"If an innocent girl gets shot halfway across the world, does she make a sound? Yes, the whole world hears her."
This afternoon I was haunted by a video of a young woman (named Neda) lying in a street in Iran. She was shot and killed while watching the protests with her father by her side. The video is very disturbing (and has haunted me all day long), so I will not embed it, but here is the link should you have an insatiable urge for morbid fascination.
For a government to answer peaceful protest with violence is simply abhoribble. I find myself completely absorbed by the news and images coming out of Iran. Not only that, but the technological link by people around the world is really amazing.
Here's a link to some of the events.
On twitter you can follow #iranelection for updates that are streaming in by the second.
Another article here.
As a show of support for the people of Iran, and in memory of Neda, I'm temporarily going to a green background color for this blog.
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
smoke em if ya got em!?
It's about time we start living in the 21st-century. Now let those cigars into our country already!!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
the cost of living in Ca.
Is it worth living here? I'm beginning to weigh the pros and cons.
Does raising taxes really generate the projected state/local revenues, or do people just spend less?
Anyway, my local sales tax is being increased to 8.75%!
"The sales tax is expected to bring in an estimated $5.8-billion..."
Are these expectations based on current spending trends, or do they also take into consideration a likely decrease in overall consumer spending?
In all, Governor and lawmakers agreed to $12.5-billion in tax increases in an attempt to decrease the $42-billion deficit.
On top of a higher sales tax, California will impose a 0.25% increase in personal income tax rates in '09 & '10, AND a 0.5% increase in fees to license vehicles .
Also, there will be a tax increase which will reduce the "dependent care credit parents and caregivers can claim to $99 from $309."
"Governor Schwarzenegger abhors taxes. Always has, always will," said his finance spokesman.
Does raising taxes really generate the projected state/local revenues, or do people just spend less?
Anyway, my local sales tax is being increased to 8.75%!
"The sales tax is expected to bring in an estimated $5.8-billion..."
Are these expectations based on current spending trends, or do they also take into consideration a likely decrease in overall consumer spending?
In all, Governor and lawmakers agreed to $12.5-billion in tax increases in an attempt to decrease the $42-billion deficit.
On top of a higher sales tax, California will impose a 0.25% increase in personal income tax rates in '09 & '10, AND a 0.5% increase in fees to license vehicles .
Also, there will be a tax increase which will reduce the "dependent care credit parents and caregivers can claim to $99 from $309."
"Governor Schwarzenegger abhors taxes. Always has, always will," said his finance spokesman.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
some links
-Two diametric opinions...the wishful thinking? and the perhaps a little more knowledgeable?
-More idiocy from the people who run our country.
- There's a (new) whole section in newsflashr dedicated to Gold and the Dollar!
- After three months California finally has an approved budget. Some of the ingredients include:
-an elimination of Public Safety Grants (a decrease of $23.9 million, b/c who needs the petty "Rural Crime Prevention," "Methamphetamine Enforcement Teams," "Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement
Teams," etc.).
- An increase of $3.3 million General Fund and $2.5 million special fund to address problems caused by overcrowding in the Sacramento headquarters building. Those poor babies.
- Flavored Malt Beverage Taxation - "regulations that require flavored malt beverages to be taxed at the distilled liquor rate of $3.30 per gallon, as opposed to the beer rate of 20 cents per gallon.
- An increase of $17.1 million Emergency Response Fund via a 2.8% surcharge on all residential and commercial property insurance statewide.
- Comprehensive Healing Arts Board Fingerprinting Program — An increase of $5.8 million to fingerprint and conduct background checks for all licensees of the Department of Consumer Affairs healing arts boards to enhance consumer protection. I have no idea what this is all about.
- I love this...Prop 42 initiated a temporary 1.5% increase in sales tax, but due to "economic conditions" revenues from this proposition have declined since '08.
- An increase of $12 in annual vehicle registration fees.
- An increase of $11 million Motor Vehicle Account for production of
the new driver license/identification/sales person cards that will require a $3 increase
in driver’s license fees.
- $140 million from federal funds in 2008‑09 for local governments to rehabilitate neighborhoods with abandoned or foreclosed homes.
-General Fund expenditures are proposed to decrease by $1.025 billion in 2009‑10, or
3.3 percent, "significant reductions necessary to address the state’s fiscal shortfall" a theme expressed throughout the document.
