Newsletters - Past Issues

Update August 6th, 2016 New shows posted, more on Japan and our economic enviroment- Read or heed!

 

Marc's Notes:

How about one of these cool T Shirts!  Mail me a prepaid large envelope with your size and gender. If I have one, you get it!  Mail to KVMR 401 Spring St, Nevada City, Ca 95959  attention Marc Cuniberti.

 

New shows posted on the website; moneymanagementradio.com. No cost to join and no cost for anything! Get free newsletter emailed to you or a friend. Keep up on the markets. Schedule a no cost- no obligation review of your portfolio or financial situation- Email me at mcuniberti@cambridgesecure.com or call me (530) 559-1214.

 

I need a bid on my house for painting. Contact me!

 

My son Kyle is doing deck finishing to raise money for a car. Low cost and saves decks! Pressure washed, sanded, coated. Help around the home as well. What kind of kid is he?
Here he is with Congressman LaMalfa.  Read his article he wrote on this business at the bottom of this newsletter. 

 

 

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The price of Gold- Where to?

 

 

 

The price of gold has moved from a yearly low of around $1050/oz. to the mid $1300’s and investors are wondering if the lows are in and if a new bull market is upon us.

Although no one can say for certain which way an asset will go in price, opinions vary from one extreme to another. Larry Edelsen of Money and Markets in his July 13, 2016 article entitled “Caution gold and silver miners” makes the case that a correction may be coming and the only way that might change is if gold were to close above $1,404.50 at the end of the month. He also states “gold can’t even get through the first major level of resistance at $1,368”.

He shows an ominous looking chart with forward looking plots that shows gold making a drastic pullback into the fall somewhere around October. Although the forward plot is only an estimation and fabricated completely by Mr. Edelsen, the backward looking data showing his previous methodology and the actual gold price plotted against it could give some validity to his argument.

Although past performance never guarantees future movements, history can be a guide to a particular tendency if it reoccurs enough times.

Gold certainly has made something of an aggressive move up in the last weeks and the reason is thought to be aggressive monetary policy by a variety of central banks around the world.

Aggressive policy includes low or even negative interest rates, Quantitative Easing (QE), asset purchases (central banks buying a variety of debt) and stimulus in the form of aggressive social programs and government spending such as on infrastructure and public transportation.

The thinking being as these aggressive policies are undertaken, they require more money to be conjured up and more debt to be amassed to fund these policies which in turn will weaken the currency in question.

The result of that would be more investors possibly fleeing to gold to protect buying power as paper currencies erode in value. At least that’s the thinking.

Although Edelsen’s article illustrates some good points, no one person holds the magic key to forecasting price movements. Sharp spikes in asset prices can just be as easily followed by equally sharp corrections.

Remember, investing involves risk so do your own research before investing and read the prospectus of anything you might be considering. Always consult a financial professional before making any investment decisions.

 

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Markets remain trade bound again. Dow 18,000 plus. Fall is coming. Election fever. What to do? What will happen? Where will markets go? Stay tuned for Money Matters on KVMR FM.and keep up on this newsletter.

 

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More on Japan….

Amazing and mystical country, this tiny island nation, like other nations, develop their own specials wants and “must haves”.  One of these is small pets. Due to the space consideration of millions of people jammed together on a small island and much of that island cloaked in mountains, they pack themselves in to small apartments and houses that can’t afford the luxury of owning a large pet. Hence their fascination with small in size animals but packing a punch in the “oh it’s soooo cute” category. They have these pet shops selling only small cats and dogs. Most of the breeds I had never seen. But boy are some of them cute! Take a look!

 

 

     

 

The Japanese “Tea Ceremony” is a celebrated and ancient ritual. The tea master has a special way of preparing the tea and the utensils used. It took a while and was steeped (pardon the pun) in ancient custom and ritual.

 

We went to an amusement park that had three world record roller coasters. We rode two of them before being rained out. They are massive structures. Look carefully at the one with steep drop that is actually inverted! 

 

 

Their spelling on signs in English are not always correct but as cute as the little dogs!

 

 

Golf anyone? Golf driving ranges are multi-level due to the space they need and very sophisticated. The golf balls pop up out of the ground automatically on some levels and an arm places the ball on the tee on others. Way cool and saves your aching back. They also provided cool and hot towels for free!

 

Japanese Spas are all the rage. You stay overnight and wear Kimonos the whole stay. Here is a photo inside the men’s area (forgive the faraway nakedness but you really can’t see much). My teenage boys and my daughter really did like the rituals at these spas as did I. The spa took an hour or two with all the things you do in the spa according to custom.

