krusty Krab
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars: Flight of the Falcon
Tak 2: Staff Of Dreams
Tak 3: The Great Juju Challenge
Tak and the Power of Juju
Tetris® Worlds™
The Incredibles
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
The Polar Express
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Unfabulous
Gamecube
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Barnyard
Big Mutha Truckers
Bratz: Forever Diamondz
Bratz: Rock Angelz
Cars
Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown
Finding Nemo
Jimmy Neutron: Attack Of The Twonkies
Monster House
Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island
Nicktoons: Unite!
Power Rangers: Dino Thunder
Red Faction II
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem
Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights
Scooby-Doo!: Unmasked
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!
SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman
SpongeBob: Creature from the Krusty Krab
Tak 2: Staff Of Dreams
Tak 3: The Great Juju Challenge
Tak and the Power of Juju
Tetris® Worlds™
The Incredibles
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
The legacy continues. Only for Nintendo Gamecube™.
The Polar Express
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
WWE Day of Reckoning
WWE Day of Reckoning 2
WWE WrestleMania XIX
Nintendo DS
Alex Rider: Stormbreaker
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Bratz: Forever Diamondz
Cars
Danny Phantom: Urban Jungle
Monster House
Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island
Nicktoons: Unite!
Ping Pals
Scooby Doo!: Who's Watching Who
Scooby-Doo!: Unmasked
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger
SpongeBob: Creature from the Krusty Krab
Tak 3: The Great Juju Challenge
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
Worms: Open Warfare
Zoo Tycoon DS
PSP
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Cars
Juiced: Eliminator
MX vs ATV: On the Edge
Scooby Doo!: Who's Watching Who
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger
Worms: Open Warfare
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007
WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2006
PS2
Avatar:TheLastAirbender
Barnyard
BigMuthaTruckers
BigMuthaTruckers2
Bratz:ForeverDiamondz
Bratz:RockAngelz
Cars
Constantine
DestroyAllHumans
DestroyallHumans!™2
EvilDeadRegeneration
FairlyOddParents:ShadowShowdown
FindingNemo
FullSpectrumWarrior
FullSpectrumWarrior:TenHammers
GamesExplosion™
JimmyNeutron:AttackOfTheTwonkies
Juiced
Let'sRide!™SilverBuckleStables
MonsterHouse
MXUnleashed
MXvs.ATVUnleashed
NHRA™ChampionshipDragRacing™
Nicktoons:BattleforVolcanoIsland
Nicktoons:Unite!
NicktoonsMovin'EyeToy
PowerRangers:DinoThunder
RedFactionII
Scooby-Doo!:Unmasked
Scooby-Doo!MysteryMayhem
Scooby-Doo!Nightof100Frights
SpongeBob:CreaturefromtheKrustyKrab
SpongeBobSquarePants:BattleforBikiniBottom
SpongeBobSquarePants:Lights,Camera,Pants!
SpongeBobSquarePants:RevengeoftheFlyingDutchman
SprintCarsRoadtoKnoxville™
Tak2:StaffOfDreams
Tak3:TheGreatJujuChallenge
TakandthePowerofJuju
Tetris®Worlds™
TheIncredibles
TheIncredibles:RiseoftheUnderminer
ThePolarExpress
ThePunisher
TheSopranos®:RoadtoRespect™
TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie
TitleOfficialSiteRating
WWESmackDown!HereComesthePain
WWESmackDown!vs.RAW
WWESmackDown!vsRAW2006
WWESmackDownvs.Raw2007
X-Box
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Big Mutha Truckers
Big Mutha Truckers 2
Cars
Constantine
Destroy All Humans
Destroy all Humans!™ 2
Evil Dead Regeneration
Finding Nemo
Full Spectrum Warrior
Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers
Juiced
MotoGP URT 3
MX Unleashed
MX vs. ATV Unleashed
Red Faction II
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem
Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights
Scooby-Doo!: Unmasked
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!
Tak 2: Staff Of Dreams
Tak 3: The Great Juju Challenge
Tetris® Worlds™
The Incredibles
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
The Punisher
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
WWE WrestleMania® 21
Xbox 360
Cars
Saints Row
MotoGP '06
The Outfit
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007
PC
Cars
Company of Heroes
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade
Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers
Titan Quest
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Supreme Commander
Big Mutha Truckers
Big Mutha Truckers 2
Bratz: rock Angelz
Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures
Disney/Pixar Collection
Evergirl
Evil Dead Regeneration
Fairly Oddparents: Shadow Showdown
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo: Nemo's Underwater World of Fun
Full Spectrum Warrior
The Incredibles
The INcredibles: Rise of the Underminer
The Incredibles: When Danger Calls
Juiced
Moto GP URT 3
MX vs. ATV Unleashed
Nickelodeon 4-Pack
The Polar Express
Power Rangers: Ninja Storm
Power Rangers: Time Force
The Punisher
Red Faction II
Rugrats All Growed Up
Scooby-Doo Two: Monsters Unleashed
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
The SpongBob SquarePants Movie
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
SpongBob SquarePants: Employee of the Month
SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Krusty Kollection
Tetris Worlds
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Winter Assault

Kodak Posts loss, is Profitability Possible?

