LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE

SURIGAO BY THE DOZEN

2010-09-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

"12 Things to do" in Surigao City/Del Norte-Whether you're local or a foreigner, you can't say you've really been to Surigao, unless you've done at least one of these, much better if it's all of the above, they're not that hard, and you thought the place is boring.

1.) EAT CHICKEN BARBECUE AT THE PIER: sometimes referred to as "the Berlin Wall" because the stands line-up the portside walls, this is not just a "to do" list, but a "must do" for locals here in Surigao City, so if you're a first timer, you should find out why.
Take your pick: paa, petso, atay/baticonoy, retazzo, esoy and adidas, and don't forget the "hanging rice" (poso)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

2009-12-30T16:59:00.000-08:00

MY 6 MOST MANIPULATIVE LINES

2009-11-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

There is a saying that “Persuasion is more effective than force” and while most of us would tend to agree with it, the trouble is the thin line that separates persuasion and manipulation. (the same thin line that separates caring and controlling) and the thing with manipulation is that it is usually done among people with intimate relationships, the most common is between parents and their children, and it runs both ways. Below are some expressions which I consider to be manipulative. I’m sure you’ve heard these before, either being said to you or you telling others at some point in your life. this compilation is my opinion based on my experience, I’ve added some comments to make it amusing (at least) hopefully you’ll enjoy reading even if you don’t agree with it. (and if you do-next time somebody tells you…)

1.) I LOVE YOU
This one I’m sure we all agree, win hands down, as one of the most manipulative expression of all time, it has been used, misused and abused, for selfish interest.

2.) THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD
Another expression that has been abused, and is all so familiar among kids, and while I don’t question the intention, there are times when we are intelligent enough to asses the situation honestly, and objectively, is it really for your own good or more for the one saying it?

3.)IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT…..
Your career, your studies, your…. etc. and of course my favorite, “if you really love me, you would”… (fill in the blanks)

4.) CAN YOU DO ME A FAVOR?
* When someone buttonholes you with this approach, beware! The use of this sentence is unfair; it’s blackmailing. The speaker traps the listener, who has to listen to the request or be rude. And in giving consent to listen the listener is placed in a dilemma by the word favor. He has to grant something against his own best interest, or to appear in an uncharitable light. Watch out for him.
and don’t you find it equally manipulative if not annoying when said in the vernacular? “Hanggyo lang kini kung mosugot ka”.

5.) IT’S ONLY A SUGGESTION
The most common opening for unsolicited advise, but let’s face it, even when we say that, we don’t admit, that deep inside, we expect our advise to be taken at face value. Maybe we should follow it up with- “TAKE NOTE WHO IS MAKING THE SUGGESTION”.

6.) IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED YOU HAVE TO SACRIFICE
No I’m not saying this isn’t true because I subscribe to this wisdom, but not when you’re invited to a free Orientation seminar for a direct selling company, or an association/organization, and suddenly the seminar takes longer than originally scheduled and you have to excuse yourself because of your other obligations, or they will schedule another meeting which just happens to be in conflict with your other commitments, when organizers will suddenly lay that expression on you…how convenient.

*Peoplewatching; research briefs on human behavior. Academic Publishing Corp.

PINOY HALLOWEEN

2009-11-18T04:23:00.000-08:00

It’s Friday morning October 30, and we’re buying candles and flowers in order to avoid the rush hour crowd on Saturday, in preparation of All Saints and All Souls day, like most Filipinos. I grew up in that tradition, in my younger days, it was to visit the grave of our departed grandparents, and now my late mom. The routine has always been, to go to the memorial park early in the evening, light up some candles, pray, eat our dinner there, do some bonding with old family friends and relatives, who are likewise in the cemetery for the same reasons, and go home by late nightfall, it wasn’t that crowded yet. But lately a lot of things have changed, and not just the crowd, we now go early in the morning, (more to find a good parking space) pitch our tent, (yup) eat lunch and dinner there, and stay late in the night, or like others, spend the night there. Some memorial parks actually go as far as put up a Halloween festival, with dance contests, talent shows, complete with food concessionaires, and even those selling masks, and a fireworks display, late in the evening, this is probably to entice more clients, to have their umm resting place there.
But wait, isn’t Halloween an American tradition? That maybe true, however, since it just happens to precede All Saints and All Souls day, a Filipino tradition, in which Filipinos honour and remember their dead, it’s not surprising that Filipinos have adopted it as well (among other things American). And with our penchant to make every non-working holiday a celebration, it’s not surprising we have adopted and celebrated someone else’s as well.

Come Nov. 01 (All Saints) and Nov. 02), Filipinos go to the cemetery to gather, and remember their dearly departed, it’s a family affair, and for once, it’s not just the sadness of losing and missing a loved one, but a celebration of seeing those who are still alive albeit already living in other places or some other country, who have come back to visit as well. And since Filipinos traditionally celebrate it at the cemetery, Halloween gets an authentic boost when we celebrate it there as well.

(above) It’s not summer camp. It's All Saints Day and they're preparing to spend the night here at the cemetery, just like most Filipinos on Nov. 01 and 02. It’s a family affair, so everyone is in for a treat.

Aren’t day supposed to come out only at night?

The, (L-R) aswang, white lady, and kapre, creatures of Philippine folklore that have made our Halloween distinctively pinoy, no witches and broomsticks here.

Creatures whose world has turned upside-down.

not only can they get to come out at daytime, they get own the damn road as well

When you hold a Halloween dance contest on All Saints day-at the cemetery, you can be sure, the spirit of Michael Jackson lives on.

It’s a non-working holiday, and in the middle of the semestral break, come Nov.01 and 02, everyone’s’ dying to go to the cemetery

Lest we forget... it’s a time to remember our loved ones, who have gone ahead of us.

Bwa ha ha ha ha

2009-10-31T03:41:00.001-07:00

Copy and paste code onto your website or blog

Add site

THE PARADOX OF WISDOM

2009-10-31T03:22:00.000-07:00

1.) IT IS SAID: First impression is lasting

BUT: Do not judge a book by its cover.

2.) IT IS SAID: The squeaky wheel gets oiled.

BUT: The nail that sticks out gets hammered.

3.) WE ALWAYS SAY: I will cross my bridge when I get there.

BUT ITS BETTER TO: Dig your well before you’re thirsty

4. IT IS SAID: Only fools go where Angels fear to tread.

BUT: The biggest risk of all, is to take none at all.

5.) IT IS SAID: Fortune favours the strong

HOWEVER: And the meek shall inherit the earth.

6.) IT IS SAID: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

BUT: Out of sight, out of mind.

7.)IT IS SAID: He who hesitates is lost

BUT REMEMBER: Look before you leap.

8.) IT IS SAID: Two heads are better than one.

BUT: Too many cooks will spoil the broth.

9.) IT IS SAID: An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

BUT: No Pain-No Gain

10.) THEY SAY: The Pen is mightier than the sword

BUT : Action speaks louder than words

PS: Look who’s talking?

THOSE WHO SPEAK
“Those who speak now know nothing;
Those who know are silent.”
This word, as I am told,
Were spoken by Lao-tzu
If we are to believe that Lao-tzu
Was himself one knew,
How come that he wrote a book of five thousand
words?

THE 10 SIGNS OF AGING FOR MEN

2009-10-16T05:26:00.000-07:00

1.) You are now starting to wear reading glasses

2.) When it comes to music, sports, gimmicks, and even fashion, you think the
70’s and the 80’s rule.

3.) Your favourite music collection is mostly made up of vinyls (and in
fairness, it was been proven that vinyl has superior sound quality than CD’s)

4.) You no longer like wearing printed t-shirts (you prefer plain colored ones)

5.) Sticking racing stickers on your car or motorbike is in bad taste.

6.) You now frown when young women wear sexy clothes inside the church.

7.) Your average annual beer consumption is declining.

8.) Forget new age, your idea of a chill out music is still Pink Floyd’s “Dark
Side of the Moon” album.

9.) Your parents, teachers and especially the principal were right all along-
freedom goes hand in hand with responsibilities.

10.) You just come to realise, that despite its flaws, the system actually
works, and more than that-you are now part of it!

INVESTMENT PROPSAL: What should I do to marry a rich guy?

2009-08-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

A young and pretty lady posted this on a popular forum:

I'm going to be honest of what I'm going to say here. I'm 25 this year. I'm very pretty, have style and good taste. I wish to marry a guy with $500k annual salary or above. You might say that I'm greedy, but an annual salary of $1M is considered only as middle class in New York . My requirement is not high. Is there anyone in this forum who has an income of $500k annual salary? Are you all married? I wanted to ask: what should I do to marry rich persons like you? Among those I've dated, the richest is $250k annual income, and it seems that this is my upper limit. If someone is going to move into high cost residential area on the west of New York City Garden ( ? ) , $250k annual income is not enough.

I'm here humbly to ask a few questions:

1) Where do most rich bachelors hang out? (Please list down the names and addresses of bars, restaurant, gym)

2) Which age group should I target?

3) Why most wives of the rich men is only average-looking? I've met a few girls who don’t have looks and are not interesting, but they are able to marry rich guys

4) How do you decide who can be your wife, and who can only be your girlfriend? (my target now is to get married)

Ms. Pretty

Awesome reply:

Dear Ms.. Pretty,

I have read your post with great interest. Guess there are lots of girls out there who have similar questions like yours. Please allow me to analyse your situation as a professional investor. My annual income is more than $500k, which meets your requirement, so I hope everyone believes that I'm not wasting time here. From the standpoint of a business person, it is a bad decision to marry you.. The answer is very simple, so let me explain.

Put the details aside, what you're trying to do is an exchange of 'beauty' and 'money': Person A provides beauty, and Person B pays for it, fair and square. However, there's a deadly problem here, your beauty will fade, but my money will not be gone without any good reason. The fact is, my income might increase from year to year, but you can't be prettier year after year.. Hence from the viewpoint of economics, I am an appreciation asset, and you are a depreciation asset. It's not just normal depreciation, but exponential depreciation. If that is your only asset, your value will be much worried 10 years later.

By the terms we use in Wall Street, every trading has a position, dating with you is also a 'trading position'. If the trade value dropped we will sell it and it is not a good idea to keep it for long term - same goes with the marriage that you wanted. It might be cruel to say this, but in order to make a wiser decision any assets with great depreciation value will be sold or 'leased'. Anyone with over $500k annual income is not a fool; we would only date you, but will not marry you. I would advice that you forget looking for any clues to marry a rich guy. And by the way, you could make yourself to become a rich person with $500k annual income. This has better chance than finding a rich fool.

Hope this reply helps. If you are interested in 'leasing' services, do contact me...

signed,
CEO J.P.. Morgan

DEFINITION OF FINANCIAL TERMS (POST SUB-PRIME)

BULL MARKET – A random market movement causing
an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius

BEAR MARKET – a 6 to 18 month period when the
kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewellery, and the husband gets no
sex.

VALUE INVESTING – The art of buying low and selling lower..

P/E RATIO – The percentage of investors wetting
their pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER - What my financial planner has made me.

STANDARD & POOR – Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST – Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT – When your ex-wife and her lawyer
split your assets equally between themselves.

MARKET CORRECTION – The Day after you buy stocks..

CASH FLOW – The movement our money makes as it disappears down the
toilet.

WINDOWS – What you jump out of when you're the
sucker who invested in PIP, Franc Swiss, and Legacy Plans on the same year

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR – Past year investor
who's now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT – an archaic word no longer in use.

SOURCE: Forwarded email

Some common Investment Terms simplified

2009-08-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

Asset allocation refers to the method of deciding how much money to invest
And in which investment vehicle (i.e. stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc.)

Diversification Based on the wisdom of “not putting all your eggs in 1 basket” it is a strategy where an investor puts money in several kinds of businesses or tools to protect his investments in case the market suffers a downturn. This could be a mix of shares in the stock market, mutual fund, or government securities like bonds and treasury bills. To illustrate a point, going back to basics (of investment) If your risk profile is conservative, supposedly so should your investments be, but because the lesser the risk-the lesser returns, you could also be losing out on potential income offered by higher instruments. The solution: Diversify-use 2 or more tools to achieve a common goal, say child’s future education, you start out with safer (but lower income) savings like a typical educational plan, then as your income increases, you compliment it with a higher return (but riskier) type of instrument, like Mutual Funds, to compliment the (the low income)educational plan, or if you’re the aggressive type, you start with the Mutual Funds, then back it up with an educational plan, as a back up support. (this is just an example to illustrate a point)

Portfolio A person’s investment in several instruments like stocks, equities, mutual funds, bonds, treasury notes, etc. consists of his portfolio – a term which refers to the investment collectively.
Fund manager A person who advises or helps manage an investor’s portfolio. Some financial institutions provide professional fund managers to clients as part of their investment package.

Liquidity refers to how fast investments or other assets can be converted to cash. Investments in the stock market and mutual funds are normally considered liquid because they can be easily sold to the stockbroker or issuer, while real state investments and jewelries take a while to dispose of .

Principal is the amount an investor originally uses invest, the premium he paid, or to buy securities or stock shares. It can also mean the amount a borrower applies for a loan, It also refers to the value where simple interest rates are computed, and so is the amount paid for the issuer of treasury notes and bills (usually the government) upon maturity.

Return on Investment refers to how long it takes to recover the amount of money an investor has put into a business or other money-making vehicles – higher returns at lesser time is ideal.

Term refers to the length of time your money has to be tied up to a deposit account or investment vehicle, which could either be for short, medium or long term. Terms could indicate the investment’s yield(interest or earnings – e.g., for bonds longer terms may offer higher interest rates) while pre termination (the withdrawal ,closing, and redemption of the investment before the agreed specified term, time deposits, and mutual funds for example ) may require you to pay a certain amount as fee or penalty.

Inflation refers to the increase in the prices of commodities in relation to the capacity of people to purchase such goods, to illustrate, say, if we had a 10% annual inflation, that means, that the same basket of assorted groceries that you bought for P100 last year will now cost you P110 – it is said that money may no longer be able to buy in the future what it can afford today. A Higher inflation rate diminishes the ability of the investment to yield higher returns. if the inflation rate is at 6-7% and your investment is earning you less than that, you’re basically losing money.

The Power of Compounding
One of the things you need to know about building wealth is the power of making regular periodic investments and reinvesting rather than spending the profits.

The results you will with this discipline are surprising. Let’s say you start with nothing, and decide putting P5000 of your income into an investment account every month, and you commit not to touch your money in investment. That means you can’t take withdraw any funds until you’ve reached your long-term goal. Based on an 11.8%, interest on average, annually over the past 10 years. If you achieve that same return, you’d have P1,140,000 after 10 years. But it gets better. You’ll have P4,860,000 if you stick with the plan for 20 years and a cool P17 million in 30 years.

The process described here is a combination of two powerful investing strategies: compounding and peso-cost averaging.

Compounding is simply reinvesting rather than spending your profits. By doing that; you capture the future returns on your reinvested profits as well as on your original investments.

Cost averaging was actually adopted from gambling, (in Las Vegas) it goes like this-If you had a $1000 to gamble in a casino, you should only bet $1 dollar per deal, that way you increase your odds a thousand times, but you should never gamble more than a dollar even if you keep winning, and stop when you’ve already bet a thousand times, (the original capital you brought in-it also involves self discipline) that way, if you win, you’ll end up with more than $1000 but if you loose, you won’t loose more than a thousand. Taken in the financial context of investing it means that you buy stocks at the same amount at regular intervals, fixed monthly investment buys more shares of a mutual fund or stock when prices are low, and fewer shares when prices are high. For instance, if you were investing P5000, you’d get 500 shares if a stock were trading at P10, but roughly 555 shares if it dropped to P9. Done regularly on the long run, it drives the average cost down, so you make more money.

Discipline Required. The hardest part of implementing these strategies is making the regular monthly investments. It’s easy to procrastinate adding to your account if the market is down or if you could use the cash for something else.

The best way to make sure that the regular investments happen is to automatically deduct a fixed amount from your monthly salary and directly invest it in a mutual fund account every month.

SOURCE:Inquirer.net, "Take Charge of your Money".

PLEASE PRAY WITH ME FOR OUR NATION'S HEALING

2009-08-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

Do not pray for me to heal....Pres. Cory Aquino

FAREWELL TITA CORY!

2009-08-01T00:33:00.001-07:00

We know where you are now-we hope you can take the time to hear our collective sigh as we say...THANK YOU!

BASICS OF FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

2009-07-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

How would you like to spend your later years, (still) working for money? or making your money work for you?

THINGS TO CONSIDER: (NOTE: WHILE ALL OF THEM IS OF EQUAL IMPORTANCE, THIS IS STILL ARRANGED ON A “FIRST THINGS FIRST” BASIS)

1.) Investment Objective the first thing to consider, and just to clear a common misconception, YOU DO NOT INVEST simply to make money, you invest to achieve aparticular financial goal or objective, it could be your child’s future education, your retirement fund, even a future travel abroad (yes). It’s better than savings, because your money works and earns at the same time, (that’s why it’s called investment) thus maximizing its value. A good illustration would be dollar investments, most Filipinos (especially OFW’s) invest their dollars with the intention inventually taking advantage of it’s rising value (vis a vis the peso). And that makes sense, but still much better if you invest your dollar with a future objective that is denominated in dollars-it could be your child’s future studies abroad, a planned overseas trip 5 years from now, your retirement fund, (you can just imagine the advantages if your pension is in dollars, at least you can include a once in a lifetime dream trip abroad). A word of caution however, investments also involve risks, while your money will earn, it might also suffer a loss, especially in a crisis.(like the one we’re having now) That’s why there is such a thing as, Financial Planning, and why investment is only a part of it.

2.) Time Frame Investment tools work best over time, and that is at least 5 years or more, anything less than that and we’re talking savings, like time deposit and savings accounts. Because by their very nature, (the imbalance between your present income and future expense) your investment goals should be in the distant future. The general rule is: the more time you have, the more risk you can take (with your investments, since as the logic goes-you have more time to recover in case of a downturn, and more risk equals more gains, ) but I prefer the other one: the more time you have, the less amount you need to set aside, making it more affordable for you, which makes it the best argument for starting early, starting NOW.

3.) Amount to be Invested A good starting point should be at least 10% of your income (gross if possible) that should erase your "I can't afford excuse", provided of course, that you start cutting down on unnecessary expenses. And as your income increases (it should) you could then diversify (another reason why you should do financial planning or hire someone to do it for you).

4.) Risk Profile (YOURS) When it comes to money, are you averse to taking risk? Or are you aggressive, and willing to take CALCULATED risk? After all, you worked hard for it. As a rule, if you’re the conservative type, so should your investments be, and vice versa (supposedly).