 

 

They also have these free tiny foot baths in certain cities and the water is HOT!

See my face? My feet were very red after soaking, which I could barely do!

 

 

And finally, all the servants like waitresses, taxi drivers, bus drivers, cops and almost everyone else wore impeccable uniforms. It was quite a sight almost everywhere we went.

 

 

This county is very clean and has its act together. I had a great time. Thanks for allowing me to share this with you all.

 

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Kyle, my 16 year old son has a new business and wrote this article for a local newspaper.

 

 

 

Over the summer I have created a business doing deck refinishing. It started off by doing the deck at my house. Then one of my dad’s friends came over and saw the deck and asked if I could do his deck for a price. I then saw an opportunity to start a business based on this type of work.

First off I discuss with the customer if they want paint or stain and what color they prefer. Most customers prefer I match the previous color using a paint strip booklet which I then take to the paint store to get a perfect match. The second thing I do is remove the furniture before I begin the process of deck prep.

Then I go around pounding down the nails and screws so they don’t tear up the sand paper on a deck sander that I use to sand the deck. The deck sander gets rid of the previous old paint and stain which brings it down to bare wood or close to it. 

Next I pressure wash the deck to remove the sawdust and left over paint, dirt and stain. This gives it a clean and ready to paint deck surface. I will also sand and pressure wash the vertical rails, posts and tops if the customer requests that option. Tape is then the next step so I don’t get any paint on the house or other objects.

The final step is to apply the coating of stain or paint using pads, brushes or rollers. When done, I do a final walk through to clean up any missed spots or drips. I do this because it’s a lot more efficient than flipping burgers and teaches me the basics of a business.

Customers find my cost to be somewhere around one fourth of what a painting or deck contractor would usually charge. The obvious question would be can a hardworking 16 year old do as good a job as a large contracting company or firm. It may be true that I don’t have as much experience but deck work is not rocket science and it’s easy to spot and fix any imperfections that one may encounter.

I have also done quite a few decks by now and the customers seem to be very more than satisfied, especially when considering the quality of the work versus the tremendous cost savings.

If the deck needs wood work, I have a gracious deck repairman who I act as an apprentice for and we bill an hourly rate of $45 an hour which covers him and I together.

Considering the average cost of a carpenter is $75 an hour, customers get two men for less than half the price of one!

I also do house painting, yard work or whatever if customer requests it.

I am saving for a car and college and find this work more educational and rewarding then working at a burger joint.

Thanks for reading,

Kyle Cuniberti

Kyle is 16 years old and beginning his junior year at Forest Lake Christian High School and maintains a 4.14 GPA.

 

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I will also be at the KVMR broadcast booth at the Nevada County Fair so stop in and say hi.

 

Also don’t forget the KVMR Celtic Fair as well!  It’s coming up in the fall and tickets can be had at KVMR.ORG. Come for the music, stay for the magic!

 

That’s all for now.

Jambo!

 

“Watching the markets so you don’t have to”

,

Marc


 

Money Matters update July 20, 2016 Please read!

Money Matters airs tomorrow Thursday at noon, PACIFIC STANDARD TIME on KVMR FM 

 

 

 

Marc's Notes:

THE BREXIT

 

Wikipedia defines the Euro currency as the official currency of the Eurozone, of which 19 of the 28 member states of the European Union (EU). Recent news has covered the so called “Brexit” where the British people voted 52% to 48 % to leave the common currency agreement.

 

Global stock markets immediately illustrated the surprising move by Britain by falling in concert in the days following the announcement. The vote is not actually binding and Parliament could elect to ignore the will of the people and stay in the Euro. A renegotiation between Britain and Euro authorities might take place to try and reach a more palatable outcome then an outright exit or even another vote may be in the cards given the gravity of the situation.  An actual Brexit will take about 2 years to implement.

 

Only time will tell if Britain actually becomes the first nation to leave the EU but if it does, it may signal the beginning of some serious problems for the Euro. The more likely outcome however would be a shuffling of the existing members and a rework of the rules to better address the issues that may have led to Brexit in the first place and to prevent other nations from following suit.

 

At issue is the inherent problem of a common currency being used for differing economies. One could argue the only example of a common monetary representation in history is the use and acknowledgment of gold as a common unit of measure but the Euro is the first example in modern history of this type of concept being implemented.

 

The problem with a common currency is that each participating nation is inherently different then the next. Each nation has its unique levels of debt, trade levels, deficiencies, advantages and subsequent fiscal policies to handle such uniqueness.