2006-10-31T14:18:00.000-08:00

Read full Story

Kodak is an old company, an “icon of the 20th century”, unfortunately for Kodak the days of using film are numbered and technology will soon be sweeping away film rolls, negative prints, and the Kodak itself.

With the proliferation of digital cameras, consumers have little use for camera film, especially when SD cards allow people to take multiple shots without worrying having to worry about wasting expensive film rolls trying to get that one perfect picture.

If it is to survive, Kodak has to restructure itself and cater to digital film processing market. Kodak has already begun installing digital photo processing and printing stations at its film processing locations but it has to do more! The name Kodak still makes consumers think “film”. Kodak needs to work on its image and make people think “pictures” when they hear Kodak. They need a marketing campaign that shifts focus from film to camera accessories like printers, photo printing paper, and digital photo processing.

Response to: A Taste for Debt

2006-10-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

Read the Article

I read an article by Yahoo! Columnist Robert Kiyosaki who drew a comparison between imperial Spain and the United States. He argues that the good economy we have now is bought on the credit used by consumer via high interest credit cards to governments who borrow from other countries to finance their daily affairs.

He explains that like Spain whose monarchs had a thirst for conquest and war and borrowed to pay for it, the United States and other debtor nations have been borrowing money like crazy to pay for the things they crave. Most importantly, he touches on the inflated price caused by all the borrowing.

Like Mr. Kiyosaki I too believe the roaring global economy we have right now is largely due to credit. At department stores I see people paying for a $150 pair of jeans with a chase credit card and my home state of California applying for savings bonds to pay for things like painting schools. Yes, debt has gotten way out of control and if this trend of borrowing continues the whole world is going to be in for a world of hurt.

Metabolix IPO MBLX

2006-10-30T17:35:00.000-08:00

I was looking at some of the upcoming IPO’s this morning and I found a company called Metabolix (MBLX). It manufactures environmentally friendly plastics for use in almost everything. It’s set to debut between $12 and $14 a share. This stock will be going on my watch list and possibly included in my Million Dollar investing challenge.

IPO: Metabolix MBLX

2006-10-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

Japan's Edge over American Industry

2006-10-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

As I’ve mentioned before, investing in stocks in high school allowed me to take my dream trip to Japan. I went for a variety of reasons, but mainly to expose myself to something non-western. One of the things I was extremely impressed by was the efficiency, honesty, and collectivism.

On a trip from Hiroshima to Tokyo I left my CD case on the Shinkansen Bullet Train. A trip back to the lost and found revealed walls of small belongings from battered umbrellas to McDonald toys. I was amazed to find out that when you leave something in a public place you “expect” to get it back.

Another thing Americans have to pick up quickly is efficiency. Go up a busy escalator like the one at Akasaka Mitsuke station and you’ll notice everybody stands to the right leaving an empty clearing all the way up. Stupid me decides to stand in this clearing only to be bumped into by somebody rushing up the escalator. I realized they did this to allow people in a rush get to their destinations on time! If you look at any busy escalator in America you’ll see people standing willy nilly with those in a hurry stuck behind a wall of people.

It was in that very moment I realized why the Japanese car industry was able to hammer Ford and General motors so easily. From early childhood every Japanese born child is taught to be honest, loyal, and efficient. You get your things back when you leave them lying around because people are looking out for the group, not themselves. Likewise, things get done quickly and efficiently because you’re not working for Mr. Big Boss or even yourself, you’re working for EVERYBODY.

Why Google is So Successful

2006-10-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

This morning I read that Google’s revenues doubled during the 3rd quarter of 2006. Those impressive gains made me sit down and think about why Google has been so successful. Was it a search algorithm that provided users with relevant information, their spam free search index, the clutter free home page? I have concluded Google is successful because it encourages expression and exchange of ideas among staff members and put together a competent workforce. I’ve listed a few of the reasons I think Google is so attractive to top talent.

Fringe Benefits
Google provides workers with flexible work hours and free meals prepared by some of the world’s top chefs! Some Googleplexes include on site gyms, child care, and volley ball nets!

The 20% Rule
The 20% rule appeals to ambitious and passionate programmers and web developers. The 20% allows employees to use up to 20% of their work week to pursue a project they feel passionate about. It could be almost anything!

Competent Workforce that Gets Along
If you’ve ever read blogs by Googlers you’ll notice they’re very happy with their work environment. They like and respect the people they work with and I’ve yet to see a Googler blog about the moron they hired six months ago to run their department. Because the people that get hired know what they’re doing and get along with others, projects are finished at a remarkable pace.

Stuff Happens
One of the main frustrations programmers and web developers have is the amount of time it takes to implement a good idea. When somebody at google has the next big idea they don’t have to fight their way through an army of lawyers, fill out a trees worth of paper work, or have to hurl their ideas over a castle wall guarded by a moat and memo eating crocodiles. Good ideas go straight to the top and get worked on immediately! Googlers are encouraged to think big and aren’t discouraged or put down when they come up with crazy ideas like “what if we created a free service that allowed people all over the world to view detailed 3-D images of major cities and satellite images of the rest of the world?”

Niniane Wang summed up why I think Google has been performing so well in one sentence: “I interview on average two candidates a week, sometimes for my team and sometimes for Google at large. I look for people that I want to work with – candidates who have strong coding skills and computer science knowledge, are pleasant to interact with, and can get things done.”