5.) Investment Tool This pertains to the type of instrument ideal for your needs, taking into consideration all the three factors above. As rule in Financial Planning, your investments should look like a pyramid (the one in Egypt, not the scam) with savings like, insurances-accident and health, educational plans, pension plans, Philhealth, SSS, (even memorial plans) etc. serving as a foundation and making up the bulk at the bottom, with the higher yielding and riskier tools, like stock market investments, at the top.

SOME COMMON INVESTMENT TOOLS

BONDS A bond is a loan that you, the investor, make -- you lend your money to a government, municipal authority, or company in exchange for a fixed amount of interest paid to you regularly. You don’t get to own a part of the lending entity. At maturity date, your investment is paid back to you at par value — the amount written on the bond certificate. Bonds have long been established in Europe and the US, where this type of investment has done better than cash investments in terms of returns. Bonds suit conservative investors since they can get a regular stream of income over a number of years. The risk lies in payment defaults, so choose bonds carefully.

STOCKS Refers to buying shares of ownership in a publicly listed company” The stock market is very volatile therefore riskier-prices of stocks fluctuate in response to the times .but it can also be more profitable, as your returns can be anywhere from 20-30%. Stock investments should be held over the long term to ride out fluctuations.

EQUITIES rather than directly investing in the stock market. Equity funds are investment funds invested wholly in stocks and are run by full-time professional fund managers who watch over the portfolio and make trading decisions daily. They know which stocks are doing well since they analyze the market daily. Investing in equity funds will allow you to diversify your investments, since the fund invests in not just one stock, but in a mix, you will also be spreading your risk, since you won’t be exposed to just one company stock. So even if one stock loses, others may gain and you will have a net gain. You will also be highly liquid since you can turn your investment into cash anytime you want by withdrawing from the fund, in some cases, at a small fee. Equity funds may be in the form of a mutual fund run by a financial company, or a unit investment trust fund you can access through a bank.

MUTUAL FUNDS If directly investing in money market, stocks and bonds seems tedious, time-consuming, and baffling, consider getting into mutual funds. A mutual fund gathers together investment placements from many investors, which the fund manager then invests in money market, stocks, and bonds based on their market study. Investors can choose where it will be invested-equities, bonds (fixed income), or balanced (mixed) fund.This is also allows investors to diversify rather than just focus on one investment vehicle (to spread the risk). With a potential for good long-term growth, it has become the better alternative to Time Deposits offered by banks (which is why banks came out with their own version called the "Unit Investment Trust Fund")

TREASURY BILLS you loan your money to the government, to finance public expenses, for a short term, say 30 days a year, And are risk- free, since they carry the government’s full and unconditional guarantee, (and all the government has to do is collect money thru taxes to pay it back) interest rates can go as high as 4% per annum.

TREASURY NOTES similar to treasury bills, except that they require a longer investment-from 2 to 25 years,-but you can enjoy coupon interest payments, usually handed out in arrears, longer term equals a higher interest rate.

UNIT INVESTMENT TRUST FUNDS (UITF’S) Mutual Funds exclusively Offered by banks.

Investments should be viewed as a long-term strategy for achieving financial goals, and to build up wealth. The more you leave it alone, the more it will grow and work for you. (“Take Charge of your Money”; Citibank)

FINANCIAL PLANNING

2009-07-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

“Long-term profit planning aimed at achieving financial goals, generating greater return on assets, growth in market share, and at solving foreseeable problems.”

Businessdictionary.com

Financial Planning evolved from the old and tried (simple but effective) method of acquiring (read buying or purchasing) something priced beyond your present income, which is, you save until you have enough to afford it. (the other one is thru financing either by loan or term payments) Financial planning is just going several steps further, instead of merely purchasing something, your savings is used to help you with future expenses such as tuition fees, hospitalization, pension etc. it is called planning instead of just merely saving because you’re no longer intending to buy something, but weighing your options, utilizing different instruments, based on your present income, in order to achieve a future financial goal.

For comparison, think of fitness training, (after all, it’s your also financial health were talking about here) It is made up of several programs (endurance, strength, flexibility speed etc.) so it is with financial planning (savings investments, insurance, estate planning etc.) you could say that savings is the equivalent of a diet, investments (whose purpose is to make your money work for you-“generate greater return on assets”) is akin to resistance or strength training, and so on…each program has its own purpose, and both takes time and discipline.

And just like in fitness training, A financial planner serves as your trainer, who will prepare the right program for you based on your goals, and your budget. (A good gym instructor will prepare a program that is based on your daily physical activity or sport-which is a good reason that you should choose for both, someone with the right credentials) while your accountant, auditor/bookkeeper serves as your doctor. Of course there’s no guarantee that you won’t lose money, such as in a financial crisis (like the one we’re having now).much in the same way your doctor can’t guarantee that you won’t get sick in the future. Incidentally the financial crisis that hit in the late 90’s was called the Asian flu. Then there is the smart-ass objection-“that we’re not even sure if we might die tomorrow, so why save”? Which (in physical fitness) is the same lame excuse smokers give for not quitting.

Financial Planning is not about creating wealth, it’s about maximizing the value of the ones you already have. It’s not just about savings, but expenses as well. It’s not about predicting the future, its preparing you for it ( “solving foreseeable problems”) it’s not about making you rich, but to make you financially independent (the former has something to do with income statement, while the latter has everything to do with balance sheet).

And more importantly-it’s not just for the rich, but most specially for us, the working class, since we can never be sure if our present income will be enough to get by in the near future. It is a sad fact that most Filipinos earn barely enough to get by on a day to day basis, and therefore are too busy just trying to survive and cannot afford the luxury of financial planning, but, it is also true, that there are those who can’t afford simply because of having a wrong set of priorities when it comes to our finances. We can never tell what the future holds, which is all the more reason to prepare for it.

INVESTMENTS WE MAKE IN LIFE

2009-06-28T03:13:00.000-07:00

“The best time to invest was 20 years ago, the second best time is
NOW!”

Summer is way over and were into our second month of school, for most of us including myself, its back to the real world, in my case as in REAL, after my summer stint travelling around as a Tour Guide (part time) I was supposed to report to another part time job-teaching, unfortunately my request for additional load of subjects (FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT and ECONOMICS) was denied by CHED as I still haven’t finished my MBA, (I still have to start my 2nd Year) worst, the subject that I’ve been teaching so far (WORLD LITERATURE) is not being offered this semester due to the number of enrolees in that subject not reaching the required minimum no. of 15 students, whereas in previous semesters there would be as many as 5 sections. There really was a huge drop in enrolees at the local College where I teach, I’m not sure if the sub-prime crisis has something to do with it, or most of the new students just enrolled at other schools. So now I have only one part-time job (tour guide) and my main job, a career agent for Philamlife (also called Financial Adviser) and since It’s too late to be a pro-surfer (lol)...maybe I should start talking about the things I should have done 20…no, make that 25 years ago. I’m talking about investments. For me there are only three, and while I arrange them in order of importance, all three pretty much determines the quality of life we are going to have.

They are:

1.) Health
2.) Education
3.) Financial

All three have also three things in common-
All three have their own misconceptions.
They are all easy to get into, but take a lot of discipline and will power to keep on, after all, contrary to popular notion, all three are a continuing process (or haven’t you noticed?)
And most important, they all point to one direction-“your future”

HEALTH

I’m not sure if you agree with me on this, as the most important investment you’ll ever make, this is one area in which the sum total is greater than its parts. While a complete program may involve four (or more) regimen (endurance, strength, flexibility, speed) the end result not only improves physical performance, but mental and psychological as well (better attitude, self-confidence, resistance to diseases, etc.your healthy body-healthy mind stuff) indeed, this is the most important because it contains the three foods: food for the body, food for the mind, and more importantly-food for the soul.

EDUCATION

This one I’m sure most of us can agree on, we also agree that, this takes place inside and outside the classroom, with the one taking place outside the classroom being the most important, since this also includes our home where character is being developed, and we all know how character takes the most major role in defining who we are, our relationships, career etc. and finally we all agree this is a never ending process, and the day we stop learning is the day we stop growing.

FINANCIAL

Everyone’s favourite among the three because of it’s main topic (money), and yet is the most misunderstood, and overrated. Misunderstood and maybe misinformed because everyone think it’s about getting rich, and everyone has his/her ideas what to do about it, and yet only few actually do something about it, overrated because those who do, place it above the other two, which is why when finally they actually end up being rich, even filthy rich, they’re so stressed out, that they actually cannot enjoy the money they have accumulated.

It’s no coincidence that I’m directly involved with all three, as an athlete/coach, teacher, and of course my main job. If I must admit one regret in life, it is that I wish had started it earlier. Going back to the best time to invest (20 years ago) can you imagine how your life might have turned out if you did, and if you’re one of those who did, can you imagine your life now if you didn’t?

GOODBYE MICHAEL JACKSON!

2009-06-26T00:51:00.000-07:00

There are those who remember Michael Jackson as a good singer/dancer more famous for his outrageous clothes and antics, and of course the controversy he generated, and there are those like me who remember him as an extremely talented artist whose contribution to the music industry is so immense that it probably change the landscape forever.

I remember Michael Jackson more as someone who revolutionised MTV, prior to him, MTV was nothing more than a filler film that showed an artist doing a song and dance piece. But Michael Jackson working with such varied talents as Eddie Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Eddie Murphy, to famed directors such as John Carpenter to Martin Scorsese, came up with such productions that his MTV presentation is actually a short story/movie in itself. Just watch (again) any of his music videos, and you’ll know what I mean. I do not mourn the man, but the passing of a great artist. His title of “King of Pop” is well deserved, FAREWELL TO THE KING!

DEAR PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES (INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE)DA

2009-06-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown of the economy, your Government has decided to implement a scheme to put workers 50 years of age and older on early retirement. This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire Aged People Early).

Persons selected to be RAPED can apply to the government to be eligible for the SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination).

Persons who have been RAPED and SHAFTED will be reviewed under the SCREW program (Scheme Covering Retired Early Workers).

A person may be RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWED as many times as the government deems appropriate.

Only persons who have been RAPED can get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependants & Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance). Obviously, persons who have AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by the government.

Persons who are not RAPED and are staying on will receive as much SHlT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible. The government has always prided itself in the amount of SHlT it gives out. Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHlT, please bring this to the attention of either your Governor, Congressman, or local Mayor. They have been trained to give you all the SHlT you can Handle

OR: You can be active and fight for meaningful change-it's all up to you, after all, there are 3 types of people:

Those who make things happen

Those who watch things happen

And those who wonder-What happen?

What type are you?

(forwarded email)

LADIES, GIRLS, BEWARE OF THE 2 WAY MIRROR

2009-05-20T06:22:00.000-07:00

Can you tell a mirror whether it is in fact an ordinary mirror or 2-way glass? I thought it was quite interesting! This is not to scare you, but to make you aware.

A policewoman travels all over the US gives seminars and techniques for businesswomen and passes this information.

When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc., how many of you know for sure that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror (i.e., they can see you, but you can't see them)?

There have been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in female changing rooms, CR's, Boarding houses, and Ladies Dorms. It is very difficult to identify the surface by just looking at it. So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty what type of mirror we are looking at?

Just conduct this simple test:

Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror. However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE, FOR IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR!

So remember, every time you see a Mirror, do the 'fingernail test.' It doesn't cost you anything.

Remember: 'No Space, Leave the Place'

Ladies: Share this with your girlfriends, sisters, daughters, etc.

Men: Share this with your wives, daughters, daughters-in- law, mothers, girlfriends and friends

YOUR NETWORK DETERMINES YOUR NET WORTH

2009-05-18T05:50:00.000-07:00

It's the Network
By Justin Pinkerman

There's no denying that we've fallen into precarious economic times. Expect a lot of job loses and lay-offs in the coming days, as companies close shop or downsize.
No matter how penniless you feel right now, there's one investment you can't afford to overlook. At a time when no one's buying, there's something you must build. In a world where budgets are tight, you can't skimp on this line item. What is it, you ask?

As the Verizon slogan says, "It's the network."

In his book, Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi wrote about the safety net provided by a robust network of social connections.
"Experience will not save you in hard times, nor will hard work or talent. If you need a job, money, advice, help, hope, or a means to make a sale, there's only one surefire, fail-safe place to find them - within your extended circle of friends and associates."

We would do well to worry less about empty pocketbooks and more about empty rolodexes. When threatened by scarcity, it's natural to zero in on money management, but we should be equally concentrated on managing connections within our network.
Unfortunately, the word "networking" often conjures up negative stereotypes. We've been fed misconceptions about networking, and these false impressions make it hard for us to see the true value of our relationships. Let's debunk the popular myths of networking one by one.

COMMON NETWORKING MYTHS

Myth #1: Networking is for self-promoting schmoozers.
Networking isn't solely the realm of desperate job seekers or overeager socializers. Nor do you have to hand out business cards like candy in order to network. Networking simply involves making mutual connections, and everyone benefits by forming them. By tapping into our connections, we can share ideas, pass along opportunities, and benefit from one another's expertise.

Myth #2: Network is only for salespeople or outgoing personalities.
You may not be a salesperson and you may not be outgoing, but you can't deny that business, at its core, is founded upon relationships. Regardless of your position or personality, you'd be wise to intentionalize your social interactions. If you neglect your network, you'll be isolated when your life hits a rough patch. Conversely, if you cultivate your network, you'll be buoyed by support whenever hard times come your way.

Myth #3: Networking, by nature, is uncomfortable, forced, and contrived.
We tend to imagine networking as speed dating awkwardly applied to the professional level. Nothing could be more inaccurate. The best networkers authentically share themselves (their talents, knowledge, resources) to benefit others. This can happen casually and genuinely, both at work and in informal atmospheres.

Myth#4: Networking is for young people
The most common misconception or myth, (when I say old I mean the 35 years old and above, of course you is the 34 below,) take a look at every social networking page, there’s always a search icon, and that’s because we’ve made more friends than the average young networker, our lives are now in chapters and it’s the people we’ve met that defines those chapters, our high school or college crushes, or we want to reconnect with our old buddies, especially the one who’s made SVP . And we’re now so self assured that we don’t turn down requests to add as contacts, and too polite we acknowledge and thank those who visit our sites too.

THE FINAL WORD
The economic slump reminds us of the transient nature of our jobs and our wealth, and makes us appreciate the relationships we have. In hard times, we can't afford to retreat into a shell; we have to reach out more than ever to lift each other up. Although the concept of networking has been tainted by misconceptions, wise leaders know to prioritize relationships, recognizing them as the surest sources of prosperity and stability.

"The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity."
~ Keith Ferrazzi

"Always recognize that human beings are ends, and do not use them as means to your ends."
~ Immanuel Kant

"Your network determines your net worth."
~ Anonymous

Top 10 online social networks
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:50:00 02/21/2009

DISCLAIMER: This is a list of the top 10 social networks but the order can vary, depending on the source of the information. This list, however, will give you an idea about the top social networking websites being visited by people worldwide.

Facebook. A fast-growing social networking website, it recently surpassed MySpace in terms of subscribers. In terms of number of visits (1.2 billion in January 2009 alone), this website is No. 1.
I would also like it very much if you could add me as contact, I have a facebook, multiply and friendster account-Nards Go

MySpace. This website attracts music lovers. From indie bands to professional artists, you can find them here. But since it’s older than Facebook, this website is fast slipping in the ranking. To date, it has more than 250 million registered users.

Twitter. This microblogging, social networking service allows people to send friends 140-character messages, similar to what we can send via our mobile phone’s SMS feature. If we’re going to look at the numbers from compete.com, 54 million people worldwide visit this website every month.

Flixster. A social network site for movie lovers. Enough said. Also a fast-growing site that has over 53 million visitors a month.

Linkedin. People joke that this website is the most formal and “boring” social network out there because it targets professionals wanting to connect with other professionals. But based on compete.com, it has been getting 42 million visitors every month. This is a social network for businesses, too.

Tagged. Tagged you’re it. No, not really but next time you get a spam invitation from tagged.com, then perhaps you’re one of the 39 million monthly visitors to this social networking website.

Classmates.com. It is the first and oldest social networking website for students. It is still getting about 35 million visitors a month.

hi5. This is popular in Angola, Portugal, Cyprus, Romania, Thailand, Central Africa and Latin America. And it’s open to users 13 years old and older. This website has over 9 million visitors and about 80 million registered users.

Friendster. Did you know that a large number of Friendster users are Filipinos? Yes, this social networking website, which has more than 7 million monthly visitors, has over 90 million registered users. It’s popular in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and of course, the Philippines.

Orkut. Google’s own social networking website is popular in Brazil, Paraguay, India, Pakistan and Estonia. It has over 67 million registered users and about 5 million monthly visitors.

The list goes on.

It also changes very quickly.

ARE YOU TIRED OF WORKING?

2009-04-30T18:33:00.001-07:00

The year is made up of 365 days, each having 24 hours. Of which night time

add up to a total of 182 days. This leaves 183 days to work minus 52 Sundays

which leaves you with 131 days to work, minus 52 Saturdays, which leaves

you with 79 days to work. But there are 4 hours each day set aside for eating

which adds up to 60 days, which leaves you 19 days for working. But you are

entitled to 15 days leave, which means you have 4 days left for work minus 3

days usually taken off due to illness, and other emergencies. This leaves you

just 1 day to work which just happens to fall on Labor Day-A holiday.

So, why are you tired?

Your Option: Resign

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

Source: CARAGA Regional Hospital, Personnel Services, Surigao City

ARE YOU TIRED OF WORKING?

2009-04-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

THE POWER OF SILENCE

2009-04-08T06:09:00.000-07:00

"True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."
- William Penn

Renewing a Forgotten Virtue
By Alex Green

What would you most like to leave to your kids some day? A house... a business... some money?

If so, there is plenty of good advice out there about what to do and how to do it. (A good starting point, in my view, is Warren Buffet’s suggestion to leave your children enough money so that they could do what they want, but not so much that they could do nothing.)
There are more important things we can leave them, however. Plato said, "Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence."
Reverence means understanding human limitations. It's a feeling of respect for what lies beyond our control: nature, truth, fate, death.

It's also an attitude of acceptance toward life and our fellow human beings, flawed as we may be. Reverence underlies the grace and civility that make life in society bearable and pleasant. It reminds us what's important, what's sacred, what's worth protecting.

Reverence is as old as civilization itself, perhaps older. Writing in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., the Greek historian Thucydides called it a cardinal virtue, existing universally across all cultures.
Moreover, irreverence makes it difficult to respect those who are weaker: children, prisoners, the poor, the elderly.
Many equate reverence with religiosity. Yet this is not always the case.
In Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue, Paul Woodruff writes, "Reverence is not faith, because the faithful may hold their faith with arrogance and self-satisfaction, and the reverent may not know what to believe. ... If your form of worship or faith is reverent, so much the better. You know one place to look for reverence. But you should look further, so that you can see how you might share reverence with people who do not worship with you or share your faith."

