1984 : Steve Jobs Introduces The Mac

National Debt: CNBC Explains

An article from CNBC. Very explicit....

National Debt: CNBC Explains
Posted By: Mark Koba | Senior Editor CNBC.com 

World Collapse Explained in Three Minutes

Tony Robbins Talking About The Coming Economic Collapse?

A interesting article from Michael Snyder....

Is Tony Robbins Right About The Coming Economic Collapse?By Michael Snyder on August 21, 2010

It seems like almost everyone is warning of a coming economic collapse these days. Do you remember Tony Robbins? He is probably the world’s best known “motivational speaker” and his infomercials dominated late night television during the 80s and 90s. He was always urging all of us to “unleash the power within” and to take charge of our lives. Well guess what? Now Tony Robbins is warning that an economic collapse is coming. In fact, he has issued a special video warning about what he believes is about to happen. Considering the incredible connections that he has at the highest levels of the financial world, it makes a lot of sense to consider what he is trying to warn us about. Robbins says that a “major retracement” is coming to financial markets and that the coming collapse is going to be a “painful process” as we go through it. Those familiar with Tony Robbins know that he always goes out of his way to stress the positive, so if even he is openly warning the public about a coming economic nightmare than you know that things are starting to get really, really bad out there.

Part 1:
The video that Tony Robbins published where he gives his economic warning is posted in two parts below. This is unlike any Tony Robbins video that you have ever seen before and it is absolutely jaw dropping….


So is Tony Robbins right about what is coming?

Yup. An economic collapse is coming.

You need to get prepared.

For those not familiar with my previous articles, let’s review just some of the reasons why America is headed towards an economic nightmare of unprecedented proportions….

The National Debt - The U.S. government has accumulated a national debt that is rapidly approaching the 14 trillion dollar mark. According to Democrat Erskine Bowles, one of the heads of Barack Obama’s national debt commission, if we continue on the path we are on the U.S. government will be spending $2 trillion just for interest on the national debt by 2020.
State And Local Debt - Many of America’s state and local governments may be in even worse financial shape than the federal government is. In fact, some state and local governments are in such a financial mess that they have starting cutting off even the most essential services.

Consumer Debt - The total amount of consumer debt that Americans have accumulated now stands at approximately 11.7 trillion dollars.

The Trade Deficit - The U.S. trade deficit has exploded to nightmarish proportions over the past two decades. Every single month tens of billions more dollars flows out of the country than flows into it. The rest of the world is literally bleeding us dry in slow motion.

No Jobs - Today it takes the average unemployed American over 8 months to find a job. The number of Americans receiving long-term unemployment benefits has risen over 60 percent in just the past year.

The Credit Crunch - The U.S. is experiencing a credit crunch unlike anything it has seen since the Great Depression. Lending has really, really dried up, but without loans our economic system cannot function properly.

The Housing Crisis - Even with mortgage rates at historic lows, a shockingly low number of Americans are buying houses. There has been a total collapse in home sales since the home buyer tax credit expired. At the same time, mortgage defaults, foreclosures and home repossessions by banks continue to set new all-time records.
Rising Bankruptcies - Nationwide, bankruptcy filings rose 20 percent in the 12-month period ending June 30th.

Rising Poverty - One out of every eight Americans and one out of every four American children are now on food stamps. Approximately 50 million Americans couldn’t even afford to buy enough food to stay healthy at some point last year.

The Coming Pension Crisis - America is facing a pension crisis that is so nightmarish that it is almost impossible to adequately describe it. State and local government pension plans are woefully underfunded, dozens of large corporate pension plans either have collapsed or are on the verge of collapsing, Social Security is a complete and total financial disaster and about half of all Americans essentially have nothing saved up for retirement.

The Derivatives Bubble - Our financial system has become a gigantic gambling parlor and we have allowed a horrific derivatives bubble to develop that could destroy the entire world economy if it ever bursts. Nobody knows exactly how big the derivatives bubble is, but low estimates place it at around 600 trillion dollars and high estimates put it at around 1.5 quadrillion dollars. Once that bubble pops there simply will not be enough money in the entire world to fix it.

