GET BILLIONS!

Colbert x McCain

2008-10-10T00:18:00.001-07:00

Tiger Woods Billionaire by 2010

2008-10-08T22:29:00.002-07:00

"It took John D. Rockefeller a lifetime, and a virtual monopoly on the oil business, to become a billionaire.

Buick endorser and golfer Tiger Woods, right, helps introduce the 2008 Buick Enclave at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2006. (Associated Press/Chris Carlson.)
Tiger Woods will do the same after just three decades of playing golf.

Of course, John D.’s billion would be worth a lot more today. But according to an article by Andrew Farrell and Tom Van Riper in Forbes, Tiger Woods is on track to become a billionaire by 2011. Even with his bum leg.

Here are the numbers:

Total earnings–$1 billion by 2010.

Minus taxes and Management fees–about $450 million.

Investment returns–about 8%.

Annual earnings (2007)–$115 million. (He will rake in about $90 million in endorsement contracts this year alone. Over the course of his career, he’s earned more than $750 million from such deals–against career winnings on the golf course of $94,038,162 world-wide through 2007.)

Lots of unknowns could derail this quest for billionairedom. Injuries, weaker performance on the golf course or even divorce could reduce his winnings. But if he succeeds, Tiger would take athlete earnings to an entirely new level. As you can see from the Sports Illustrated list below of highest-paid U.S. athletes, Tiger already is in a financial league of his own. (Note: the SI figure for Tiger differs somewhat from the Forbes estimate.)" WSJ wealth Report

2008-10-08T22:29:00.001-07:00

Tiger x Dubai = RIDICULOUS

2008-10-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

Billionaire: W. Buffett on taxes

2008-10-07T16:26:00.001-07:00

P is a PC

2008-10-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

Dope. Great marketing on Windows part.

Bernanke: Outlook for Economic Growth Worsens

2008-10-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

www.ColbertNation.com

2008-10-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

GLORY!

DEBATE NIGHT TONIGHT!!!

2008-10-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

WHOOO!!! LETS GET IT!!!! OBAMA 08!!!

THE KEATING CONNECTION

2008-10-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

Be informed.

Presidential Debate

2008-09-28T12:36:00.001-07:00

In case you didnt see it.

McCain's Genius Pick for Vice President.

2008-09-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

When McCain dies if he was elected this is who would run our country. . .

If this isnt motivation to vote I dont know what is.

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin

2008-09-28T12:22:00.001-07:00

8.5 Billion

2008-09-26T16:12:00.001-07:00

Michael Bloomberg made 8.5 Billion dollars in 12 months.

Lets put this in perspective. HE MADE $1000 EVERY 3.7 SECONDS!!!

XMAS in September

2008-09-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Its my favorite time of year. My copy finally came in the mail. The new FORBES 400 List!!! Whooo. One of my favorite lists to analyze and dig into. Bill Gates is a champion at #1

"The rich haven't gotten richer--or poorer--this year. The price of admission to this, the 27th edition of The Forbes 400, is $1.3 billion for the second year in a row. The assembled net worth of America's wealthiest rose by $30 billion--only 2%--to $1.57 trillion.

Rising prices of oil and art paved the way for 31 new members and eight returnees, while volatile stock and housing markets forced 33 plutocrats from our rankings.

With a net worth of $57 billion, Bill Gates remains the richest man in America despite losing his crown to Warren Buffett for a few months this spring. Buffett's shares in Berkshire Hathaway have fallen 15% since February.

Newcomers to the list include fertilizer tycoon Alexander Rovt, car dealer and art collector Norman Braman and Patrón tequila founder John Paul DeJoria.
Also new: Mark Zuckerberg, the 24-year-old founder of social networking site Facebook, who debuts on The Forbes 400 with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion.

Among the returnees are Urban Outfitters (nasdaq: URBN - news - people ) chief Richard Hayne and Gap (nyse: GPS - news - people ) founders Donald and Doris Fisher, who rode the swelling contemporary-art market back onto the list. The couple's art collection is believed to be worth more than $1 billion.

The Forbes 400 is a snapshot of estimated wealth on Aug. 29, 2008, the day we locked in prices of publicly traded stocks. Given how unsettled the stock market is, some of those on our list will become significantly richer or poorer within weeks--even days--of publication. Many, including AIG shareholders Eli Broad and Steven Udvar-Hazy, have lost hundreds of millions of dollars.

The average net worth of The Forbes 400 is $3.9 billion.

The biggest loser this year was casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, whose fortune has fallen $13 billion in the past 12 months--$1.5 million per hour--as shares of his Las Vegas Sands (nyse: LVS - news - people ) have dropped 75% from their all-time highs last October.

Fellow casino kingpin Kirk Kerkorian lost $6.8 billion this year as his stock in MGM Mirage (nyse: MGM - news - people ) fell 70% since last fall.

Other tycoons who have lost big bucks this year include Min Kao of global positioning system maker Garmin (nasdaq: GRMN - news - people ) (down $2.9 billion), Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) guys Sergey Brin and Larry Page (down $2.7 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively), eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people ) founder Pierre Omidyar (down $2.6 billion) and media maven Sumner Redstone (down $2.5 billion).

This year's biggest gainer is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose estimated net worth rose $8.5 billion after he bought back a 20% stake in his financial data and news firm Bloomberg L.P. from Merrill Lynch (nyse: MER - news - people ) this summer, finally putting a price tag on the private media outfit.

Several Forbes 400 veterans fell off the list this year. Among them: former AIG (nyse: AIG - news - people ) head Maurice (Hank) Greenberg and former eBay chief Margaret Whitman.

Two-thirds of the members of The Forbes 400 have fortunes that are entirely self-made, while only 19% of the group inherited their entire fortunes.

There are 42 women on the list with an average net worth of $4.2 billion. Oprah Winfrey saw her wealth increase $200 million to $2.7 billion.

Six members of last year's list died, including potato king John Simplot and building supplies magnate Kenneth Hendricks. He is replaced by his wife, Diane. Other deaths included medical device inventor James Sorenson and Cargill heir John Hugh MacMillan III."-Forbes

W.

2008-09-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

Government bails out AIG

2008-09-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

"The U.S. government seized control of American International Group Inc. -- one of the world's biggest insurers -- in an $85 billion deal that signaled the intensity of its concerns about the danger a collapse could pose to the financial system.

The step marks a dramatic turnabout for the federal government, which had been strongly resisting overtures from AIG for an emergency loan or some intervention that would prevent the insurer from falling into bankruptcy. Just last weekend, the government essentially pulled the plug on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., allowing the big investment bank to go under instead of giving it financial support. This time, the government decided AIG truly was too big to fail.

As part of the deal, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson insisted that AIG's chief executive, Robert Willumstad, step aside. Mr. Paulson personally told Mr. Willumstad the news in a phone call on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the call.

Mr. Willumstad will be succeeded by Edward Liddy, the former head of insurer Allstate Corp.

AIG's bailout caps a tumultuous 10 days that have remade the American financial system. In that time, the government has engineered rescues that insert it deep into the housing and insurance industries, while Wall Street has watched two of its last four big independent brokerage firms exit the scene.

The U.S. on Sept. 6 took over mortgage-lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they teetered near collapse. This Sunday, the U.S. refused to bail out Wall Street pillar Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy-court protection and is now being sold off in pieces. That same day, another struggling Wall Street titan, Merrill Lynch & Co., agreed to sell itself to Bank of America Corp."-WSJ

Cramer on AIG

2008-09-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

Love Cramer!

Greatest thing since Purified Water!!!!!!

2008-09-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Could life get any better. . . . lol I dont know. . . with the markets being absolutely out of control. But yet and still there are little gems that pop up when you least expect it. Anything that can make my life more efficient and keep me informed. . . IM ALL ABOUT IT! READ THEE JOURNAL RIGHT ON YOUR CRACCBERRY!!!

http://wsjmobilereader.com

This could be you. . . . LITERALLY: IMAGINE Cup

2008-09-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

[The World’s Premier Student Technology Competition: EGYPT 09
"I wish there had been an Imagine Cup when I was growing up. It gets people involved in seeing that software is changing the world."
--Bill Gates
Chairman, Microsoft Corp.

Everything that the world may become "someday" lies in the hands of young people today. As they look at the road ahead, their close relationship with technology enables them to dream in ways we never have before. Put the two together, and you have young minds holding the tools that can make their vision a reality.

This is the recipe that inspired Microsoft to create the Imagine Cup. What begins with a burst of inspiration and a lot of hard work can become a future software breakthrough, a future career, or a flourishing new industry. The Imagine Cup encourages young people to apply their imagination, their passion and their creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world – today. Now in its sixth year, the Imagine Cup has grown to be a truly global competition focused on finding solutions to real world issues.

