Archive for October, 2007
Friday, October 19th, 2007
Why Not Double Down on Index Funds?
I just read a mind blowing article and I’m writing this post about it which won’t show up till Friday. I’ll have time to digest the material over the next two days to make sure I want to continue with this post but here the link to the original article. The premise of the article [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Slow Wealth by RichSlick
Thursday, October 18th, 2007
Hot New Buzzwords – M-LEC, SIV, TOXIC, and CACA
Do you know today’s new hottest finance buzzwords? If you’ve been reading the business news, you’ll be well aware of M-LEC (Master Liquidity Enhancement Conduit) and SIV (Structured Investment Vehicles). These are just fancy words for “Toxic Debt” and “Caca” (spanish for Sh*t), respectively. You see no one wants to buy debt tied to mortgages. [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Watch Out by RichSlick
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007
So Where Does Investment Research Come From?
I’ve written that I spend a great deal of time reading and analyzing data before making an investment decision. Much of my research comes from daily news feeds from around the world. One of my favorite sites is London based Financial Times. I love the site because it offers global headline snapshots from key regions: [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Financial Safety by RichSlick
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007
McDonalds $0.99 Double Cheeseburger vs. $2800 Cash
A few weeks ago, Trent over at the Simple Dollar had a fascinating discussion about whether it’s cheaper to buy a $0.99 double cheeseburger or cook some burgers at home. The fundamental question seemed to boil down to what the total real cost of grilling your own burgers by picking up food at the grocery [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in Easy money,MMO,Money Management,Money Trades by RichSlick
Monday, October 15th, 2007
Banks Colluding with Treasury To “Revive” Market?
In case you missed this story slipped out on a Saturday by Bloomberg about Banks colluding with US Treasury to revive the commercial paper market. Here are some excerpts, Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) — Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are leading a group of banks that are in talks with the U.S. Treasury about [...]
No Comments » - Posted in The Fed,Watch Out by RichSlick
Friday, October 12th, 2007
Wow, AMEX Bill $5000 This Month
I guess I hadn’t been paying too much attention but was surprised to see 5k due on my Amex bill along with a $40 interest fee. Evidently my last bill got paid 1 day late so I got hit with a $40 fee. I hate paying interest on anything so it bothers me but things [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Money Management by RichSlick
Friday, October 12th, 2007
Wholesale Inflation at 13%, Food Inflation at 18%
It’s funny how AP & Yahoo sugar coat things sometimes. I saw the headline, “Retail Sales Soar in September” but when you read the article there is some shocking information to be found, ” The 1.1 percent rise in wholesale inflation, which followed a 1.4 percent drop in August, was more than double what economists [...]
5 Comments » - Posted in The Fed by RichSlick
Thursday, October 11th, 2007
The Smartest Financial Adviser
I ran into a financial adviser recently but I met him in the context of a sales meeting. Evidently, this financial adviser had left Fidelity to work in a completely different field. He was a certified financial planner and sold mutual funds and other investments to investors. When I asked him why he left the [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Careers by RichSlick
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007
Shopping IKEA Is A Nightmare!
I don’t know how the IKEA owner became one of the richest men in the world but shopping at IKEA’s retail store or online is a nightmare. We went to the store to pick up furniture for my office remodeling. We picked out 5 bookshelves, a rather large desk with many pieces and parts and [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Rants by RichSlick
Tuesday, October 9th, 2007
Fixed Rate ARMs? Bankruptcy Code Changes? WTH?
I’m not trying to be a prudent bear here just a prudent investor. I’m still short this market (Dow, S&P 500) and when I read articles like this it just reaffirms my move. If everything is so wonderful why do we have the head of FDIC suggesting things like this, ” The heat on U.S. [...]