The World Didn’t End This Week.

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Well, we survived this last week and there was no financial meltdown of the world.  Thank goodness, I haven’t finished my Christmas shopping yet nor baked all the required cookies. Maybe the world could melt down sometime in 2012 so I can at least enjoy the holiday parties before being swept into poverty and financial ruin.

The European Union put together a deal in the nick of time and the world was saved.  I find it interesting that Europe, just like the US, cannot make a decision until the last second and it has to be in the middle of the night.  The officials of all the counties want you to know that they will not sleep until it is complete. What a sacrifice they are making – whatever!

There is a big debate going on about if the Euro will stay or go.  I personally don’t see the Euro going away or the European Union breaking up but I could be wrong.  I do find it interesting that this week the EURUSD did not fall like I thought it would if things were really that bad.  The US is always waiting in the wings to rescue the Euro if needed.  Here goes more of our tax dollars to help people who don’t want or need our help.

The Euro is not stable, nor did anything really get done in all the meetings that were held this week.  The plan has to be put into motion and determined if it is working or not.  That will take at least a year or more to figure out.

Bernanke, get the printing press warmed up, the world is going to need it next year.

Will the European Union Crash This Week?

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The economists are out in force this week writing their articles on the fate of the Euro and how the European Union will either get it together or crash.  There are meetings scheduled for almost everyday this week, too try and hash out another plan to save Greece and the rest of the struggling countries.  The strongest country financially is Germany and they don’t want to bail out the rest and I don’t blame them.  Greece should have been allowed to fail, so that the rest of the union could survive.  Now the entire union could come crashing down. Keep your eyes on the news and Wall Street because it is going to get crazy.

This week a read book called Boomerang by Michael Lewis and it was an eye opener.  In a very easy to read format he lays out the financial problems of several countries, Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Germany and the US. He explains how they got to where they are now and why they continue to fail.  What surprised me was that he looked at the culture and how it intertwined with finance. It is going to take a massive culture change in Greece to fix their problems and the people are unwilling to make the sacrifice.

The problem boils down to self entitlement and that all of us should have what we want and live a lifestyle that we can’t afford. The culture needs to change in the US as well, since we are on the same path, even though our government doesn’t want you to know that.

People around the world, including the US, are at heart selfish and greedy and we don’t want to face the consequences of our out of control actions. The generations in the future can clean up our mess because we deserve to live like kings and queens on a commoners salary.

It’s time to pay the piper and get back on track, but we just hold our hand out for more. Just remember that the people who are giving you handouts are the ones that will control you in the end. They have you right where they want you……………..

Unemployment Drops to 8.6%

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Today is a day to party and spend money because the unemployment rate fell to 8.6%.  I was shocked to hear that the number had changed so much  and I need a calculator because something is not adding up. Here we go again with the fuzzy math.

While the private sector did have a good month in November for hiring employees, it was not enough to change the unemployment number that much.  Apparently the government found more jobs from October that had not been reported either. Ok, so what happened?

Take Octobers numbers, add change, add Novembers numbers, carry the two, divide by 17, stand on head, recalculate and bingo – 8.6%.  While I am just kidding about the math, what the report is not telling you is that the number dropped due to seasonal holiday hiring and that the unemployment rate will go back up in January.

Unemployment claims are up and the debt crisis in Europe & US will take years to fix.  Enjoy the warm and fuzzy moment because that is all your going to get.

500 Point Dow Rise – On What?

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I enjoyed watching the Dow go up almost 500 points yesterday, when the Federal Reserve lowered the interest rates between the US and other world banks.  This was done so that Europe could purchase US dollars to keep their their banks/Country from a massive collapse.  The US dollar lost value due to the “printing” of money to bail out Europe.  This is just a band-aid on a severed limb.  It keeps things going for a few more days.

Realize, that nothing changed, the debt is still there and the crisis in Europe has not been fixed at all.

So, why did the Dow go up? A false sense of security?  The Dow is made up of companies that do business and their stock price is supposed to reflect the health of the company.  What did these companies do yesterday to drastically change their stock price? Nothing.  Wall street and investors felt that the move by the Fed would solve all it’s problems and there would be a happy ending.  Wrong, but I guess it felt good to watch stock prices move up.

Enjoy it while it lasts……….

 

Dolphin Tale

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I went to see Dolphin Tale this weekend and it was the best family movie I have seen in a long time.  If the DVD is available at Christmas, it would be a great stocking stuffer for the kids.