Open to students around the world, the Imagine Cup is a serious challenge that draws serious talent, and the competition is intense. The contest spans a year, beginning with local, regional and online contests whose winners go on to attend the global finals held in a different location every year. The intensity of the work brings students together, and motivates the competitors to give it their all. The bonds formed here often last well beyond the competition itself.]-ImagineCup.com

Some guy from Microsoft came and spoke at one of my classes tonight. Pretty rad guy. Sounds like an amazing opportunity!!!

More J. Bezos

2008-09-16T20:57:00.001-07:00

Charlie Rose does the best interviews ever. He's one of my favorites to say thee least. The one "channel" I subscribe to on YouTube is Thee Charlie Rose channel. Too many phenomenal interviews to tackle in one sitting. . . . pure motivation and insight.

Jeff Bezos: Founder of Amazon

2008-09-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

Glory.

Presidential Debates Dates

2008-09-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

Countdown is on.

Sept 26 Presidential Debate
Oct 2 VP Debate
Oct 7 Presidential Debate
Oct 15th Presidential Debate

"The McCain and Obama campaigns said Thursday that they have nailed down the details for this fall’s three 90-minute presidential debates.

As announced two weeks ago, Jim Lehrer of PBS’s The NewsHour will moderate the first presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain September 26 at the University of Mississippi. The faceoff will focus on foreign policy and national security issues.

Thursday’s announcement laid out the debate format: each candidate will get two minutes to respond to a question, followed by an open discussion for another five minutes.

The second debate, moderated by NBC’s Tom Brokaw, will be held October 7 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. The format will be town-hall style; all questions will come from members of the audience or queries sent in over the Internet.

The Presidential Debate Commission said earlier this month that Gallup will choose undecided voters from in or around the Nashville, Tennessee area to participate in the town hall, and Brokaw will review each question before it is posed to avoid duplication.

The final presidential debate – which will cover domestic and economic policy issues — will take place October 15 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer will moderate.

The Hofstra faceoff will be the only debate where each candidate will have the chance to make a 90-second closing statement.

Details of the vice presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, which will be hosted by NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill, will be released after both candidates name their running mates."-CNN

Government takes over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

2008-09-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government seized control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after the biggest surge in mortgage defaults in at least three decades threatened to topple the companies making up almost half the U.S. home-loan market.

``Our economy and our markets will not recover until the bulk of this housing correction is behind us,'' Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who engineered the takeover along with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James Lockhart, said in Washington today. ``Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are critical to turning the corner.''

As losses on the mortgages grew late last year, the companies recorded $14.9 billion in combined net losses, eating into their capital. Fannie raised $14.4 billion since November and Freddie sold $6 billion of preferred securities. Plans for a $5.5 billion sale were delayed as the company's fortunes sank.

Fannie had $47 billion of capital as of June 30, according to company filings. The company is required by its regulator to hold $37.5 billion. Freddie's capital stood at $37.1 billion, compared with a requirement of $34.5 billion, filings show.

Fannie's market capitalization is now $7.6 billion, down from $38.9 billion at the end of last year. Freddie's has fallen to $3.3 billion, from $22 billion over the same period.

$200,000 a day. . .. not ENOUGH!!!

2008-09-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

Josh sent this to me this summer. . . . older article but yet. . . GLORY! and motivating. . . .

"Mark McGoldrick earned about $70 million in pay last year -- nearly $200,000 a day -- placing bets using Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s money. He was one of Goldman's highest-paid employees.

Turns out it wasn't enough.

Internally dubbed "Goldfinger" for running one of Goldman's most-profitable units, Mr. McGoldrick delivered a big chunk of the firm's 2006 profits, people familiar with the matter say. He co-founded and built the firm's secretive "special-situations group," Goldman's elite but opaque money-making machine that buys and sells eclectic assets including British power plants, Japanese golf courses and Thai auto loans.

Mr. McGoldrick and some of the partners in his unit griped that they weren't being rewarded as well as counterparts at hedge funds and private-equity firms. Though highly paid, his team was "under-compensated," Mr. McGoldrick complained to Goldman colleagues. He groused about being shut out of investments because of potential conflicts inside Goldman. Then he quit.

. . . . . Mr. McGoldrick was one of the highest-paid executives at the firm, with about $70 million. Mr. Blankfein, Goldman's CEO, received a pay package totaling more than $53 million.

Mr. McGoldrick believed they deserved more, considering their group's profits. When rivals such as Fortress and Blackstone went public this year, their founders reaped financial bonanzas. His team grumbled that their pay no longer was based on "market reality." Most compelling to Mr. McGoldrick: His close friend, Fortress executive Mr. Briger -- the man with whom he started the special-situations group -- became an overnight billionaire worth $2 billion."- WSJ

Creative Capitalism

2008-09-07T13:31:00.000-07:00

An article that stood out to me over the summer.

"Capitalism has improved the lives of billions of people — something that's easy to forget at a time of great economic uncertainty. But it has left out billions more. They have great needs, but they can't express those needs in ways that matter to markets. So they are stuck in poverty, suffer from preventable diseases and never have a chance to make the most of their lives. Governments and nonprofit groups have an irreplaceable role in helping them, but it will take too long if they try to do it alone. It is mainly corporations that have the skills to make technological innovations work for the poor. To make the most of those skills, we need a more creative capitalism: an attempt to stretch the reach of market forces so that more companies can benefit from doing work that makes more people better off. We need new ways to bring far more people into the system — capitalism — that has done so much good in the world.

Creative capitalism isn't some big new economic theory. And it isn't a knock on capitalism itself. It is a way to answer a vital question: How can we most effectively spread the benefits of capitalism and the huge improvements in quality of life it can provide to people who have been left out?

More than 30 years ago, Paul Allen and I started Microsoft because we wanted to be part of a movement to put a computer on every desk and in every home. Ten years ago, Melinda and I started our foundation because we want to be part of a different movement — this time, to help create a world where no one has to live on a dollar a day or die from a disease we know how to prevent. Creative capitalism can help make it happen. I hope more people will join the cause."-time

Back to Thee Glory!

2008-09-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

Ok clearly I have not made a single post in months due to a extremely busy and productive summer. There is so much to share and speak about. So now that im back at thee batcave I will get back to sharing my random thoughts and posting bits of news that are pretty interesting and important. LETS GO!! VICTTTOORRRYYY!!

Glastonbury 08

2008-06-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

Oprah 2008 Standford Commencement speech

2008-06-29T19:31:00.001-07:00

Eric Schmidt, Larry Page, Sergey Brin at Zeitgeist Europe 08

2008-06-26T21:44:00.001-07:00

Makes you feel like your there. . .. Rad.

BILL GATES Steps Down

2008-06-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

[Bill Gates has always divided opinion. Compared for his arrogance to Napoleon by a US judge, the billionaire has been more recently noted for his philanthropy.

But as he steps down from his role at Microsoft, few can doubt Gates' leaves a profound legacy to business and the wider world.

Microsoft's path to global dominance was shaped by a strategic coup in 1981, that turned out to be a critical blunder for IBM. Microsoft was allowed to license its personal computer operating system to other manufacturers, spawning an industry of "IBM-compatible" machines dependent on Microsoft's operating system.

Popularising the personal computer - both at home and in the office - soon made Microsoft a Wall Street darling. The group's shares soared from $2 in 1986 to $105 within a decade, turning Gates and co-founder Paul Allen into billionaires and changing the global
business forever.

"I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created", Gates once said.

Few would argue, but it was Gates's ability to feed PCs to the world that has earned him comparisons with the great businessman of American history such as Henry Ford and JD Rockefeller.

More recent critics have branded Microsoft a dotcom dinosaur and the pointed to the threats to its business from Google. Gates has appeared at ease with the challenge. Talking of Google two years ago, he said: "People tend to get over-focused on one of our competitors. We've always seen that. The biggest company in the computer industry by far is IBM.

"IBM has always been our biggest competitor. The press just doesn't like to write about IBM."

Gates has certainly attracted headlines and was once arrested for racing his Porsche 911 through the New Mexico desert.

Whichever side you take, it is almost impossible to argue that when it comes to building an empire from scratch, changing the way the world does business, and holding on to the competitive edge in an industry - few come close to Microsoft or Gates.]-UKT

Pretty cool video also. Almost as good as his Bio I constantly study.