The Console Wars and your Wallet

2006-10-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

(Note: Your sensei Johnny is a huge Nintendo fan; information may be more biased than usual.)

Nintendo Ticker Symbol: NTDOY.PK

I told my little cousin I would give him $500 to invest if he came up with some stocks. He had 5 companies on his list and the top three were Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. I asked him why he allocated half his money to Nintendo and he said “because everybody at school used to think PS2 was better than Gamecube and now everybody thinks the Wii will be better than the PS3.”

As you can see, the Console Wars are in full swing and I predict Nintendo taking market share away from Sony and Microsoft and expanding the video game market to include people from other generations and demographics. Nintendo has already had massive success with innovative and strange new titles such as Brain Age and a game that teaches office workers business English.

Sony and Microsoft have banked their success on upgraded graphics cards and powerful processors while Nintendo has recognized the demand for new and innovative game play and responded. The Wiimote, introduced earlier this year is designed to look like a television remote, and allows players to manipulate game elements simply by moving the control.

I wish I could say there was going to be a winner in the console wars but, I can say there is going to be a loser. Nintendo will likely gain enough market share to be in the Sony and Microsoft league, however, Sony is going to lose a great deal of market share to Nintendo and possibly Microsoft because Sony has made no real improvements to it’s console, aside from the impromptu dual shake controller, and token graphics enhancements.

PlayStation and X-Box are also significantly more expensive systems. The Wii will be debuting at $249.99 including a game while the X-Box 360 sells for $299.99 and the PS3 sells for an arm and a leg plus $399 or more! The price of the PS3 alone is going to be enough for PS2 owners to look elsewhere for their gaming fix.

Unconventional Investing Ideas: Prosper.com Loans

2006-10-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

Ever since I applied for my first credit card and read the interest terms I admired the people who ran Visa, Mastercard, and America Express. I thought “they make people pay them money to buy things they didn’t even make! Wow!!”

Having a lot of money makes it easy to make money. To quote Al Bundy “money likes money”. Prosper.com allows me to live my dream of collecting money for doing almost nothing by allowing normal people like you and me to lend money to people who need it for an agreed on interest rate.

You have complete control over who you lend your money to. Prosper displays credit scores on a scale from F – A and their debt / income ratio. You can also break up your risk and loan small amounts of money to several people instead of lending one big chunk of money to a single person. If somebody defaults, collection services are hired on your behalf to recover your investment.

Prosper.com's Diagram Explaining how Lending and Borrowing Works

Starbucks "Infills" Markets

2006-10-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Today I read that Starbucks wants to "infill" which means putting 2 Starbucks on every corner. The hub of my city already has two Starbucks locations, one next to Best Buy and Barnes and Noble, the other a block or two a way on the corner of a busy intersection.

As the parking lot and building where the second Starbucks was being built I thought "they have to be closing the old one down right?" Apparently I was wrong, and when I started putting things together it made sense to me.

The old Starbucks had enough problems keeping up with the morning rush from the adjacent office complex. The crowds only get worse as moviegoers from the Edwards Cinema across the street meet up for coffee. A second Starbucks would be able to siphon off excess traffic and provide a calmer atmosphere for the crowd shy.

After the "new" Starbucks was finished I noticed the new one had a jam packed drive thru. I thought "is the "old" Starbucks going to survive?" I rushed over to the "old" Starbucks only to find it just as crowded as it always had been. Maybe this "infill" idea is going to work?

One thing Starbucks should be worried about is backlash. I don't think "infilling" is great for every community. There will definitely be some sort of opposition in certain communities that feel Starbucks is taking over their neighborhood.

That said, I'm thinking about Starbucks stock. The P/E is kinda high for my tastes (Currently 53.57) but I do think Starbucks will continue to grow rapidly over the next year.

At $8 a Share, is Ford a Bargain?

2006-10-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

After Ford stock fell yesterday I seriously considered buying some. I’m always looking for value in everything I buy and seeing Ford under $8 a share is really tempting. I preach to people all the time that if they want a vehicle that delivers great value and won’t break down on them to get a Japanese car by Honda, Toyota, or Subaru. So why would I buy Ford Stock, even if it is so low?

The answer is optimism. I’m hopeful that American car manufacturers will finally understand that the SUV driving, Hummer buying, buy American no matter what crowd is only one slice of America. I’m hopeful that after Ford and GM took a beating from the Japanese car makers like Toyota and Honda they will get their act together and start making cars with excellent gas mileage.

We’re also seeing change. Ford’s restructuring effort is reported to cut as much as $5 billion dollars in operating costs including cutting a lot of white collar office workers. The light at the end of the very long, completely dark corner is that Ford will be profitable again in 2009. My gamble on Ford is going to be a long one. I’ll keep you all in formed.

Unconventional Investment Idea: Second Life Real Estate

2006-10-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for an investment off the beaten path I've got one for you. I recently discovered an MMORPG called Second Life. Apparently people all over the world are buying and selling digital real estate in the Second Life universe. I’ve read reports of personal assets worth as much as $250,000 and yes, some property moguls are making serious cash! Second Life supports an economy with a GDP of at least $180,000,000 and processes transactions worth as much as $600,000 real American Dollars.