Throughout history, religion and reverence have often gone their separate ways. Taken to extremes, religious beliefs sometimes engender just the opposite: intolerance, guilt, fear, ignorance, zealotry, and hatred.
In the West today, however, most of us live peaceably beside those with different beliefs. What the devout admire in other religions, however, is not faith, since they reject most of its content, but rather reverence, that universal sense of wonder, respect, and humility.

Some experience reverence in organized worship, in community with others. Others discover it outdoors, enjoying the glories of nature. Still others may experience it with music.
Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's St. Paul oratorio, Bach's Mass in B Minor, and many other classical and choral masterpieces were clearly inspired by a deep sense of reverence - and, centuries later, still bring that spirit to life.
Yet something else comes closer to capturing the true spirit of reverence: silence.
"Do you imagine the universe is agitated?" asked Lao Tzu a few thousand years ago. "Go into the desert at night and look at the stars. This practice should answer the question."

A quiet mind, freed from a noisy environment and the onslaught of continuous thought, has long been a signpost of spiritual development.
In Christianity and Judaism, there is the silence of contemplative prayer. In Islam, the Sufis wrote about the wisdom of finding silence within. Hinduism, the source of yoga, emphasizes the importance of silence for inner growth. Buddhists believe that silent meditation is the path to enlightenment. For Quakers, silence makes up much of the service, allowing for the development of heart and mind.
Secular philosophers and other writers have advocated its benefits, as well.
Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I like the silent church before the service begins better than any preaching."

Humanist Aldous Huxley observed, "Silence is as full of potential wisdom and wit as the unhewn marble of great sculpture."
Claude Debussy even reminded listeners that music is found in the space between the notes. Avant-garde composer John Cage took this idea to an extreme. His composition 4'33" consists of just over four and a half minutes of complete silence. (To this day, it's the only piece I can play on the violin.)
Silence opens us to the experience of reverence. Yet many today lead noisier lives than ever. Some choose to live near busy highways and airports. Restaurants and retail stores blast rock and country music non-stop. A study conducted by Pennsylvania State University found that urban teenagers listen to four and a half hours of pop and rap music a day. In our homes, radio and television broadcasts are punctuated with a steady stream of commercial messages at trumped up volumes.
This creates frustration and anxiety, especially for innocent bystanders. In The Happiness Hypothesis, psychology professor Jonathan Haidt writes that "noise, especially noise that is variable or intermittent, interferes with concentration and increases stress. It's worth striving to remove sources of noise in your life."
Sensible advice. Yet Matthew Kelly believes there is another reason we choose noisy environments: Silence reveals our weaknesses to us, our shortcomings.

In The Rhythm of Life, Kelly writes, "In the silence, we see at one time the person we are and the person we are capable of becoming. ... It is precisely for this reason that we fill our lives with noise, to distract ourselves from the challenge to change."
We can fix this, however. We can hit the off button, walk outside, visit a chapel, or take a quiet drive in the country. If you really can't escape the barking dogs, screaming kids, or NFL football, do yourself a favor and buy a pair of noise-canceling headphones. (Trust me, they're worth it.)
A few days ago, I took my five-year-old son David on a hike up to Humpback Rocks, an outcropping about half a mile above the Blue Ridge Parkway that offers an awe-inspiring view of the Shenandoah Valley, especially near sunset.
As we neared the summit, I stopped. "Listen," I said. "What do you hear?"
He looked around the trail and up at the treetops. There was no traffic, no sound, not even the wind. He shrugged and said "Nothing."
"Isn't it great?" I asked.
He glanced up to make sure I wasn't kidding, then looked around again, listening.
"Yeah," he said, exhaling. "It is."

TWO DIFFERENT STORIES, ONE LESSON: COURAGE

2009-04-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

There are 2 stories here.
The last line of the 2nd story tells it all. Two Stories - BOTH TRUE

STORY NUMBER ONE

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the e conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.

Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.

He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface " Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of 20 gunfire shots on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read:

"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."

STORY NUMBER TWO

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.

He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.

He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.

His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.

The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenceless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.

Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft
This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.

WHAT EVERY WOMAN NEEDS TO KNOW

2009-03-13T05:54:00.000-07:00

"Cancer is a word, not a sentence."
- John Diamond

Enough of the Grim Statistics
By Melanie Segala

Breast cancer. The very words strike fear into women everywhere. And for good reason. In 2008, according to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 182,460 women were diagnosed with and 40,480 women died of the disease.
With such alarming statistics, it's tragic that most women just wait until a self-exam or mammogram shows an unusual lump in the breast. By then, the cancer has taken hold and it becomes a life or death battle for survival.

That's why I did a double-take when I read Dr. James LaValle's article, "Breast Cancer - Real Prevention," that appeared in the November 4 issue of Total Health Breakthroughs. His advice could save countless lives if it is read and understood by women everywhere.

As Dr. LaValle explained in the article, "Most breast cancer is determined by how estrogen is metabolized in the body and whether it is balanced by adequate levels of progesterone."

Knowing this - and taking the appropriate steps - means that you may never be involved in this fight for your life. Because with the proper testing and nutrition, the cancer won't have the opportunity to develop in the first place.
In brief, here's what you need to pass on to your mother, your sisters, and your friends...

Have your estradiol, estrogen metabolites, and progesterone levels tested. If you have a progesterone deficiency, you are at least four times more likely to develop breast cancer. If testing shows you are deficient in this hormone, there are several bio-identical - not synthetic - progesterone creams available without a prescription that can be recommended by a healthcare professional.

Estrogen testing will let you know whether your body is breaking down estradiol, your primary estrogen, into safe or dangerous metabolites. For instance, 2OH (one of the metabolites of estradiol) actually inhibits breast cancer. But 4OH and 16OH increase your risks, so you don't want to see those levels elevated.

The good news is that you can encourage your body to make more good estrogen while getting rid of the bad stuff simply by maintaining healthy gut flora and modifying your diet to include more antioxidant-rich and omega-3 foods and fewer carbs. As Laura LaValle, nutrition counselor and Director of Dietetics Nutrition at LaValle

Metabolic Institute, explains, the insulin resistance and inflammation caused by carbs significantly increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and breast cancer.
You might not be aware that your thyroid plays a role in breast health too. If you have an underactive thyroid or thyroid antibodies (autoimmune thyroiditis), your body may not be making enough NK (natural killer) cells - the immune cells that search out cancer cells and destroy them. That's why it's vitally important to have your thyroid checked regularly.

This brings me to an important question: Did you realize that it is in your power to dramatically reduce your risk of breast cancer by balancing your hormones and eating a nutritious diet? If you're like me, the answer is no. I believed it was fate or genetics that determined whether or not I would be faced with a breast cancer crisis.
And, like millions of women, I thought that a yearly mammogram (and waiting for the bad news) was the most I could do to protect myself from this horrific disease. But not anymore. Thanks to what I learned from Dr. LaValle, hormone and thyroid testing will now be part of my yearly checkup.

I can't even imagine how many lives could have been saved if women had been properly educated about real breast cancer prevention by the medical establishment and media. But we don't need to wait any longer. We can carry this message to women everywhere, and together we can reverse the killer statistics.
Let's put breast cancer behind us, once and for all.

Melanie Segala is the Managing Editor of natural health newsletter, Total Health Breakthroughs. She invites you to learn more about cutting-edge strategies for healthy living and disease prevention from today's leading health and wellness experts.

FINANCIAL MARKETS: WHERE TO NOW?

2009-02-19T18:09:00.001-08:00

By Aurelio O. Angeles
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:20:00 10/12/2008

THE US GOVERNMENT HAS APPROVED the bailout. Where to now?
The bailout is a temporary relief to a disorder and malaise brought about by a century of unprecedented economic growth alongside growing errors and unrestrained character flaws.

Unless we know the root causes that brought about this disorder, we would be like a doctor providing aspirin to a patient with a high fever and severe headache.
The US stock markets may indeed recover by 100 points for a week; a huge sigh of relief is heard from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to the Philippine Stock Exchange; those in government who have been heavily engaged in financial speculations may now be jumping with joy.

But what next? What is the big picture in all this?

There are two sides to the economy.

First, there is the real economy which produces real goods and services to satisfy human needs placed in a hierarchy by Abraham Maslow.
The growth of business in the real economay results in savings.
At first, these savings were small and were hidden under mattresses. As wealth accumulated from all sectors in the economy through the years, banks were formed to serve as depository of these savings as well as as a source of funds for those in business.

The accumulation of wealth from centuries of economic growth brought about the proliferation of all types of banks, insurance services, investment bankers, fund managers, mutual funds, hedge funds, etc. This became the second side of the economy—the financial markets.

As working men created wealth, a purse keeper accumulated and secured their wealth.
The existence of these financial markets had clearly one purpose—to serve the real economy and people by gathering their savings and making this capital available back to the real economy and to people at less cost.
Leaders in the financial markets saw that this purpose was good.
And they said, “Let us create more financial services to the real economy and provide capital requirements and liquidity for those in need.”
Thus, they conceptualized the idea of the corporation, legislated it as a form of business and developed the concept of shares of stocks, debentures and preferred shares. They also created bonds, treasury notes and bills, foreign exchange as vehicles for moving people’s savings.
And they saw that it was good. And they said, “Let us now put up stock exchanges where corporations could raise funds to expand operations and where people with excess funds could invest their savings with greater yield. And they were extremely happy for being of such great service to the economy and for making money in the process.

So long as financial markets operators were focused on this purpose, to serve the real economy, their relationship had symbiotic benefits.

But the 20th century severely changed that focus.

Deviations started to appear. Instead of serving the real economy, financial markets developed strategies to serve themselves at the expense of the real economy.

The first visible sign of deviation was the collapse of the US stock market that started on Oct. 21, 1929 and continued on till Oct. 29, 1929—the Great Wall Street Crash.

There are interesting events in this crash that echo in current events.
The following data comes from Jeremy Kingston and David Lambert’s book, “Catastrophe and Crisis,” published by Aldus Books Ltd. in 1979.

First, the economy before the crash seemed to be booming, people had easy access to money and people were living in prosperity.

According to the book, “this availability of money was one of the reasons for the boom. Shares in the climbing market could be bought on margin—that is to say, the buyer paid the broker only a small portion of the cost of the share, the difference being made up with money borrowed by the broker from a bank and loaned to the buyer.”

Second, the engine of growth was the culture of getting rich quick.

The book states: “It is an unhappy fact of speculative buying that when prices are rising fast, whether the rises occur in land, or shares, or even tulip bulbs, people cease to look for the reason why they are rising. The items may be intrinsically worthless but what counts is that they can be resold at a profit—sometimes a very great profit.
In 1928 and 1929, Americans became dazzled by the real possibility of becoming very rich very quickly.”

Third, in the initial shakeouts and downturns that happened before the 1929 Crash, the chairman of the powerful National City Bank, Charles E. Mitchell, offered to lend $20 million “to avoid any dangerous crisis in the money market.”

According to the book, “Mitchell, who was speculating heavily, had strong reasons for wanting the boom to continue, and his words rallied the market. (Five years later, Mitchell was arrested and tried on charges of tax evasion.)”

Black Thursday

Fourth, on Oct. 24th, Black Thursday, as stock prices were falling like lead, the vice president of the stock exchange “walked onto the floor as representative of the banker’s pool and bought heavily in 20 assorted stocks.”
“Again, the volatile market recovered ... But Tuesday Oct. 29 was the most devastating day in the history of the American Stock Exchange ... Even after Oct. 29, the market went on falling. It reached its lowest level of the year on Nov. 13th.”
What happened to the man, Richard Whitney? He was later tried and sentenced for misappropriating stock exchange funds.

Fifth, when rich and poor people plant unbridled selfishness, they harvest ruin alike.

The book continues: “Men who had called themselves millionaires a week before were now irretrievably ruined. Large fortunes, small savings, all wiped out ... Billions of dollars worth of profit—some real, some paper—had vanished, and the office clerk, the chauffeur, the window cleaner, the salesman had lost all their capital.”

Sixth, note the month and dates of the crash—Oct. 21 to 29.”

Another sign of deviation is the government regulation allowing short selling of stocks.
Shorting is an investment strategy in a declining market when an investor sells stocks he does not own at a certain price and later buys them in the market when prices, he speculates, will fall lower than his selling price.
The difference in price is his profit. The lower the buying price turns out to be, the greater will his profit be. He wins when the market goes down in a tailspin.
Another deviation is the creation of Futures Exchange that promotes selling and buying of contracts for speculative purposes and allowing financial intermediaries or their conduits to play the game.
For example, a buyer agrees in April 2008 to buy from a seller an oil contract at an agreed price, say $110 per barrel for future delivery in June 2008. Under this arrangement, the buyer and seller of oil may not actually be in the oil business, have no intention of receiving, delivering or keeping actual stocks of oil and have no actual need for oil.

They are in the business of speculating on the selling and buying of paper contracts—derivatives. The prices that are transacted are based on the volume of buys and sells for the paper derivatives, not on the demand and supply of the actual oil commodity by mankind.

The same goes for buys and sells of foreign currency futures, interest rate futures, stock index futures and many other exotic types of investments.
These derivatives are traded in futures exchanges, the most notable among them are Chicago Mercantile Exchange and New York Mercantile Exchange.

Deviation

The most recent example of deviation is, of course, the buy and sell of financial papers called collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO) that brought about the subprime crisis in the US property sector and the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Media interestingly attributes the cause of the entire present crisis in the economy entirely on the subprime debacle in the property sector.
However, this may not be so and the subprime crisis may just be a cover-up for a grosser fiasco and shame for financial intermediaries—their losses in highly speculative deals in the commodity, currency and stocks futures markets.

What is the ultimate purpose of financial intermediaries in the economy?

First, banks, insurance companies, fund managers and investment bankers are fiduciary trustees of savings accumulated by industries from centuries of serving the needs of people.
They are supposed to keep these savings, not lose them.
When Citibank, Morgan Stanley, AIG and hundreds of other financial intermediaries write off hundreds of billions of dollars of bad investments in a period of less than a year, they have spilled the milk of human endeavor gathered by hundred millions of workers throughout history.

Second, as trustees, financial market operators serve not just the investors who hand them their savings but also the real economy that produced the businesses that resulted in these savings.
The obligation of financial market operators ultimately is anchored to the fundamentals of protecting and promoting the interests of the real economy that brought about their existence in the first place.

Third, the financial markets are NOT the engine of growth in any economy. The engine of growth is the real economy—the world’s billions of people, past and present, who produce goods and services to satisfy man’s hierarchy of needs.
Believing otherwise would lead people to rush to exchanges and buy and sell paper certificates whose values swing up and down with the varying degrees of exhilaration, hysteria and back-room manipulation in the markets.

Asset bubble

Or, this belief may encourage players in the real economy to borrow for projects that will end up in bubble bursting just because interest rates are cheap, as in the 1997 Asian crisis.

Fourth, in formulating investment strategies, financial operators must come back to the original purpose for which financial intermediaries have been created—to serve the real economy and people and to make these savings readily available back to the real economy and to people at less cost.

The fact is, there is decent money to be made in this honorable role, as has been made in at least the past millennium.

Conclusions

These principles inevitably lead us to the following conclusions in bringing back confidence and growth in the economy.
First, the cause of the financial crisis takes its roots in the abandonment by the financial intermediaries of their raison d’etre, their original and true purpose of existence in the economy.
Trillions of dollars of the world’s savings earned through centuries of work are placed in the hands of a powerful and brilliant few. They in turn channel these savings in stocks, futures, currency exchanges as well as securitized papers. They may even create separate conduits and entities for this purpose and register them in the Bahamas to escape supervision and taxes.
If the real economy is not directly benefited from these investments and the financial market operators deprive the real economy easy access to funds because they make easier money from speculative investments, then they would be betraying their raison d’etre.

If the increase in the values of these investments depend ultimately on the weather, greed, get-rich-quick culture, human exhilaration or despondency, or mass hysteria, then they would be betraying their cause for being as fiduciary trustees of other people’s money.
If financial intermediaries are allowed to place the world’s savings in these investments, it would be like allowing your CFO to divert company funds from your usual operations and to “invest” them instead by playing roulette in the casino just because your CFO happens to be outstanding at numbers with a brilliant mind for probabilities.

Real story

Well, this is the story of the 2008 financial crisis. And the magnitude of the losses have been so staggering that the US Congress had to enact a bailout law.
Second, the bailout law of the US Congress must address the abandonment by financial intermediaries of their original purpose of existence and provide sanctions and penalties on violators.
If this is not addressed, it would be like providing a fresh amount of $700 billion to your same CFO to save the company by playing in the same roulette where he failed miserably.
No one can have confidence in that arrangement.

Third, the specific solutions to the crisis may lay between the theories of John Maynard Keynes who advocated the desirability of government intervention in the economy and of Milton Friedman who argued for the opposite.
In any case, the solution to the crisis needs to be insulated from greedy people, both in private and government sectors who will use Keynes or Friedman for their selfish motives. As they say, even the devil can quote the Bible.
It is a wonder how many of those who voted on the issue of the bailout in the US Congress belonged to the realm of the devil.

Finally, to bring back confidence in the economy and in turn in the financial markets, the real economy in the world must grow, provide employment and control inflation.

It is the real economy that gave life to the financial markets. It will be the same real economy that will bring back life to the financial markets. The financial markets cannot save themselves.

Relevant strategies

The time may come when the government will stop spending its resources on saving the financial markets from the cost of their errors, will mark them as sunk costs and will move on to the more productive endeavor of building up the real economy as a way to build up the financial markets.

It is time to study in greater depth the relevance to our times the strategies of President Franklin Roosevelt in overcoming the US Depression that came immediately after the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
This is a very sad commentary on the recent financial crisis: The financial markets with the wealth of nations, technology and influence in their hands succeeded in engineering securitized certificates and highly complex financial instruments in the exchange but failed to use this same wealth, technology and influence in increasing production, providing innovation and generating aggregate demand in the real economy throughout the world.

The common explanation is this: It is far more convenient, surer and faster to make money on derivatives in the exchange than to make money by putting up factories, research labs, roads, bridges and airports around the world.

And this is the irony of being rich.

When a man gets to be one, he loses his sight of the fact that he became rich by serving people, by making his customers number one and by exploring unchartered frontiers where other customers abound.
As he masters the time value of money, he figures he will make faster money in the exchange rather than in the exchange of real goods and services in the real economy.
He loses his touch of the opportunities that abound in the teaming population of Third World countries and underdeveloped economies where the demand for food, clothing, housing, education, infrastructure, transportation, information and communication technology, health and science facilities are boundless.

But people create demand. A billion people means a billion-people demand.
What is needed is to trigger the supply to satisfy this demand. The process of matching supply with demand creates opportunities, employment, income and purchasing power. These are created not just in underdeveloped economies but in the advanced markets where this capital—money, technology and education, machinery—comes from.
There is no bubble in that demand, no bubble in that supply, unlike the demand and supply of securitized papers.