The Federal Reserve - The Federal Reserve has devalued the U.S. dollar by over 95 percent since 1913 and it has been used to create the biggest mountain of government debt in the history of the world. There are many economists who would argue that the Federal Reserve is at the very core of our economic problems.

As we get even closer to the economic abyss that we are racing towards, even more big names such as Tony Robbins will come forward with warnings.

The truth is that these problems did not develop overnight, and they are not going to be solved overnight either.Perhaps our economic future is best summed up by this one statement that economist Paul Krugman recently made….“America is now on the unlit, unpaved road to nowhere.”

It would be great if I could write about America’s bright economic future and the unlimited prosperity that is ahead for all of us, but that would be a lie.

We are headed for an economic collapse.It is going to be painful.It is time to get prepared.

11 Unusual Ways Steve Jobs Made Apple The World's Most Admired Tech Company

The best entrepreneurs make their mark by thinking differently, coming up with a new way of doing something. This is the first installment in a four-part series called "The Mavericks," where we salute these players.

Just 13 years ago, Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy. Today, it is the world's most admired tech company.

Steve Jobs can be credited for the drastic turnaround.  But how did he do it?

By thinking differently, innovating, and being controversial.

Partner with the enemy

Can you imagine Pepsi and Coca-Cola getting together? Or Verizon and AT&T? That's how strange it was when Apple and Microsoft announced their partnership at the 1997 Macworld Expo.

After 12 years of financial loss, Jobs needed to get Apple money, and quickly. So he turned to Bill Gates, who made a $150 million investment in Apple.

"The era of competition between Apple and Microsoft is over as far as I'm concerned," Jobs announced.  "This is about getting Apple healthy, this is about Apple being able to make incredibly great contributions to the industry and to prosper again.”

Put sex in products

A great salesman, Jobs knew the importance of aesthetics; he realized Apple's products looked dated.

In 1998, Jobs called a meeting at Apple, sat everyone down and said, "You know what's wrong with this company? The products SUCK -- there's no sex in them."

Today, Apple is credited for creating the most beautiful technology, from colorful iMacs to sleek iPads.

Change the original vision and business plan

Apple began as a computer-only company, but Jobs knew it needed to broaden its approach if it wanted to become truly successful.

Apple began expanding its products beyond just computers with the release of Final Cut Pro, followed by MP3 players, music, iPhones and iPads.

Jobs changed the company's name from Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple Inc. in 2007 to symbolize the new, broader vision.

Create solutions to impossible roadblocks

Other retailers were not giving Apple products adequate positioning.

Jobs' solution? The Apple Store. Scattered throughout the world, these successful outlets are now the "darlings of the retail computer industry."

Tell customers what they want instead of asking for feedback

Jobs does not use focus groups. Instead, he tells customers what they want before they know they want it.

"[Apple has] a great track record for making you want -- and buy -- things you thought you didn't need," says Carl Howe, director of consumer research for Yankee Group.

Last year when the iPad was announced, people gawked. Nearly 20 million sales later, it's not so funny. 

Connect dots

Apple releases products that are innovative in and of themselves, but they are also integrated visions.  iPods mesh beautifully with iTunes; iPads and iPhones collaborate with the app store. 

According to Jobs, "creativity is just connecting things."  Apple frequently shows how the sum is greater than all of the parts.

Don't hire cookie cutter employees

Ivy league graduates aren't the only people who can run companies. 

"Part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians, and poets, and artists, and zoologists, and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world," Jobs has said.

Encourage others to think differently

Apples' "Think Different" ad campaign in the late 1990's was one of the most effective of all time.

It stimulated innovation and reinvention, which is what Apple, today, is all about

Don't elaborate

Simplicity is bliss.

Apple's designer Jonathan Ives confirms this strategy: "We are absolutely consumed by trying to develop a solution that is very simple, because as physical beings we understand clarity."

Sell dreams, not products

Jobs gets people hooked on a feeling. It's not the products his customers buy, it's what the products represent.

Remember, people first and foremost care about themselves, so make products they can relate to.

Trust your gut

Steve Jobs said in his Stanford commencement speech: "Have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become."