 

Even the authorities that handle such policies and the people that make those decisions differ from country to country and therein lies the problem. One nation may have a strong balance sheet and a responsible fiscal administration while the next may border on fiscal irresponsibility. One nation might overspend while the next runs a balanced budget. In a world where each nation has its own currency, such differences in economies are addressed by each nations ability to borrow money in the public markets and how readily lenders are to pony up their money for government IOU’s. Simply put, the more irresponsible the country, the harder it is for them to borrow and the more they have to pay in interest to do so.

 

In a common currency situation however, such as the one we have with the Euro, the ability to borrow is centralized and equal. Being a common currency, the rules are the same for everyone. To grasp the concept of problem, imagine a group of people with differing credit scores all being allowed to borrow on the same terms and at the same rates.

 

Some would cry foul while others would reap the benefits. Such is the issue with the Euro. Responsible nations are crying foul for having to pick up the tab for others. Overspending nations want to renege or renegotiate on their debts by pulling out of the Euro and pay what they owe using their own currency obviously made easier made by using their own printing presses. Something which is far easier to do then pay back what they currently owe in Euros. 

 

Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973 and hence the European Union in the 1990s. But Britain never fully accepted the legitimacy of European control over British institutions in a way that other EU members did. It refused, for example, to eliminate its internal border controls or the use of the common currency in question, the Euro dollar.

 

Even without direct involvement with the Euro currency, the ramifications of the Brexit are unknown but no doubt still serious. Should Britain set the example of how a nation could possible take an easier route by simply leaving the EU, other nations could eventually do the same. If enough nations leave, this could shake the whole concept of the Euro to its core.

 

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We have been talking about my recent trip to Japan and how amazing their systems are.

 

So here is a batting cage near Tokyo where my son is batting. Look carefully and you will see on the far wall a TV monitor the size of a man. The movie shown is the pitcher winding up and delivering the pitch. The timing is perfect which means the professional pitcher winds up and as he delivers the ball on the screen, the ball comes screaming out a hole next to the screen. Amazing!

 

 

They love their rock groups over there. Here is a photo booth that has lights that make you look like you are in a rock promo photo. No makeup was worn. It’s the lighting and the booth processing. Yours truly looks ridiculous I know!
 

 

Here is a cool museum with all sorts of visual gadgets that blow your mind. Here is my daughter Sadie standing on her finger! Is she really doing that?

 

 

 

Many of the Japanese are Buddhist or Shinto or both. They throw coins in these shrine bins and make a wish. Before anyone showed up, I, being an ignorant idiot, thought it was a recycle bin and tossed in a beer can. I was immediately arrested and flogged. These below are doing it the correct way. (It DID look like a recycle bin. Trust me)

 

 

 

This is Tokyo Tower. It was destroyed and rebuilt three times, twice by Godzilla and once by Mothra. I, being afraid of heights, forced myself to jump onto this glass panel.

Although many stood on it, I was the only one brave enough to jump on it. The thought of it breaking by the jumping impact was with me the whole way thru the act and that fear is also what kept anyone else from doing it. The view from the Tower is also below.

 

 

The Japanese subways are jammed full during rush hour. Note my wife and daughter totally crushed. The picture doesn’t do full justice. I could not even reach in my pocket and they cram in until sometimes it’s literally hard to breath. Note my sister in law who lives there not even phased and on her I phone. The second photo is people crammed against the door as the train pulls away. I hope they have good locks on those doors.

 

 

That does it for now but I encourage anyone who has the means to definitely make Japan an item on your bucket list!

 

All the best,

Marc

 

PS: Japan has negative interest rates on many of their bonds.

 

What does this mean? Keep reading ….


 

Back from Japan so lets do some catching up! July 10, 2016

 

Marc’s Notes:

Money Matters shows posted for your listening and downloading at Moneymanagementradio.com. Next show is July 21, Thursday, noon Pacific Standard Time, or on this website or KVMR.ORG.

 

Want to meet with me about inheritance, money management, the markets, bonds, retirement or just have questions? Email me at mcuniberti@cambridgesecure.com.

----------------------------------------

Brexit

 

Wikipedia defines the Euro currency as the official currency of the Eurozone, of which 19 of the 28 member states of the Euro Union belong. Recent news has covered the so called “Brexit” where the British people voted 52% to 48 % to leave the common currency agreement.

 

Global stock markets immediately illustrated the surprising move by Britain by falling radically in concert in the days following the announcement. The vote is not actually binding and Parliament could elect to ignore the will of the people and stay in the Euro. A renegotiation between Britain and Euro authorities might take place to try and reach a more palatable outcome rather than an outright exit or even another vote may be in the cards given the gravity of the situation.  An actual Brexit will take about 2 years to implement.