New capitalism

This is the new capitalism that has just simply returned to its roots—serving the needs of the real economy and people of the Third World and underdeveloped sectors of the economy.

Have you wondered, for example, about the role of the Thomasites on our economic development when they introduced American education in the Philippines at the break of 1900s?
Let the financial intermediaries who hold the wealth of nations in their hands apply their brilliance in engineering the development and matching of this demand and supply in Third World countries and underdeveloped sectors of economies.
The era of the financial derivatives for self-serving and self-seeking investors has burst in bubbles and must now come to an end.

We have arrived at the new frontiers of capitalism. And there is real money to be made in them for all.

LOVE’S IN THE HEAD, NOT THE HEART

2009-02-14T03:29:00.000-08:00

So now we don’t call it broken hearted anymore, but brain damaged..and the songs "Going out of my head (over you)" and "Head over heels" makes sense after all.

Philippine Star: February 13, 2009

WASHINGTON – Like any young woman in love, Bianca Acevedo has exchanged Valentine hearts with her fiancé.
But the New York neuroscientist knows better. The source of love is in the head, not the heart.

She is one of the researchers in a relatively new field focused on explaining the biology of romantic love. And the unpoetic explanation is that love mostly can be understood through brain images, hormones and genetics.

That seems to be the case for the newly in love, the long in love and the brokenhearted.

“It has a biological basis. We know some of the key players,” said Larry Young of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta. There, he studies the brains of an unusual monogamous rodent to get a better clue about what goes on in the minds of people in love.

In humans, there are four tiny areas of the brain that some researchers say form a circuit of love.
Acevedo, who works at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, is part of a team that has isolated those regions with the unromantic names of ventral tegmental area (VTA), the nucleus accumbens, the ventral pallidum and raphe nucleus.
The hot spot is the teardrop-shaped VTA. When people newly in love were put in a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine and shown pictures of their beloved, the VTA lit up. Same for people still madly in love after 20 years.

The VTA is part of a key reward system in the brain.

“These are cells that make dopamine and send it to different brain regions,” said Helen Fisher, a researcher and professor at Rutgers University. “This part of the system becomes activated because you’re trying to win life’s greatest prize – a mating partner.”
One of the research findings isn’t so complimentary: Love works chemically in the brain like a drug addiction.
“Romantic love is an addiction; a wonderful addiction when it is going well, a horrible one when it is going poorly,” Fisher said.

“People kill for love. They die for love.”

The connection to addiction “sounds terrible,” Acevedo acknowledged. “Love is supposed to be something wonderful and grand, but it has its reasons. The reason I think is to keep us together.”

But sometimes love does not keep us together. So the scientists studied the brains of the recently heartbroken and found additional activity in the nucleus accumbens, which is even more strongly associated with addiction.
“The brokenhearted show more evidence of what I’ll call craving,” said Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist also at Einstein medical college. “Similar to craving the drug cocaine.”

The team’s most recent brain scans were aimed at people married about 20 years who say they are still holding hands, lovey-dovey as newlyweds, a group that is a minority of married people. In these men and women, two more areas of the brain lit up, along with the VTA: the ventral pallidum and raphe nucleus.

The ventral pallidum is associated with attachment and hormones that decrease stress; the raphe nucleus pumps out serotonin, which “gives you a sense of calm,” Fisher said.

Those areas produce “a feeling of nothing wrong. It’s lower-level happiness and it’s certainly rewarding,” Brown said.

The scientists say they study the brain in love just to understand how it works, as well as for more potentially practical uses.

The research could eventually lead to pills based on the brain hormones which, with therapy, might help troubled relationships, although there are ethical issues, Young said. His bonding research is primarily part of a larger effort aimed at understanding and possibly treating social-interaction conditions such as autism. And Fisher is studying brain chemistry that could explain why certain people are attracted to each other. She’s using it as part of a popular Internet matchmaking service for which she is the scientific adviser.

While the recent brain research is promising, University of Hawaii psychology professor Elaine Hatfield cautions that too much can be made of these studies alone. She said they need to be meshed with other work from traditional psychologists.
Brain researchers are limited because there is only so much they can do to humans without hurting them. That’s where the prairie vole – a chubby, short-tailed mouse like creature – comes in handy. Only 5 percent of mammals more or less bond for life, but prairie voles do, Young said.

Scientists studied voles to figure out what makes bonding possible. In females, the key bonding hormone is oxytocin, also produced in both voles and humans during childbirth, Young said.

When scientists blocked oxytocin receptors, the female prairie voles didn’t bond.
In males, it’s vasopressin. Young put vasopressin receptors into the brains of meadow voles – a promiscuous cousin of the prairie voles – and “those guys who should never, ever bond with a female, bonded with a female.”
Researchers also uncovered a genetic variation in a few male prairie voles that are not monogamous – and found it in some human males, too.
Those men with the variation ranked lower on an emotional bonding scale, reported more marital problems, and their wives had more concerns about their level of attachment, said Hasse Walum, a biology researcher in Sweden. It was a small but noticeable difference, Walum said.

Scientists figure they now know better how to keep those love circuits lit and the chemicals flowing.

Young said that romantic love theoretically can be simulated with chemicals, but “if you really want to get the relationship spark back, then engage in the behavior that stimulates the release of these molecules and allow them to stimulate the emotions,” he said. That would be hugging, kissing, intimate contact.

“My wife tells me that flowers work as well. I don’t know for sure,” Young said. “As a scientist it’s hard to see how it stimulates the circuits, but I do know they seem to have an effect. And the absence of them seems to have an effect as well.” - AP

HAPPY VALENTINE'S TO ALL!

INVESTMENT STRATEGIES FOR RELATIONSHIPS

2009-02-13T04:58:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of Valentine's I'd like to share an investment advice we all could use, over an investment we all make sometime in our lives. just like other investments this is not risk-free, however the rewards more than make up for the consequence and risk by a wide margin, and this one is not dictated by the financial markets (sub-prime be damned)

From Slot Machine to Stock Market: Investment Strategies for Relationships
By Dr. John C. Maxwell

In the early years of my career, I did not have a correct view of life. I approached life as if it were a slot machine. I wanted to put as little as possible into it, and I always hoped to hit the jackpot. I'm embarrassed to say that I often had a similar approach in my interaction with people. I was more focused on what people could do for me than what I could do for them. As a result, I would try to make relational "withdrawals" without ever having made any deposits. Needless to say, I was not very successful.

As I matured, I begin to place a higher value on people. As I made this transition, I noticed a fascinating development: the more I gave to relationships, the more I seemed to gain from relationships. In my book, Winning With People, I named this phenomenon The Boomerang Principle. What you put into relationships has a way of coming back to you.

During my time in leadership, I've noticed that people fall into three broad categories with regards to how they view relationships.

1) Takers

Takers receive and never give. They are the people in life who have a me-first mentality. They try to extract as much as they can from the relationships in their lives, and they rarely, if ever, consider giving back.

2) Traders

Traders receive and then give. Traders will only send you a Christmas card, if you've mailed one to them. They picture relationships as an equation in need of balance. If someone helps them, they feel a debt of gratitude. If they aid another person, they expect a favor in return.

3) Investors

Investors give and then receive. These are the people who give purely for the joy of giving. They add value to others, not as part of a cold calculation, but as a habit. Although doing so may not earn them an instant return, in the long run they reap the gratitude and goodwill of those they have helped.

Investment Strategies for Relationships
Instead of viewing relationships as a slot machine, picture them like the stock market. To get rich, make regular deposits in people over an extended period of time. At first, you may feel like the value of what you're putting in isn't worth the investment. However, like the stock market, in the long run, you'll reap dividends and earn rewards.

1) Think "Others First"

Human nature tends to focus us on personal needs, but investing in relationships requires us to prioritize others. Instead of self-advancement, think others-enhancement. Like a responsible investor, resist the temptation to "time" the relational market, using someone only for short-term gain. That's a strategy doomed to fail. On the contrary, make a habit of adding value in relationships and trust that the long-term results will be in your favor.

2) Focus on the Investment, Not the Return

If you've ever purchased stocks personally, then you know the agony of watching the vicissitudes of the market. Like a roller coaster, your portfolio climbs up one day only to lurch down the next day. Instead of agonizing over returns, a shrewd investor focuses on making the investment. The same principle holds true in relationships. Don't expect specific and immediate benefit from your relational inputs. Through time, you'll be taken care of as long as you're willing to invest.

3) Make Educated Investments

Not all investments yield the same interest, and not all relationships produce the same reward. As a leader, make investing in others a general principle, but be deliberate about putting energy into low-risk, high-reward relationships. Seek out talented people with teachable dispositions, and offer your relational capital to those who will make the most of it.

4) Initiate the investment

A stockbroker won't hack into your bank account and invest money on your behalf. You have to be willing to take the first step. Don't be stingy with your relational investments, giving only to those who've first given to you. Rather, take responsibility for setting the tone of adding value in your relationships.

THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE AND LIES

2009-02-12T05:09:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of the season of love, let's be amusing for a while....
It helps to be deluded when you are in love, according to scientists who study how humans mate. Men and women are “designed to misconstrue, misread and misunderstand each other.” And this is good. For one, delusion helps us avoid costly mating errors. Men over-estimate women’s interest in them, so to avoid not seeing what is there (false-negative errors). We can’t afford to pass up a woman who might be interested, so we assume all women are interested. On the other hand, women overestimate men’s interest in casual sex.

They need to avoid their “false-positive errors,” Because of women’s greater investment in reproduction; their safest strategy is to be cautious and to assume ALL MEN ARE JERKS! Men and women lie to each other when they are interested, but the lies women tell tend to make them seem more faithful (that lying bitch!) while men lie about wealth or their interest in a long-term commitment.(watta jerk!) Delusion helps us stay together, too. We believe our beloved is somehow special (definitely) and our exes are all duds. (aren’t they?) The more we believe our delusions, the happier we will be, according to anthropologist Helen Fisher. So, go ahead..fool yourself and be happy. HAPPY VALENTINE'S

Source:
Men’sHealth Magazine August 2007

Career and Business Predictions for 2009

2009-01-15T17:44:00.000-08:00

Builders make plans. Entrepreneurs make goals. Gamblers make bets. Fools make predictions.

I am quite sure that some of the following predictions will make me look foolish by the end of 2009, (I’m no expert) just the same, I’d like to share with you an article by self-help guru Michael Masterson of early to rise, I have edited it to make it more compatible with my plans, and maybe I hope also with yours. Which is why I’d like to share with you a few of the actions I plan to take, business-wise, this year.

Prediction: Not only is the sub-prime crisis not over, but we will actually start to feel its effects (Recession) this year, in which case the financial markets will still be in the negative, whatever that means.

What I will do about it: Remind my clients to hang on to their investments, as this is the worst time to redeem, actually this recession is still the best argument for saving. (that’s how I look at it)

Prediction: The information industry will hold up relatively well in 2009, particularly among those businesses that give advice. Haven’t you noticed? Computer stores don’t advertise selling computers-they offer biz solutions.

What I will do about it: Remind myself that information itself is unwanted. Today consumers are looking for advice. In which case I will upgrade from being insurance and Mutual funds Agent to a financial planner, consultant or adviser, and continue to learn everything about the financial markets and being an information marketer.

Prediction: General advertising's decline will accelerate. Dozens of newspaper and magazine publishers will feel the pinch. At the same time, direct (there are a lot of them here at Multiply-take note A-frame) marketing will continue to grow, attracting some of the money formerly spent on general advertising.

What I will do about it: Continue informing pinoys about the virtues of savings through my blogs. I will also recommend to my clients who are in business that they learn more about direct marketing and consider doing business here in the net-maybe I might suggest they sign in @ multiply and see the vibrant economy going on here. (I sure hope the term “vibrant” is not an exaggeration nor a hyperbole)

Prediction: The Internet will continue to become a larger and more active medium for commercial transactions. The Great Recession will make other media – print advertising, direct mail marketing, and TV advertising (to name a few) – less economic. Businesses will continue to spend more of their budget on the Internet.

What I will do about it: Learn more about copy writing and search engine optimization (SEO) web-page design (the new visual marketing) and continue to learn about successful marketing on the Internet. I will recommend everyone to do the same.
Prediction: I saved the best for last-Despite the recession, surfing in the Philippines will continue to grow (in case you didn’t notice, its starting to be an all pinoy showdown last time at the Lanuza surf contest) more surf spots will be discovered (dunno if its good or bad) and Global warming will bring in more waves.

What I will do about it: Duuuuuuuuuuuuh!

2009 WILL BE AWESOME!

2009-01-15T00:22:00.000-08:00

By Boo Chanco

That was some year we just had. It is one year people couldn’t wait to forget. Our first working day finds us full of hope about what 2009 will bring, fully aware that the worse of 2008 isn’t quite over and will spill into 2009. Indeed many economists say we won’t see real relief on the economy until 2010 or even 2011.

After reading a lot of economic forecasts that were understandably inconclusive, I decided to have a talk with my astrologer friend. Because she could be pretty scary (she predicted among other things the explosion at Glorietta many years before it happened), I only wanted her to tell me the general lay of the land. What should we expect in 2009 given the turbulence of 2008? After our talk, I got the impression that astrology and economics share some things and I don’t just mean the ambiguity of some of their predictions and their technical language.

For one thing, astrologers and economists talk about cycles. “Z” my astrologer friend of long standing, puts it beautifully: “to study cycles is to realize that events occur within a continuum of time. Every event, in effect, carries within it the seeds of forthcoming events. The astrologer’s task is to determine the starting point of current operative cycles to know at what point in the cycle a corporation, country, or individual stands at any given moment — in order to map out the direction to which it is headed and predict the outcome of the ‘journey’.”
Economists talk of cycles in these terms: “Predictable long-term pattern changes in national income. Traditional business cycles undergo four stages: expansion, prosperity, contraction, and recession. After a recessionary phase, the expansionary phase can start again. The phases of the business cycle are characterized by changing employment, industrial productivity, and interest rates. Some economists believe that stock price trends precede business cycle stages.”

Kuya Kim explains in street language what the astrologers and economists are saying about cycles, ang buhay ay weather weather lang.

When I asked “Z” what’s in store for 2009, she explained everything in terms of “sub-cycles of crests and troughs of the various economic cycles from now till 2024 – some of which began more than a century ago and beyond.” It is in this sense that “Z” thinks 2009 will be a pivotal year — memorable and significant for the massive economic changes it will bring upon the world.

2009 will be different from 2008, “Z” explains, because numerous astrological configurations and signatures not normally seen in other years occur in 2009. According to “Z”, new cycles begin in earnest now — the very same cycles that, when they last unreeled, wrought havoc in world markets which led to the Depression in the 1930’s and precipitated World Wars I and II.

For those of us stuck in the stock market of 2008, 2009 brings only limited hope. According to “Z”, 2009 begins the waning cycle of stock exchanges and investment markets that begun its waxing phase in the early 1980s, peaked in the late 1990s, and will be completed by 2028. In other words, there may be short rallies here and there but the exuberance of the market of the last few years will no longer be experienced in the magnitude and duration that we saw. As “Z” puts it, rallies will occur but lower and lower from the levels wherein they started their descent.

In more specific terms, “Z” sees continued turmoil in world bourses and financial investment houses in 2009 — and beyond. Recovery will take longer than economic analysts, using traditional tools of predicting market movements, forecast. The parameters and models they use will be outdated and need to be discarded, “Z” says. New ways of looking at things and thinking out-of-the-box in a most drastic and revolutionary way is the only way for them to go if effective solutions are to be found at all.

“Z” does not think talking up the market will do any good. We have to go through a long dark tunnel of financial purgatory before seeing any real light of economic redemption.
“Z” also made some predictions of general trends in global terms. Globalization is over, she says, at least as the world knew it in the cycle just past. Governments will turn more insular and more concerned with providing basic necessities for its hungry, jobless, desperate masses.
“Z” sees a waning of terrorism based on religious fundamentalism because groups will worry more about survival. The fight will be for food. There will be outbreaks of hostility in the usual trouble spots where extremists operate, “Z” concedes, but these will be isolated incidents — just as it was in the past cycle.
“Z” sees more failures of banks and investment houses in the global environment, not to mention hedge funds. More revelations of accounting shenanigans and malpractice will come to light. This cycle acts as a cosmic plunger, she says. Shady, if not downright criminal, banking practices will surface — like scum. The collapse of ailing financial institutions will escalate in number and speed as the cycle runs its course. The survival of the worthy ones will be a result of something akin to Darwinian “natural selection.”
But in the face of the negatives, “Z” sees some positives. Everything, she says, will seem like bad news. But even the Depression of the 1930s (and the financial panics of late 1700s and 1800s) brought positive change to the markets and allowed the progress that brought the world the prosperity and standard of living many now enjoy.
“Z” takes a very philosophical view of transpiring events. “Seasons, as the rotation of the Earth shows, follow a rational cycle. So, now: first — Winter, the “return of the Sun.” The Earth on the Winter Solstice (longest night of the year, after which the days get longer as the earth begins its northward journey around the sun). Winter clears the ground for planting new seed. .Then, Spring: a new beginning. The evolutionary spiral is ever upwards — though sometimes it looks otherwise to those unaware of, or choose to, ignore nature’s cycles.
I have known “Z” for many years now. She was a former journalist who took an interest in astrology and took it up seriously to the point of actually taking and passing an international credentials test for it. She explained to me that astrology is mathematical but at the same time requires a keen sense of history. It is not unusual for “Z” to crosscheck her findings by doing historical research in various libraries and archives.
I decided to feature today some of the insights “Z” unselfishly shared with me not because I believe or do not believe in astrology. I am incurably curious about anything that offers an explanation of what makes the world go around. With the proper perspective, I don’t think it conflicts with my religion. After all, we yearly celebrate the feast of Three Kings, the best known astrologers in the Bible who predicted the time and place of the birth of our Savior. The Bible calls them “wise men”. If astrology was good enough then, maybe was even one of God’s ways of communicating with man, it must hold some insights too that can benefit us now.
But what is astrology doing in a business column? I know for a fact that many top businessmen consult astrologers like “Z” before making any major decisions from inaugurating an office to making a major investment to choice of partners. In a sense, there is an element of faith involved. But there is also a large element of faith involved when one takes in the stuff churned by the dismal science of economics.
Some articles about the present crisis say many economists are probably working on the wrong assumptions in their present models. That explains why they are having difficulty figuring out what’s happening and what to expect now. Quantitative models of Nobel Prize winning economists have failed spectacularly in our recent past (LTCM comes to mind). The once great Alan Greenspan himself had to apologize for being mistaken about his assumptions.