China Reportedly Plans Strict Goals to Save Energy

                                                                                                                                        Wu Hong/European Pressphoto Agency

Any energy policy moves by Beijing holds global implications, given that China is the world’s biggest consumer of energy and largest emitter of greenhouse gases. A Sinopec plant refines oil in Shandong Province.

By KEITH BRADSHER

Published: March 4, 2011

HONG KONG — With oil prices at their highest level in more than two years because of unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, the Chinese government plans to announce strict five-year goals for energy conservation in the next two weeks, China energy specialists said Friday. 

Bejing’s emphasis on saving energy reflects concerns about national security and the effects of high fuel costs on inflation, China’s export competitiveness and the country’s pollution problems.
Any energy policy moves by Beijing hold global implications, given that China is the world’s biggest consumer of energy and largest emitter of greenhouse gases. And even the new efficiency goals assume that China’s overall energy consumption will grow, to meet the needs of the nation’s 1.3 billion people and its rapidly expanding economy.

As a net importer of oil, China tends to view its energy needs as a matter of national security. And so, even as Beijing tries to quell any signs of the Arab world’s social unrest striking a political chord with Chinese citizens, the government is also intent on not letting similar upheaval impinge on its energy needs.
Zhang Guobao, who was China’s longtime energy czar until his retirement in January and is still a power broker on energy issues, said Friday that China must undertake an “arduous” task to protect its security. “Oil security is the most important part of achieving energy security,” Mr. Zhang told the official Xinhua news agency. “Preparations for alternative energies should be made as soon as possible.

China has placed a big bet on renewable energy, emerging as the world’s biggest and lowest-cost manufacturer of wind turbines and solar panels. But the country remains heavily reliant on coal for its electricity. And its oil imports are surging after auto sales have surpassed the American market in each of the last two years.

China has also moved ahead of the United States as the biggest buyer of oil and natural gas from Saudi Arabia, which has so far avoided social upheaval but is on Mideast analysts’ watch lists. That oil is shipped in tankers that travel along sea lanes controlled by India and the United States, which adds to Beijing’s jitters.

Iran, hardly a bastion of stability, is another large supplier of crude oil to China.

And while Russia in the current geopolitical context is looking like a relatively secure supplier of energy, a large pipeline to China from Russia, completed this winter, so far supplies only 3 percent of China’s crude oil.

An important feature of the five-year plan is its call to double the share of natural gas in Chinese energy consumption, to 8 percent in 2015 from 4 percent last year, according to Fatih Birol, the chief economist of the multilateral International Energy Agency in Paris. This will make China a natural buyer of large quantities of Russian gas, making it a competitor to Europe, which already relies heavily on gas from Russia.

According to an estimate by Wood Mackenzie, a global energy consulting firm, China imports nearly two-thirds of its oil and is on track to pass the United States in the percentage of imported oil this year. China was a net exporter as recently as 1992, before the demands of its economic boom created an insatiable energy appetite at home.

As part of its effort to curb oil demand, the Chinese government has already been pursuing an aggressive program to develop electric cars, although these would run at least initially on a national grid that still relies heavily on coal.

China aims to limit energy consumption in 2015 to four billion metric tons of coal or its equivalent in other fuels, Mr. Zhang said. An energy specialist in Beijing said that he had also been told the same figure by several people.

Even a goal of four billion metric tons of coal or its equivalent represents an annual increase of 4.24 percent from last year’s consumption of a little more than 3.2 billion tons.

No decisions have been made yet on how the almost entirely state-owned energy sector would allocate the limits by city, province or electric utility. This is already causing considerable anxiety within China, said the specialist, who insisted on anonymity because of the government’s sensitivity about goals that have not yet been announced.

“It’s a political target, it’s being taken without a lot of internal consultation,” he said, before adding a Chinese proverb to describe the unhappy reaction of power producers and users already briefed on the new policy: “It’s like a whole lot of ants are being thrown in a hot wok.”

The Chinese economy has repeatedly grown considerably faster than government forecasts. But the government has come much closer to its energy goals because it owns all of the electricity distribution systems. And it has controlling stakes in the oil, gas and electricity companies and many coal mining companies.