- A decrease of $50.8 million in 2008‑09 and $668.7 million in 2009‑10 for various eligibility and benefit changes in the Medi‑Cal Program.
Really though, it can't be easy to shrink a $42-billion deficit, can it?
-More idiocy from the people who run our country.
- There's a (new) whole section in newsflashr dedicated to Gold and the Dollar!
- After three months California finally has an approved budget. Some of the ingredients include:
-an elimination of Public Safety Grants (a decrease of $23.9 million, b/c who needs the petty "Rural Crime Prevention," "Methamphetamine Enforcement Teams," "Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement
Teams," etc.).
- An increase of $3.3 million General Fund and $2.5 million special fund to address problems caused by overcrowding in the Sacramento headquarters building. Those poor babies.
- Flavored Malt Beverage Taxation - "regulations that require flavored malt beverages to be taxed at the distilled liquor rate of $3.30 per gallon, as opposed to the beer rate of 20 cents per gallon.
- An increase of $17.1 million Emergency Response Fund via a 2.8% surcharge on all residential and commercial property insurance statewide.
- Comprehensive Healing Arts Board Fingerprinting Program — An increase of $5.8 million to fingerprint and conduct background checks for all licensees of the Department of Consumer Affairs healing arts boards to enhance consumer protection. I have no idea what this is all about.
- I love this...Prop 42 initiated a temporary 1.5% increase in sales tax, but due to "economic conditions" revenues from this proposition have declined since '08.
- An increase of $12 in annual vehicle registration fees.
- An increase of $11 million Motor Vehicle Account for production of
the new driver license/identification/sales person cards that will require a $3 increase
in driver’s license fees.
- $140 million from federal funds in 2008‑09 for local governments to rehabilitate neighborhoods with abandoned or foreclosed homes.
-General Fund expenditures are proposed to decrease by $1.025 billion in 2009‑10, or
3.3 percent, "significant reductions necessary to address the state’s fiscal shortfall" a theme expressed throughout the document.
- A decrease of $50.8 million in 2008‑09 and $668.7 million in 2009‑10 for various eligibility and benefit changes in the Medi‑Cal Program.
Really though, it can't be easy to shrink a $42-billion deficit, can it?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
hilarious
As soon as Tim Geithner steps up to the mike the market sells off...didn't even wait for him to say good morning!...that was quite funny. His message? ...blah, blah, blah...you're all screwed...blah, blah...but don't worry..blah, blah..we're going to throw as much money at it as it takes..blah, blah...and just so you don't lose sleep at night...blah, blah...you will be able to go on the internet to check how all your tax dollars are being spent...blah, blah...America!...followed by applause. 
Monday, February 9, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
AAPL
I was just looking at the chart for AAPL today and thinking that it wasn't looking good while sitting there at support. I was also thinking about the Steve Jobs rumors ("hormone imbalance" ?!?) and how the chart looked, to me, like people in the know, knew what was really going on. Off of this news, AAPL is currently down over $6. Should get interesting to see what happens at the open tomorrow, so much for $28.50 on the Q's holding.
Friday, December 12, 2008
stonewalled
"The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral."
"If they told us what they held, we would know the potential losses that the government may take and that’s what they don’t want us to know,"
"If they told us what they held, we would know the potential losses that the government may take and that’s what they don’t want us to know,"
Monday, December 8, 2008
Short Keanu Reeves
Cantor Fitzgerald seeking to launch an exchange to trade "Domestic Box Office" Receipts."
Thursday, November 13, 2008
some news
Here are some headlines from today...Is all this news "priced in" ??
- foreign trade slows (but along analyst expectations, and not factoring in the recent strength in the U.S. Dollar).
- government deficit soars to $237.2-billion; $5-billion more than estimated
- jobless levels approaching the highest levels of the 21st century: "Excluding the $21.5 billion investment in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the $115 billion investment in major banks."
- foreign trade slows (but along analyst expectations, and not factoring in the recent strength in the U.S. Dollar).
- government deficit soars to $237.2-billion; $5-billion more than estimated
- jobless levels approaching the highest levels of the 21st century: "Excluding the $21.5 billion investment in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the $115 billion investment in major banks."