In the end, no matter how quantitative they may try to make modern economics, it is simply difficult to predict human behavior. It is no longer tenable to assume consumers will always make rational decisions on what’s best for them, as recent experience and adherents of the relatively new field of behavioral economics will tell you. The environment has drastically changed as we enter a new cycle and it is constantly changing.

Then again, I don’t claim to understand astrology and economics as well as the professionals in those fields. I just read enough of what the more knowledgeable of them say and figure out who seems to make sense and build from there.
May our New Year be a lot happier and infinitely more prosperous than the last! “Z” says it will be awesome!

THE TOP 10 NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

2009-01-13T02:43:00.000-08:00

Below is the result of a survey conducted on over 300,000 respondents worldwide. Take note that 3 of the list involves financial planning. (nos. 2, 3 and to a big extent-no.10). Actually financial planning could be applied to all of them:

1. Loose weight and get into better shape.

2. Stick to a budget

3. Reduce my debts

4. Enjoy more quality time with family and friends.

5. Find my soul mate

6. Quit smoking

7. Learn something new

8. Find a better job

9. Volunteer to help others

10. Get organized

2009 WILL BE AWESOME!

2009-01-11T05:48:00.000-08:00

By Boo Chanco

That was some year we just had. It is one year people couldn’t wait to forget. Our first working day finds us full of hope about what 2009 will bring, fully aware that the worse of 2008 isn’t quite over and will spill into 2009. Indeed many economists say we won’t see real relief on the economy until 2010 or even 2011.

After reading a lot of economic forecasts that were understandably inconclusive, I decided to have a talk with my astrologer friend. Because she could be pretty scary (she predicted among other things the explosion at Glorietta many years before it happened), I only wanted her to tell me the general lay of the land. What should we expect in 2009 given the turbulence of 2008? After our talk, I got the impression that astrology and economics share some things and I don’t just mean the ambiguity of some of their predictions and their technical language.

For one thing, astrologers and economists talk about cycles. “Z” my astrologer friend of long standing, puts it beautifully: “to study cycles is to realize that events occur within a continuum of time. Every event, in effect, carries within it the seeds of forthcoming events. The astrologer’s task is to determine the starting point of current operative cycles to know at what point in the cycle a corporation, country, or individual stands at any given moment — in order to map out the direction to which it is headed and predict the outcome of the ‘journey’.”

Economists talk of cycles in these terms: “Predictable long-term pattern changes in national income. Traditional business cycles undergo four stages: expansion, prosperity, contraction, and recession. After a recessionary phase, the expansionary phase can start again. The phases of the business cycle are characterized by changing employment, industrial productivity, and interest rates. Some economists believe that stock price trends precede business cycle stages.”

Kuya Kim explains in street language what the astrologers and economists are saying about cycles, ang buhay ay weather weather lang.

When I asked “Z” what’s in store for 2009, she explained everything in terms of “sub-cycles of crests and troughs of the various economic cycles from now till 2024 – some of which began more than a century ago and beyond.” It is in this sense that “Z” thinks 2009 will be a pivotal year — memorable and significant for the massive economic changes it will bring upon the world.

2009 will be different from 2008, “Z” explains, because numerous astrological configurations and signatures not normally seen in other years occur in 2009. According to “Z”, new cycles begin in earnest now — the very same cycles that, when they last unreeled, wrought havoc in world markets which led to the Depression in the 1930’s and precipitated World Wars I and II.

For those of us stuck in the stock market of 2008, 2009 brings only limited hope. According to “Z”, 2009 begins the waning cycle of stock exchanges and investment markets that begun its waxing phase in the early 1980s, peaked in the late 1990s, and will be completed by 2028. In other words, there may be short rallies here and there but the exuberance of the market of the last few years will no longer be experienced in the magnitude and duration that we saw. As “Z” puts it, rallies will occur but lower and lower from the levels wherein they started their descent.

In more specific terms, “Z” sees continued turmoil in world bourses and financial investment houses in 2009 — and beyond. Recovery will take longer than economic analysts, using traditional tools of predicting market movements, forecast. The parameters and models they use will be outdated and need to be discarded, “Z” says.

New ways of looking at things and thinking out-of-the-box in a most drastic and revolutionary way is the only way for them to go if effective solutions are to be found at all.

“Z” does not think talking up the market will do any good. We have to go through a long dark tunnel of financial purgatory before seeing any real light of economic redemption.
“Z” also made some predictions of general trends in global terms. Globalization is over, she says, at least as the world knew it in the cycle just past. Governments will turn more insular and more concerned with providing basic necessities for its hungry, jobless, desperate masses.

“Z” sees a waning of terrorism based on religious fundamentalism because groups will worry more about survival. The fight will be for food. There will be outbreaks of hostility in the usual trouble spots where extremists operate, “Z” concedes, but these will be isolated incidents — just as it was in the past cycle.

“Z” sees more failures of banks and investment houses in the global environment, not to mention hedge funds. More revelations of accounting shenanigans and malpractice will come to light. This cycle acts as a cosmic plunger, she says. Shady, if not downright criminal, banking practices will surface — like scum. The collapse of ailing financial institutions will escalate in number and speed as the cycle runs its course. The survival of the worthy ones will be a result of something akin to Darwinian “natural selection.”

But in the face of the negatives, “Z” sees some positives. Everything, she says, will seem like bad news. But even the Depression of the 1930s (and the financial panics of late 1700s and 1800s) brought positive change to the markets and allowed the progress that brought the world the prosperity and standard of living many now enjoy.

“Z” takes a very philosophical view of transpiring events. “Seasons, as the rotation of the Earth shows, follow a rational cycle. So, now: first — Winter, the “return of the Sun.” The Earth on the Winter Solstice (longest night of the year, after which the days get longer as the earth begins its northward journey around the sun).

Winter clears the ground for planting new seed. .Then, Spring: a new beginning. The evolutionary spiral is ever upwards — though sometimes it looks otherwise to those unaware of, or choose to, ignore nature’s cycles.

I have known “Z” for many years now. She was a former journalist who took an interest in astrology and took it up seriously to the point of actually taking and passing an international credentials test for it. She explained to me that astrology is mathematical but at the same time requires a keen sense of history. It is not unusual for “Z” to crosscheck her findings by doing historical research in various libraries and archives.

I decided to feature today some of the insights “Z” unselfishly shared with me not because I believe or do not believe in astrology. I am incurably curious about anything that offers an explanation of what makes the world go around. With the proper perspective, I don’t think it conflicts with my religion. After all, we yearly celebrate the feast of Three Kings, the best known astrologers in the Bible who predicted the time and place of the birth of our Savior. The Bible calls them “wise men”. If astrology was good enough then, maybe was even one of God’s ways of communicating with man, it must hold some insights too that can benefit us now.

But what is astrology doing in a business column? I know for a fact that many top businessmen consult astrologers like “Z” before making any major decisions from inaugurating an office to making a major investment to choice of partners. In a sense, there is an element of faith involved. But there is also a large element of faith involved when one takes in the stuff churned by the dismal science of economics.

Some articles about the present crisis say many economists are probably working on the wrong assumptions in their present models. That explains why they are having difficulty figuring out what’s happening and what to expect now. Quantitative models of Nobel Prize winning economists have failed spectacularly in our recent past (LTCM comes to mind). The once great Alan Greenspan himself had to apologize for being mistaken about his assumptions.

In the end, no matter how quantitative they may try to make modern economics, it is simply difficult to predict human behavior. It is no longer tenable to assume consumers will always make rational decisions on what’s best for them, as recent experience and adherents of the relatively new field of behavioral economics will tell you. The environment has drastically changed as we enter a new cycle and it is constantly changing.

Then again, I don’t claim to understand astrology and economics as well as the professionals in those fields. I just read enough of what the more knowledgeable of them say and figure out who seems to make sense and build from there.
May our New Year be a lot happier and infinitely more prosperous than the last! “Z” says it will be awesome!

ARE YOU GOAL SETTING OR STILL DREAMING?

2009-01-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last time, I posted an article regarding making goals as opposed to just making New Year resolutions, (STOP MAKING NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS, START MAKING GOALS), after all, this is the start of the year, and while I always thought that today is the first day of the rest of your life (regardless what day it is ) this is merely in keeping with tradition….We all have dreams, We all carry movies in our minds about how life could be for us in a better world. There are those who dreamed of hitting the big time in their career, landing a high-paying dream job, a long sought promotion, a pay raise, etc. while there are those who are of the materialistic types-winning the lotto, mega or whatever. (it’s an all-in-one wish list).
Chances are, most people will never get what they dream about. They will go on playing those mental movies for themselves or talking about them to friends and family members.

Failing to live your dreams is not necessarily a bad thing. Lots of people are perfectly happy dreaming of one life but living another. The problem arises when the gap between fantasy and reality results in unhappiness or even depression. When this happens, it’s time to master plan a new life. And the first step is to establish goals.

Goals are different from dreams in four ways. They are specific, actionable, time-oriented, and realistic.
Specific: Being rich is a dream. Earning P1 million annually is a goal.
Actionable: Winning the lotto is a dream. Winning a marathon is a goal.
Time-Oriented: Earning P1 million annually is a goal. But earning that P1 million a year in five years is a better goal.

Realistic: Earning P1 million annually in five years is probably reasonable. Earning P1 million in four months is not.
I’m assuming your last name is not Zobel de Ayala, Araneta, Sy, Tan, Ty, Yu, or whatever...you know what I mean.

Goals are also different than objectives - more long-term and broader in scope.
Your master plan will be broken down into seven-year and one-year goals, monthly and weekly objectives, and, finally, daily tasks that will make it possible to achieve your medium-term objectives and long-term goals. For example:
Seven-Year Goal: an annual income of P1 million net in five years.
First-Year Goal: Eliminate P50, 000 worth of debt or loan
Monthly Objective: Get that dream job that you’ve been eyeing, or if you’re in sales, close at least twice the no. of sales quota required by your company, and if you’re in business, target twice (or thrice) the average monthly sales you had last year.

First Week’s Objective: Get that job interview, make at least 10 sales calls/presentation, or do a sales promo.
First Day’s Task: Write personal letters to CEOs of my top 10 "dream job" companies. (This on top of your usuall letter of application to head of HR or “The Manager”) or come up with a new killer sales presentation. And make a list or appointment with your prospects.

Okay, that’s the plan. Starting today, you are going to be performing tasks every day that support weekly objectives that, in turn, support monthly objectives that, in turn, support yearly goals that, in turn, support seven-year goals. All of this will be done formally. All of it will be done in writing.
At this point, you may be wondering: "Does it really matter whether my goals are specific? Does it make any difference if I write them down?"
Consider this..

Several years ago, there’s an interesting bit of information in a book by Tom Bay - Look Within or Do Without - that was completely mediocre except for this one little gem. According to Mr. Bay, Harvard Business School did a study on the financial status of its students 10 years after graduation and found that (remember were talking Harvard grads here):

• As many as 27 percent of them needed financial assistance.
• A whopping 60 percent of them were living paycheck to paycheck.
• A mere 10 percent of them were living comfortably.
• And only 3 percent of them were financially independent.

The study also looked at goal setting and found these interesting correlations:

• The 27 percent that needed financial assistance had absolutely no goal-setting processes in their lives.
• The 60 percent that were living paycheck to paycheck had basic survival goals (such as managing to live paycheck to paycheck).
• The 10 percent that were living comfortably had general goals. They thought they knew where they were going to be in the next five years.
• The 3 percent that were financially independent had written out their goals and the steps required to reach those goals.

And that’s just one study. Here’s one that shows the power of setting specific goals:
Researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University asked 56 female undergraduates to do as many sit-ups as they could in 90 seconds. One group, told to "do their best," averaged 43 sit-ups on each day of the four-day study. The other groups, which had been given the specific goal to do consecutively more sit-ups at each session, performed significantly better, averaging 56 sit-ups on the last day of the experiment.

Studies are great, but personal experience is better.
You can spend your whole life dreaming. And dreams are wonderful things. By all means, dream away. But if you want to turn those dreams into reality, you need to transform them into goals.

What’s your wildest, longest-held dream? How can you make it specific? How can you make it actionable? How can you put a time limit on it? How can you make it realistic? Use these four questions to create goals you can aim for… then take action. And you’ll be living your dream in a few short years.

Source:http://www.earlytorise.com/2008/02/04/personal-goal-setting-or-dreaming.html

STOP MAKING NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS! START MAKING GOALS!

2009-01-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

"You read a book from beginning to end. Achieving your goal is
the opposite. You start with the end, and then you do everything you must to reach it."

The year is almost over, with the New Year comes the usual New Year resolutions, most of us are actually aware that we can’t stick to it,
its only in keeping with tradition, (much like those firecrackers we set-off at midnight, when its over, wala na)not in keeping it. So I’m thinking (duh) why not make a resolution the same way most of us do business, make a goal, and to make sure you stick with it, make it quantifiable or measurable. For example, why not make a financial goal? (ok I’m beginning to sound like an insurance salesman, of which I am he he) let’s say P10,000 every quarter in savings, which you could eventually use to invests, pay-off an existing loan or maybe an emergency fund, its up to you, as long as you start saving. One of the nice things about having savings as your goal is that you are actually hitting more than one bird with a single stone, (Be financially independent,I will balance my accounts, not get into debts, stop unnecessary expenses, limit nightly gimmicks etc.) Consider the following methods in attaining your goal. (I got this from Inquirer.net)

1. Watch closely where your money goes-It could hold the solution to your “I don’t have much money” or I don’t know where the money went” woes”.

2. Decide where your money will go-since savings is your goal for this year, now is the time to make-up your mind what you are saving for, pay off your loans, educational plans for the kids, a future trip..but get into the habit first.

3. Make a spending plan-Allocate your earnings wisely by making a written budget every month (something most of us don’t do) experts say pay yourself first (now that’s a good idea)-meaning set aside some amount for savings (an old envelope will do, but make sure you won’t touch it) before you settle bills and spend money. A good starting point would be 10%, but do make it bigger as your income increases or your debts decrease. Then set a ceiling for your regular expenses, now you’re starting to live within your means.

4. Start an emergency fund-you can use your savings as an emergency fund in case of emergencies or unplanned expenses, god willing if nothing of the sort happens, then your savings remains intact, if something of the sort does happen, at least you have something you can fall back to, especially if you lose your job. sort of your own insurance.

5. Manage your debt-never get one you can’t afford to pay, before you get one, compute your budget and see if you can afford to regularly pay them for a period of time. Applies also to credit card purchases.

6. Protect your name-maintain a good record, pay off your bills on time. your income tax promptly, etc. your good name is one of your( if not the) most important assets.
7. Look for ways to grow your income-maybe you can get a sideline business or job, to compliment your present income, then use the extra for investment. As the Chinese say: “yung pera lipad lipad lang yan, ikaw bahala habol” (money is just flying all around, its up to you to catch it)

8. Have the essentials-If you’re not: be a member of the SSS, and Philheath, get an insurance policy, this includes, hospitalization, disability, accident, even a memorial plan. Stop fooling yourself you don’t need them.
9. Be serious about investing-Those savings you put aside can earn more when placed in a proper investment vehicle. Leave some in a savings or checking account, but put the bulk in higher-yielding-mutual funds, UITF’s, stocks or bonds, depending on your appetite for risk, talk to a Banker or Financial planner, read articles regarding personal finance (Fancisco Colayco’s “Pera mo’ Palaguin mo” would be a good start-also see link below) an while some may think its not a good idea because of the crisis, come to think of it-its actually the best time, besides investments should be treated as long term, at least 10 yrs.

10. Share your blessings-I think this is self-explanatory

HAVE A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

Links:
www.colacofoundation.com
www.income-tacts.com
www.pinoysmartsavers.com
www.icap.com.ph
www.rfp-philippines.com

THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELLPHONE COULD DO

2009-01-02T04:19:00.000-08:00

This is actualy an old article but still worth posting, considering your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things you can do with it.

I. The emergency no. worlwide for Mobile is 112, If you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. try it out.

(Note: I did try it out and it works although what you get is just a voice message which tells you the local emergency no. which is 117)

II. Subject: Have you locked your keys in the Car? does your car have remote keys?
This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cellphone; if you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on the cell phone, Hold your phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. your car will unlock, saves someone from having your keys delivered to you. Distance is no object, you could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other"remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

(We tried it, and it works)

III. Hidden Battery Power; Imagine your cell battery is very low, you are expecting an important call and you don't have a charger. Nokia instrument comes with a reserve battery. To activate, press the keys*3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. this reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

(For Nokia cellphones only, I'm not sure if it works for other brands, or fake nokia and second hand units)

IV. How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone. Check your cellphone's serial number by dialing the following digits *#06# and a 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. and if you bought your unit from an NTC authorized dealer, take the time and effort to have your unit registered by the NTC, so when your phone gets stolen, they will be able to block your handset, rendering it useless, even if the thief changes the SIM card. this applies to those using prepaid services, for postpaid services, it's easier since your units serial no. is already registered when you get it, all you have to do is report it at once when your unit is stolen. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

(We tried it on Nokia and sony-ericsson units, by dialing the same numbers, it did gave it's serial number, I don;t know the procedure for motorola and samsung)

Summary Of my Last Year On The Computer

2008-12-30T06:32:00.000-08:00

I must send my thanks to all those who have sent me their emails, because my life has definitely changed, after I forwarded it to a total of 2,170,687 people, costing me more than P300,000 in internet café expenses alone.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.
I no longer go to church or pray because God is attached to the files you sent me, and all I have to do is send it to 25 other people, and that earns me prayer points with God.

Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
Thanks to you, I have stopped paying all my insurance premiums (ya right) because from now on, no accident will ever happen to me, after all, I’ve already forwarded your last email to 15 of my friends.

Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.

Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up the P500.00 I found dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.
I no longer eat at KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

Oh, and don't forget this one either: I no longer take my kids to jollibee because you told me that their burgers are made of worms imported from china.

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician.

This is a forwarded chain email to answer and END all forwarded chain emails ...honestly speaking, do you really believe all that crap?

ARE YOU A SCAM-BUG?

2008-12-26T23:36:00.000-08:00

Scam /’skam/- a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation (Merriam-Webster online)

Bug-an insect or other crawling or creeping invertebrate, some of which are known to love flying around lights(sometimes endangering themselves) or crawl over waste (that’s sh*t to you)

Ponzi scheme -fraudulent investment operation that involves promising or paying abnormally high returns to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from revenues generated by a real business. Named after the person who started a pyramid scam, Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant to the United States who became one of the greatest swindlers in American history. (Wikipedia.org)

Multitel, francswiss, PIP, Royal Manchester, and most recently the Legacy Group of Companies. Which one did you invest in? all or none of the above? Much has been written about “how to tell a scam”, but none is about how to tell if you’re one who is easily duped by one. Based on the reactions of most of the people who were duped in any of the above, I have come up with crude and simple way to tell if you’re one, take a look below and see if it applies to you, it won’t take long.

