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Jun30
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Two hundred and thirty years ago a group of economic colonies did what many colonies had done before and would do again. They rebelled. The war raged for seven years. Great powers intervened for and against the colonies. In the end, The United States of America was born.
The government of this new nation was based on a remarkable idea. That government was not the divine right of royalty, nor was it the blood soaked right of conquering warriors. The idea was that government derived from the will of the populace and existed to serve them. In 1789 a constitution was adopted that codified these ideas.
Then, a remarkable thing happened. It was unique in the history of the world. An election was held and a new leader was chosen. In a small room in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a swearing in ceremony occurred. For the first time, power over a nation was transferred from one person to another - not because of birthright and not because of bloodshed - but because the voice of the people had spoken, and government had listened.
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Jun29
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The Fed raised the target Fed Funds rate by one quarter percentage point to 5.25% today 29 June 2006. The text of the release follows: "The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to raise its target for the federal funds...
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Bloomberg in an article by Ryan Mills reports on June 29, 2006 that the World Cup will make about 4.7% more than forecast from ticket sales and is likely to be profitable overall. Ticket sales to the 64 matches look...
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Barron's June 5, 2006 issue had an article on Jim Rogers which started on p. 18. It was titled "Last Laugh" and was written by Jonathan R. Laing. According to Mr. Laing, Jim Rogers earned his chops. He co-founded the,...
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Jun28
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The following is a comment written by a dear friend, Bob H. It has so much good information I felt it should be promoted from a comment to a posting so that more people could see it. With further ado,...
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Jun27
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During the period of the World Cup tournament economist estimate that there is a significant loss of productivity around the world. Radio and TV report anecdotes of people gathered around TVs at work, calling in sick, listening to the radio,...
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John C. Bogle, the legendary founder of Vanguard Group and Burton G. Malkiel, author of the best seller, A Random Walk Down Wall Street, published a rebuttal to Jeremy Siegel's editorial on Fundamental Indexation in The Wall Street Journal June...
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Jun26
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A lot of company executives, lawyers and bankers were busy over the weekend. Phelps Dodge, Inco and Falconbridge all agreed to merge. It will create the largest Nickel and one of the largest copper companies in the world. You will...
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Jun23
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Man that title is SO mind numbing that it stuns me every time I read it. It has taken hours to get to this first paragraph and I only made it by not looking at the post's title. My friend...
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Jun22
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Many of you may have received a pitch from your broker to look at "Structured Product." It may be marketed as providing principle protection or offering a multiple of some index return. These have long been available to the wealthy,...
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Jun21
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With crude oil prices hovering around $70 per barrel attention has been focusing on alternatives. Brazil has been investing in Ethanol production and distribution for 20 years and is within a couple of years of achieving energy self-sufficiency. Other countries...
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Jun20
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Bradley P. Halverson, CFA, CPA wrote an article today 20 June 2006 in MeridianMagazine.Com on Equity Indexed Annuities. If I understood him correctly he's not a big fan. An Equity Indexed Annuity is often marketed as offering stock market returns without...
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Jun19
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The American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins are the first .9999 fine 24-karat gold coins ever struck by the United States Mint. The coins will be denominated as $50 face value, will weigh 1 ounce and will go on sale on Friday...
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Jun16
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¡Felicitaciones al equipo de Ecuador en lograr pasar al grupo de 16 por primera vez en la competición del Copa Mundial! (Congratulations to the Ecuadorian team on joining the group of 16 for the first time in the World Cup...
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Jun15
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Unless you have been in a coma, you are probably aware that the World Cup Football (soccer for the USA speaking group) tournament is underway. For the last two years, teams have been competing to qualify for the tournament. ...
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Jun14
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The Wall Street Journal concluded a two part series today, 6/14/06 on their Opinion page on Efficient Markets. Jeremy J Siegel was today's columnist. Among the topics he addressed was "Fundamental Indexation." I was fascinated and spent much of...
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Jun13
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I wrote recently about the future value of current consumption. There were various comments about how some luxuries appreciate in value. It wasn't my point to discourage the purchase of luxuries. Rather, my point was to take care of necessities...
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Jun12
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Last time I talked about hedging profits. I would like to write about hedging expenses. Several years ago when I was the International Cash Manager for a large multinational not-for-profit corporation we needed to build a very expensive building in...
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Jun 9
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Historically manufacturers used Foreign Exchange (FX) to hedge or protect their profits earned in other countries. If I was selling wheat to the and lived in the I would worry that the value of the British Pound (GBP) might devalue...
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Jun 8
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Another popular FX trade is one called the "Carry Trade". This trade takes advantage of interest rate differentials in different countries. A very popular carry trade over the last few years that is ending now is the Japanese Yen (JPY)...
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Jun 7
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The Canadian dollar (CAD) recently hit an all time high against the US dollar (USD). This is consistent with the rally in commodities that has been occurring over the last couple of years. is a resource rich nation with a surplus...
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Jun 6
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1. Pay your tithes and offerings or support your favorite charities. It will make the communities we live in better and will bless our lives. 2. Pay for all of your needs before spending on wants. "Wear it out, Use...
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Jun 5
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I drove to Mesa, AZ on Friday, had a reception for my daughter's wedding on Saturday and drove home on Sunday. It took 11+ hours of driving each way. The weather was VERY hot, 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.5 Celsius) at...
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Jun 2
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On 5/31 in the "Personal Journal" section of The Wall Street Journal there are two interesting articles. Jeff D. Opdyke writes "401(k) Plans Limit Company Stock", and Jonathan Clements writes "Due Diligence: The Five Key Rules To Heed Before Hiring...
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Jun 1
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Bloomberg reported 5/31 in an article by Simon Casey that Falconbridge Ltd had rejected Xstrada's hostile acquisition offer. Falconbridge is recommending Inco's friendly offer. Management states that they do not believe Xstrada's offer to be superior.Inco in turn has an...
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