Players make money by selling game enhancements like in game language translators or renting out premium apartments in mountain villages to other players for Linden Dollars, the official currency of Second Life. Players take profits by exchanging their digital Linden Dollars for real money on the Linden Dollar Exchange. The Linden Dollar Exchange is a literal currency exchange that floats Linden Dollars against American Dollars.

Second Life Currency Exchange
CNN's Article on the Second Life Economy
Article on Taxing Virtual Assets

My Thoughts on the $750 Million Dollar WorldCom Payout

2006-10-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

CNN Money ran a story on the $750 million dollar fund the SEC created to compensate WorldCom investors. What does this fund mean for the future of investing? Is everyone who made a bad investment decision entitled to a payout?

People generally go into the stock market knowing full well their investments may lose value, and if they don’t understand the risks involved they probably deserve to go bankrupt. When I read this story I felt like I was back in elementary school playing kick ball and my teacher insisted that “everyone was a winner because they tried.”

When you take risks to make money you win some and you lose some. It’s the nature of the game. When you start rewarding people for bad choices or bad luck you start down a slippery slope.

I guess the real question I should be asking myself is why would the SEC authorize a $750 million dollar payout? Well, there does seem to be a valid reason, SEC Chairman Chris Cox explained to CNN Money that reimbursing WorldCom shareholders would increase the confidence investors have in U.S. markets.

Is compensation really going to have an impact on investor confidence? No. It has been about 4 years since WorldCom collapsed and I haven’t read any articles lately on investors moving funds from large cap stocks into savings accounts and bonds because they’re afraid of accounting scandals.

Today's Bears: United Panam Financial, Cosi Inc

2006-10-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

Fat Lazy Bear: United Panam Financial Corp.
Symbol: UPFC
1 day Loss: 22.44%
Reason: United Panam, provider of specialty finance products including auto loans took a dive today when they announced their earnings had fallen to $4.5 million from $6.97 million.

Lazy Bear: Cosi Inc.
Symbol: COSI
1 day Loss: 22.1%
Reason: Coming in at a very close number two is Cosi Inc. Shares fell when the company announced it anticipated a loss. (Everyone else expected it to break even.) Your sensei thinks sales sucked because they were banking on selling “shareables”.

Related Quotes

Today's Stock Sizzlers: MSGI, Accentia, Zanett

2006-10-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Bucking Bull: MSGI Security Solutions, Inc.Symbol: MSGI
Symbol: MSGI
1 day Gain: 57.77%
Related Links: MSGI Announces New Deal
Reason: MSGI has secured a deal with Hyundai Syscomm to set up security and surveillance systems across Asia. Terms of the deal include an exclusive license for developing security systems in exchange for 900,000 common shares of MSGI Security Solutions Common Stock.

Bull: ACCENTIA BIOPHARMACE
Symbol: ABPI
1 day Gain: 41.67%
Related Links: Full Story on BiovaxID Breakthrough
Reason: BiovaxID, a drug currently being researched by Accentia has demonstrated a high potential for increasing chances of disease free survival in patients whose cancer relapsed after chemotherapy. This drug has been described as “remarkable” by Dan Longo of the National Institutes of Health.

Bull: Zanett Inc.
Symbol: ZANE
1 day Gain: 32.8%
Related Links: Zannett Expects Growth
Reason: Zanett Inc, provider of information technology has adjusted it’s revenue prediction for the 3rd quarter of 2006 to $11 million, up from $10.5 million. Zanett also predicted a whopping 27% revenue growth this year.

Stock Losers: APOL and WEDX

2006-10-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

Today's Losers

Company: Apollo Group Inc.
Symbol: APOL
Loss: 22%
Profile: Apollo Group Inc. provides education for adults under it’s subsidiaries including The University of Phoenix.
Reason: The Apollo Group failed to live up to Wall Street’s earning expectations and it’s stock took a nose dive.

Company: The Westaim Corporation
Symbol: WEDX
Loss: 21%
Profile: Focuses of technological development in the field of flat screen televisions.
Reason: Clinical trial of it’s subsidiary Nucryst failed and investors dumped the stock.

Related Quotes

Today's Top Stocks: Siga, Ivanhoe, and Biodisen

2006-10-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do during the middle and end of every trading day is check out the big winners and losers. It’s a good way to spot trends and bargains. I’ll try to do a daily recap of the top and bottom 3 stocks each trading session.

Big Winner: Siga Tech Inc.
1 day Gain: 130%
Symbol: SIGA
Related Links: Siga Tech Press Release

Reason: Siga Tech is pharmaceuticals / biotechnology that researches and develops vaccines and cures for pathogens and diseases used in biological warfare. Appearantly the scientists at Siga Tech weren’t monkeying around. Siga Tech announced today that their SIGA-246 drug designed to fight small pox was 100% successful in primate testing. My hat’s off to you Siga Tech for dominating today’s trading session with a 130% gain!