Wall St. Fibbsters

2008-06-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

[On Thursday, Goldman Sachs' (nyse: GS - news - people ) investment bank research analyst William Tanona cut his view on the brokerage sector to "neutral" from "attractive," after having upgraded the group after the mid-March implosion of Bear Stearns. With storm clouds darkening over the financial markets, Tanona now says that "fundamentals continue to deteriorate" and that recovery will take longer than originally thought.

Just three days ago, his colleagues in Goldman's strategy department reversed course and urged investors to "under weight" financial stocks in their portfolios, admitting they erred in recommending the sector in early May on a view that capital raising and government stimulus of the economy would benefit the stocks. "Our thesis was clearly wrong in hindsight," the strategists wrote.

Worsening trends in the financial markets have made fibbers out of many a bank chief in recent weeks. Fortis (other-otc: FORSY.PK - news - people ), the Belgian banking giant, pulled a 180 Thursday, saying it would raise $12.5 billion in capital, $2.3 billion of it through a share sale and the rest from scrapping its dividend and selling assets. Earlier, the company had said it didn't need to raise capital.

Same thing with Merrill Lynch (nyse: MER - news - people ), which said earlier this year it didn't need more capital after raising $6 billion in January. In April, it sold another $9.6 billion worth of securities.

Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEH - news - people ) also said earlier it had adequate capital and then went out in early June and raised $6 billion, announcing the same day a wider than expected $2.8 billion second-quarter loss, all because of more write-downs. That came just weeks after Chief Executive Richard Fuld told shareholders at the annual meeting that the worst of the crisis was over.

"Bank managements have been unusually lacking in knowledge about the depth of the problems in their companies," says Richard Bove, an analyst at Ladenburg Thalmann. "Their perception of events seems to be skewed by desire as opposed to reality."

What's more, financial companies are running out of ways to raise capital without hitting existing shareholders. Ongoing write-downs may make Merrill's chief executive, John Thain, think twice about holding on to the company's stake in Bloomberg, the information and news service, which some value at $5 billion to $6 billion.

"A sale of Bloomberg is increasingly likely if it has to raise additional capital," says CreditSights analyst David Hendler.

"There's a major credibility issue reflected today in the cratering of these stocks," says Michael Holland, chairman of Holland & Co.]-Forbes

Blueprint for emissions reductions

2008-06-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

"June 26 (Bloomberg) -- California outlined for the first time the broadest U.S. attempt to regulate greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, calling for the creation of a new emissions-trading program and increased renewable-energy production.

All parts of the $1.6 trillion economy, the largest of the U.S. states, would be affected. Utilities, refiners, carmakers, farmers, manufacturers and forest managers would be called on to cut pollution under the draft plan released today by the state Air Resources Board.

The blueprint comes 18 months after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law requiring the country's most populous state to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The law is the most far-reaching of any climate-change plan in the U.S., where President George W. Bush's administration and Congress have resisted mandatory caps on greenhouse gases.

``It's going to be seen as a model for other states, the country as a whole and other countries,'' Daniel Sperling, a member of the Air Resources Board and a transportation professor at the University of California, Davis, said in an interview.

Schwarzenegger has hailed the climate law as a way to lead the state toward a low-carbon economy and spur investment. In 2006, clean energy technology companies in California received $1 billion in investment, according to Cleantech Network LLC, a Brighton, Michigan-based investor group that conducts industry research.. . . "

Buffett or Bernanke?

2008-06-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

[NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Even Warren Buffett is wrong some of the time. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is hoping this is one of them.

Buffett, the billionaire investor behind Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500), fingered "exploding" inflation Wednesday as the biggest risk to the economy. "I think inflation is really picking up," Buffett said on CNBC. "It's huge right now, whether it's steel or oil," he continued. "We see it everywhere."

In part, the Fed's decision turns on a distinction economists make between inflation and "relative-price changes." The former is a general loss of purchasing power that's caused, or at least exacerbated by, overly lax monetary policy (such as keeping interest rates too low for too long). The latter are price hikes driven primarily by fundamental shifts in supply and demand.

The Fed is betting that rising prices won't feed through to higher general inflation expectations unless workers start demanding raises and companies start raising prices.

But wages haven't been rising sharply, and declining unionization means workers have less bargaining power than they did during the inflationary 1970s, economists say. And while some processors of commodities, like Dow, are charging more, their customers in turn have generally been unable to pass along those costs to consumers.

To be sure, there are other factors at work in the Fed's move to the sidelines. Bernanke & Co. wants to measure the stimulative effect of the rate cuts it's already made. The rate cuts of the past nine months - the Fed has slashed its overnight bank lending rate by 3.25 percentage points since September - will take time to impact the economy. If possible, the Fed wants to wait before making another move on rates.

And while fears of a marketwide meltdown seem to have eased, a weak housing market, rising unemployment and increasing loan losses at banks mean the risk of a sharp economic pullback remains substantial.]

Just pulled out the pearls.. . . .

Market snapshot

2008-06-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

[U.S. stocks fell sharply Thursday with the blue-chip index enduring its worst June so far since 1930, and plunging to its lowest finish since Sept. 11, 2006, after getting slammed hard as crude soared to new highs and Goldman Sachs disparaged U.S. brokers and advised selling General Motors Corp.

"We're going to move in the opposite direction of oil, and General Motors is going to go out of business, at least according to Goldman Sachs," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) tumbled 358.41 points, or 3%, to 11, 453.42, leaving it down nearly 1,200 points, or 9.4%, for the month, with two trading days yet to go. As things stand, the month is the worst June so far since 1930 when the index declined 17.72%.

"I am asked regularly as to whether or not we are at the bottom, and I feel overall that we are not there yet," said Stuart Miller, Lennar's chief executive, in a conference call]-CNN Money

Untold Wealth: Rise of the Super Rich - CNBC

2008-06-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

"-2007 was the first year that making Forbes magazine's list of 400 richest Americans required more than $1 billion. (The cutoff was $1.3 billion.)

There are roughly 150,000 households in the United States with a net worth of at least $20 million.
In 2004, the last time the Fed provided data, there were 649,000 American households worth $10 million or more, a nearly 300 percent jump since 1992.

Most heads of wealthy households hold college degrees beyond a bachelor's degree.

Older women are wealthier and poorer simultaneously compared to older men.

Older women (as a group) own more wealth than older men (as a group) but own less wealth, on average per individual, than do older men.

Women live longer than men -- wives inherit husband's share of wealth more often than other way around and older women outnumber older men about 2:1.

About 51 percent of the individual giving and philanthropy is from the 10 percent of households in the highest income groups.

Over the past 5 years the business jet industry grew 85%

The earners in the top 1 percent in income distribution bracket make 20% of the money.

Private jet travel is the fastest growing luxury market segment. Over 15% of all flights in the U.S. are by private jet.

There are more than 1,000 daily private jet flights in key markets such as South Florida, New York and Los Angeles.- (Elite Traveler Magazine)."-CNBC

Some fast facts from the CNBC website. I just watched this and it was ppuurreee glory. I will never delete this one off tivo. Check out CNBCtv for thee previews and such.

RIP Tim Russert

2008-06-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

"NBC News is very saddened to report that Tim Russert has passed away suddenly after collapsing at work. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."-NBC

BILLIONAIRE Gone Wild: Indicted

2008-06-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

[Somewhere in the skies between Orange County and Las Vegas, federal prosecutors say, Broadcom Corp. co-founder and hard-partying billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III gave new meaning to the term "highflying."

Winging their way to Sin City in 2001, Nicholas and his entourage generated so much marijuana smoke that it billowed into the cockpit, "requiring the pilot flying the plane to put on an oxygen mask," according to a federal grand jury indictment made public Thursday.

The indictment, issued under seal a day earlier, accused Nicholas of doling out drugs and prostitutes as part of a freewheeling lifestyle.

A second indictment accused Nicholas of manipulating stock options at Broadcom, the Irvine-based maker of computer chips used in such products as mobile phones, Apple Inc.'s iPod and Nintendo Co.'s Wii consoles.

In a 21-count indictment, Nicholas and William J. Ruehle, 66, Broadcom's former chief financial officer, were accused of backdating millions of stock options for five years to improperly reward employees.

The document also lists three properties described in previous Los Angeles Times stories about Nicholas' alleged indulgences in drugs and prostitutes:

* An equestrian estate in Laguna Hills, where Nicholas had constructed a series of tunnels and underground rooms, including one that contractors alleged was intended to become a "secret and convenient lair" to indulge his "manic obsession with prostitutes."

* A warehouse-office complex in nearby Laguna Niguel, which contractors said was used for sex and drugs and nicknamed "The Ponderosa."