It is a true story and it is about a dolphin, named Winter, that gets hurt and her tail has to be removed. A doctor at the VA hospital near the rescue center in Florida builds a prosthetic replacement tail similar to the prosthetic limbs he builds for the injured vets.   Winter is the first fish to have a prosthetic limb that actually worked.  There are a lot of ups and downs during the movie but it is a very happy ending.

You can visit Winter at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, www.seewinter.com, and she has learned to swim with and without her tail.  You may see her tail or you might not.

There is webcam above the tank and an underwater night vision camera in the tank that is really cool.  Winter also has a Facebook page and you can go visit her in person at the aquarium.

Black Friday

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Ok, today  is about another one of my pet peeves – Black Friday and holiday sales numbers.  Once upon a time, like 5 years ago, Christmas/Holiday sales would start at 6am on Friday morning and what would be on sale was a secret.  You could show up early, get discounts and see all the sale items.

Since all retail outlets try to beat the previous years sales, you have to change something because what if you didn’t surpass the sales from the previous year?  It might be considered the end of the world!

So, stores started opening earlier and earlier on Friday, there were more discounts and the top secret sales items were released during Thanksgiving week, so you could plan ahead. Great, but it is now out of control.

This year we can start shopping for Black Friday on Thursday.  Is it now going to be called Orange Thursday for Thanksgiving or how about Brown Thursday since the color brown is next to black in the color wheel?  What about green or red Thursday, since green and red are holiday colors?  Who picks the color of the day anyway?  I’m already confused at this point.

What is in store for next year? Black Friday week?  Retailers are just manipulating the data and the media will say that holiday sales were up and it was a great year.  What a bunch of nonsense.

I think we should have a Black Friday in September, October and November, just to make sure the holiday sales are up.   Happy shopping.

 

Is the Stock Market Quieting DownYet?

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So far this week the stock markets have been quiet and there has not been the erratic movement that has been seen over the last few weeks.  I think everyone is holding their breath to see what really happens in Europe.  What is unfortunate is that there is somewhat good news coming out of the US concerning unemployment claims and retail sales but Europe is holding the markets down and there has not been a positive bounce that would normally be expected.

Happy trading!

 

Zero Day by David Baldacci

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Zero Day

“John Puller is a combat veteran and the best military investigator in the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Division. Called to investigate a brutal crime in West Virginia coal country, he soon realizes that nothing he’s seen in this small town, and no one in it, are what they seem. Facing a potential conspiracy that reaches far beyond the coal country hills, he is one man on the hunt for justice against an overwhelming force.” (excerpt from David Baldicci.com website).

I just finished Zero Day and it was fantastic and a little scary.  What happens in the book, I cannot disclose, but the story line is about stuff the governement left behind years ago and just covered it up – in cement.  What is surprising is that there are sites all over the US where the government did some test or research that are sitting next to major cities and people are completly unaware. You might want to do a little research of your own and see if there is anything laying around your city that you should know about.

The only negative that I have about this book, and I have read all his books, is that the heroine, female lead, of the book, dies at the end.  Why? I am so tired of reading books where the woman goes through hell, almost dies, almost has a realationship with the hero, only to get killed in the end.

Dear David and all other authors,

Let the women live, have a nice date with the hero and ride off into the sunset. In the next book you have have a new hot woman and can continue the saga.  By the way, the new hot woman doesn’t die either.

Send me comments…………..

 

Economic Update

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Most of you know that I day trade on the FOREX market as a way to watch global currencies and most importantly the US dollar.  I receive a weekly newsletter from FOREX.com’s Chief Currency Strategist Brian Dolan and he does a great job of explaining what is going on around the world in regard to global currencies.

Here is the link to his newsletter. It will give you a snap shot of what is happening in the Euro zone and the US.

FOREX.com Newletter

Unemployment is only 9%

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The new unemployment number was out today and it fell from 9.1% to 9%. Wow, that is a huge change!

I like that VP Biden came out this week and said that unempolyment will be around 8.6% by the end of 2011. Really? Is he going to pull a rabbit out of his hat? The end of the year is in 7 weeks so what is his grand plan to reduce the number? Part-time holiday help. While thousands of people will be hired for the holiday season, these jobs are not sustainable and in January they will all be gone again.

There are currently 13.9 million people unemployed and you can go to bls.gov for more information. While the public sees 9%, in reality it is 17% on average with higher unemployment for people in their 20′s.

So, keep an eye on the employment numbers for the holiday season and remember that Santa, the elves and Rudolph and his buddies have all been counted as jobs saved and retained!