 

Only time will tell if Britain actually becomes the first nation to leave the common currency but if it does, it may signal the beginning of the end for the Euro. The more likely outcome however would be a shuffling of the existing members and a rework of the rules to better address the issues that may have led to Brexit in the first place and to prevent other nations from following suit.

 

At issue is the inherent problem of a common currency being used for differing economies. One could argue the only example of a common monetary representation in history is the use and acknowledgment of gold as a common unit of measure but the Euro is the first example in modern history of this type of concept being implemented with a paper currency.

 

The problem with a common currency is that each participating nation is inherently different then the next. Each nation has its unique levels of debt, trade levels, deficiencies, advantages and subsequent fiscal policies to handle such uniqueness.

Even the authorities that handle such policies and the people that make those decisions differ from country to country and therein lies the many problems.

 

One nation may have a strong balance sheet and a responsible fiscal administration while the next may border on fiscal irresponsibility. One nation might overspend while the next runs a balanced budget. In a world where each nation has its own currency, such differences in economies are addressed by each nations ability to borrow money in the public markets and how readily lenders are to pony up their money for government IOU’s.

 

Simply put, the more irresponsible the country, the harder it is for them to borrow and the more they have to pay in interest to do so.

 

In a common currency situation however, such as the one we have with the Euro, the ability to borrow is centralized and equal. Being a common currency, the rules are the same for everyone. To grasp the concept of problem, imagine a group of people with differing credit scores all being allowed to borrow on the same terms and at the same rates. Some would cry foul while others would reap the benefits.

 

Such is the issue with the Euro.

 

Economically responsible nations are crying foul for having to pick up the tab for their overspending brethren. Overspending nations want to renege or renegotiate their debts by pulling out of the Euro and pay what they owe using their own currency obviously made easier made by using their own printing presses. Running the printing presses is far easier than pay back what they currently owe in Euros, a currency which they cannot print themselves.

 

The ramifications of the Brexit and unknown but no doubt serious. Should Britain set the example of how a nation could possible take an easier route of addressing their massive debt levels by simply leaving the Euro, other nations could eventually do the same. If enough nations leave, this could shake the whole concept of the Euro to its core.

 

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Turning Japanese

 

We just got back from the tiny island nation of Japan, a trip we undertook so my kids could visit their relatives and learn about the heritage. It was a great experience for them and us.

 

Japan's economy has dodged a recession after it grew faster than expected in the first quarter of the year. (www.bbc.com/news/business-36319420).

 

Indeed when I was there I was amazed as to how vibrant the malls and centers were.

The systems there were amazing and one wonders how they lost the war.

 


 

Update June 11, 2016 Hens, Signs, Crooks and Elections

 

Money Matters Airs July 7th, 2016  (no show the rest of the month) 

All past shows on this website for free download in case you missed a show.

 

Marc's Notes:

Markets up, Markets down. What to do, What to do.  Keep reading, all sorts of good stuff below:

 

(ADVERTISEMENT)

Kyle my son whose is 16 is working for a car and college tuition. He coats decks, sands them, pressure washes them and preserves them saving thousands in potential weather damage. He works hard and does it for a fraction of the cost. SAVE THOSE COSTLY DECKS AND STAIRS, even wood benches and flower boxes! Give me a call or email me. (530) 272-5042 or mcuniberti@cambridgesecure.com. He also does odd jobs or will just help you! He is a 4.14 GPA student who plays varsity sports and sings choir.

If need a deck repaired or replaced, Kyle has the gracious services of a carpenter who can do all the deck work while using Kyle as an apprentice. The labor rate for this gracious gentlemen is $30/ hr. and Kyle helps him for $15/ hr so the total rate for BOTH of them is ONLY $45 while most carpenters charge $75 to $125/hr. for just ONE person!

So get your deck or carpentry done for a lot LESS!

 

After sanding.........                                    after coating............

 

 

What kind of kid is Kyle? Here is Kyle with Congressman LaMalfa! 

 

 

 

Attention Painters!

Kyle painted the bottom of my 2800 SQ foot house but now I need the second floor finished in stain with trim. Call or email me to submit a bid!

Its ladder work with stain and doing the trim with also replacing a trim board or two that the woodpeckers chewed up. I will accept all bids. Contact me. (530) 272-5042 or email me here!

 

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This pretty much says it all………

Read my article below!

 

With the elections coming up and big money riding on it, besides the most powerful office in the world, you have to wonder what the average Joe is thinking as his voting time approaches.