* A Newport Coast residence where Nicholas was trying to start a record company and where rock groups frequently visited.]-LAT

YES WE CAN!!!

2008-06-06T20:21:00.001-07:00

Unemployment worst in 22 years. . . and more.

2008-06-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

[The unemployment rate surged to 5.5 percent in May from 5 percent — the sharpest monthly spike in 22 years — as the economy lost 49,000 jobs, registering a fifth consecutive month of decline, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The weak jobs report, coupled with a staggering rise in the price of oil — up a record $10.75 a barrel to more than $138 — unleashed a feverish sell-off on Wall Street, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 400 points. The dollar plunged against several major currencies.

Investors’ recent hopes that the United States might yet skirt a recession sank swiftly in the face of gloomy indications that the economy is gripped by a slowdown and pressured by record fuel prices.

For tens of millions of Americans struggling to pay bills, the jobs report added an official stamp of authority to a dispiriting reality they already know: A deteriorating labor market is eliminating paychecks just as they are needed to compensate for the soaring cost of food and fuel, and as the fall in house prices hacks away at household wealth and access to credit.

Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, called the labor report “a reminder that working families continue to bear the brunt of the failed Bush economic policies that John McCain wants to continue,” in a statement. “We can’t afford John McCain’s plan to spend billions of dollars on tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy C.E.O.’s.”]-NYT

Manchester United to get tough on Real Madrid over pursuit of unsettled Cristiano Ronaldo

2008-06-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

"A United statement last month warned Real the club would contact world football's governing body if they continued to court Ronaldo in a "totally unacceptable fashion" by publicly attempting to unsettle the forward.

United are preparing a formal complaint after comments from the Real president, Ramon Calderon, admitting that it would be an "honour" to sign Ronaldo.

Calderon, responding to Ronaldo's admission on Thursday that he "would like to play for Real", said yesterday: "For Madrid, it is an honour to know that a player like him [Ronaldo] thinks that playing at Real Madrid would be good."

With Ronaldo due to play for Portugal against Turkey on the opening day of Euro 2008 tonight, Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has insisted the player will not talk about his future until after the tournament."-UK Telegraph

He always has sick hair lol. . . . besides being a sick footballer

Kobe Then to Now

2008-06-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

Tony Stark's House.

2008-06-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

Im overly obsessed. Im building a REAL house like. SO MANDATORY!!

Ari de la GOLD

2008-06-02T14:48:00.001-07:00

I miss him.

[Older interview, timeless] Charlie Rose Speaks to Vogue Editor about Yves Saint Laurent

2008-06-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sad Day in Fashion

2008-06-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

"Yves Saint Laurent died Sunday at age 71 after a long illness. He had battled mental illness and drug addiction throughout his life.

The fashion giant was one of the most famous designers of the last century, along with Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Paul Poiret.

Although he retired from haute couture in 2002, after 40 years of designing, YSL continues to dominate, and his clothing is still worn by trend-setting actresses and valued by fashion collectors.

Christian Lacroix has said of Yves Saint Laurent: "Chanel, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and Dior all did extraordinary things. But they worked within a particular style. Yves Saint Laurent is much more versatile, like a combination of all of them. I sometimes think he's got the form of Chanel with the opulence of Dior and the wit of Schiaparelli."

YSL was responsible for many modern trends including the safari jacket, trouser suits and tuxedos for women, and he was the first designer to use black models on runways."-LAT

KOBE x Jackass

2008-05-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

Earthquake Predictions for California

2008-05-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

The likelihood of a major quake of magnitude 7.5 or greater in the next 30 years is 46%-and such a quake is most likely to occur in the southern half of the state.

The new study determined the probabilities that different parts of California will experience earthquake ruptures of various magnitudes. The new statewide probabilities are the result of a model that comprehensively combines information from seismology, earthquake geology, and geodesy (measuring precise locations on the Earth's surface). For the first time, probabilities for California having a large earthquake in the next 30 years can be forecast statewide.

The probability of a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake over the next 30 years striking the greater Los Angeles area is 67%, and in the San Francisco Bay Area it is 63%, similar to previous Bay Area estimates. For the entire California region, the fault with the highest probability of generating at least one magnitude 6.7 quake or larger is the southern San Andreas (59% in the next 30 years).

The results of the UCERF study serve as a reminder that all Californians live in earthquake country and should be prepared. Although earthquakes cannot be prevented, the damage they do can be greatly reduced through prudent planning and preparedness. The ongoing work of the Southern California Earthquake Center, USGS, California Geological Survey, and other scientists in evaluating earthquake probabilities is part of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program's efforts to safeguard lives and property from the future quakes that are certain to strike in California and elsewhere in the United States.

"Woman wakes up from thee dead." WOW!

2008-05-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

[CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A West Virginia woman was being transferred to the Cleveland Clinic after walking the line between life and death.
Doctors are calling Val Thomas a medical miracle. They said they can't explain how she is alive.
They said Thomas suffered two heart attacks and had no brain waves for more than 17 hours. At about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, her heart stopped and she had no pulse. A respiratory machine kept her breathing and rigor mortis had set in, doctors said.
"Her skin had already started to harden and her fingers curled. Death had set in," said son Jim Thomas.
They rushed her to a West Virginia hospital. Doctors put Thomas on a special machine which induces hypothermia. The treatment involves lowering the body temperature for up to 24 hours before warming a patient up.
After that procedure, her heart stopped again.
"She had no neurological function," said Dr. Kevin Eggleston.
Her family said goodbye and doctors removed all the tubes.
However, Thomas was kept on a ventilator a little while longer as an organ donor issue was discussed.
Ten minutes later the woman woke up and started talking.
"She (nurse) said, 'I'm so sorry Mrs. Thomas.' And mom said, 'That's OK honey. That's OK," Jim Thomas said.
Val Thomas and her family strongly believe that the Lord granted them their miracle and they want everyone to know.
"I know God has something in store for me, another purpose. I don't know what it is but I'm sure he'll tell me," she said.
She was taken to the Cleveland Clinic for specialist to check her out. Doctors said amazingly she has no blockage and will be fine.]-CNN

Sly OIL Doggies: "We have no control over the Billions our company makes"

2008-05-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

[NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Amid increasing public outcry over record-shattering oil and gas prices, senators on Wednesday hauled industry executives in to testify about the recent runup.

The Senate Judiciary Committee called the hearing to explore the skyrocketing price of oil, which jumped over $3 a barrel Wednesday to a new record of over $132. The committee grilled executives from Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), ConocoPhillips Co. (COP, Fortune 500), Shell Oil Co. (RDSA), Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and BP (BP) as to how their companies can in good conscience make so much money, while American drivers pay so much at the pump.

"You have to sense what you're doing to us - we're on the precipice here, about to fall into recession," said Sen Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) "Does it trouble any one of you - the costs you're imposing on families, on small businesses, on truckers?"

The executives said it did, and that they are doing all they can to bring new oil supplies to market, but that the fundamental reasons for the surge in oil prices are largely out of their control.

"We cannot change the world market," said Robert Malone, chairman and president of BP America Inc. "Today's high prices are linked to the failure both here and abroad to increase supplies, renewables and conservation."

The testimony was colored by a few outbursts of protest from members of the public. Before the hearing even began, a heckler in the crowd shouted: "Stop ripping off the American public - bring these oil prices down."

"The people we represent are hurting, while your companies are profiting," he said. "We need to get some balance."

Although lawmakers don't vote on energy issues strictly along party lines, Democrats generally want to increase taxes on Big Oil and use the money to fund renewable energy research.

Republicans generally favor opening up the Alaska Wildlife Refuge, large parts of the Rocky Mountains, and areas off the east and west coast that have been closed to drilling since the 1970s following a public backlash after several big oil spills.]

Translated the Oil execs are saying: Boo Hoo cry me a river and build a bridge over it.

Death Toll reaches over 41,000 for china earthquake

2008-05-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

[BEIJING, China (CNN) -- A woman who survived nine days trapped in debris Wednesday became the latest in a series of aganist-the-odds rescues in China, where the official death toll from last week's massive earthquake has risen to 41,353.

State media reported that medical teams had now reached all affected villages in remote regions of China's southwestern Sichuan province and were now battling infections in a bid to prevent infection epidemics.

Doctors have so far found 58 cases of gas gangrene, a bacterial infection that produces gas within infected flesh, according to the Xinhua news agency. It said the cases did not represent an epidemic.

At least 32,666 people remain missing following the 7.9-magnitude quake, which also left 274,683 injured.]-CNN

$15 to check bags on American Airlines

2008-05-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

[American Airlines, the nation’s largest air carrier, said Wednesday that it would begin charging $15 for many passengers to check their first bag, eliminating a free service that passengers in the United States have come to expect during the modern jet era.