1.) Insurance agents annoy you, you distrust bankers, and financial planners, however, you are instantly impressed when some hotshot rep of a company you haven’t heard of, or maybe was referred by someone you know, offers you an “INNOVATIVE” way to double your money in 3 to 5 years time “GUARANTEED”!(and this include testimony’s of satisfied clients-persons you know)

2.) You find the intricacies of financial planning such as savings, insurance, bonds, mutual funds, equities, and cost averaging, confusing, dull or boring, and not worth your time, which is why you prefer the”hotshot” who won’t bother you with the details (to explain how the whole thing works,) but goes directly to the bottomline-“ double your money in 3 to 5 years time “GUARANTEED”! Hmm makes sense doesn’t it?

3.) You think savings and investments are only for people who have disposable incomes and claim you can’t afford to have one, even if its only a few thousand for an insurance premium, or initial investment, from well established companies. however when some unknown company dazzles you with its vague” double your money” scheme, you have no trouble coming up with a hundred thousand , and eventually ,when that very same company is shown to be operating a scam, and either folds up or runs away with your money, your fist reaction is denial (that you invested) then, you play down your hundred thousand investment lost as in “at least I only lost that much compared to ...who lost a million or, as in the case of Legacy, you are actually grateful that you still receive a fraction of your total investments as interest payments, despite your principal being lost.

4.) You easily get worried when you hear that the reputable bank in which you have a deposit is exposed to the US sub-prime despite public assurances issued by Gov.regulatory agencies such as SEC, BSP, and even DTI, while on the other hand, you have no problems making an investment with some company who promised to double your money despite warnings by those very same government regulatory agencies about scams and the unsafe and unsound practices of some rural banks.

5.) You think setting aside at least 10% of your net income for savings is too much, while your total expenditures on the lottery (lotto-where you have a one in 80m chances of winning a million,) or maybe swertres (3 digit nos. game-where you have one in 700 chances of winning a few thousand) is at least equal to or more than that.

A LEGACY OF SCAM-BUGS

2008-12-25T23:53:00.000-08:00

Pt. Barnum once said, “THERE’S A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE”. First there was Multitel, then Manchester Royal, then Francswiss, then there was Performance Investments (PIP) and now, it’s The Legacy Group of Companies, and if we are to believe Pt Barnum, there will be more (investment scams and their usual victims) in the future, when will we ever learn? We also have that impression, that only the less umm sophisticated (financially) fall for this kind of scam, look closely, victims of PIP, Francswiss also includes people from Dasma and Forbes, and lest we forget, the US Sub-prime also includes Wall Street as its willing victims. That quote by PT. Barnum should be expanded “THERES A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE-EVERYWHERE”.
Going back to Legacy (yes it was “The Group” that I alluded to in my last blog-“Rural Banks and Double your Money Schemes”, also an article by Dr. Raval) this is one instance that we’ve been issuing warnings and dissuading friends from investing, as early as December of 2005, because some officers of the Legacy group were overheard blaming it (again) at the US Sub-prime. when actually, the problem with legacy goes back 2-3 years ago.,( the current sub-prime crisis only blew up 4 months ago). Even during that time, it already looked like a pyramiding scam. Some of my friends listened, but most didn’t, and to think that it was during those times when Francswiss and the PIP scam were hugging the headlines. I even showed them how to tell a scam. Actually I wasn’t even aware of the full extent until last march, when my Partner informed me that the Regional Director of DTI (CARAGA) was already alarmed because the total investments at Legacy in CARAGA alone had already reached more than P500M, mostly from retirees, and probably their separation or pension. In short-all the money they have in the world.
I heard they had a meeting at one of the hotels here, they were expecting officers of the company to arrive all the way from Manila to clear things or maybe assure them, but none showed up. Now they are contemplating a class suit, in the hopes that once all the assets of Legacy will be liquidated, they will be paid, and some are starting to believe a story going around that there’s an interested buyer, and once Legacy is bought, they will be paid. I wish them good luck. since we’re all intelligent to know a scam when we see one, and we didn’t fall for this one, because were not bugs (and we know the meaning of scam) still its worth remembering: ”If it’s too good to be true..it probably is”.

P.S. If you had purchased $1,000 of Delta Air Lines stocks one year ago, you would have $49 left. With Fannie Mae, you would have $2.50 left of the original $1,000. With AIG, you would have less than $15 left.
But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drunk all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminium recycling REFUND, you would have $214 cash.
Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.

RURAL BANKS AND DOUBLE YOUR MONEY SCHEMES

2008-12-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

I TOLD YOU SO! unless you live in a cave I'm sure you already heard the news about several Rural Banks belonging to a particular group (of companies), closing (or declaring a bank holiday) or being taken over by the PDIC. and if you happen to be a depositor or an investor well.....
actually this was foreseen coming as early as 2005, when this company started soliciting investments in our place, in fact it was even surprising it took this long before it blew all over.maybe it was because the size; the total assets of all the Rural Banks belonging to this "Group" comprised about 11% of the total assets of all the Rural Banks in the Country.

I was exposed to it first hand because it was also the same time I became involved in the financial markets as a financial consultant. I was also invited to be an investor, and to attend their seminar, it worked like this: They were offering a double-your-money-in five-years type of investment, and the icing on the cake was: the interest would be paid to you in advance (the moment you make your investment) in the form of post dated checks. Honestly, you don't have to be a financial expert or an accountant to see (from the business point of view)that the numbers just don't add up, it smelled like a pyramiding scam (and the news on TV confirms this). Some of my businessmen friends were asking me if it was safe or possible, to which my answer has always been in the form of a another question: "Where can you find a business that actually pays in advance the profit, before the business has even started to operate'? (because thats how it looked like) unfortunately some did invest, which just goes to show that when it comes to greed, even level headed people are not immune. (remember the current US sub-prime crisis?) and now, reps from "The Group" have the audacity to put the blame on the current US sub-prime crisis. below is an article that I emailed to my clients way back at the time when people started investing with "The Group", before the US sub-prime even exploded. Take note of the date of the article, and take heed-because this also concerns other Rural Banks, Financial Establishments or investment instruments as well.

ASK Dr. NOET
By Dr. Johnny Noet Ravalo
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 12:59pm (Mla time) 05/10/2007

What can you say about the 20% interest per annum paid by some rural banks? Interest is paid monthly, covered by the PDIC, tax exempt, with five years maturity. In five years, a time deposit of P1 million will double to P2 million plus? -- Geno Real
A rural bank in my place offers an interest rate of six percent for a regular deposit and as much as 10% for a time deposit. Is the risk worth taking? I will only deposit the amount covered by the PDIC, Where can I check the strength of a rural bank to evaluate the risk I may be taking? Chester Barcenas

Geno, Chester, your respective inquiries are quite similar so let me just take them together.What is probably being offered to you Geno is a double-your-money type of deposit. This takes advantage of a provision in the law that exempts 5-year deposits from the final withholding tax. With this tax break, you would only need an interest rate of 14.8 percent to double your money in five years.
What are the risks to these? The same law that exempts you from the withholding tax says that if you withdraw before the five years are up, you have to pay the tax. The risk here is whether you have enough resources elsewhere to keep you from withdrawing the money you put in the potentially 5-year deposit. If liquidity is an issue, the chances of doubling-your-money in five years are quite remote.

Oh, just to be safe Geno, please make sure that the bank is indeed offering you a deposit instrument that is duly covered by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.In both of your questions, the deposit rate being offered is something you should think about. For banks to continue operating, its lending and investment operations have to earn a premium over the deposit rates it pays out.
Under present reserve requirements (that’s the portion of funds banks are required to keep as reserves), this premium would be roughly 27 percent. That means a 10 percent deposit rate translates to a 12.7 percent loan rate to fund itself. This is before taxes, before administrative costs, before regulatory fees and before any premium for taking the additional risks.

(To put it plainly, if the bank promises you a 20% interest rate, then they have to loan out that same money at least 35% just for them to pay that 20%interest rate with the additional 15% as “spread” -the percentage they charge for operational expenses of the bank, we’re not even considering the profit the bank also has to make for that same transaction. For such a small place, like Surigao-how many do you think can afford to pay such loan rates, and the bank has to loan out that money if they are to pay back the 20% interest rate that they promised- Nards)

Make a judgment if the deposit rates these rural banks are offering seem reasonable to you given its environment and business because, no matter how you spin the calculations, these are the hurdle rates the bank must face to continue doing what it is doing.
The insurance provided by PDIC is a safety net. It should not be counted on as a first way out. The insurance should not give you a false sense of security. The point here is a commonly cited tenet in risk management: 100 year wars do not happen often but they do happen. And when they happen, the chances of you outlasting the war aren't too bright either.
When all have been said and done, the ultimate issue goes back to something Chester asked. It would still be part of your due diligence to judge the stability of your potential bank. It is your money so take the pain to make an informed choice of which bank you can trust with your money.

It all boils down to "trust". Thankfully, this does not have to be a leap of faith since there are clear tangible issues that you can consider and evaluate. But it is also not an exact science. Ask around the place what people think of the bank. Some will like it, others will have their own gripes here and there.
Rafael B. Buenaventura, the former Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and an internationally seasoned banker was often heard saying: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Take heed. That is very wise counsel from a man who I consider to have very, very few equals.

*Noet Ravalo is the first Filipino to earn a PhD in Economics from Boston University and is a macro-financial economist by practice and profession. He was chief economist of the Bankers Association of the Philippines until 2002 and has since been doing consulting work for multilateral and foreign agencies. His current engagements are with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the PDS Group. Over the past 12 years, he has been asked to provide technical inputs to both the Senate and the House of Representatives on various economic and financial legislation, some of which will have big impact on Filipinos’ personal finances.

The Power of Compounding

2008-12-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

One of the things you need to know about building wealth is the power of making regular periodic investments and reinvesting rather than spending the profits.
The results you will with this discipline are surprising. Let’s say you start with nothing, and decide putting PhP 5000 of your income into an investment account every month, and you commit not to touch your money in investment. That means you can’t take withdraw any funds until you’ve reached your long-term goal.
The overall market, at least as measured by the S&P 500 index, returned 11.8%, on average, annually over the past 10 years. If you achieve that same return, you’d have PhP 1,140,000 after 10 years. But it gets better. You’ll have PhP 4,860,000 if you stick with the plan for 20 years and a cool PhP 17 million in 30 years.
The process described here is a combination of two powerful investing strategies:

Compounding and peso-cost averaging.

Compounding is simply reinvesting rather than spending your profits. By doing that; you capture the future returns on your reinvested profits as well as on your original investments.

Peso-cost averaging means that your fixed monthly investment buys more shares of a mutual fund or stock when prices are low, and fewer shares when prices are high. For instance, if you were investing PhP 5000, you’d get 500 shares if a stock were trading at PhP 10, but roughly 555 shares if it dropped to PhP 9.

Discipline Required. The hardest part of implementing these strategies is making the regular monthly investments. It’s easy to procrastinate adding to your account if the market is down or if you could use the cash for something else.
The best way to make sure that the regular investments happen is to automatically deduct a fixed amount from your monthly salary and directly invest it in a mutual fund account every month.

The Rule of 72

Do you want to know how long it takes for your money to double if you know the interest? All you need to do is apply the Rule of 72. Divide 72 by the given interest rate.
Example: Someone asks you to invest your hard-earned money at 8% interest per annum.

You can easily compute in your mind, 72 divided by 8 is 9. It will take 9 years before your money doubles. Then decide if this is in accordance to your personal financial objectives or not.

Do you want to know at what interest would your money double if you know the length of time your money will be invested? All you need to do is apply the Rule of 72. Divide 72 by the period.

Example: Someone asks you to invest your hard-earned money for 10 years.
Divide 72 by 10 and the results would give you 7.2. The investment should yield 7.2% per annum for your money to double in 10 years.

Links:
www.business.inquirer.net/money/personalfinance

www.pinoysmartsaver.com
www.colaycofoundation.com
http://www.apersonalfinanceguide.com/

INVESTMENT AND THE EIGHT DUH’s: IT’S NOT THE ECONOMY STUPID!

2008-12-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

“It’s only when the tide goes out that you will know who’s been swimming naked.” Warren Buffet

It’s hard being an insurance salesman nowadays, its hard enough making new clients, you also have to pacify the old ones’ as well, more so when the company I’m connected with is right in the midst of it.(AIG-Philamlife) and since I’m into investments, like mutual Funds, the common question is always, “Is it safe?” to which my answer has always been, no, but it’s wise, which obviously puts me in a dilemma. No in a sense that, there is no safe investment (see duh no.5) crisis or no crisis, both answer still applies. Actually now would be a good time to invest (in Mutual Funds) since the value per share is low (as they say in Trading 101:”Buy when everyone else is selling, and Sell when everyone else is buying”) but I’m cautious about recommending this last one, with all these big firms folding up (Lehman Bros.) and some local banks exposure to sub-prime, everyone just wants to get out while their money is still intact. Some are willing to accept loses, while others won’t. ironically what the present crisis has taught us is-there are no new lessons, the same old rule still applies, in the end, the basic fundamental reason and consideration for investing hasn’t change, and once we deviate from its “raison de etre”, that’s when the problem starts, unfortunately, that’s what Wall Street did, (including AIG) or maybe, they’ve never learned at all, and now we’re in this mess. Below are my personal reflections, If there is really a lesson to be learned from all these, it can only be described in one word: “duh”

Meet the eight duh’s:

Duh no. 1) Never invest with a goal of “Getting Rich”.
A common mistake a lot of investors make, or you could simply call it greed (duh) that’s how Wall street got us into this mess in the first place, (and to think most of these guys are Ivy Leaguers). Here in the Philippines it’s the same thing, with some agents, fund managers, analysts and even some financial columnist, saying the same thing. Not surprising, when you consider that, two years ago, the equities market were doing annual rates as high as 72%. And a lot of agents were only too willing to overlook (instead of correct) that impression and happily oblige clients and investors, deviating from the basics: Investments and Savings (for that matter) form a part of financial planning in order to achieve specific financial goals, i.e future education for the kids, health management, retirement, etc. and while you might actually end up getting rich in the process, be specific and realistic about your goals. When you finally decide to make an investment-keep repeating to yourself…”There is only one Warren Buffet”.

2.)Yield is not all that matters.
Going back to no.1, it is always a common reaction, that every time a new investment opportunity comes along, the main question is always the rate of return, maybe it has something to do with coming from a place where it used to be that the only financial options we had were savings accounts and time deposits. Unfortunately in my experience, most of the people who invests solely on the basis of high returns, are the people most likely to fall for double your money schemes and investment scams. Another point to consider is the liquidity, hidden cost, fees and penalties for such instruments. Of what good is the promised high rate of return, when it can easily be offset by the high fees and deductions in the event of an early redemption or if they could even be redeemed at all (lock-in-periods)? And of course, there is the age old adage: “the higher the return, the higher the risk”.

3.)Never invest with the sole purpose to avoid or evade paying taxes.
Fortunately, these do not apply to us: the Hoi Polloi’s, but to High networth individuals (that’s rich to you) There are offshore investments, and there are tax havens. In the Philippines, earnings of Mutual Funds are exempted from withholding Tax, take note however that the purpose of diversifying your portfolio is to spread the risk. And a part of Wealth Management and Asset protection, should be about, helping you pay your taxes, thru savings, insurance and Estate Planning, and not avoid them. (On a personal level): its only proper to pay back what is due to the state, who has guaranteed, and protected our rights and privileges, so you can be where you are right now. (On the financial side) I have yet to hear Warren Buffet (one of the most meticulous financial analysts around) tout the virtues of investing in the Cayman Islands.

4.)Never predict nor foretell the future, with your, (or other people’s) money.
It’s called Financial Planning, not predicting, nor foretelling (hello) and leave the forecasting to fashion, the weatherman, and Actuarians. Last time I checked, they still don’t include “Witchcraft, or Crystal Ball Reading 101” in Financial Planning, Economics, Fundamental or technical Analysis, Management and Accounting. So don’t ever believe when experts tell you (those same experts that got us here) how long this recession will last, because NOBODY KNOWS, and THE END IS NOT YET IN SIGHT!

5.)No Investment, or Savings (for that matter ) is ever risk- free or Bulletproof.
You still hide your cash under the mattress? Then make sure its fireproof,
burglar Proof, ...etc. the list goes on. From the high yielding, (and higher-risk) Hedge Funds and Derivatives, to the more common savings accounts (your local bank’s exposure to Lehman Bros.) there is always a risk involve. Diversifying your portfolio is about spreading and minimizing your risk. If you are risk averse, then be conservative, and include savings plans and Insurances such as
endowments, and participating plans, in your portfolio, if you have considerable
assets, hire a professional financial planner. When it comes to investments,
the truth hurts, and the truth is: “never invest more than you can afford to lose”.

6.)That’s why it’s called “Financial Planning”.
Because, you first must have a specific financial goal in mind, And since there is no such thing as the best all-in-one investment instrument. (more so now). Each instrument should fit a specific goal,-an educational plan for your child’s future education, A pension plan for your retirement, and so on. In the end, it all depends on how much you’ll need, how much you can afford to pay, and how much time you are willing to allot.

7.)It still takes time.
Some things in life are simply that way, usually, the lasting and productive ones-the blooming of flowers, the bearing of fruits, wines and spirits, evolution,
change and most of all, GROWTH, that’s why it’s called MATURITY.

8.)Speculation is the mother of Recession.
With regards to the sub-prime fiasco, the verdict on Wall Street is out, GUILTY. The crime: GREED. Hard to believe, the CEO’s, Investment Bankers, and Fund managers of these companies, were students of economics once. Maybe they thought they were just too smart for the rules. By mobilizing these funds, securities and investments are supposed to help develop the capital markets, to finance the expansion of Industries that produce goods and services, provide employment, promote savings, and an equitable distribution of wealth, and help stabilize the stock market. By deviating from these basic, (tried and tested) fundamentals, they have violated the trust of millions of investors, who have entrusted them with their hard earned money, and of course, created the mess were in right now. It’s not the economy stupid-it’s elementary my dear Watson.

P.S. I normally don’t recommend books, but those of you who love to read good old-fashion novels might want to check out an old bestseller (circa 1977) that I have just read and enjoyed, while it’s a 70’s book, you’d be surprised at the uncanny resemblance to today’s headlines. Entitled: “The Crash of 79” by Paul Erdman. It’s a thriller and international intrigue, in the tradition of Forsyth and Le Carre’. Whose hero is a (lol) Banker.

Investment advice (By Boo Chanco)
If you had purchased $1,000 of Delta Air Lines stocks one year ago, you would have $49 left. With Fannie Mae, you would have $2.50 left of the original $1,000. With AIG, you would have less than $15 left.
But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drunk all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminium recycling REFUND, you would have $214 cash.
Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.