Wall Street claims a Trump victory might crash the markets and Hillary thrashers say she just represents the status quo and a vote for her would mean the Wall Street party continues.

No matter which side of the aisle you sit, one thing is for sure, the stakes are high and the air is heated.

Driving through our county, I noticed the Trump signs were far and few between, Hillary signs were more prevalent and the Bernie supporters tended to paint their cars with his name and make their own signs. Locally we also had an anti-pot bill on our local ballots so the tension was almost palatable.

As I drove thru town on a daily basis I noticed where a Trump or anti-pot signs stood was soon to be a vacant spot. In other words it seemed as if the anti-pot and Trump signs were disappearing. Stolen I thought?  Not in today’s America. But my daily drives caused me to think otherwise.

I own 2 empty lots in 2 separate towns in my county so I decided to do an experiment.

I placed one of each sign on each lot. I had one Hillary, one Trump, one Bernie, one anti-pot and one pro-pot sign. 10 signs total, 5 on each lot.

Within two days the anti-pot and Trump signs were stolen. I replaced the signs and this time hung the Trump sign about 15 feet up in a tree. One day later on one lot and three days later on other lot both the Trump and anti-pot signs were stolen again.

I pondered: Who would do such a thing? And climb up a tree to do it the second time around?

The pro-pot signs say “for a fair government” yet if the pro-pot people were stealing the anti-pot signs (we can assume this is true) how is stealing a sign fair anything?

In fact stealing a sign is the epitome of unfairness. Don’t the sign stealers believe in free elections? After all, they talk about leveling the playing income field and equality for all yet don’t practice that equality when it comes to people’s rights to hang a sign on their own property.

Is their position is so weak they are afraid of an opposing one?

I have heard arguments from the pro-pot crowd that they want less government intrusion yet the left leaning candidates advocate even a bigger government than we have now.

On the right side of the aisle, the candidate is an unproven billionaire with no public servant experience. Needless to say, Trump has said things publically that I thought would have sunk any candidate that muttered such things.

Yet Trump seems like the old “Teflon Don” where nothing he says or does seems to sink him.

From stolen election signs to a socialist candidate to an old boy (well, old girl) candidate where the Clinton name smells of dynasty, to a reality TV star and billionaire, we indeed have one the most interesting elections in recent history.

November seems to be shaping up for one hell of month. Now if only I could keep my signs up so I can participate in the “free” election process. Guess I will just have to cast my vote and leave the signs in the trash. They seem to end up there anyway, or at least some of them do.

 

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This is a Guinea Hen chick. My daughter just brought home two of them, not that big as you can see.

I think I may have found the stupidest animal on the planet. First off, they are cute as hell when they are the size of a golf ball, but that was like 8 seconds ago. Now they are bigger than bread baskets and by the time you finish reading this probably the size of a good size volleyball. They eat (and s**t) like CRAZY so now the mystery on how they grow so fast is no mystery at all.

They stink and the cage has to be cleaned like every three hours, it’s that bad.

Talk about s**t for brains, that would be an improvement. They hate being held, probably because I hear they taste better than chicken so it’s like Filet Mignon to predators. Trying to hold one, even one this size, is like trying to put a Tyrannosaurus Rex under your tongue. It’s VERY hard to do and not the best of ideas.

They also scratch like hell and possess very sharp claws.

Not sharp like the killer “Death Cactus” sharp but sharp none the less  and sharp enough to do some damage to human skin.

 

Let us pause for brief lesson on the Death Cactus- stay with me....

 

The Death Cactus, which is my name for it, is the world’s most hideous plant yet virtually indestructible. I got it near a Dow Chemical Plant that used to make Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. At that time they also made something called Vikane gas, a cockroach killer (pretty ominous sounding eh?)

Most of the cars in the parking lot were peeling chrome off their bumpers, it’s that bad they told me. Keep in mind the bug killer is designed to kill the most survivable creature (and probably the oldest) on earth, the proverbial cockroach.

Anyway near this factory, I nary saw a plant except this hideous cactus 12 feet tall and all knurled up with the sharpest spines on earth.

They go right THROUGH leather gloves, cowboy boots and almost went through the pair of plyers I used to break off a piece. It grows anywhere and I mean anywhere. Drop it on dirt, no need to plant it. Like a space alien, over a few days it rights itself and starts growing. The older it gets or the drier it gets, the sharper the spines.

It needs no water. I know because I have tried to kill various plantings of it by ignoring it.

It cares not.