The last five year-plan, which ended on Dec. 31, called for the country to reduce by 20 percent the energy it used per renminbi of economic output in 2010, compared to 2005. To try meeting that goal, Beijing required the governments of every province and city to achieve 20 percent improvements. Local officials, in turn, set similar goals for the 200 largest companies in each province and city.

But China fell badly behind its goal in late 2009 and early last year. The government’s economic stimulus program, in response to the global financial crisis, produced huge spending on highways, high-speed rail lines and other infrastructure that required lots of steel and cement, which are energy-intensive to produce.

Premier Wen Jiabao responded last May by starting a national campaign to improve energy efficiency and soon vowed an “iron hand”to enforce compliance. By September, the government was ordering production lines to close at 2,000 factories.

The campaign reached extremes last autumn and early winter, with some town officials shutting off electricity and heat to businesses, homes and even hospitals in desperate bids to avoid censure for missing their goals.

Despite the measures, the government fell slightly short. Senior officials initially said in January that the country had “basically” met the 20 percent goal. But statistics issued since then show an improvement of only 19.1 percent over the last five years.

Meeting the new target of no more than four billion metric tons of coal or its equivalent will require further improvements in efficiency if the economy expands 7 percent a year in the coming years.

Much greater efficiency gains would be needed if the economy grows even faster, as most economists predict. The Chinese economy expanded 10.3 percent last year.

Mr. Wen and others for years have resisted setting total energy consumption goals and have only issued efficiency goals — precisely because overall consumption goals could require drastic measures to meet if the economy surges.

There was no immediate explanation available on Friday, other than troubles in the Arab world, for why the government had now decided to embrace an overall target.

The goals in China’s new five-year plan are consistent with the International Energy Agency’s “new policies” plan for climate change, a middle course that represents an improvement from current policies, Mr. Birol said. But he noted that the Chinese goals did not go far enough to meet what the agency considers necessary to prevent world temperatures from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius, an increase that many scientists fear as potentially leading to very broad environmental changes.

Mr. Zhang and other Chinese officials have made little mention of climate change, which has ranked far behind energy security as a priority in Chinese policy making.

Zhou Yongkang, one of the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee that runs China and the top law enforcement official of the Chinese Communist Party, is an oil engineer who spent most of his career rising to the top of the country’s oil industry. He retains considerable influence over energy policy even though his job now is crushing internal dissent.

Most recently, Mr. Zhou has overseen efforts to round up dissidents and make sure that the “Jasmine Revolution” does not spread from the Arab region to China. Premier Wen and other top officials have also warned recently that rising prices for many commodities pose a threat to social stability.

How Useful Is the PEG Ratio?

Attended a preview on 24 Feb'11 and the speaker Jason Wee mentioned about this ratio and mention is also known as Lynch ratio (1 of Peter Lynch citeria for selecting stocks). I thought it meaningful and post it here to keep it as a reminder to me.


By Joseph Khattab
The PEG ratio is one of the most popular valuation tools. It takes about eight seconds to calculate and is much easier than running a discounted cash flow valuation. But the skeptic in me started to wonder: Can something so simple really be useful?
I decided to back-test the PEG ratio to see whether it really is an accurate indicator of value. The results were surprising.
Normally, I'd save the answer until the very end of the article, but let's just get this out in the open: On average, companies with lower PEG ratios outperformed those with higher PEG ratios by a wide margin over the past three years.
To me, that indicates that the PEG is not just a lot of smoke and mirrors. Although it is not a perfect tool (what is?), it is useful for a quick and dirty valuation.
PEG crash course
Before we crunch some numbers, here's a quick refresher on the PEG ratio. Simply divide the P/E ratio by the rate at which you think earnings will grow over the next few years. You can use your own growth estimates or get five-year analyst growth estimates from Yahoo! Finance. If your PEG is around 1, you have a fairly valued company -- or so the legend goes. A PEG much higher than 1 indicates an overvalued company, and a PEG lower than 1 indicates an undervalued company. Now, the fun part.
I calculated the PEG ratio as of March 2003 for more than 1,000 companies. I simply took the P/E ratio in March 2003 and divided it by the actual earnings growth rate from March 2003 through March 2006.
Then I calculated the performance of each stock over the past three years to see whether I could find any correlation between the PEG and stock performance. On average, stocks with a 2003 PEG between 0 and 1 performed much better than the others. Here are the results.