MEET RICO SANTOS * THE WORLD’S RICHEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL PERSON

2008-11-20T05:18:00.000-08:00

He makes no money to speak of, and at the moment, is unemployed, and yet, his net worth is trifling, he is 25 year old Rico Santos. Like most everyone who comes from a comfortable middle class family, he went to exclusive elementary and high schools. The son of a Doctor, (and coming from a family of Doctors,) Rico has no interest in medicine, he recently graduated with a degree in Computer Science from a well known University.

For now, Rico has not yet decided what to do with his life, whether to work in a call centre, or an IT company, here and abroad, or maybe if he changes his mind, take up nursing as a second course(like most people he knows). But still...it’s up to him. Either way, Rico Santos has the enviable freedom to choose his path, and for the moment he has chosen to postpone his quest for the bankable variety of wealth, to pursue his passion: Surfing, A sport he took up, a few years back as a student, while on vacation in Siargao Island with his friends one summer.

Before he plans to pursue his career, he and a group of friends, plan to surf the waves of the remote islands of Batanes, and the Spratleys. Santos figures he probably will be needing around, P30, 000.00 for those trips, and he doesn’t know how to raise the money, but he has the earning potential, and with the oceans before him and wind offshore, Santos is very well fixed already.

You might be wondering how a guy like that gets to be the world’s richest and most successful person. Before I proceed to explain why, let me first introduce who Rico Santos really is. If you are between, 21-30 years old, single (no dependents), healthy, with no liabilities (walang utang) and possessing a college degree, then “YOU ARE RICO SANTOS”. that’s because you are rich in assets of another kind. You have youth, health, confidence, and a top notch education-a wealth of what economist call human capital, the kind of person Human Resource Managers look for. In addition, your obligations are nil and your options are virtually limitless, a status in life, money can neither buy nor preserve.

If wealth can be defined as independence, opportunity, and the amount of control someone has over his/her own life-and many would argue that those attributes are essential to a sense of well-being-then you, (the Rico Santos’ of the world) are the richest and most successful person today. The bad news is, you will never be much richer than you are now, your options will inevitably narrow, your responsibilities (both: personal and professional) will mount with time, and with it comes, financial liabilities: bills, loans, mortgages, tuition fees.etc. As you age, you use up human capital the way an old machine loses its productivity. Not to mention, that your single most important asset-your health” will start to deteriorate (unless you do something about it of course) only financial Capital, and more of it, can pay the obligations that grow out of work and family and accumulate as one matures.

Financially speaking, your financial capital value (assets both, solid and liquid) should increase, as your human capital value decreases. While it is “assumed” that your income will increase as you grow older, such won’t be the case when you retire. So one of the best options for you now would be to start your financial planning-on building financial wealth. So as I said earlier, your options are still open, question is-what are you going to do about it?

*The name Rico Santos is purely the product of my imagination, any reference to an actual Rico Santos is purely coincidental and unintentional

References and Links

www.pinoysmartsaver.com
www.colaycofoundation.com
www.business.inquirer.net/money/personalfinance
www.rfp-philippines.com

Investing your hard-earned money

2008-11-11T16:40:00.000-08:00

Look beyond regular savings accounts

(Ninth in a series called Take Charge of Your Money)

YOU’RE working hard with a specific goal in mind: provide well for your family’s needs today and in the future. That’s why you’re keen on saving, a key strategy in securing your financial future.
But where should you put your money? Are savings accounts enough? Savings accounts are good in that your money is easily accessible anytime, but the interest they earn can be so small that you’d be missing out on higher potential returns other investment instruments may offer. You may want to consider keeping some money in a savings account and invest the bulk elsewhere.

Here are a few suggestions on where you can invest your hard-earned money:
Time deposits. Your money will be kept by the bank for a fixed period (30 days, 60 days, 90 days or more) in exchange for an interest rate higher than that offered by a savings account. A time deposit is easily accessible, but early withdrawal may cost you a fee.

Some banks, however, have introduced time deposit products that allow partial withdrawals without touching the interest rate. For those who want to save and invest smartly, be more diligent in choosing banks.

Foreign currency. You may choose to invest in US dollar, euro or other foreign currency savings or time deposits. Be on guard though, since a foreign currency may weaken against the peso anytime. In that case, you may choose to ride out the exchange rate fluctuation or switch to another currency.
Stocks. Refers to buying shares of ownership in a publicly listed company“The stock market is very volatile therefore riskier-prices of stocks fluctuate in response to the times .but it can also be more profitable, as your returns can be anywhere from 20-30%. Stock investments should be held over the long term to ride out fluctuations. .

Mutual funds. If directly investing in money market, stocks and bonds seems tedious, time-consuming, and baffling, consider getting into mutual funds. A mutual fund gathers together investment placements from many investors, which the fund manager then invests in money market, stocks, and bonds based on their market study. It has become popular, with more investors in the US shifting from cash deposits to mutual funds in recent years. This is because mutual funds allow investors to diversify rather than just focus on one investment vehicle. Mutual funds also “have the potential for good long-term growth,” points out The Citibank Guide to Building Personal Wealth. Choose a mutual fund according to your preference — money market fund, equities fund, bonds fund, or balanced (mixed) fund.

Equity funds If results show that you are suitable for equity (stock) investments, you may want to consider investing in equity funds instead, rather than directly investing in the stock market. Equity funds are investment funds invested wholly in stocks and are run by full-time professional fund managers who watch over the portfolio and make trading decisions daily. They know which stocks are doing well since they analyze the market daily. Investing in equity funds will allow you to diversify your investments, since the fund invests in not just one stock, but in a mix. You will have access to otherwise hard-to-reach financial markets since the fund will be able to invest in equities not available to the small investor. You will also be spreading your risk, since you won’t be exposed to just one company stock. So even if one stock loses, others may gain and you will have a net gain. You will also be highly liquid since you can turn your investment into cash anytime you want by withdrawing from the fund, in some cases, at a small fee. Seen from a global perspective, equities have historically been the best-performing asset class over the long term.” Equity funds may be in the form of a mutual fund run by a financial company, or a unit investment trust fund you can access through a bank.

Bonds. A bond is a loan that you, the investor, makes -- you lend your money to a government, municipal authority, or company in exchange for a fixed amount of interest paid to you regularly. You don’t get to own a part of the lending entity. At maturity date, your investment is paid back to you at par value — the amount written on the bond certificate. Bonds have long been established in Europe and the US, where this type of investment has done better than cash investments in terms of returns. Bonds suit conservative investors since they can get a regular stream of income over a number of years. The risk lies in payment defaults, so choose bonds carefully.

Treasury Bills you loan your money to the government, to finance public expenses, for a short term, say 30 days a year, And are risk- free, since they carry the government’s full and unconditional guarantee, interest rates can go as high as 4% per annum.

Treasury notes similar to treasury bills, except that they require a longer investment-from 2 to 25 years,-but you can enjoy coupon interest payments, usually handed out in arrears, longer term equals a higher interest rate.

Derivatives. These are financial instruments based on the prices of equities, bonds and commodities. It requires more capital and investment know-how, since you deal in effect with the future prices of these assets. Trading is done in futures exchanges or privately through contracts. Financial institutions can do this for you.

Real estate. This is familiar to many Filipino investors, since a house and lot is often one of the first things we save up for. It is a sound investment, much better than renting a place where the family can stay. But there are some things investors have to consider:
1. It may not earn income if the family lives in it.
2. Maintenance costs will go higher as years go by.
3. It does not sell as quickly as other investments.
4. Its price fluctuates depending on the condition of the real estate market.
An investor is thus advised not to plunk all his hard-earned money on real estate.

Start a business you may also start a business. However, this demands much time and effort. If you don’t have the passion for it, don’t pursue. If you don’t know anything about the business you are looking at, don’t get into it. A business, to be successful, demands much of the entrepreneur.

Saving vs. Investing Money allocated for savings and deposit accounts are normally set aside for future expenses and emergencies, while cash invested in stocks, securities, or bonds provides opportunities for money to grow over time. The major difference here is that investments usually require higher risk-you either lose money or make tons of it through interest rates and changing economy.

Diversity is the name of the game
The adage “Don’t put your eggs in one basket” is a rule investors need to follow. Avoid investing solely in one form of investment. Allocate your assets to spread out your risk. How you should allocate your assets is answered by how conservative or aggressive you are in risk taking, and in how long you can hold the investment.
If you are still young and fairly willing to take on risks, consider investing more in stocks or in an equities mutual fund. You can ride out market corrections and earn a potential higher yield.

If you are conservative, or approaching retirement, experts advise you shift more to bonds or a bond mutual fund. Time deposits or money market placements are investments for the short term, which you need to have to meet any financial need arising out of emergencies. Having a good mix of investments will help you prepare for your future well.
Warning Signs

If you are being offered a proposition that seems too unusual or is promising extraordinarily high returns, stop and ask yourself a few questions.

• Am I being told that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Is there pressure to make a decision immediately? - Investment is not about once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. These may occur in business but not in the financial markets. There is no need to make instant decisions.

• Is a very high return being guaranteed? - Some fraudsters hope that the promise of an unusually high return-for example, 10% to 20% a month return-will be so tempting that you will abandon your caution. Investments producing high returns are almost certainly risky, and don’t come with guaranteed returns. If a guarantee is on offer, further investigation will probably reveal it to be worthless.

• Who regulates the investment? - Check to see if the firm is registered and whether it is permitted to market the kind of investment it is offering. For example, a company selling securities must not only be incorporated with the Securities and Exchange Commission but must also have another set of papers from the SEC authorizing it to sell securities.
Some common Investment Terms simplified
Asset allocation refers to the method of deciding how much money to invest
And in which investment vehicle (i.e. stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc.)

Diversification A strategy where an investor puts money in several kinds of businesses
Or securities to protect his investments in case the market suffers a downturn. This could be a mix of shares in the stock market, mutual fund, or government securities like bonds and treasury bills.

Portfolio A person’s investment in stocks, securities, bonds, and treasury notes, consists of his portfolio – a term which refers to the investment collectively.
Fund manager A person who advises or helps manage an investor’s portfolio. Some financial institutions provide professional fund managers to clients as part of their investment package.

Liquidity refers to how fast investments or other assets can be converted to cash. Investments in the stock market and mutual funds are normally considered liquid because they can be easily sold to the stockbroker or issuer, while real state investments and jewelries take a while to dispose of .

Principal is the amount an investor originally uses to buy securities or stock shares. It also refers to the value where simple interest rates are computed, and so is the amount paid for the issuer of treasury notes and bills (usually the government) upon maturity.

Return on Investment refers to how long it takes to recover the amount of money an investor has put into a business or other money-making vehicles – higher returns at lesser time is ideal.

Term refers to the length of time your money has to be tied up to a deposit account or investment vehicle, which could either be for short, medium or long term. Terms could indicate the investment’s yield(interest or earnings – e.g., for bonds longer terms may offer higher interest rates) while pre termination (the withdrawal ,closing, and redemption of the investment before the agreed specified term, time deposits, and mutual funds for example ) may require you to pay a certain amount as fee or penalty.

Inflation refers to the increase in the prices of commodities in relation to the capacity of people to purchase such goods – it is said that money may no longer be able to buy in the future what it can afford today. Higher inflation rate diminishes the ability of the investment to yield higher returns. if the inflation rate is at 6-7% and your investment is earning you less than that, you’re basically losing money.

Fear Factor

By Malaya Laraya, RFP

A common sentiment I hear from people these days is that though they would very much like to invest, they are afraid to do so. They are afraid that if they invest in things like stocks, mutual funds, pre-need plans or UITF’s, they will lose their money. Consequently, they keep the majority of their funds in savings accounts or time deposits since those are the products that they are familiar with. Unfortunately, this type of thinking only ensures that an individual will never be able to accumulate enough cash or assets to ensure a prosperous life. To illustrate, let me use this brief analogy.

Let’s say you live in Fairview and would like to go to Enchanted Kingdom for a day of fun and relaxation. Ideally, the best thing to do would be to wake up early and drive there. That way you get to spend the maximum amount of time at the park before it closes. If you don’t have your own vehicle or don’t want to have to deal with the hassle of driving but still want to spend the most amount of time at the park, the next best thing would be to wake up earlier and commute to the park. I don’t think anyone would consider going to Enchanted Kingdom from Fairview by walking there. Not only would you arrive very, very late but I doubt you would be in much shape to enjoy all the attractions the park has to offer. Actually, there’s a very good chance you will be unable to reach the park at all due to sheer physical exhaustion.

Now, regardless of the method of travel you choose, there is a realistic chance that something will go wrong and you will either arrive at the park late or not at all. Your car’s radiator could overheat or the bus you are riding could get a flat tire. As a worst case scenario, the vehicle you are riding in could actually get hit by another car and mess up the trip completely. All of these events could happen and not a day goes by wherein someone, somewhere, gets a flat tire, an overheated radiator or gets involved in a collision. But would you actually let these things stop you? Would the possibility of being involved in a vehicular accident dissuade you from either riding or driving a motor vehicle forever? Would you let the fear of a possible accident determine where and what places you can go to?

Believe it or not, the process of investing is very much like the situation I just described above. To begin with, we all have our own vision of Enchanted Kingdom – the life we would like to have wherein we are free from the day-to-day cares and worries of life.

Second, the time at which we wake up and begin the trip is the time wherein we begin to invest actively for our personal goals. Simply put, the earlier you start on your journey, the earlier you will get to your destination. Furthermore, starting early gives one the luxury of taking things slowly. We don’t have to rush and can take the time to enjoy the trip. Most importantly though, starting early gives one a buffer zone that can definitely come in handy should a flat tire or some other emergency arise.

Third, the mode of transport we use equates to the investment methods and products we pick – running a business, investing in stocks are like cars (fast and expensive); mutual funds, pooled funds are like public transport (slower but cheaper) and savings accounts / time deposits are akin to walking. Of course, much as there is no intrinsically “best” form of transport, there is also no intrinsically “best” form of investment. Instead, there are “suitable” or “efficient” investments. To be more precise, much like it would be more efficient to walk short distances, so are time deposits and savings accounts more efficient than stocks for short-term needs.

Fourth, the type of transport we select determines how involved we have to be in the investment process. For example, if we regularly travel by car, it would be in our best interest to keep the car well maintained. However, as any car owner will tell you, properly maintaining a car takes time and money. It simply will not take care of itself. Running a business requires the same amount of involvement. Ask any successful entrepreneur- trader and they will tell you that maintaining a business takes quite a bit of time and money. One cannot simply enter the market and expect everything to work as they expected.

Fifth, much like something can always go wrong on a trip, no investment instrument is 100% risk free. There is always a chance that, no matter how carefully you’ve planned things out, something somewhere will go terribly wrong and mess things up. For example, let’s say you decide to drive to your destination. Now, you’ve properly maintained your car and you drive as carefully as you can. Unfortunately, there is very little you can do to prepare for the drunk driver on the other lane who decides to slam his vehicle into yours. The same thing holds for investing. No matter how well you plan your portfolio, events outside of your control can suddenly just step in and wipe out most of your holdings. (Example: Asian Financial Crisis of the 90’s.)

With all of that said, what can we then do to eliminate or minimize whatever fear we have of investing? Well, much like we would learn to drive a car or memorize the different routes jeeps and buses ply, so must we exert the effort to learn more about the business and/or stocks and other investment tools. To put it bluntly, it is only through education that we can master our fears and prevent them from limiting the kinds of lives and the kinds of dreams we can achieve.

Links:
www.business.inquirer.net/money/personalfinance

www.pinoysmartsaver.com
www.colaycofoundation.com
http://www.apersonalfinanceguide.com/
www.accounting4u.com

THE LAWS ON BUILDING PERSONAL WEALTH

2008-11-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

It’s better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and despair

When my grand-father, the late Go Ling Guan (Leon Go-my namesake)
migrated from china in the mid-1920’s, he was like most Chinese migrants-penniless. However unlike most of his countrymen, he was western educated, he had a high school education from a school run by Spanish monks (not Jesuits-in China)so he could speak fluent English, Spanish, and a little French, besides Chinese(Mandarin and Fukienese) of course. My Grandfather worked odd jobs, to survive, until he was able to save enough to help his younger brother, Go Sio Hong (Dionisio Go) follow him. Unlike most Chinese, my Grandfather was not much of an entrepreneur, but because of his High School Education (which was a big deal at that time) it was easy for my Grandfather to find employment, eventually he was hired by a fellow Chinese (and distant relative)-the late Carlos A. Gothong (of Gothong Lines) who was then building a ferry company.

On the other hand, his younger brother who was not western educated could only speak Chinese, so getting employed was out of the question, as most of the big business at that time was not yet owned by the Chinese, so he ended putting up his own business, (with the help of my Grandfather) a fishing supply store. And as a familiar twist to a story goes, my grandfather (supposedly the western educated one) ended up being an employee all his life-he rose to become Jefe de Viaje (the equivalent of a branch manager today) of Gothong Lines, before he retired, while his younger brother’s fishing supply store, has grown up today to become a multi-million business, with interests in Marine Engines/supplies, fishing supplies, hardware and construction, gasoline retail and shipping.

My point here is that, while my Grandfather was never an entrepreneur nor a businessman, he had a trait common among the Chinese-he had the discipline to save. Such that, he was able to provide for his family a comfortable life, until it was rudely interrupted by the Japanese occupation, but whose life wasn’t? and even then-after the war he was able to send my father (the eldest of 9 siblings) to Med-School (UP and Southwestern Univ.) and his sister (the 2nd child) to business school, (USC) where she became a CPA, true to tradition , both of them then pitched-in to help the rest of their siblings, finish school. It was savings that helped them succeed. I can never over-emphasize the value of savings, when it comes to building financial wealth-it is the most important, and yet underrated thing. Read any rags to riches success stories, especially those concerning tai-pans, they will always tell you the usuall, hard work and perseverance (sipag at tiyaga) what they always omit to say is that the most common trait among successfully wealthy people is their discipline (some say-iron will) to save, and sacrifice. This is not to belittle the virtues of hard work, but look around you, there lots and lots of people who have been working their asses off, but they still can’t seem to make ends meet. It’s savings... below are some of my compilations of different articles of strategies that work.

1.) Start early (Start right now!) It’s not how much you save, but how
early you start saving. Or investing

2.) Plan at least 5 to 10 years ahead,(see above) When she turned 21, Sharon Cuneta took financial control of money earned since her first record, “Mr. DJ,” was released several years earlier. By all accounts, the singer/actress has since managed her money well- spending less than what she earned, investing wisely her surplus funds, and planning a more than comfortable future for herself and for her daughter, KC Concepcion, that included regular trips abroad and schooling in the best possible schools. At any given point, she knows how much she is worth.
Today, Cuneta has two other daughters, both of pre-school age, which she has now included in her financial plans and (KC) Concepcion studied in Paris.