I planted it in a knot up in a tree, it grew. I also have some in a pot nailed to the side of tree, never water it and it thrives. Freezing temperature turns it black and it looks dead but don’t be fooled. It is waiting for you to turn your back on it. From one tiny sprig you can get a thousand plants as every piece will grow no matter where you put it. I had one that grew on a brick. No roots, nothing. It just sat there and got bigger. Scary s**t.

Plant it under a window and I GUARANTEE no burglar will enter. He may foolishly attempt it but you will likely find him impaled on this thing in the morning.

Either that or a body part or two will be left and certainly a lot of blood. I have tried to give pieces of this plant away but no one will take it. It is now a white elephant gift I force on people as a cruel joke. Beware this plant. It is a son of a bitch.

 

Now back to the Guinea Hens.....

 

Anyway the claws of the Guinea Hen will do skin damage and these hens squirm like hell when held. if you don’t hold both feet and body in a fist prepare to be harmed. They don’t bite thank God but take it from me, they DO NOT like to be held.

They are without a doubt dumber than a retarded clam. They peep and peck at everything. Hold one and peep, peep, peep.

Put one down and they peck even at solid rock or metal. They walk like a small ostrich.The look in their eyes and mannerism say “look at me, I am at the bottom of the food chain and as dumb as they get” all of is true.

God, however, not being without compassion, gave them one quality that prevents them from being eaten into extinction. They run like hell.

Mine aren’t even that big and they can scoot. The good news is if two of them get loose, they stick together. That, luck for me, means they don’t run in opposite directions of each other.

So I let our two out by mistake and said “oh s**t, there they go, I will never catch them and my daughter will then kill me”.

AHHHH, but not so fast. Since they stick together, both bolted in opposite directions, but only for a second. As soon as they realized they were separated they both stopped. THANK GOD!

 

Like two Siamese Twins, but tethered by an invisible thread, they are too stupid to coordinate an agreed upon escape route.  So when one ran, he got farther away from the other and stopped. “Ah” I thought, “my chance and thank you God!”

Grabbing one, I placed it in the cage and the other, too stupid to go it alone, halted long enough for me to grab it. I tossed it in with the other and now they were both caught again, blaming each other for their cursed codependency.

I, on the other hand, worshipped Allah on my Persian rug facing east (or is it north?) for making them codependent so I did not have to face the wrath of my 11 year old daughter and subsequently her mother for my stupidity by letting them out.

Whew!~

So we have two hens and soon to get more. I hear they are good for bugs as in they eat them. The flock (or is it gaggle) run together and stay around if you feed them. At night they roost in the trees so the mortality rate due to predators is an acceptable 1% a year, much like drone collateral damage in the Middle-East.

After all, if the government can accept a 1% collateral damage on innocents killed by drones, I can certainly not lose sleep over a missing Guinea or two a year now can I?

A friend has like 50 (he had like 60 but he has had them a few years hence the 1% is taking its toll) and told me the worst predator is the hawk. (Big thanks to Dr. Sean Avera for enlightening me to this fact and if you need a good periodontist look him up).

Anyway apparently hawks LOVE slow and delicious birds and apparently hit them on the ground in dive bomb attack going about 30 MPH and leave a trail much like a crashed airliner into a hillside. A 15 foot swath trail of destruction marred in blood, guts and feathers.

 

I picture that in my head and some sick part of me says “Man o man, I gotta see that!”

(Sick I know).

So for now we have two of these prehistoric birds and look to get more. I vision a running triangle of hens, eating bugs and ticks and keeping me company on hot days as I bask in the pool. POOL!  Oh crap, I hope they don’t mess with my pool! I better ask Sean about that.

Well if they do mess with my pool, I do have an airsoft gun. The hens look big enough to survive an airsoft hit so that might be quite the game:

Guinea airsoft target practice. Yea baby.

All in all I don’t know how this whole Guinea thing will work out. It certainly SOUNDS like a good idea.

Fairly hassle free, free running, bug eating, self-docking birds, kind of like the Roomba vacuum that runs around the house and parks itself when done.

Then again I have had LOTS of ideas that sounded good at the time (think after a shot or two of tequila) and then lived to that decision regret it later.

However I am not imbibing, nor have I been at any time while pondering these stupid birds and my owning them yet something in the reptilian part of my cerebral cortex is saying (beside “eat them Marc”) that some other fate awaits me as things just aren’t that easy.

I mean, get a roaming bird that won’t run away, eats all the bugs, self-parks itself in the trees at night, and basically doing all of that without me having to deal with them? 

Hummm…….

I have my fingers crossed. I hope to hell they have an appetite for Death Cactus.

Jambo!

 

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The biggest scam on Wall Street involved a former head of the Nasdaq stock exchange Bernie Madoff.