At the same time, American said it would take up to 85 aircraft out of its fleet, including jets and commuter planes, by the end of the year, one of the biggest cutbacks since the airlines culled their fleets after the September 2001 attacks. American has about 960 aircraft at the mainline airline and its American Eagle subsidiary.

Airlines around the world have been hit hard by skyrocketing jet fuel prices, which have climbed 80 percent in the last year. The higher prices have prompted them to institute a raft of fare increases, surcharges and fees for services that previously had been free. Other airlines, including Delta and United, also have announced plans to reduce their fleets.

“Our company and industry simply cannot afford to sit by hoping for industry and market conditions to improve,” American’s chief executive, Gerard Arpey, told company shareholders.]-NYT

MOODYS incorrectly rating BILLIONS of dollars worth of Complex debt. . .

2008-05-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

[Moody’s awarded incorrect triple-A ratings to billions of dollars worth of a type of complex debt product due to a bug in its computer models, a Financial Times investigation has discovered.

Internal Moody’s documents seen by the FT show that some senior staff within the credit agency knew early in 2007 that products rated the previous year had received top-notch triple A ratings and that, after a computer coding error was corrected, their ratings should have been up to four notches lower.

The products were designed for institutional investors. In the recent credit market turmoil, those who still hold the products will have suffered some paper losses while others who have bailed out have lost up to 60 per cent of their investment.

Credit ratings are hugely important within the financial system because many investors – such as pension funds, insurance companies and banks – use them as a yardstick either to restrict the kinds of products they buy, or to decide how much capital they need to hold against them.]-FT

NAPA valley loses a Robert Mondavi

2008-05-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

[Mondavi's Napa was the Wild West of winemaking. For the dozen wineries in operation in 1966, costs were low, there was room to grow and mistakes weren't fatal. The challenge was to persuade Americans to drink wine at all. Today, high costs have created a region dominated by small producers. Four hundred wine brands with limited landholdings compete for a share of the top 10% of the U.S. wine market.

When Mondavi planted his initial 12 acres in Oakville, an acre cost less than $10,000, according to Vic Motto, chairman of Global Wine Partners, an investment bank dedicated to the wine industry. He gradually expanded to 1,400 acres.

Now an acre of "good" Oakville vineyard land costs an average of $250,000. Prime land can cost $500,000. Most of Napa's 450,998 acres of planted vineyards are owned by individuals, Motto says. Big holdings are the exception. "Napa is really hundreds and hundreds of small growers." Most are economically viable, but no one is getting rich quick, Motto says.

Will one of the boutique producers rise to fill Mondavi's shoes? Without him, there is no individual or institution who personifies Napa, says Jacques Lurton, scion of one of Bordeaux's most prominent winemaking families. "Mondavi not only created Mondavi wines, he created Napa."

Whoever takes his place, Lurton says, will be someone who can transform Napa Valley yet again. "That person will be the new hero," he says.]-LAT

AIG: Shady Greenberg

2008-05-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering civil enforcement against Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the former chief executive of American International Group Inc. who a judge found initiated an insurance scam, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the SEC has issued Greenberg a "Wells notice," which indicates a possibility of an enforcement action.

Greenberg's lawyer, Robert Morvillo, and his spokesman at his company, C.V. Starr International, did not immediately reply to calls for comment.

The report of the Wells notice comes less than a week after a jury convicted four former General Reinsurance Corp. executives and a former AIG executive of conspiracy and securities fraud.

The executives were indicted for an insurance scheme that purported to transfer risk from Gen Re to AIG, but in fact inflated by $500 million the reserves AIG reported available to pay claims.

This helped AIG portray the company's finances as stronger than they really were, deceiving investors worried about whether the company had enough cash handy to pay claims. AIG paid Gen Re $15 million for undertaking this deal.

AIG has struggled to gain its footing under Greenberg's successor, Martin Sullivan. The insurer has lost more than $13 billion in the past six months and the company's stock on Wednesday touched as low as $37.28, its cheapest trade in more than a decade.

What the richest man in the world is up to. . .

2008-05-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

[May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Warren Buffett, speaking in Madrid during his four-day European tour, said he made a mistake by not visiting the continent 10 years ago to seek acquisitions for his Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

``There are going to be more large acquisitions, possibly, in Europe than in any part of the globe,'' said Buffett at a news conference today. After visiting Frankfurt and Lausanne, he wraps up his trip tomorrow in Milan as he looks to buy family-owned companies to boost earnings at Berkshire.

An economic boom lasting more than a decade helped swell the ranks of Spanish companies large enough to meet Buffett's minimum requirement of $75 million in pretax earnings. About 50 family- owned businesses including retailers El Corte Ingles and Mercadona and builder Grupo Ferrovial SA earn annual revenue of more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.89 billion), said Josep Tapies, professor of strategic management at IESE Business School.

The Berkshire chairman is known for buying privately owned companies with iconic brands and barriers to would-be rivals. Buffett, unlike private equity firms, says he buys ``for life'' and doesn't meddle in management. He's been looking for places to put Berkshire's $35 billion in cash, investing in China, Israel and the U.K. because he says there's a dearth of U.S. opportunities.

Buffett, 77, owns about a third of Berkshire, which he built over four decades from a failing maker of men's suit linings into a holding company with businesses that range from candy-making to insurance. He is ranked by Forbes magazine as the world's richest man.

Berkshire earned $13.2 billion last year and has a $72.6 billion stock portfolio. Berkshire is the largest shareholder in companies including Coca-Cola Co., Wells Fargo & Co., Kraft Foods Inc., American Express Co. and Moody's Corp. as of March 31, according to Bloomberg data.]

OBAMA: Portland 75,000 strong

2008-05-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

The Energy Bus: 10 rules to fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy.

2008-05-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Energy Bus: 10 rules to fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy.

This is such a dope book one of my mentors mentioned to me. I haven’t had a chance to read the whole thing but just hearing him talk about it and share the 10 rules was glory. It’s a gem for sure and im sure it doesn’t take longer than an hour or so to read.

Thee 10 rules are as follows and mandatory for implementation immediately:

1. You’re the Driver of the Bus.
2. Desire, Vision and Focus move your bus in the
right direction.
3. Fuel your Ride with Positive Energy.
4. Invite People on Your Bus and Share your Vision
for the Road Ahead.
5. Don’t Waste Your Energy on those who don’t get
on your Bus.
6. Post a Sign that says “No Energy Vampires
Allowed” on your Bus.
7. Enthusiasm attracts more Passengers and
Energizes them during the Ride.
8. Love your Passengers.
9. Drive with Purpose.
10.Have Fun and Enjoy the Ride.

About the book: “It’s Monday morning and George walks out the front door to his car and a flat tire. But this is the least of his problems. His home life is in shambles and his team at work is in disarray. With a big new product launch coming up in 2 weeks for the NRG-2000 he has to find a way to get it together or risk losing his marriage and job. Forced to take the bus to work, George meets a unique kind of bus driver and an interesting set of characters (passengers) that over the course of 2 weeks share the 10 rules for the ride of his life… and attempt to help him turn around his work and team and save his job and marriage from an almost inevitable destruction.”

Website: TheEnergyBus.com

StepBrothers

2008-05-12T11:39:00.001-07:00

This looks hilarious!! I LOVE WILL!!!

IronMan = GLORY

2008-05-12T10:34:00.001-07:00

Ok so believe or not I took a break from Isolation . . . well actually my love kidnapped me. . . and took me to see IronMan. First and Foremost Tony Stark is a Billionaire. Super dope. Classic tale of "Has everything and Nothing". . . gets betrayed and must save the world. I thought this movie was PURE GLORY. I LOVED every second. Clealry im a techie so I was a huge fan of all the action packed scenes, especially Stark's house and his "grinder space". His home office and office at his company were both super dope. Bottomline his lifestyle is every techie's dream. . . Sick cars. . sick technology in every form. . . ladies lol . . . etc. This movie is a must see and its something that your not going to be able to wait to buy on dvd. Im a movie head and I haven't been this pleased since I saw The Great Debaters.

"From Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures comes Iron Man, an action-packed take on the tale of wealthy philanthropist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who develops an invulnerable robotic suit to fight the throes of evil. In addition to being filthy rich, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark is also a genius inventor. When Stark is kidnapped and forced to build a diabolical weapon, he instead uses his intelligence and ingenuity to construct an indestructible suit of armor and escape his captors. Once free, Stark discovers a deadly conspiracy that could destabilize the entire globe, and dons his powerful new suit on a mission to stop the villains and save the world. Gwyneth Paltrow co-stars as his secretary, Virginia "Pepper" Potts, while Terrence Howard fills the role of Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, one of Stark's colleagues, whose military background leads him to help in the formation of the suit. Jon Favreau directs, with Marvel movie veterans Avi Arad and Kevin Feige producing. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide"-Moviefo

Blackberry BOLD

2008-05-12T10:19:00.001-07:00

Its a CRACC what more do I need to say. . . . . .