3.) Get College covered (refer to no.2) and please remember that tuition fee is only 30% of total college cost; the other 70% is for misc. fees.
If you’re still single and don’t have children refer to nos. 1 & 2

4.) Hedge against long-term disability. Get an accident and health insurance. Your money amassed should be enjoyed, and not used to pay for hospital bills.

5.) Get a life insurance policy. Your loved ones shouldn’t be financially
displaced in the event of your untimely death. Or you, in the event of a
disability

6.) Keep it simple something you can easily grasp and understand

7.) Keep your asset allocations current (i.e.: keep your accounting/auditing updated and make savings automatic)

8.) Live below your means (earn more-spend less)

9.) Never buy on credit yes it’s true, you don’t get interest when you use your plastic, but that’s what’s going to tempt you to buy more than you need in the first place.

10.) Don’t rely on your instincts; they’re probably wrong.
P.S. If they were right. We would have had lots of winners in that popular TV game show “Deal or No Deal”. - Nards

PS: Actually we can go much farther than savings, and that is investment. Too bad my grandfather never had that option. Come to think of it: Warren Buffet, one of the world’s richest man, and the greatest investor of all time, started investing when he was 14, in 1965 and he wished he started much younger.

References and Links

www.pinoysmartsaver.com
www.colaycofoundation.com
www.bestlifeonline.com
www.business.inquirer.net/money/personalfinance
http://www.accountingtips4you.com/
http://www.apersonalfinanceguide.com/

A TALE OF TWO GIANTS: JESSIE LIVERMORE AND WARREN BUFFET

2008-10-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

By Salve
10/30/08
Posted under Investing

Yesterday’s “Pesos and Sense” seminar at the Makati Sports Club was, in my opinion, very successful and extremely interesting. Speakers Chinkee Tan, Randell Tiongson and Francis Kong drew up a crowd and not only talked about dealing with debt, investing and saving, but also kept money issues in perspective. One of the seminar participants even flew in from Cebu, fly-in-fly-out style.

Randell Tiongson, president and chief operating officer of Personal Finance Advisers Phils. Corp., made a very interesting comparison between two giants in the world of finance: Jesse Livermore and Warren Buffett.

Jesse Livermore was a master of the art of speculation. He was first and foremost a trader and a technician who preached never to “fight the tape.” One of his rules was to cut your losses when your losses reach 10%.

He was famous for shorting the market during two crises and earning tons of money. First during 1907 when he bagged $3 million (guess how much that’s worth today!), and the second time in the 1929 crash when he made $100 million. He lost both fortunes after the market crashes.

Livermore lived in luxury—houses around the world, yachts, limousines and he could also be called “Lovermore” with five marriages. He died at 62 when he walked into a New York hotel room and shot himself.

Warren Buffett can be described as an investor, and not a trader. He doesn’t like Wall Street and says that openly. He doesn’t buy stocks; he buys businesses and holds on to them for the long-term. He doesn’t care about the economy. He likes businesses that survive despite economic downturns. Now at 72, he is the world’s richest man and gave away bulk of his money to charity a few years ago.

Buffett has a grandfatherly air, drives his own car and picks up his own guests at the airport. He owns five houses but still lives in his first home in Omaha and his car tag says “Thrifty.” I am currently reading the only book about him that he authorized: The Snowball: Warren Buffett and The Business Of Life and so far, it has been an intensely interesting read.

There is no question which one most people would like to be. And yet, why do most people who love Warren sometimes end up doing a Livermore?

Source/Link:http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts

THE TROUBLE WITH PHILAMLIFE

2008-10-29T05:04:00.000-07:00

And BDO, and Metrobank and UCPB and. … and the economy as a whole. as a financial adviser (Mutual Funds, Insurance) connected with Philamlife, I’ve been bombarded with questions from apprehensive, panicky and quite a few, angry, clients/investors and policy holders with regards to their money invested in Philamlife, and most of my time these past two months have been spent reassuring them, notwithstanding the statement released by the company assuring investors and policy holders of the company’s ability to meet all its present and future obligations. So I’m posting a column here of Dr. Ravalo, an economist. While this column was posted last year (Aug.2007) it is very timely now, in lieu of the events unfolding caused by the US sub-prime crisis-Lehman Bros. Merrill-Lynch, and of course AIG(our mother company) and since he is not connected with any company, financial or otherwise, that should make his views objective. Dr. Ravalo here explains clearly, what’s really going on with the economy and how it affects Philamlife and other financial institutions in particular and all of us in general. Note: letters in blue are my own opinion, additions and comments for further clarification, and is not part of the original column.-Nards

After stock market routs, can shares become worthless?
By Dr. Johnny Noet Ravalo*
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 08:48am (Mla time) 08/22/2007
Questions:

I am new to investing in the Philippine stock market. I am wondering how the other markets affect the position of our economy especially when China's market went down last February and currently the US market is declining. -- Mr. WannaKnow
I am an OFW, a “greenie” in stock market and have just bought some IPO shares recently. (Knock on wood). At what point will my shares be considered of no value. Say if bought at P5/share and value goes down, at what price level will my share be considered lost and gone? If for instance after some time the price rebounded, will I still be considered as a shareholder of these stocks? -- Jim Francisco

And of course that other lingering question that I’ve been ask-which I’ll answer at the end of the column: If Philamlife is as strong (its no.1 in case you’re not aware) and profitable as it claims, how come it’s for sale?-Nards
I wanted to talk about these issues when this column started almost six months ago but like most voluntary to-do lists, it somehow got lost in the shuffle. Now, I don’t have any good excuse to postpone it since the issue is central to what is currently happening in the market.

Stock markets are unique in the sense that shares of stocks are not debts created by the company. The issuing company is not borrowing the investors’ funds but is taking in the investors as owners of the company and the shares are just the proof of ownership.

The “unit of analysis” for stocks is the company itself. Whatever affects the fortunes of the firm is supposed to be reflected in the share price. The share price is the future revenue stream of the company translated into today’s prices (i.e., it is discounted). If something boosts or impairs that income stream, then share prices are supposed to rise or fall respectively.

We are talking about the “future” fortunes of the firm. Expectations are critical and someone has to set that bar. Analysts typically do that based on what the company projects as its future income stream, together with the analyst’s own views. If the bar is set too high, the company will always underperform and share prices fall. Yes, there are “models” out there for such valuation but stock analysis involves a fair amount of crystal-ball reading.

To answer Jim’s question, remember that there are many shares of stock that have been issued by the firm. The value of each share then reflects both the expected fortunes of the firm and the number of shares that have been issued.
I like to think of it as a pie. Some pies just don’t taste good so no one buys them even at low prices. The better pies are of higher value but if there are 1,000 slices, each slice may just be worth 50 centavos. If the firm shuts down, obviously there isn’t any future to speak of so that the theoretical price is zero. But I have seen shares whose value in centavos is so small that you need a lot of shares to be meaningful.

All these go back to the intrinsic value of the pie. That part is the most absolute concept you will get: YOU deem it either good to buy, passable to hold (just in case) or bad enough to dispose. But if you intend to trade stocks (rather than be an owner) then the views of analysts, commentators and the media count only because these views move markets. The views aren’t always fair but they are the market’s handles of reality unless new views prove otherwise.

The fortune of the firm is not totally dependent on the firm’s projections or its management’s decisions. If the whole economy goes into a rut, that will show at the level of all firms (of course, some worse than others). If the industry to which the firm belongs has a breakthrough, that will lift the industry as a whole. And since discounting future income is involved, one would generally see falling share prices as interest rates rise, all things equal.

How then would the misfortunes of country XYZ (or for want of a better example let us change those letters to U S A) be a boom to shares in the Philippines?
Theoretically, that is possible if firms in country USA are producing goods that are substitutes for the output of firms in the Philippines. If for some reason drinking tea falls out of fashion (as far as I know the Philippines does not produce tea), that may be good for coffee manufacturers or distributors here if tea-patrons (and there are millions-were talking about the U.S. market here, as an example) shift their consumption (and their wallet use) into drinking coffee instead.

For similar reasons, investors in developed countries like the US are known to invest in the financial markets of Asia. This is just the old adage of not putting your eggs in the same basket. So if the US financial market goes into a downturn, there is the rising fortune of Asian financial markets to offset the losses (and vice versa). Finance has a fancy term for this and it is called “diversification”. Every student of macro-financial economics is taught of the virtues and financial gains from diversifying one’s portfolio.

So if the US dollar was weakening, wouldn’t you expect the peso part in the peso-dollar rate to strengthen ... always? With the US market reeling from the credit woes of its subprime market, shouldn’t that be a boom to our markets? As you can see, it doesn’t always work that way.

So, how come their loss is our loss and our loss is ... well, still just our loss?
Fortunately, this is not one of those “only in the Philippines” things. When the US market closes, Asia is just waking up to go to work (actually, we’re waking up so that we can beat the 6:15 EDSA traffic). Instead of feeling perky about the possibility of funds shifting into Asia, market players in Asia go into defensive mode and reinforce the US shock with another Asian shock.
Why do we do this? Good question.
In principle the credit woes in the US subprime market is a US issue. But it affects the rest of the world for several reasons. First, the US Fed can and has altered its interest rate benchmark and that will directly affect exchange rates and economies with money board arrangements. Second, US institutional investors may pull out of their Asia investments, taking profits to offset losses in their subprime bond holdings.

The first two reasons are out of our hands, the third reason is one that is squarely our own doing: the tendency to go with the herd.
Some people have described this as a room full of panicky traders. Perhaps, but I still think that the root cause of that panic is that “market awareness” is often an oxymoron for almost all individual investors and unfortunately, as it turns out, even for some market practitioners.

I am not saying that investments are a fool’s gamble. To the contrary, investments have a very clear role in improving the economy. But nothing is guaranteed and since it’s our savings, diligence on our part is an absolute must.
I think the Chinese summarize it best. Their character for risk contains two components, the first literally representing “danger” while the other represents “opportunity”. What makes investing work is maintaining that balance.
And yes, I still think “market awareness” is an oxymoron. At least for now.

And may I add another reason, just like its US counter-parts, some of our banks also diversify and invest in the financial markets of the US for the same reasons, which explains BDO’s, Metrobank, UCPB, and others’ exposure to Lehman Bros. a big Investment/Financial company. Still that decision is with the banks and beyond our control. Luckily for depositors, their exposure was not that big (1% as they claim) to pose a risk. And presents another good argument for diversification-not putting their eggs in one basket.

In answer to the third question: There is a law that prohibits a mother company from taking out the profits and assets of its local subsidiary-to raise capital, nor pay off its debts. it can only do so by selling parts or the whole of its subsidiary, which is what AIG is doing right now: selling Philamlife-to pay off its (now) more than $100b loan to the federal government)AIG has decided to divest itself of its prized, and profitable foreign holdings (of which Philamlife is one) because it’s only logical, to dispose companies that are desirable,(with its assets and value intact) so it can attract lots of potential buyers, can command a much higher prize, and more important, it can dictate the terms of the sale (you can read the no. of interested buyers in Philam from newspapers)
And going back, to that Chinese character for risk containing two components, danger and opportunity, isn’t NOW the best time to actually invest in the financial markets, when its share value is low? Just asking. Nards

*((Noet Ravalo is the first Filipino to earn a PhD in Economics from Boston University and is a macro-financial economist by practice and profession. He was chief economist of the Bankers Association of the Philippines until 2002 and has since been doing consulting work for multilateral and foreign agencies. His current engagements are with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the PDS Group. Over the past 12 years, he has been asked to provide technical inputs to both the Senate and the House of Representatives on various economic and financial legislation, some of which will have big impact on Filipinos’ personal finances.)

NPA's ATTACK SURFING CAPITAL!

2008-08-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

Something I thought unthinkable, but it wasn’t। after all Siargao is an Island more than 2 hours from the mainland, other than surfing and tourism, which is seasonal and is mainly concentrated in General Luna, nothing much goes on in there, not even an insurgency problem. so the events on june 28 came as a shock (to say the least) I’d like to share with you a letter that I emailed to 3 of my closest friends (through yahoo) in South Africa, Hawaii, and California, regarding what happened last Saturday June 28. (Although it’s still sketchy)

Hi Guys,

Hope everything’s’ fine with you, I’m writing, (or rather emailing) because of what happened last Sat. June 28. You see the NPA’s (as in New People’s Army) staged a daring commando type raid in Siargao Island, specifically, the Municipality of Dapa (the Capital) and General Luna, the famed surfing capital (as proclaimed by some tourism guys) yup, and right in Catangnan, where Cloud-9, Quicksilver, and Jacking Horse, and of course, where most of the Surf camps are. The sketchy reports are still coming in as of this writing, (or typing), but from what I could discern, based on interviews with the soldiers, and captured rebels, by the media, what happened was nothing short of “sensational”, worthy of a Hollywood script.

About 10pm Sat. June 28, more than a hundred rebels of the “Pulang Diwata” front, on board 15 motorized bancas simultaneously launched a well coordinated attack on the Town of Dapa, and General Luna, Codename: Oplan “Bantay Laya” (freedom watch)They overran the town, without resistance-from the not more than a dozen Policemen assigned there, they were actually able to gather the people in Dapa, where they distributed leaflets, and had a forum, denouncing the Congressman and the Town Mayor (you know who) for alleged “land grabbing” and other abuses, they also smashed the computers belonging to the LGU’s (Local Gov. Units) took the local policemen’s guns and uniforms. Pulled down the Philippine Flag and raised their own colours. While in General Luna (GL), the raiding team split into 2 groups, one landed in front of the public school, went right into town and torched the police station, also taking with them firearms (agaw armas) and more uniforms. The other group landed in catangnan, that inland bay there, yup, how they manage to navigate in the darkness without being smashed by the surf (at Quicksilver and Jacking horse), is the subject of an “inside job” speculation. Anyway, this group then proceeded to go inland and blew up the towers of both, smart and globe. A force of CAFGU’s assigned there tried to put up a fight, but there were only about 9 of them, and up against more than 60 rebs…you do the math.

I don’t know why it took them that long but it was already almost daylight when they withdrew, giving enough time for the police at the mainland to set up a blocking force of RMG’s (Reg. Mobile Group) in Claver and Km 90, since they rightly assumed that they would try to make it to Surigao Sur. (the police units in GL and Dapa were able to communicate to provincial HQ of what happened by VHF radios, in the absence of a cell signal). On the way back, the rebels tried to split up, so as not to draw attention, however 2 of the rebels pump boats developed engine trouble, so they had to paddle the boat to the nearest Island, which happens to be Lapinigan, that small island in front of our surf spot 3 eggs. As they were nearing the island, a Huey helicopter appeared in the horizon, panicking, the rebs jumped from their boats, and that’s when all hell broke loose, as the rebs swam towards the island, the chopper with it’s M60’s blazing, came in for the kill and blasted the rebs as they swam helplessly towards the shore, luckily for them, it was only a short distance to shore, so most made (those that were not hit) before the chopper could make another strafing run, most of the rebs that made it, mixed up with the villagers, using them as human shields, frustrating the gunners.

Meanwhile the other boats that separated finally made it to the mainland, in the town of Claver. As they were split up in a wide array, some landed in Panaitan and some in Wanke, where they established a beach head. Of course, with Gov. troops already alerted and waiting, it didn’t take long for the two sides to make contact, and A heavy firefight ensued, with regular army units, and with 2 more Helicopter gunships joining the fray, and this time without the element of surprise, and numerical advantage, the rebels had to withdraw to the mountains, with the army in hot pursuit, which resulted in a running battle that soon spread to 5 villages, prompting a mass evacuation among villagers trying to escape being caught in the crossfire.(some of the rockets actually landed behind the church.),up to now operations are still going on. While Lapinigan Island is being blockaded to flush out the rebs still trapped in there, since the army cant move in, for fear that a lot of locals might be caught in the crossfire. I don’t know when this will be over, but the recriminations have already begun, like how the rebels where able to navigate the treacherous catangnan bay at 10 pm unless there was a local guiding them, it is even rumoured that some of the rebels where already there 3 days before, swimming and even using the restrooms(CR) at Sagana resort, although its still rumours maybe I have to ask Jerry D first.

They’re now worried about the effects on tourism, but as usual, it takes something like this to jolt some local officials from their comfort zones, considering there was already a precedent, Sipadan and Dos Palmas in Palawan, they should have prepared for things like this to happen, at least there was no kidnapping involved. But we cant take any comfort in that, and still.. anyways I don’t think it will stop the surfers from coming, after all, surfers are a harder stuff, I mean you guys have been used to travelling to other hot spots, in search of the proverbial “perfect wave” so I’m not sure if it will even thin out the line up. But it’s not the surfers that drive the economy there, heck they’re all stingy as in kuripot. It’s that local tourist from Cebu, Manila or any big City, that puts money in the local economy. And heres the causalty report: 2 killed and 3 wounded on the Government side, and 14 rebels captured and still an undetermined number of casualties on the rebel side, of course they’re all unconfirmed and not final. Anyways that’s all for now, exciting times were living in. cheers bru, mahalo brah, and regards bro.

Nards

From South Africa-Gary Replies..

Yoh Nards,

Radical news-they should've waited till nearer the contest date for max effect. Just when u thought it was safe to go back down to the wild-wild south the righteous bru's get righteous again. I don’t reckon it was on their agenda to thin the line up but I hope it has a bit-maybe the cloud will return to the 9. Weather buffs saying that a record number of typhoons forecast for western pacific, especially in early season-so hope the guys n gals on the island are getting lotsa surf therapy to ease the trauma of da NPA's dropping in like that.
All da best to u all-cheers

Gary n fandamily

Howzit Nards,

You're harder to reach than G.W. Bush. Howzit going? How's the family? How's the sideline? (LOL)
How's the waves brah? I've called your so many times no mas nards. Thank's for the NPA info, Jeff and Madel told me about it too. Just hire the NPA to do the waterpatrol during the contest, that'll spark up their image.

Any life has been great. God's is Awesome, excellent wife, cranking business (driving school, photography and a bit of Amsoil) and better than normal summer waves. Nothing huge just some fun size wave's alot of 2-4ft days and 5-6footer on a few days, with clean conditions. So when the waves are up I'm out there having fun.

I have some good surfing friends of mine that are going to C-9 in September. 'James Kiyohara' and friends. Will you have the time to show them around? If yes let me know as soon as possible, they'll take care of your travel cost, I just want them to have fun with as little drama as possible. I'll be there next year as soon as my wife get's her U.S. Passport we'll start traveling. I'm still planning on looking for a place to make a surf camp, you're the 1st on my list to be in Executive Command of the cooks, dishwashers and yard service.(LOL)

Nard's, I miss all the laughs we've had, good or bad surf , we're always having fun and laughing.

'Shaka Brah'

Daniel & Marianne Kaimi

'Sky Racer'