He was convicted of running a Ponzi scheme named after investor Charles Ponzi. The Ponzi scheme is a simple one and an old scam. Much like a pyramid scheme, you simply claim outrageous returns, and pay investors interest on their money with money from new investors. No money is ever really made, you just take it from the new investors and give it to the older investors. You claim to be making money but in reality you are not.

The Madoff scam was one of the biggest headlines in the news at the time.

It was said schemes like this are what happens when easy money and credit pour out of the monetary authorities in the way of low interest rates and then finds its way into the latest and greatest of bubbles.

There are many disturbing facts surrounding this case, one being the Bernie Madoff was indeed the head of the Nasdaq stock exchange a few short years ago before the scheme surface at his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in 1960, and Madoff was its chairman until his arrest on December 11, 2008

He apparently learned his trade well heading up one of our most lucrative US stock exchanges.

You have to wonder when the former head of one of our biggest exchanges morphs into a crook, what kind of people are overseeing our retirement funds and stock account money.

Madoff’s scheme netted somewhere in the area of 50 billion dollars or so.

Interestingly, the SEC, the regulatory agency which is supposed to police things like this, had received numerous reports about the possibility of scam and even looked into the firm multiple times and found nothing. That spawns the question, what kind of regulatory body is the SEC and how effective they really are.

The Congress is always calling for more regulations, but what good are more regulations when you miss obvious scams with the rules you do have.

More rules won’t solve the problem if the authorities don’t use those rules in their practice of oversight.

The SEC had plenty of ways to shut Madoff down should they have found something but they did not.

Did they simply look the other way? Did the proverbial “old boy” network have anything to do with the lack of discovery even though the complaints were numerous?

Although Madoff was hauled off to the hoosegow for his Ponzi-like scheme, most governments of the world could be said to operate the exact same scheme.

One example might be the Social Security system. This was originally and still labeled a trust fund which means our retirement money is supposed to be locked away, safe and sound and paid out when we retire.

But the Government spends all of it and has for years.

They just pay current entitlements with money from new workers and put in IOU’s to make up any shortfall. Sounds like a Ponzi scheme to me, the exact same thing Madoff was forced to put on an orange jumpsuit for.

The money `system` of the Federal Reserve also has similar qualities.

The Federal Reserve prints money at will and buys Treasuries from another branch of the government. They then issue these Treasuries as IOUS. When the IOUS come due, they just buy back these IOUS with more printed money, in essence buying back its own debt with more debt.

This is similar to using new investor’s money to pay old investors. The Feds take it one step further and conjures up more money from nothingness with a computer keystroke. Madoff himself never went that far!

It could be argued there is little difference between what Madoff did and what the U.S. Government does everyday. But Madoffs problem was he is not the U.S. government and also didn’t own a printing press of which the US Government does.

Madoff’s went to prison because of the way he handled other people money, illegally.

But that particular illegality isn’t all inclusive to everyone and every institution.

The same type of thing is used to finance our country and many of our governmental programs. I guess the eyes of justice aren’t so blind after all. It might be said they look the other way where the government is involved.


 

Costco as seen thru a flies eye- More money stuff. Update May 28, 2016.

 

Greetings and Jambo!

 

Missing some Money Matters shows? All are available for free download on the site; moneymanagmentradio.com.  Hey you! Don’t miss another show, download them now on the website!

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Do your eyes pop out when watching 47 large screen TV's? A visit to Costco

 

 

Big box stores or superstores the likes of Walmart and Costco make their profits in a sector where profit margins are less than stellar.  Food stuffs are traditionally a low markup item and although these super stores sell more than just food, the methodology of just how these giant retailers stay in business is by selling in bulk. This is also known by the famous quip as   “making it up in volume”.

 

This generally means if you sell a lot of a low markup item, you still make a profit. Make a few cents profit selling an egg may not sound like much, but sell a zillion eggs and you’re talking real money here.

 

I love going to superstores as I am sure most of you do. The rest of you might find it a necessary evil in order to save money. I hate the crowds of course and the long walk you will likely take from the parking space you managed to find a block away due to all the customers, but the experience is obviously enjoyable for many.

 

My 91 year old dad loves it. He loves all the sample food they give out and if you go on a weekend, you can literally have a full meal there by the time you traversed all the aisles. I know he loves it because he is the only one I know who will travel 50 miles to get there and walk out with a bag of peanuts and a steak, the total worth about 15 bucks.

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My last trip was the usual trip, meaning I have never gone there without dropping a few hundred dollars and more often than not, up to $750.  I imagine many have had similar experiences.

