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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