Other Winners

Company: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.
Gain: 33%
SYMBOL: IVN
Related Links: Ivanhoe / Rio Tinto News Story, Oyu Tolgoi Mine Home Page

Reason: Ivanhoe shares jumped 33% today because British mining juggernaut Rio Tinto (RTP) announced its intentions to invest 1.7 billion dollars into Ivanhoe’s Mongolian mining operations. Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto will work together to on the Oyu Tolgoi project. "We have long believed that the right partnership would bring important benefits to the Oyu Tolgoi project, the people of the South Gobi region and all of Mongolia,"

Company: Biodisen Tech
Gain: 20%
Symbol: BBC
Related Links: Biodisen Revenue Story

Reason: Biodisen is a Vermont based fertilizer manufacturer. Main offices and operations are in Shaanxi, China and boast to be China’s first environmentally friendly fertilizer producer. This stock rose because “[they] continue to make progress on all of our strategic initiatives…” In other words Biodisen’s stock rose because the company said it should. Earnings will be coming out November 15th and I’ll be sure to write about it when they do.

Related Quotes

Finding Stocks

2006-10-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Part Two: Finding Stocks

Welcome to part two of my guide to investing in the stock market. Today I will be reviewing some methods I’ve used for choosing stocks. Remember, I’m not a professional. I’m an amateur like you and I’m speaking from my personal point of view. I make no guarantee of accuracy or effectiveness for this information. That said, let’s press on.

Look up Local Companies
Keeping your eyes peeled when you’re driving to work or school can help you spot obscure companies that may be on the verge of or already offer stock. Buying stock in local companies is a good way to invest in your own community and find otherwise obscure investing opportunities. I find companies this way all the time! My drive to work takes me past a company called Vulcan Materials (VMC). If I didn’t drive past that company everyday I would have never known about it.

Hear out Your Friends
Sometimes friends will come to me and tell me about a company that’s “supposed” to do well. Sometimes your friends are credible, sometimes they’re not. No matter what, if somebody mentions a company, industry, or stock to me I always investigate it, if only to broaden my knowlege of the market.

News and other Mass Media
This is a more traditional approach and shouldn’t be neglected. This is where a lot of the professionals like Jim Cramer from Mad Money provide you with analysis of the markets and provide you with their best advice. They’ll mention several companies and guess at how the stock will perform.

Your Own Research
Okay, you’ve looked up basic information on several stocks you’ve heard about. Now it’s time to do some more detailed analysis. I’ll use Vulcan Materials as an example.

Company PerformanceI examine how the stock has performed recently and historically. In this case, Vulcan Materials’ stock is up about 25% and up 560% since 1996.

This company shows an up trend over the past 10 years! That’s a good sign!

Read the News and Be Observant
Most quotes display related news. Sometimes these articles nothing more than “and Vulcan Materials donated a $1000 to a local little league team.” But, sometimes it’s serious like “Mr. So and So, the best raw materials salesman in the world and head of sales for Vulcan Materials took a long vacation and died on his way home.” Sudden developments like that can seriously impact a company for better or worse.

Community Trends
If you’re thinking about buying a stock from a local company examine the tastes, values, and preferences of your community. Vulcan Materials operates a quarry within a few miles of my home at the base of Azusa Canyon. Let’s say Azusa residents decided they didn’t want a quarry so close to their homes because of the noise, dust, or pollution it generates. The residents could make life very miserable for Vulcan to do business by organizing protests against mining, raising taxes targeted at Vulcan products and services, or preventing them from expanding into nearby property. This could reduce the profits of Vulcan Materials or even put Vulcan out of business!

On the other hand, what if the residents of Azusa weren’t so concerned about the environment and Vulcan wanted to buy nearby properties to reach a large deposit of highly valuable raw materials? That could pave the way for Vulcan’s best year ever!

Stuff You Would Use
I touched on this a little bit already, but I want to expand on it. Find companies that offer a product or service you believe in and invest! A company called Tempra Technology is developing a self cooling beer / soda can. I think this invention is up there with beer and the wheel! I believe this product will be popular, long lasting, and most of all, profitable and plan to invest accordingly.

Ask the Experts
You can literally ask Jim Cramer on his show Mad Money about specific stocks. Professional traders have a lot more time than typical people like you and me to research companies, examine board members, and look at market trends. Weigh your judgment against theirs. If most experts don’t like a company or stock, then it's probably a bad idea.

Do Some Number Crunching
Last but not least, you’ll want to look at some numbers for yourself. Find companies with good numbers. I go down the list of all the stocks I’m considering and look at things like their P/E, or stock price compared to earnings. If it has a low P/E, it’s a good candidate for my portfolio.

That’s my process in a nutshell, I’m sure there will be more on each of my methods in the future. I hope this helps you all out.

Quotes Related to This Post

Sincerely,
John Bravo
The Investing Sensei

Getting Started in the World of Finance Part 1

2006-10-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

Part 1: Getting Started

Family and friends often ask me how to invest in the stock market and how to choose a good stock. So, I’ve decided to write a two part series on investing and choosing stocks. This brings me to my first part in the series, Is Investing in the Stock Market Right for You? Before you even think about buying stock, examine yourself and your personal situation. If you’re seriously considering investing, ask yourself these questions:

1: Do I have money to throw away?
When deciding if investing in the stock market is for you consider your kids responsibilities: kids, bills, spouse or significant other. If you don’t have any money left at the end of the month after taking care of all the necessities, investing probably isn’t right for you.