* Includes U.S. companies trading on major exchanges with market caps greater than $500 million for which data was available.











My study is not statistically airtight. The results are skewed by having to throw out companies that had negative earnings. However, my sample size is large enough that I feel comfortable calling these results a good guideline for the PEG ratio.
Some things to ponder
Here are a few more interesting tidbits from my study:
•92% of companies with PEG ratios of less than 1 beat the market over three years.
•68% of companies with PEG ratios of between 1 and 2 beat the market.
•47% of companies with PEG ratios greater than 2 beat the market.
•The best performer was (surprise, surprise) Hansen Natural (Nasdaq: HANS). It had a PEG of 0.08
  in 2003 and had gained 5,400% through March.
•The second-best performer was NutriSystem (Nasdaq: NTRI) with a PEG of 0.06 and a gain of 5,200%.
•Despite a PEG of 0.55, Ford (NYSE: F) managed only a 14% gain over three years.
•Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) was "fairly valued" with a PEG of exactly 1, but it still
 appreciated by 265%.
•A PEG of 8 didn't stop Select Comfort (Nasdaq: SCSS) from appreciating by 266%.
Caveats
The PEG ratio is limited by its focus on earnings growth. For example, Ann Taylor Stores (NYSE: ANN) grew earnings at -0.32% over the past three years, but the stock tripled. Altria (NYSE: MO) also had negative earnings growth, yet the stock doubled.
These performances point out the shortcomings of the PEG -- earnings growth is not the only thing the market cares about. Revenue growth, cash flow, dividends, debt, and many other factors are also important to value.
Another thing to consider is that the "G" is the crucial part of the PEG. I was able to calculate the exact rate of earnings growth when back-testing. But when you are trying to value a company today, you won't know the rate of earnings growth. You will only have your best guess, or the best guess of Wall Street analysts. Thus, your PEG will be only as good as your inputs.
Finally, the PEG is very useful for small growers like Hansen and NutriSystem, but may be misleading for large, mature companies like Altria and Ford, since sustained growth is less important to their total returns.
Foolish bottom line
I hope my study helps to shine some light on the pros and cons of the PEG ratio. Keep in mind that the PEG is most useful when used to supplement a more thorough discounted cash flow analysis or relative valuation.

Dream Rangers by TC Bank

Do you have a dream....? Live on...
(A Taiwan ad, directed by Thai director, Thanonchai)

Interesting Cartoon explaination on QE2 (Quantitative Easing)

Interesting cartoon on QE2 / Printing Money / etc....

22 Years of Friendship (by mentor Conrad Alvin Lim)

My trading mentor, Conrad Alvin Lim penned this article which I enjoyed and think should be read by every couples. It talks about his views on relationship as well as his 22 years relationship with his lovely wife. I admire his wife a lot, more than him... actually. So here you go..... Read with pleasure.

22 Years of Friendship Posted by ConradOctober 28, 2010
Kristy, a staff member at AKLTG, was having a conversation with Lucy a month ago about how we’ve been able to stand each other for more than 20 years and hold our marriage together so many times in our tragic past when other couples would have given up for less. Her answers were no different from mine and it would be sound advise for any couple wondering if the partner he or she is about to marry is the “right one”.

I had a separate conversation around the same time to one of my WA graduates, Ais, who is in a relationship with another graduate from WA and WAT, Rauf. The two make a lovely pair. During the time I’ve known them, they have made AKLTG their second home and make-shift “pick-up” point where they meet after work. I caught Ais one night, waiting for Rauf and decided to keep her company till he arrived. In our conversation, I casually asked what her relationship was to Rauf … she declared they were “Best Friends”. So I prompted if they were going to get married and she shyly pushed away the question by answering that in order to consider marriage, a couple must first be best friends so that the relationship can stand the test of time.

Deja Vu.