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Global Dow
The Global Dow began today. Among it's features:
- Stocks selected by senior editors of the Wall Street Journal in 3 major global regions
- Contains 150 stocks weighted equally
- All 30 Dow industrial's are included, as well as some from the DJ Transportation and Utility averages
- Covers both developed and emerging markets
- includes companies from emerging sectors (alternative energy)
- a list of the holdings are here
- fluctuates closely to the DJ Wilshire Global -- 0.99 correlation over three years (underweight in the Americas; 42% vs. 46%, greater emphasis on Europe; 32% vs. 27%, Asia/Pacific is slightly heavier; 21% vs. 20%
- Within 10 major industries it is underweight by nearly 4% in Financials, 0.6 of a point in Oil & Gas and 0.4 in Telecommunications. It is slightly overweight in most of the remaining seven. Technology is the biggest with its weight of 10.4% being 1.4 percentage points more than in the DJ Wilshire Global.
- Through Oct. 31, it is down 42.16% on a total return basis, compared with 40.69% for the DJ Wilshire Global
- Stocks selected by senior editors of the Wall Street Journal in 3 major global regions
- Contains 150 stocks weighted equally
- All 30 Dow industrial's are included, as well as some from the DJ Transportation and Utility averages
- Covers both developed and emerging markets
- includes companies from emerging sectors (alternative energy)
- a list of the holdings are here
- fluctuates closely to the DJ Wilshire Global -- 0.99 correlation over three years (underweight in the Americas; 42% vs. 46%, greater emphasis on Europe; 32% vs. 27%, Asia/Pacific is slightly heavier; 21% vs. 20%
- Within 10 major industries it is underweight by nearly 4% in Financials, 0.6 of a point in Oil & Gas and 0.4 in Telecommunications. It is slightly overweight in most of the remaining seven. Technology is the biggest with its weight of 10.4% being 1.4 percentage points more than in the DJ Wilshire Global.
- Through Oct. 31, it is down 42.16% on a total return basis, compared with 40.69% for the DJ Wilshire Global
Friday, November 7, 2008
Grinding Sideways
A low-volume sideways day waiting to see if we get the 3 p.m. sell-off/rally? In the meantime; here are some reads for the day on the state of our economy.
- U.S. unemployment rose to the highest level since 1994 as 240,000 more jobs were lost in October.
- GM shaking-down taxpayers for another $25-billion. I say let 'em fail!
- Here come the tax hikes and service cuts for us in Kahleefornia.
- Just like an episode of 24...except with a couple more zeroes.
- U.S. unemployment rose to the highest level since 1994 as 240,000 more jobs were lost in October.
- GM shaking-down taxpayers for another $25-billion. I say let 'em fail!
- Here come the tax hikes and service cuts for us in Kahleefornia.
- Just like an episode of 24...except with a couple more zeroes.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
nice
"Andrew Lahde the hedge-fund manager who quit after posting an 870 percent gain last year, said farewell to clients in a letter that thanks stupid traders for making him rich and ends with a plea to legalize marijuana."
"I was in this game for money,'' Lahde, 37, wrote in a two-page letter today in which he said he had come to hate the hedge-fund business. "The low-hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government."
"All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other sides of my trades. God Bless America.''
"He also suggested that billionaire George Soros sponsor a forum in which ``great minds'' would come together to create a new system of government, as the current system "is clearly broken."
"He added, "The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country.''
Lahde said the only reason marijuana remains illegal is because ``Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other addictive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers.''
"I was in this game for money,'' Lahde, 37, wrote in a two-page letter today in which he said he had come to hate the hedge-fund business. "The low-hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government."
"All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other sides of my trades. God Bless America.''
"He also suggested that billionaire George Soros sponsor a forum in which ``great minds'' would come together to create a new system of government, as the current system "is clearly broken."
"He added, "The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country.''
Lahde said the only reason marijuana remains illegal is because ``Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other addictive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers.''
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
broke california
"The situation is complicated by frozen credit markets that may impede the state's ability to borrow as much as $7 billion of short-term notes next week. Without the loan, the state could run out of cash by month's end."
"The first quarter of the fiscal year has just ended, and we already are short $1.1 billion,'' California Controller John Chiang said in statement. "Revenues are deteriorating faster than expected, and September's cash flows send strong signals that the recently enacted budget is more out of balance than we feared.''
"...lawmakers agreed to cut $8 billion in spending and raised fees and tax penalties on corporations. The actions did nothing to address the ongoing gap between revenue and expenses, and the deficit for the next fiscal year is expected to exceed $6 billion."
