I would normally stay away from politics on my page up. But, this is the most accurate way to describe the times that we are living. It reflects both how society as a whole has changed and how we are no longer in the same economic state. Everyone remembers the Wassup guys from Budweiser this is what became of them after 8 years. I do not support either Obama or McCain at this time. Both of their policies are have pros and cons. I do agree that we NEED CHANGE!!
Check it out! It is pretty cool. The section has a very large array of news. Some of the topics that are covered are Business News, Market News, Banking News, Private Equity, New Issues News, Forex News and Financial Services and Real Estate and they go on. It is really hard to get all this information on one site and in a timely manner. Sanebull delivers this and more.
CONDÉ NAST PORTFOLIO had a very interesting article today on how companies are developing ways to make their watches hard to copy or replicate. To sum it up, Vacheron Constantin created a watch (Image above) that is extremely hard to copy. Making or saving the company million because there theory is that the people who were buying the counterfeit watches will be buying the originals instead.
There are 2 issues with this strategy. The first is that they are expecting that the new watches will not be duplicated in the near future. That is a horrible way of thinking, new currency bills are replicated in a matter of weeks. If there is money in making copies someone will have copies out. The second, most the people who buy the fakes will not be buying the original watch for 30-40 thousand. If they could afford it then they would not be shopping for a fake on Canal Street.
What do we learn from this? Know your target market! Your clients all want a similar experience. In this case they want to feel as if they are in a club that has a very high cost of entry. This is a perfect niche/ space for watches that cost 30,000-40,000. But, you can always spot a fake on a person who should not have that type of watch. Now as for the person who can afford the watches and don’t wear the real ones. That is simple why invest into something that you will break in a week. A 60 dollar copy works great for people who tend to break there watch faces in a short time. People buy what works for them not what the companies want them to buy.
For all the capital that they spent in preventing knock offs these companies could have created secondary brands that target this market in particular. People always need good cheap watches and if they have a similar look to an expensive brand that will be great for everyone. This strategy of knowing your markets worked great for Gap, old navy and Banana Republic. Each brand targets a specific niche of the market. Each brand has its own price ranges that reflect their markets.
This letter Sums up the whole Financial crisis from the front lines.This is the same portfolio manager who had a 1000% return. This guy is no fool you listen to every word.
Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.
Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, “What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it.” I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. 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 side of my trades. God bless America.
I woke up today to some great news the big banks will be using 10 percent ($70 billion) of the bailout money to pay out this year’s bonuses. Yes, the American people got bent over slapped on the left butt cheek and told you can’t afford lube then taken hard and fast. I don’t know about you but this is a bit messed up in my opinion. These people destroyed the economy with their greed. Now, the same people want a reward for this destruction. Whatever happened to bonuses being for good work?
Reward for excellence and consequence for failure, that saying still rings in my ears after all these years. Why is no one following this saying? It works, simple tried and true. How can anyone in their right mind even ask a bonus after they lost BILLIONS if not trillions of their company’s money? I just don’t get it. Good people are suffering because of these company’s mistakes. Why are they getting a reward for the creation of this mess?
This is our money being used to reward failure. I do not believe that it is right or fair for this to occur. To top it off the media in the states is keeping quiet about this whole issue. There should be an up roar to say the least. This whole situation only proves that the politicians are in bed with the banks.
Pass this information on to your friends this should not be allowed to occur!
The United States media will not even focusing on this unless you make it focus on this issue!
This week Mr. Warren Buffet declared that he will be investing heavily into American stocks. Some on you may have taken this as a sign that the market is going up and things will be better soon. Well sorry to say but this means something but not as much as you think. Warren Buffet invests into things that he has faith in and for the LONG term. The positions that he bought or will be buying into will be kept for at least 5 years. Plus, He (or someone who works for him) did a great deal of research on the company’s that he will be investing into. Do not invest blindly into something thinking that everything will rise again and soon.
If you are investing for the long term then this is the best time. It may not be the bottom but you are still buying a large array of great company’s for discounted prices! The old saying buy low sell high still applies to the market. But to follow Buffet game plan, you as a investor still have to do research and realize that this is going to be a LONG LONG game.
By the way I don’t think that buffet will be dying anytime soon. He will outlive us all just watch and see.
As the Columbus Day weekend of 2008 draws to an end, both anticipation and fear could be felt on the streets of New York. The only thing that was on their minds was the status of the economy and what will happen on Tuesday when the market opens after a 3 day holiday. In the week prior to this holiday the financial markets lost ground with record pace. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (.DJI) lost 18.15%; Closing on Friday with 8,451.19. A loss of 1874 points from Monday’s opening. To make matters even better this crash was not isolated to the markets in the United States. Read more…
These are the types of articles that scare me more than the market crashing. When the people lose faith in economy and start saving then the industries that need that capital to exist will crash further. This is the kind of endless cycle that can cause another depression in not only the United States but the world. Read more…
I have been thinking about this for a while, never really had the time or the will power to write it all down. Something changed today; someone said something about my personality to me that after some though is to the point. This one thing about me several people have tried to change over the years. These people were trying to help me and I would like to thank them for that.
I hope that everything you guys have done for me was worth it and you enjoyed the time as much as I have. Read more…
This month has been hell on all of us. It is no longer only people that are in the finance field feeling the effect but all the people of the world. We must solve these issues as a single unified voice not as many different groups working on separate pieces. The first step should be to elect someone that we all can follow in to office in the States. We need more intelligent people that will make the right decisions for the nation. One that will not doing everything in there power to make money for themselves.
But, in all likely hood the roller coaster that we are on still has some loops to go and the person we will elect will not know how to fix anything. Both parties will blame the other and we will be caught with out pants down again.