Some people make the mistake of telling themselves they’ll invest and buy the things they need on credit. This is a bad choice! If your interest rate is 5% that means you need a return of 6% or more to justify your investment. It’s even worse for people who are paying 26% or more on their credit card bills. Before you know it, you won’t be able to make the minimum payments, you’ll go over your credit limit and they’ll start charging you a hundred bucks a month on top of the interest that has to be paid. Think of it this way, paying off your high 26% interest credit card is like having a guaranteed 26% return!

On the other hand, if all your bills are covered, your children have clothes, and you’re happy with your standard of living, then investing may be a good option for you.

I figured out that high school was a great time to start investing. I was under my parent’s roof, had a part time job making decent money, and could afford to buy a video game and an In-N-Out burger every so often. After that, I still had money left over. I started to see my savings account grow so I decided to invest.

2: What kind of investor am I?
If you’ve thoroughly examined your situation ask yourself “What type of investor am I?” If you’re used to taking big risks and prepared to suffer the consequences of a bad pick, then an aggressive, high risk portfolio may be just what you’re looking for. If you’re not a big risk taker, you’ll want to stick with relatively low risk stocks issued by companies that have been around for a while.

I’m slightly more inclined to take risks. About 1% of my personal portfolio consists of an assortment of very high risk stocks from the pink sheets with a potential for huge gains. More often than not, these stocks stay flat or go belly up. Another 30% rests on small to mid cap moderately risky stocks I plan on selling within a year, depending on their performance. The bulk of my portfolio (About 50%) lies in mid to large cap stocks backed by companies with consistent growth. I keep the rest in cash to seize on opportunities that may present themselves as each trading session progresses.

3: What are your investing goals?
Identify goals, set benchmarks and stick to them. Are you looking to save up for a comfortable retirement? Or, do you want extra cash for that trip to Jamaica? Exit strategies are one of the most overlooked aspects of an investing strategy. If you haven’t already done so, get out a sheet of paper, your cell phone, or open up an excel spreadsheet and set reasonable goals. Use timelines, dates, portfolio gains, or portfolio losses to establish an exit point. Being worth millions on paper is meaningless if you never convert your paper money to cold hard cash.

I didn’t think about this until a friend and close mentor (Who is also an investor.) advised me that I need an exit point at which I would sell my stocks and do something with my earnings. I decided to cash out when I was worth $10,000 so I could take a really fun, long trip to Japan right out of high school.

Anyway, that’s all I have on the subject. You can catch part two of this series tomorrow. I’ll have more on the Investing Sensei’s Million Dollar Challenge.

My Thoughts on The Housing and Oil Bubbles

2006-10-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

David Wyss brought up these interesting points, here are my thoughts on the Subject.

The Housing Bubble
It gets on my nerves when people call it a housing bubble. Sure, the market may be softening up, and some prices may be falling, but nothing burst. Its not as if people across the country are getting the boot from their homes by banks who can barely afford to do it. As a matter of fact, in places like San Francisco and the suburbs of Los Angeles home prices are still greatly inflated and finding a decent home in a nice area for a reasonable price is still an ungodly task.

Granted, some housing markets are cooling down and new homes aren't being built at the pace they were. But when you read an article about home prices falling remember to take into account that the thousands of new home owners who bought in the sizzling housing market still haven't gotten the new home smell out of their two car garages, guest rooms, and dens. After a few years when their obnoxious neighbor threw one too many keg parties, they find better jobs, or they simply want a fresh start somewhere else the housing market will white hot again.

Ultimately, prices in most markets have bottomed out, of course there will be some areas that continue to see declines for whatever reason, a lazy police force goes soft on crime or the city decides to dig out a dump a mile away from your home, or prices were, admittedly, a little high. But things will stay relatively stable for the next several years so long as the economy keeps growing at a moderate pace.

The silver lining in all these doom and gloom reports is all those construction workers that were building new homes are now free to rebuild New Orleans, construct badly needed schools, or renovate and create infrastructure essential for an efficient and successful economy. The slowdown in new home construction also frees up resources for building new business structures like condos, office complexes and football stadiums. (Los Angeles, I'm looking at you.)

Bottom line, there wasn't a bubble, and nothing is close to bursting. Home prices will remain stable so long as the economy in general is stable.

The Oil Bubble

I never thought there was an oil bubble either. I'm sorry to say oil is undervalued. Oil certainly had and still has a myriad of other reasons for soaring so high. Oil could easily fetch up to $100 a barrel in today's markets. Consider just a few of the factors that were driving and in some cases still driving the oil prices:

Terrorism: Unfortunately for capitalists, a bulk of the world's oil is in the increasingly volatile Middle East. (Invasion of Lebanon, War in Iraq, (Warren Iraq?) the nuclear standoff with Iran, need I say more?) It doesn't take much more than an effigy of Muhammad these days to justify shutting down an oil well.

Asia: The rapidly industrializing nations of Asia who suddenly woke up and said in one loud voice "Success is my only mutha f**king option, failure's not" are sucking up oil at a rapid rate. (I'm sneering at you China.) They're building factories, cities, and cars along with power plants to keep them humming. This requires vast amounts of energy and raw materials, a large part of which comes from oil.

Oil Itself: If we're honest with ourselves, we know oil is going to run out one day. Probably in my lifetime. As supply shrinks, oil futures will skyrocket.