"California, the biggest borrower in the municipal-bond market, has $51 billion in general-obligation debt outstanding. The state is rated A+ by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's, the fifth-highest rankings, and a comparable A1 by Moody's Investors Service."
"The first quarter of the fiscal year has just ended, and we already are short $1.1 billion,'' California Controller John Chiang said in statement. "Revenues are deteriorating faster than expected, and September's cash flows send strong signals that the recently enacted budget is more out of balance than we feared.''
"...lawmakers agreed to cut $8 billion in spending and raised fees and tax penalties on corporations. The actions did nothing to address the ongoing gap between revenue and expenses, and the deficit for the next fiscal year is expected to exceed $6 billion."
"California, the biggest borrower in the municipal-bond market, has $51 billion in general-obligation debt outstanding. The state is rated A+ by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's, the fifth-highest rankings, and a comparable A1 by Moody's Investors Service."
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
crap day
title says it all. I lost $150 today (At least my USO position is back in the healthy green). Such a simple day to trade (QLD) in hindsight. A trend in place all day long with buys at one of the moving averages (I can't remember which one, I don't have the chart to post either...will look into that).
For the past few years I have always had this hunch that George W. Bush would orchestrate something to stay in office for another term. Wouldn't it be funny if this is the pre-cursor to that hypothesis?; Maybe he'll be running again in 4 years! w00t!
{Update} Here's the chart for QLD today. Such a simple strategy that I made more complex than it needed to be. Buy the longer-term Moving Average and let it walk up to the previous day's support level.
For the past few years I have always had this hunch that George W. Bush would orchestrate something to stay in office for another term. Wouldn't it be funny if this is the pre-cursor to that hypothesis?; Maybe he'll be running again in 4 years! w00t!
{Update} Here's the chart for QLD today. Such a simple strategy that I made more complex than it needed to be. Buy the longer-term Moving Average and let it walk up to the previous day's support level.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
forclosed = felon
"James Carabelli, chairman of the Republican Party of Macomb County outside Detroit, said, "We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses,"
The Michigan GOP is apparently taking steps to prevent people who have had their homes foreclosed from voting. WTF!?
"the Democratic Party quickly filed lawsuits in federal court on behalf of three Michigan residents who lost their houses to foreclosure, to stop the Michigan GOP from carrying out what Democrats called an "ugly" and "horrific" plan. Michigan is a key swing state where a few thousands votes could determine who wins its seventeen Electoral College votes."
"Caging is a technique used to challenge voters by taking a list of addresses, mailing letters to them marked "do not forward" and then claiming that those voters whose letters were returned no longer live at the addresses at which they are registered and thus are ineligible to vote."
The Michigan GOP is apparently taking steps to prevent people who have had their homes foreclosed from voting. WTF!?
"the Democratic Party quickly filed lawsuits in federal court on behalf of three Michigan residents who lost their houses to foreclosure, to stop the Michigan GOP from carrying out what Democrats called an "ugly" and "horrific" plan. Michigan is a key swing state where a few thousands votes could determine who wins its seventeen Electoral College votes."
"Caging is a technique used to challenge voters by taking a list of addresses, mailing letters to them marked "do not forward" and then claiming that those voters whose letters were returned no longer live at the addresses at which they are registered and thus are ineligible to vote."
Saturday, September 20, 2008
seven hundy
"The recovery package cannot go higher than $700 billion without additional legislation. As for that figure, it lies between the optimistic estimate of $500 billion and the pessimistic guess of $1 trillion about the cost of fixing the financial mess. But the $700 billion is in addition to an $85 billion agreement on a bailout of the insurance giant American International Group, plus $29 billion in support that the government pledged in the marriage of Bear Sterns and JP Morgan Chase. On top of all that, the Congressional Budget Office says the federal bailout of the mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost $25 billion." = $839-billion.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Out of...
...the mouth's of babes:
"The nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shows that the U.S. is "more communist than China right now" but its brand of socialism is meant only for the rich, investor Jim Rogers, CEO of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC Europe on Monday.
"The nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shows that the U.S. is "more communist than China right now" but its brand of socialism is meant only for the rich, investor Jim Rogers, CEO of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC Europe on Monday.
"America is more communist than China is right now. You can see that this is welfare of the rich, it is socialism for the rich… it's just bailing out financial institutions," Rogers said."
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