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My last trip was the usual trip, meaning I have never gone there without dropping a few hundred dollars and more often than not, up to $750.  I imagine many have had similar experiences.

 

Anyway I entered the Costco in Roseville and was greeted by 47 TV screens all airing the same program, “The Price is Right”, an old game show where contestants pick between door #1, #2 and #3 for crazy prizes.

 

Talk about viewing the world through a fly’s eye. (Flies have like a zillion eyes and so it is thought they see multiple images of everything which is why it is so hard to swat them. How do you sneak up on a fly waving a zillion fly swatters?) 

 

Anyway I’m zoning out at seeing door #3, actually 47 door #3’s opening up revealing….. “A BRAND NEW CAR”!  Well actually 47 brand new cars.

 

My eyes are bugging out watching 47 of everything so I blow past the TV section with my corneas still intact only to see the plant section. For a second I thought I saw 47 plant sections but that was only a temporary after effect of the TV department.


So I find myself looking up at a 16 foot tall bottle palm thinking “Who has that big of car to fit this thing in anyhow”.

 

Keep in mind the plant is an “impulse buy” for most of us. I myself have never bought a plant at Costco basically because I go there to buy toilet paper and staples like everyone else does and don’t even think about buying a plant there. But Costco being Costco does everything big so I see the size of plant and say “uh no”. 

 

The booze section is usually next and although I like Vodka I just can’t bring myself to buy a 3 foot tall, 5 gallon bottle of it. The image that would give to me AND everyone in line would be that I live on the stuff and am a raging alcoholic, of which neither is true. I would rather pay more at my local grocery store then buy that HUGE of a bottle of booze and carry it out front of everyone!

 

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As mentioned, super stores make profit by selling MORE stuff but at a lower profit than smaller stores. They succeed by FORCING you to buy more by only selling huge quantities of everything.

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As mentioned, super stores make profit by selling MORE stuff but at a lower profit than smaller stores. They succeed by FORCING you to buy more by only selling huge quantities of everything. 

 

I needed Cumin spice that day and in a not so rare moment of insanity, bit on their Cumin container and bought their smallest size, a one quart size of Cumin.

 

It’s so big I likely have to leave it in my will, unless I discover a zillion ways to use Cumin which I highly doubt.

 

I imagine other oddities like hearing aids in three packs (think about it), two shrink wrapped one gallon bottles of Listerine (makes the checker pull back a bit), a bottle of 10,000 One a Day Vitamins pills (about 27 years’ worth),  a box of 50 onions (why you need so much Listerine), half a cow, an 8 LB cheesecake  (ugh), 400 hot dogs or a 20 lb. pack of frozen pot stickers. I mean really! Do people actually eat that much stuff?

I guess~

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But Costco convinces people we need a quartz size bottle of Cumin which is one reason they are so successful. They play on people eyes being bigger than their stomach

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But Costco convinces people we need a quartz size bottle of Cumin which is one reason they are so successful. They play on people eyes being bigger than their stomach.

So now instead of ever shopping for Cumin again, we now need a longer last will and testament in order to cover the left overs when we die from Cumin poisoning.

 

They do have quite a `system` there, no grocery bags, just boxes, pull carts for over shoppers and fork lifts for those that really go overboard.

 

Ah, the super box stores, you gotta love em.

 

Now if I can only find the exit door out of the 47 of them I blurringly see……

 

Jambo!

 

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As you vote for your candidate, here are some words written a long time ago on how to control a society in the writing entitled "How to create a social state" by Saul Alinsky author of the book, "Rules for Radicals"

 

(This is some scary stuff)


There are 8 levels of control that must be obtained before you are able to create a social state.

1) Healthcare — Control healthcare and you control the people       (DONE)

2) Poverty — Increase the Poverty level as high as possible, poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live.   (HAPPENING FOR DECADES)

3) Debt — Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That way you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty.  (DONE)

4) Gun Control — Remove the ability to defend themselves from the Government. That way you are able to create a police state.   (SLOWLY WORKING ON IT)

5) Welfare — Take control of every aspect of their lives (Food, Housing, and Income).  (WORKING ON IT STEADILY)

6) Education — Take control of what people read and listen to — take control of what children learn in school.   (DEPT OF EDUCATION- PRETTY MUCH DONE)

7) Religion — Remove the belief in the God from the Government and schools.  (ALMOST DONE ENTIRELY)

8) Class Warfare — Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor. This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to take (Tax) the wealthy with the support of the poor. (YEP) 

Now, think ...  it does not a take a rocket scientist to see the US today has followed these points to a "T". Wake up America, is your candidate walking in line with this mantra or against the progression of it?