Ok maybe this:

[The Bold, or 9000, has twice the screen resolution of the current Curve model, making for a very sharp display. It matches the resolution, but not the size, of the screen on Apple Inc.'s iPhone, which has emerged as a potent competitor in the "smart phone" category.

It also has much more internal memory, a glossy metallic look, and adds corporate-strength Wi-Fi capabilities to third-generation cellular and Bluetooth radios.]-LAT

Yankee Fan Kills Red Sox Fan

2008-05-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

[The boozed-up Yankee fan from hell who ran over and killed a Red Sox supporter last week had a crush on Derek Jeter and a living room dominated by Pinstripe regalia.
A neighbor of Ivonne Hernandez, 43, who was charged with murder for allegedly running down Matthew Beaudoin in her Dodge Intrepid in Nashua, said the Bronx-bred fan loved the handsome shortstop.

Hernandez, taunted by Red Sox fans outside a bar, bounced the 29-year-old off her windshield at up to 60 mph, witnesses said.
"We want a life sentence because it was deliberate," said Norman Beaudoin, the dead man's dad. "Matthew didn't deserve that at all. We will all miss him very much."

Officials said Friday's events turned deadly not long after Hernandez slapped a female bartender outside a bar. The bartender's friends chased Hernandez to her car and, seeing the Yankee logo on her rear windshield, began chanting, "Yankees suck!"
Hernandez hurriedly drove away, then stopped.
"She turned her car around and gunned the engine toward Matthew," a witness told The Post yesterday. "She hit him and he was on the windshield. He flew 40 feet in the air."]-NY Post

TOO MUCH PASSION. Wow. Never good.

Recession aka Thee OffSeason

2008-05-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that for example in sports, during the off season is when you GO HARD!!! You hone in on your craft, you re-build your weak links within your self and you get stronger, you get better, you become a beast for what's to come in the future. There are for sure a few gems in here. Its not about looking at thee literal workout. Its about applying it to your own craft and seeing how they can align. "Thee season" can clearly be when the economy is flourishing. . . .

"You put in work in the off season and it will pay dividends in the season"

This recession is indeed like an off-season for any athlete. All “extra activities” outside of work/career/school/Dreams that you are currently pursuing, have to be intensely reduced to cut costs. I know that now more than ever is the best time to invest in yourself and to get better, when you are not focused on the mandatory income producers. The most important parts of one’s self are: Health, Mind and Body.

Top things I will be doing while in hibernation outside of studying for finals and getting Billions:

1. Researching things that I have always wanted to pursue.
2. Home Spartan workouts
3. Enjoying the outdoors more. (Its free to go outside and enjoy what the earth has to offer).
4. Catching up on biography’s
5. Finishing books that I’ve wanted to finish for a while now.

These are some of my favorite things. I hope that everyone will look at the positive side of things even though their pockets may be hurting and progress and get better.

Gene Kelly : Singin in the Rain

2008-05-08T15:23:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite movies

Classic: Gene Kelly & Fred Astaire

2008-05-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

The death toll from the cyclone that ravaged the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar may exceed 100,000

2008-05-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

[YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- The death toll from the cyclone that ravaged the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar may exceed 100,000, the senior U.S. diplomat in the military-ruled country said Wednesday.

"The information we are receiving indicates over 100,000 deaths," the U.S. Charge D'Affaires in Yangon, Shari Villarosa, said on a conference call.

The U.S. figure is almost five times more than the 22,000 the Myanmar government has estimated.

The U.S. estimate is based on data from an international non-governmental organization, Villarosa said without naming the group. She called the situation in myanmar "more and more horrendous."

Villarosa also said about 95 percent of the buildings in the delta region were destroyed when Cyclone Nargis battered the area late Friday into Saturday.

Based on a satellite map made available by the U.N., the storm's damage was concentrated over about a 30,000-square-kilometer area along the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Martaban coastlines, home to nearly a quarter of Myanmar's 57 million people. ]-cnn

William Ferrell at his best

2008-05-07T10:46:00.001-07:00

My all time favorite oh man.

Gas peak at $3.73 in June or Gas at $7 a gallon??

2008-05-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

[Oil jumped to another record on Tuesday, and the government said it expected gasoline prices to peak at a national average of $3.73 a gallon in June, just as the summer driving season kicks off.

Oil prices have nearly doubled in a year. Gasoline is selling for a national average of about $3.61 a gallon, according to AAA, the automobile club, a penny less than the record set on May 1 but 58 cents higher than a year ago.

Domestic gasoline consumption is likely to fall more steeply than expected this year, the Energy Department said, an indication that higher prices are cutting into the driving habits of many Americans. But gasoline prices are expected to rise nonetheless and should average $3.52 a gallon for the full year, or 71 cents above their average price in 2007, according to the government’s latest estimates.

“In the past, high prices could be offset by borrowing or making more money,” said Adam Robinson, an analyst at Lehman Brothers. “It’s really when you have the triple bite — a weaker economy, less access to credit, and higher prices — that you see the consumer recoil.”

In its monthly report, the Energy Department projected that domestic petroleum consumption would decline by about 190,000 barrels a day this year, a result of the economic slowdown and high prices. That is a sharper drop than the 90,000-barrel-a-day decline projected by the department last month.

As demand continues to outpace the growth in oil supplies, analysts expect little relief in prices. A shortfall in supplies over the next two years will probably send oil to $150 to $200 a barrel, Goldman Sachs said in a new report.

Analysts’ forecasts for the price of gasoline over the next few years run as high as $7 a gallon.]-NYT

Kaizen

2008-05-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

I remember reading about this in one of my management books. Its glory and for several months now I have incoporated it into my own daily process.

[Kaizen is Japanese for improvement. It is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. When applied to the workplace, Kaizen activities continually improve all functions of a business from manufacturing to management and from the CEO to the assembly line workers. By improving the standardized activities and processes, Kaizen aims to eliminate waste. Kaizen was first implemented in several Japanese businesses during the country's recovery after World War II, including Toyota, and has since spread to businesses throughout the world.

Kaizen is a daily activity whose purpose goes beyond simple productivity improvement. It is also a process that, when done correctly, humanizes the workplace, eliminates overly hard work (both mental and physical) "muri", and teaches people how to perform experiments on their work using the scientific method and how to learn to spot and eliminate waste in business processes.

To be most effective kaizen must operate with three principles in place:
consider the process and the results (not results-only) so that actions to achieve effects are surfaced;
systemic thinking of the whole process and not just that immediately in view (i.e. big picture, not solely the narrow view) in order to avoid creating problems elsewhere in the process; and
a learning, non-judgmental, non-blaming (because blaming is wasteful) approach and intent will allow the re-examination of the assumptions that resulted in the current process.

People at all levels of an organization can participate in kaizen, from the CEO down, as well as external stakeholders when applicable. The format for kaizen can be individual, suggestion system, small group, or large group. At Toyota, it is usually a local improvement within a workstation or local area and involves a small group in improving their own work environment and productivity. This group is often guided through the kaizen process by a line supervisor; sometimes this is the line supervisor's key role.

While kaizen (at Toyota) usually delivers small improvements, the culture of continual aligned small improvements and standardization yields large results in the form of compound productivity improvement. Hence the English usage of "kaizen" can be: "continuous improvement" or "continual improvement."

This philosophy differs from the "command-and-control" improvement programs of the mid-twentieth century. Kaizen methodology includes making changes and monitoring results, then adjusting. Large-scale pre-planning and extensive project scheduling are replaced by smaller experiments, which can be rapidly adapted as new improvements are suggested.
The Kaizen approach encourages company to innovate and look for improvements all the time in the process. It is often a culture that is inbred in the employees of such companies that employ the techniques. The whole purpose is to produce the perfect process, for instance in factory production lines if the operators detect an abnormality on the process they may stop the production to investigate why it has gone wrong.]-Wikipedia

Habits

2008-05-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Such a good article. The full version is in the New York Times but I had to take a few gems out of it to post on here.

[HABITS are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative connotation.

So it seems antithetical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation. But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel synaptic paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try — the more we step outside our comfort zone — the more inherently creative we become, both in the workplace and in our personal lives.

