Archive for October, 2009

Dad, will we be going away this Christmas?

October 20th, 2009

Facing the cost of a family holiday

We go away every Christmas. It’s no big deal – a week or 10 days or maybe 2 weeks. But combined with the usual Christmas tradition of gifts and entertainment, it’s an expensive time. We missed out last year after I cancelled everything and of course the family is wondering what will be this coming year. So when the question was raised I was ready with an answer. “I thought we’d do something different this summer.” “Different like how?” “Like camping… at the bottom of the garden. We have that old tent that we haven’t used for years, we have pots and we can make a fire and we’ll get meat and stuff…” Nobody even smiled. “I’m sorry,” I added, “There is no way I can take the family away.”

My ends are not meeting

In the good years I never thought twice about blowing a healthy sum of money on our summer holiday. There was always an end-of-the-year-bonus to cover the expense and usually something left over. Last year we splurged and went to LA and took in Disneyland and Universal studios. I took Lisa to Spago in Beverly Hills and we ate the Asian Snapper with Baby Bok Choy. We went shopping, but only for tee-shirts, on Rodeo Drive.

Other holidays

The year before we went to Italy, hired a car and messed about in Rome, saw the Vatican, ate spaghetti drank Chianti with every meal. Another year there was that Caribbean Cruise on some Norwegian liner where our stateroom was on the tenth floor and we ate non-stop day and night.

Those are what I call holidays. That’s the time I relax and re-energize for the coming year. As far as the kids are concerned these are great adventures, all part of growing up in our family. Now I’m telling them, “sorry kids, not this year”.

Travel is expensive

All travel is expensive, whether it’s to the nearest beach or the nearest overseas country. Gas is up, hotels are astronomical, entertainment is prohibitive and the thought of buying clothes for the holiday scares me. And then when you are at your destination, money flows freely as you spend on fun and entertainment and eating. You can’t very well stay in some plush hotel and smuggle in sandwiches for dinner.

I’m cutting everywhere

The holiday is not the only item on my “redlist”. I stopped my membership at the gym, and I didn’t renew my subscription to the symphony concert series. I’m taking sandwiches to work instead of going out to a diner or restaurant, but there’s another problem. As things remain bead so everyone is putting their prices up to stay alive as well. It’s a real Catch-22.

Back to the holiday

So, dear family, I hope you understand. We will not be going anywhere this coming summer. But, if it makes you feel better, neither will anyone else.

Posted in Personal / Internet | No Comments »

Being a successful stock exchange trader

October 19th, 2009

Investors, traders and savers

Most individuals who trade on the stock exchanges of the world don’t fall into the category of “investors” in the capital market, let alone “traders.” Many of them are simply “savers”. Savers are squirreling away money for an event such as old age, college education for the kids, a new home, hoping that the market will rise and they will be carried along with the flow. Traders, on the other hand, buy and sell securities. The rules of the game are completely different for them.

Market strategy

There is no one method for saving or trading on the market, but there are some principles that hold true whatever method you use. A good way to learn the principles is to study the activity of the great traders. Never forget that a sudden recession brought on by some factor, apparently disconnected from the market, can bring all the known strategies to their knees, as we have witnessed over the past 2 years.

More on strategy

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of trading methods and styles. Some believe in technical analysis and others think that’s nonsense and rely on thorough research. Some build their strategies using computer programs. Some hold onto positions for weeks and others get in and out several times a day. Then there are ‘tips’ from people who know, like your brother’s sister-in-law who has a friend whose cousin ‘is in the know’, get’s it right every time. There are also professional share advisory services who guarantee… followed by screeds of small print. There are some great magazines and papers that offer tips and advice.

The trappers

Whatever system you use, there are those who are out to get you. It seems that if you are known as a stock market player, you are fair game for the unscrupulous and the crooks. The name of the predator may be Madoff, Standford or Rajaratnam. It could be your stockbroker who gets himself into trouble by his own trading and then decamps with your money.

The Pennystock pushers

Then there are the Penny stock pushers. They send out millions of emails tipping a stock that is standing at a few cents. The emails start coming well in advance and they tell you not to buy, but to wait until they say ‘go!’. What happens is that there is a demand for millions of these stocks which will probably double or more in the space of a few days. Then when all the buyers have doubled or tripled their money, the selling starts and the stock drops back to its previous price or below it. I must say that I find the concept quite intriguing. It smacks of possibilities. I watched a few of the tips without buying and sure enough, the concept worked. On the fourth or fifth email I decided to buy. The problem was that I couldn’t find a broker who deals in penny stocks. Perhaps I was just lucky…

Posted in Economy, Finance | No Comments »

The Unfinished Saga of the Pirate of the Caribbean

October 18th, 2009

Standford’s in jail and fighting mad

Allen Stanford wiped blood from his mouth during a court hearing last week in Houston. Stanford’s attorney said, “My client has some sort of illness caused by his solitary confinement. It’s happened periodically. We checked it out. He appears to be OK. It has not required hospitalization.” Prior to the court appearance, Stanford was reportedly involved in a jail fight which left him with a broken nose and led to his hospitalization for concussion. In August, he was hospitalized with a high pulse rate. Yes, Allen, jail is a tough place to be.

A trial is on the way

Stanford denies the charges against him but has been in federal custody since his arrest on June 18. All the officers of the Stanford Financial Group were charged with running a “massive” Ponzi scheme to defraud investors of about 7 billion U.S. dollars in certificates of deposit administered by Stanford International Bank Ltd, a bank in Antigua controlled by Stanford.

The Standford Empire

Standford, born and raised in Texas, built his empire in the Caribbean, on the island of Antigua, to be exact. His complex, called Stanfordville by the locals, included three bank buildings, a vast cricket field, and a restaurant called the Sticky Wicket. The crown jewel, Stanford International Bank, is an imposing structure with a columned facade overlooking the Antigua airport. Everything in sight is emblazoned with the company’s gold-eagle logo, the doors, walls, coffee mugs and lapel pins. Standford is/was a cricket fan, a cricket nut, in fact. He also held the No. 205 spot on the Forbes Four Hundred.

The Financial Empire

The whole story touches on the impossible. The Standford Investment Bank had no less than 30,000 customers in 131 countries and the bulk of its business was in Latin America. The S.E.C. charged that the company was in fact little more than an $8 billion Ponzi scheme, the second largest after Bernard Madoff’s. Billions of dollars in deposits, the agency alleged, were simply missing. Standford still claims that he has done nothing wrong and that it’s all a big mistake on the part of the authorities. The Standford sense of humor is having a tough time laughing its way out of this one.

The man

Standford is one of those guys with great charisma and a great sense of humor. His rise is quite a story. At the time of his arrest, “Sir” Allen had a personal fortune valued at $2.2 billion. In his spare time he served as the world’s foremost promoter of the sport of cricket and was a household cricket name in the cricket mad Caribbean. He lived Florida in a mansion with a moat surrounding it, but not effective enough to keep the financial snoopers out.

His background

This international banker has no background in banking but seems to be one of those people who can adapt to anything. Let’s see you handle this one, Allen.

Posted in Economy | No Comments »

« Older Entries

Newer Entries »