Though I may disagree with him on a few trivial things, he was right on the money when he was talking about oil. However, I strongly disagree with his assertions and bleaker outlook on the U.S. housing market.

"That's all I have to say about that." - Forest Gump

Graciously,
Johnny Bravo
The Investing Sensei

Google Stock Analysis and Rating

2006-10-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

Stock Analysis: Google Inc.
Symbol: GOOG

Profile
If you haven’t heard of Google you’ve probably been living with the sewer people or at least under a rock. If you still need an introduction, Google is one of the few internet companies that emerged from the dot com bubble burst. It provides one of the most used search engines built around their patented PageRank technology, designed to provide users the most accurate search results for their queries.

Google generates revenue by selling add space on search engine results pages and through other sources including the highly successful Google Network. One of Google’s most successful and innovative partner programs is AdSense, a system that allows publishers of online content to earn revenue for displaying Google’s ads. (This site is “monetized” by Google AdSense.)

Google's Outlook
I guess the real question is “Am I going to buy it?” The answer is probably. Lets step away from the tremendous buzz this company has generated and look at this stock objectively.

Google’s P/E
Compared to some other big tech stocks like Yahoo! and Microsoft, Google has a very high P/E. Was it hype or a well run company that quadrupled Google’s share price?

I’m willing to say it’s a mix of both, leaning in favor of a well run company. Google has a track record of success such as their acquisition of Pyra Labs. Pyra Lab’s Blogger system was a great compliment for their AdSense revenue sharing program, it allowed bloggers to capitalize on their blogs and helped create a whole new niche in E-Commerce. The Google Earth project was an excellent marketing move. This morning, as I watched CNN and Fox News break the North Korean proliferation news, I saw the Google logo at least 10 times an hour as they zoomed in on crystal clear satellite images of Pyongyang and the alleged nuclear testing facility, bearing witness to Google's unparalleld software quality.

Final Review
Google was an excellent stock to buy a year or more ago, though there is definitely potential for this stock to grow over the long term (5 years or more). Short term, Google’s stock price is inflated. I have a hunch that this stock's price is going to fall as the hype winds down, and if it does Google would be an excellent stock to get into!

Rating
Long Term: Buy / Hold

Short Term: Don't Buy / Sell

Scincerely Your Sensei,
Johnny Bravo

Related Quotes

Have criticism, compliments, or corrections? Email Me!
investingsensei@yahoo.com

Yahoo! Finance - Stock Quotes for your Blog

2006-10-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

After about 15 minutes of searching, I found out that Yahoo! provides quotes for your blog. (I was actually hoping Yahoo would provide it, mostly because they do things like that better.) Anyway, if you have a blog or site you want quotes for you can get at the Yahoo! Fiance Badge Page. The Only downside is that a lot of the minor indexes, exchanges, etc. are not available.

Related Quotes

The Sensei's Million Dollar Challenge Investing Challenge

2006-10-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

I've been telling myself I'm going to test several market strategies and track them for an entire year since high school. I'm finally going to do it! Starting December 1st I will track 3 radically different strategies and give myself a million bucks to invest for each one. I'll track every trade I make and note every dollar I do and don't make. I'll provide a detailed analysis of my performance every other week and you can see what did and did not work for me.

This is my dream portfolio. If I had 3 million dollars to risk in the stock market (or futures markets or precious metals markets.) these are the investments I would make this year.

The next step of course is choosing my first stocks. I guess I have roughly 2 and a half months to do this. So, expect a lot of stock profiles and analysis within the next few days. Here is the spreadsheet I'll be using to track my progress.

Book Review: China Inc

2006-10-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Book: China Inc.: China, Inc.: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World
Author: Ted C. Fishman

Synopsis
This book explores the Chinese economy and everything that has shaped and drives it. It touches on the influences of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and Communism on China's booming economy, explores the subcultures of various Chinese cities and districts, examines the various industries affecting global trade, foreign policy, and pollution. This book goes further than a mere analysis of China's economy, its a 360 degree panorama of Chinese society.

Favorite Part
This book paints the Chinese as a billion caged dragons all struggling to break out and make their mark on the world stage. This drive has given the Chinese a penchant for defying accepted western economic theories. One of the more interesting theories they've destroyed involves private ownership. Most western economists once believed that private property needed to be guaranteed in order for entrepreneurs to borrow money and invest in new ventures.

This book proves them all dead wrong. China Inc. points out that China's free market economy grew from poor farmers who had absolutely nothing, not even the small plots of land they harvested. The book goes on to explain the sometimes literally grass roots efforts to raise capital and invest in new businesses that the rural poor made.

This book is well written and absolutely necessary for any westerner thinking of doing business with or in China. Its also filled with a lot of interesting and useful culture tips that might help a would be businessman avoid getting himself into an embarrassing situation.

recommendation: Buy

Stock Quote Guide

2006-10-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

This is one for the beginners.

When I was starting out I wish somebody could have showed me how to make sense of a stock quote. I’ve posted a screen capture of Google’s stock quote from Yahoo! Finance. I’ll break down and define everything right here.

Typical Stock Quote Chart

Google: The name of the company. If you had requested a quote for YHOO it would have brought up the stock quote for Yahoo!.