“The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of “The Open Mind” and an executive change consultant for Professional Thinking Partners. “But we are taught instead to ‘decide,’ just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider.’ ” She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”

At puberty, however, the brain shuts down half of that capacity, preserving only those modes of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.

Ms. Ryan and Ms. Markova have found what they call three zones of existence: comfort, stretch and stress. Comfort is the realm of existing habit. Stress occurs when a challenge is so far beyond current experience as to be overwhelming. It’s that stretch zone in the middle — activities that feel a bit awkward and unfamiliar — where true change occurs.

She recommends practicing a Japanese technique called kaizen, which calls for tiny, continuous improvements.

You cannot have innovation,” she adds, “unless you are willing and able to move through the unknown and go from curiosity to wonder.”]-NYT

KOBE MVP Glory!

2008-05-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

NY: 75% increase in bicyclists

2008-05-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

[NEW YORK -- The undulating asphalt gave way to a sea of potholes and the bicycle shuddered with each curve and dip. Ahead, the Brooklyn Bridge rose in a long incline toward the camera-ready skyline of Manhattan.

But the cinematic quality of the city was lost on an approaching bicyclist, who saw only a tight grid of streets with thin slices of available roadway -- spaces that momentarily widen, then narrow, in the anarchy of Manhattan traffic.

But with rising oil prices and heightened concern about carbon emissions, riding a bicycle no longer seems quite so silly. The number of bicyclists has grown by 75% during the last seven years, according to the city's count.

Soon an ambitious city plan will make it possible for riders to traverse Manhattan via dedicated bike lanes and circumnavigate the island along the waterfront. Sheltered bicycle parking and thousands of new public bike racks are already in place.

"The bike is not a hobby," said Sadik-Khan, 47, who cycles to work. "It's an important part of the transportation network."]-LAT

"Spot Runner makes TV advertising available to small businesses through the Web."

2008-05-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

[Los Angeles advertising firm Spot Runner Inc. said Tuesday that it had received $51 million in financing from Grupo Televisa and a slew of other international media companies, evidence that even global advertisers are interested in local ads.

In addition to the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world, the new investors include luxury goods maker Groupe Arnault/LVMH, Legg Mason Capital Management and Daily Mail & General Trust, the British newspaper and radio company.

"It's now the time for us to think seriously about how to apply the Spot Runner model to markets such as Europe and Latin America," said Nick Grouf, chairman and chief executive of the 4-year-old company.

Spot Runner makes TV advertising available to small businesses through the Web.

The company can create a commercial for as little as $500 using pre-produced footage and personalizing it with the client's name, photo and contact information. Spot Runner's website enables companies to specify whom they want to reach and how much they want to spend, then Spot Runner buys airtime for them on the national broadcast feeds of local cable or broadcast channels. It generally costs less than $100 to buy spots on local cable.

Spot Runner CEO Grouf said the partnership with Grupo Televisa, which draws 70% of the TV audience in Mexico, would bring a new category of advertisers into the market. Spot Runner's relationship with luxury products maker Group Arnault/LVMH will help the company target its advertising and "put the right brands in front of the right customers with the right message," he said.]-LAT

Times are a changin

TRILLIONS

2008-05-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) - Thanks to record crude oil prices, OPEC members will likely earn over $1 trillion this year from oil exports, according to the U.S. government's top energy forecasting agency.

Net oil export earnings from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are forecast to skyrocket 57 percent from last year's $674 billion to $1.06 trillion this year and then decline to $990 billion in 2009 after an expected contraction in oil prices, the Energy Information Administration said in its new forecast.

Even though U.S. oil demand is expected to decline by 190,000 barrels a day this year because of high energy prices and a weak American economy, the EIA forecasts that global oil consumption will rise by 1.2 million barrels per day in 2008. (Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Drug bust at San Diego State

2008-05-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

[WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Authorities have arrested nearly 100 people and seized guns and drugs in a sting operation at San Diego State University in California, the Drug Enforcement Administration said Tuesday.

Among those arrested were 75 students, some of them working toward criminal justice or homeland security degrees. One criminal justice major was charged with possession of guns and cocaine, authorities said.

"DEA agents infiltrated several student drug distribution cells and more than 130 drug purchases and seizures were made" during the investigation known as Operation Sudden Fall, the news release said.

Officials arrested 75 students and 21 non-students on a variety of drug charges, including selling cocaine.

Authorities say they infiltrated seven campus fraternities and found that in some, most of the students were aware of drug dealing by fraternity brothers.

The news release alleges a member of the Theta Chi fraternity sent a mass text message to his "faithful customers" saying he and some others temporarily would be unable to complete orders for drug sales due to a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada.

The text message went on to discuss a "sale" on cocaine and gave details on reduced prices, the news release said.

One student allegedly dealing cocaine was a month short of obtaining a master's degree in Homeland Security and worked with campus police as a student community service officer.

Officials say the evidence seized as part of Operation Sudden Fall includes four pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of marijuana and 350 ecstasy pills. Authorities also confiscated a shotgun, three semiautomatic pistols and $60,000.]- CNN

Who's shocked??!! Ummm. . . didnt think anyone. . .

C. Rose: Alicia Keys, Kanye West, and Jay Z

2008-05-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

Dope video. Im clearly obsessed with interviews, bio's and background info on Money makers/artists/ Influentials.

Myanmar Cyclone: 4000 dead more expected

2008-05-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

GodBless them.

Pennies to millions

2008-05-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder who came up with the idea of 99 cent stores. . . This article was written in 2002. Still super relevant and glorious. Im sure alot has changed for better of for worse since this article was first completed. But nonetheless there are some gems in here.

[Kitschy promotions, memorable bargains and low overhead (it's based in a no-frills warehouse in run-down City of Commerce, Calif.) have made 99 Cents Only one of the most successful retailers around and put Gold, 70, on The Forbes 400 (2002) this year, with a $650 million fortune. He joins 18 other retailers on our list. It is perhaps surprising to discover that the combined retail fortunes on these pages come to $113 billion, just shy of the total for technology. And while Bill Gates is easily the world's wealthiest person, $43 billion by our reckoning, if Sam Walton were alive today and had not dispersed shares to descendants, his stake in Wal-Mart shares would be worth $99 billion.

Over the past five years, combined sales at 99 Cents and three similar chains have grown 20% annually, far more than in any other retailing segment, says Merrill Lynch analyst Daniel Barry. For the moment, no one runs a dollar store better than Gold. His cast-off merchandise is so attractively displayed that a photo of one store interior by the famed Andreas Gursky has hung in Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art. Even officials in Lancaster, Calif., who tried last year to invoke an urban-blight law to force 99 Cents out (to make way for a Costco expansion) admitted to the court that they "loved" the store. Gold won the suit.

Gold's 142 stores, all in California, Nevada and Arizona, pull in on average $4.7 million a year from 15,000 square feet of space. Gold's gross margin is 40%, meaning that a 99-cent item costs him only 60 cents. That's double the gross margin at Wal-Mart, and Gold's net margin of 8% is better than double Wal-Mart's, too.

Every 99 Cents location opens 15 minutes earlier and closes 15 minutes later than the posted hours. No small shopkeeper would ruin a sale simply because closing time has come, Gold explains. And he has never allowed any kind of negative signs like "No shoes, no service" or "We don't make change," only positive signs saying "Come as you are" or "We gladly make change."
The son of Russian immigrants, Gold started helping out at their Cleveland fruit stand as soon as he started grade school. Retailing was in his blood; academics wasn't (he dropped out of L.A. Community College). In the early 1960s Gold and his wife, Sherry, owned a liquor store in central L.A. In an attempt to goose sales of slower-moving wines, they stocked a shelf with a banner offering: "Wines of the World. Your Choice: 99 Cents." Gold dreamed, and talked, about running a whole store full of such bargains, but he was 50 by the time he reached his decisive moment. As Gold and his wife were driving back from the airport, a since-deceased friend, James Wayner, lost patience with Gold when he yet again mentioned the 99-cent idea. "Damn it!," Wayner shouted, "I'm sick and tired of hearing you talk about the 99-cent store! Look, there's a store for rent right now. Why don't you grab that one?" He made Gold pull over and inquire about the space. Gold struck a deal that day.

"Rich people love bargains. That's how they got rich," he says. That's how he got rich, too. ]-Forbes

The Road Not Taken- R. Frost

2008-05-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Roc Nation: Thee Grind never stops.

2008-05-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

[Live Nation closed the Jay-Z 360-degree deal Wednesday night (April 30), sources say.

