Thoughts and Non Thoughts

According to Businessinsider.com, the US has only $54billion in cash. The Philippines had $68 billion at the end of June (and rising). ----------------------------------- There are two neighbors, Juan and John. John owns restaurants, car dealerships, cinemas and other businesses. Some of his businesses aren't doing so well lately, in fact he just lent them some fresh capital. He also lives a lavish lifestyle and wants to pay for the hospital bills of his poorer relatives, but his well-off cousins don't want to pay for these bills because they want to keep the money in their businesses and say these poorer relatives should work for their living. Besides they are busy supporting some turf wars in the neighborhood. John has to pay some bills but his checking account balance is running low unless he can borrow some fresh funds from the bank. Of course the banks are willing to lend money because he has a number of businesses but are getting worried about all the squabbling. ...

Goosebumps. Excellent cover of a great Bob Dylan song. Adele is Amy Winehouse, Norah Jones, Rickie Lee Jones, and Macy Gray put together.

Up to second liners only. Since you cannot watch stocks every minute so highly speculative plays may cause 10-year ipits. There is no hard and fast rule on how long to hold. Always think returns. Say, an increase of 10% in one day is better than 12% in one week, and there's a possibility of correction. As long as you are doing better than the bank... Lock in profits then look for the next opportunity. Stick to 5-6 stocks only so you can watch them. It's all about tutok. The market cannot support all the sectors simultaneously, it's typically cyclical. Basura stocks signal the tail-end of a rally. Attention will go back to blue chips soon. The P6 index will reach 5,000 but it needs to rest first. Ghost month opportunity to buy. Good luck!

Investing in the stock market or in anything is like driving in Metro Manila. Sometimes it's smooth, sometimes it's tough. Whatever it is, you can't "beat" the traffic, you have to understand the flow. Sometimes the trick is to choose the best lane that will get you there faster and stick to it. Sometimes you have to turn around and make a detour. Most of all you have to be careful and avoid an accident.

No wonder there is crisis at mid-life. A glimpse of mortality. The feeling of a start of an irreversible slide towards old age. And the realization that old age may not be the most pleasant stage of one's life. There's the fear of the loss of physical strength and mental ability. Most importantly, the fear of losing one's dignity and the respect of others, especially one's loved ones. The sense of uselessness creeping in. Scary this thing. Yet I see some cross over to the twilight years with their head high and joy intact. It may not be hopeless after all, but it won't be easy.

One post a month, not sure I'll exceed twenty this year, after breaking a hundred last year. I've posted it before, that the number of posts seems inversely proportional to the speed of events around me. Is the world getting faster or am I getting too slow for it? Actually been catching up on a lot of things. Completed two sideline projects and learning new financial stuff. My golf handicap has improved by one. I'm facing life head on. But, yeah, sometimes the thought of slowing down comes in occasionally. Can one ever really? I talked to a "retired" friend (in the sense that he's no longer employed but living off his nest egg). He said thinking that retired people are not doing anything is a misconception. He seems very busy with many things related to his farm and providing livelihood to people. Another friend, a former banker, has not been employed for two years but he says he is making more money now and enjoying it tremendously. So this is life ...

I went to the house unannounced. I was going to inspect it since the tenants have given me notice that they were not renewing the lease. It was a nice big house, with high ceilings, traditional in design and furnishing. I saw some scuffs on the wooden window frames and some other wooden furniture. "Children," I thought. Then I met the tenants, I introduced myself and they said "fine go ahead." They were a couple, foreigners, and there was a small group with them. They were quite busy preparing and packing up. I walked with them towards a large hallway that looked like a lobby at the foot of a staircase. The floor of the hallway and the staircase itself were made of white marble. Actually the staircase was quite wide, had about eight steps leading up to a platform. I realized this platform was used as a stage for some religious program, with the audience at the hallway. There was a picture of the couple taken on the platform in some kind of program and still some...