There was no need to make any comment or give advice to this young couple. They are on the right path to a loving and happy life together. She did ask me for three specific tips to improve her life. My first tip on success was to never quit persevering. I even quoted her two of my favorite quotes on success;

You always pass failure on the way to success.” ` Mickey Rooney
and …
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” ~ Thomas Edison

My tip on financial success;
Be happy with what you have because small fortunes breed bigger ones, small thanks lead to greater gratitudes and every financial problem is only a temporary set back meant to garner more momentum for the next ride up to the top.

My tip on life;
Set your goals. Stay focused. Take a dare. Be greedy. Stay Hungry. After all, you only live once so what have you got to lose?

These are the same sound advice I took throughout my life, in good times and bad, for better or worse. They were codes of life that Lucy and I held dear and close to our beliefs … and we believed. We put our faith in our strength as a couple, as friends, as parents. We put faith in our ability to survive and surpass. We put faith in knowing that others have done it thus so can we. We put faith in God to watch over us and give us strength.

Today we put faith in the fact that we’ve done it so many times in the past that we can do it again in the future if the need arises.
So what is the one piece of advice I will give to a couple who want to know if their friendship can stand the test of time? One word – cohabit.

Relationship, like any business, has a time test. In business, the first year is finding the footing and controlling budgets and hoping you don’t lose too much money and wipe out your first year in business. In the second year, you find out if your business partners truly have what it takes to run the business and grow it. The third year is make-or-break time. Any business that survives the third year usually goes on to bigger success and longevity.

In a relationship, the first year of cohabiting will breed either familiarity or contempt. Small things like squeezing the toothpaste tube, tardiness and spending habits come to the fore. Tolerance and patience will be tested. Adaptability and flexibility will be stretched.

The second year will test the financial strength of the couple. Ambition, pride, greed, hunger (or the lack thereof) will come to the fore and the couple struggle to financially understand each other better.

The third year usually is a test of fidelity. While many fail, few persevere to overcome, forgive and move on. In other cases, the couple tire of each other’s company and as they say, the spark fades. For some, chicken rice everyday is boring. But for whatever reason the relationship gets tested, it happens for a reason and it is best to find out sooner rather than later. Those who survive, forgive and move on, usually go on to have a really meaningful relationship and later, a marriage.

Being unfaithful is not something to be taken lightly but for those who have lived through this, they will tell you that it is better to know your and/or your partner’s weakness and work to make it better than to give up and repeat the process with another new partner and constantly live in doubt about the fidelity of your new partner.

Nobody is going to be perfect. And if we accept that, then the next step is to be a friend love your partner for everything he/she is, flaws and all. The three year cohabitation test is a small investment of time for the long term future of the life-long partnership.

In trading, we take controlled risks. Sometimes we get beaten, sometimes it works out. But we take the trade knowing the risks it carries and in the long run, the good trade will reveal its intrinsic value while we cut losses on the bad ones.

In life, we do the same thing. It can be a painful life lesson but it is necessary in our on-going quest to find that perfect partner that may never exist. So we cut our losses if it doesn’t work out and we hedge ourselves on the one that just might hide an intrinsic value.

I made a few “trades” in my early years. Some of them were good ones with no intrinsic value while others had to be cut for both our sakes. A few were meant to be nothing more than good friends while a few others just weren’t meant to be. Then there were those few … erm … how shall I say, … “scalps” … *Ahem*

But I did find one that met most of my fundamental and technical criteria. Heck, she even fit into my budget! I guess I must have made it into her watchlist too because I became her prime investment. She became a friend, a buddy, a lover, a soul mate and finally, my wife and mother to my two kids. The ride up the chart was filled with corrections, pull backs, spikes, dips, rallies and even at one stage, it almost became a junk stock. But she still saw value. In fact, I had become a truly undervalued stock that no one wanted. But she stuck with her investment and in spite of a few more dips, today she is reaping the dividends of her investment.

Me? I still enjoy my “scalps” on the same stock for the last 22 years.

Happy Birthday, Lucy, my love … its been a good time, its been a rough time, its been a time of our lives and I look forward to more with you.

Is Tony Robbins Right About The Coming Economic Collapse?

An article(by Michael Snyder) I think will let you think about....By Michael Snyder on August 21, 2010