After Hours: This shows how the stock traded after the official closing of the markets. Markets officially close at 5 P.M. sharp every weekday except holidays. This price reflects activity after the closing bell.

Last Trade: Last price the stock was sold for during market hours.

Trade Time: The most recent day a stock was traded.

Change: Indicates the change in a stock’s price. When the market is open, this changes as the stocks price changes. After closing, this stays the same until the markets open again.

Prev Close: Stands for previous close. The price a stock last traded for after the most recent market close. (EX: A stock closes on Tuesday for $30 a share then Wednesday’s Previous Close would be $30.)

Open: The price of stock at the opening bell. (EX: A stock could settle at $50 a share on Thursday at closing and have an opening price of $51 if After Hours Trading pushed up the price of a stock.) This price would change the next time the markets opened.

Bid: Price a potential buyer is willing to pay for a stock at a specific time.
Ask: Asking price for a specific stock.

1y Target Est.: A stock’s estimated per share value.

Day’s Range: Price range a stock traded in during the current or most recent trading session. EX: A stock that opens at $10, rises to $25, and falls to $5 by the end of the session has a Day’s Range of $5 - $25.

52wk Range: Stands for 52 week or year range. The highest and lowest point a stock has traded at for the past year. EX: A stock opens at $50 in December, falls to $1 in July, and rises to $67 the following December has a 52 Week Range of $1 - $67.

Volume: Actual amount of shares traded during the current or previous trading session.
AVG Volume: Stands for Average Volume. The average amount of shares usually traded during a trading session.

Market Cap: How much a company’s stock is worth. EX: A company has 10,000,000 shares available for purchase; each share is worth $10. This company’s market capitalization would be $100,000,000.

P/E: Stands for Price / Earnings. Indicates how much investors are willing to pay for every for a company’s profits. P/E is calculated by taking the price of a share and dividing it by a company’s earnings per share.

EPS: Earnings per share. The profits of a company divided by its outstanding shares. (Net Profit – Dividends / Outstanding Shares) Div & Yield: The dividend a company pays its shareholders. (Typically on a quarterly basis.)

Disclaimer

2006-10-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

I'm an amateur. I have no professional experience in the stock market. I have no schooling in business except for an economics class at a local community college and high school. (Both of which I aced.)

All my articles/statements/advice are filled by and large with personal opinions and my judgements may or may not be based on fact. The articles and information on this site are for informational purposes only. Just because I endorse a company, stock, investment opportunity does not guarantee success. Verify everything I say on this site with several independent sources including buy not limited to other financial sites / blogs, your personal financial consultant, and newspapers.

I take no responsibility for you investing money based on any of the information, articles, suggestions contained on this site. All risks you take are your responsibility.

I make the best attempts I can to provide accurate information.

My Guarantee
The only thing I guarantee is that when I say I own a stock, I own a stock. When I say something, I believe it. (I've let several job opportunities go because I am honest.) I also guarantee that I'm not a professional with any qualifications other than I have a Sharebuilder account.

Hello World!

2006-10-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to find something I can blog about confidently and passionately. I found 2 things: Nintendo and Investing. (By the way, I do think Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) stock is worth checking out.)

My Credentials
I've been investing in the stock market and other business ventures since I was as young as 10. I've had a business oriented mind since as long as I can remember. When I was about 10 I really started getting into how to make money because it was something I found interesting. (And something my parents were bad at doing.) When we went into restaurants I would look at how many people were at the counter ordering food and sitting down. I would then add up the costs of their orders, (Yes, I spied.) and came up with a high and low estimate for their revenue per hour, day, week, month, and year.

My first experience and worst experience with stocks came when I was about 11 or 12 and I heard some new money talking about the investments they made in companies like GE (GE) and Philips (ADR). As soon as he was done making his point I said with an unknowing smile "Philips? The screwdriver?" and everybody laughed!

I was camping then, and in the morning I ran to the camp store to buy a newspaper. I scrounged up a few shower quarters and bought a Ventura County Star newspaper and ripped it apart searching for the business section. I read the entire business section cover to cover and remember reading something about the now defunct Enron. Thus began my infatuation with the stock market.

In High School I made enough money off the golden years of the dot com age and even more money when it all went bust! (Sadly, those days are gone.) I earned money to invest by not eating lunch, doing odd jobs for my grandparents, and anything else that would make me a buck. I took nearly everything I had and invested it in the stock market. (I used Sharebuilder, which is in my opinion, the absolute best brokerage on the internet for young, new, and aspiring investors.

After graduating high school, I had enough money to take a really nice trip and I did. I went to Japan for a month and I toured the country side. (Unfortunately I liquidated most of my assets to do it.) I stayed in the nicest hotels, bought expensive gadgets, and ate $100 fruit.

Now I work full time for an online retailer, earning a teaching credential for U.S. History and Economics, and of course follow the markets.

This Blog
The primary function of this blog is to have a place to track my progress and justify my investing strategies. The real goal of this blog is to build up a reader base that will critique me on things I overlook, correct me when I’m wrong, and ecourage me when I’m right. There will also be a book review or two here of course. (I’m currently reading China Inc. and recommend The Art of War to anyone interested in making money.

LInks

2005-02-10T17:48:00.000-08:00