The company yesterday (May 1) filed a Form-8K with the SEC which states that the artist is getting 775,434 Live Nation shares, plus an option on an additional 500,000 with the exercise price of $13.73. The shares go to Marcy Media, the company affiliated with Jay-Z (born Shawn Carter), in connection with the formation of Roc Nation LLC, a joint entertainment venture between Live Nation and Jay-Z.

Talk that Live Nation and Jay-Z were on the verge of closing a major deal began last December and broke April 2 in The New York Times. The roughly $150 million pact includes Roc Nation, as well as the rapper's own recordings and tours for the next 10 years.

Live Nation will reportedly contribute $5 million each year in overhead for five years and offer $25 million to finance Jay-Z's external acquisitions and investments, plus $10 million per album for a minimum of three albums within the deal's term. Jay-Z will also receive another $20 million for other rights including publishing and licensing. Live Nation is already producing the current Jay-Z/Mary J. Blige tour, which is putting up sellout numbers.]-BillBoard

And this ladies and gentlemen is an example of maximizing your brand. Mr. Carter has come a long way from pushing cd’s out of the trunk. . . well done. So many glorious business lessons in this deal. Wow.

NEEVVVVV Complacent!!!

If you have a moment Google "Charlie Rose - Jay Z" under the video option. Pretty glorious interview with Jay for an hour! Its not directly related to this article. But im sure your in the mood for some Carter insight. So peep it.

The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch: Diddy

2008-05-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch is one of my favorite shows. I hardly ever get a chance to watch it because THEE Grind keeps me occupied. . . I didn’t even realize Diddy was a guest but hey if hes making millions of dollars a year. . . Why not hear about how he did it/ does it right? Always some gems to apply to any aspect of life in every thing you come across.

Background on the actual show : "Donny Deutsch is the host of The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch... Your Daily Roadmap to The American Dream. The American Dream is doing what you love, and making millions... every weeknight at 10p/1a ET, Donny interviews everyone from budding entrepreneurs to Billionaires, discovering their secrets to success and showing YOU how to turn your idea into a BIG IDEA.

As Chairman of Deutsch Inc., he implemented his "leaner, meaner, faster, smarter" philosophy to transform a small advertising shop into one of the nation’s top 10 agencies. The $2.8 billion full-service agency has provided clients with strategic marketing programs that are intrusive, effective and talked about. Prestigious clients include GM, Johnson & Johnson, DirecTV, Novartis Worldwide, and IKEA."-CNBC

Hollywood to Harlem

2008-05-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

[Sean Combs is getting a star Friday on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an event most honorees mark by turning up at the assigned time, smiling for cameras, and going about their business.

"It inspires them," Combs said. "It inspires, you know, millions of young people all over the world that are in a place that I grew up in right now, and they want to make it to that point. I don't know if we know where Brad Pitt came from, or George Clooney.

"People are familiar with my journey, so it may inspire them more," Combs said. "So whether it's Eminem or Britney Spears or myself, you know of that journey. Whether it's coming from a small town, coming from a trailer park in Detroit, or coming from Harlem, New York. So when certain things happen to us, it's bigger than us. It inspires people."

"I'm a definition of how to build a brand and a 360 model. I feel like I'm the definition of that," Combs said. "This new concept that people have, I've been doing it for years. Creating a way out of no way, making lemonade out of lemons, that's what I do.

"So if the music industry's getting cannibalized by the Internet, I figure out how to work with it, I figure out how to survive. You throw me in the jungle butt-naked, I come out with a lion's head, some bearskins and a bunch of food. I may be driving a Maybach."]-AP

Indeed it is inspiration my friend. . . Mind you im always coming for thee financial aspect of it. And this dude stock is rising with this move for sure. Well done. Cool little montage . . . DANCIN ALL THEE WAY TO THEE BANK!! lol

"Yes just this 360 Billion Dollar check. . . . yes 100's will do. . ."-IDIOT

2008-05-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

[A man in the US state of Texas has been arrested for allegedly trying to cash a cheque for $360bn

Charles Ray Fuller had said he wanted to start a record business, authorities in the state said.

The 21-year-old's attempt to cash the money in a bank in Fort Worth failed when staff spotted the 10 zeros on the personal cheque.

Mr Fuller was arrested on a charge of forgery and was released on bail of $3,750 (£1,900).]-BBC

Pretty ridiculous.

Perez Hilton

2008-05-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

So this morning im listening to Big Boy’s neighborhood as I normally do for a few minutes before I switch to ESPN radio and then to some “Purple Rain Soundtrack-Prince” and they have Perez Hilton on. . . (I know your like WTF?! where are you going with this), ofcourse there was lots of B.S. about “celebs” and all that crap that does not matter at all but thee one gem that I did enjoy is that he said he still works on his site all by himself and spends 16-18 hours a day on his work. I think that’s respectable. Do I care about the content? No. Do I care that his site is pink? No. Is he maximizing profits from B.S. that millions of people enjoying reading about everyday. Yes.

So I have respect for his Grind. Grind’s come in all shapes and forms. And I respect any (With in moral means) that takes considerable time and effort. I strongly believe as Earl Nightengale said that “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal” and that ideal is created by thee individual. Grind on.

He also had me cracking uppppp when he said he wants to be thee Queen Latina OPRAH lmfao. or some Randomness like that. . .

“we are closer to the end of this problem than we are to the beginning.”-Paulson Jr.

2008-05-02T13:54:00.001-07:00

[Main Street may be struggling, but Wall Street is on a bit of a roll.

Despite a drumbeat of bad economic news, the stock market is up — almost 11 percent in the last few weeks. Junk bonds, those risky corporate I.O.U.’s, are rallying. The value of financial shares, bank loans, tricky credit derivatives — up, up, up.

Many on Wall Street, the epicenter of the credit mess, seem to think that the worst is over. For the first time in months, analysts and executives sound upbeat again. Many of them see a broad, sustained recovery in both the economy and the financial markets coming in the second half of this year, a prediction some market strategists call hopeful at best.

For now, policy makers are echoing the mood on Wall Street. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday that “we are closer to the end of this problem than we are to the beginning.”]-NYT

"Failure"

2008-05-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

Super dope commercial. I love Jordan commercials where he reveals things that you wouldn’t have otherwise known unless you studied him religiously like I did. So id like to share. . . this one may be a bit dated . . .But indeed its timeless. . .It relates to any scope of life you can think of . . . Sales. . . closing deals. . . landing auditions you want. . . getting the perfect class schedule you want. . . making the perfect trade. . . getting your wife pregnant on the first shot. . . waking up without hitting the snooze button. . . getting to the coffee before the whole office has already annihilated it. . . . . dropping your kids off at school on time. . . winning the science fair. . .

Umm I think its obvious I could go on for days and hit every aspect of life . . . This 30 second gem will do.

The Ultimate Money Machine

2008-04-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

[Casino moguls Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta bought a violent fight club called Ultimate Fighting Championship--and built it into a billion-dollar sports empire.

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, 39, wandered tunnels around the arena. He dropped in on a broadcast booth to pepper producers with questions about which countries would be receiving the night's pay-per-view event, and then checked in with the commentator, Joe Rogan of NBC's Fear Factor, to learn more about the matchups. He made small talk with some of the 18 fighters on the bill before joining the crowd to watch the fights taking place inside an eight-sided ring surrounded by a chain-link fence.

Americans will never understand cricket. The British can't grasp American football. But you can't get much more universal than this. "What makes UFC so great," says Fertitta, "is that every single man on the planet gets it immediately. It's just two guys beating each other up."

It's the Ultimate Money Machine. That night before the Super Bowl 10,700 fans packed the arena, paying an average of $340 for a ticket to witness nine mixed martial arts fights. Another 500,000 fans paid $45 ($55 for high definition) to watch five of the nine fights at home. The total haul from the event: $25 million.

This year UFC is likely to generate $250 million, capturing perhaps 90% of mixed martial arts revenue. The majority of UFC revenues come from the monthly pay-per-view events. Additional cash is made from ticket sales to live fights and licensing fees from its Spike cable shows The Ultimate Fighter and UFC Fight Night . These shows in turn act as promotional tools to drive fans to pay-per-view events. More scratch comes from sales of DVDs and T shirts, as well as downloads from UFC's library of past bouts.

The brothers each own 45% of UFC (White owns the rest), which is operated through their holding company Zuffa (Italian for "fight"), LLC. Add in personal assets and their stake in Station Casinos (nyse: STN - news - people ), which they took private with buyout maven Thomas Barrack for $9 billion in cash and assumed debt last year, and each Fertitta has a net worth of $1.3 billion, ranking each 380th on The Forbes 400.]-Forbes

Read the rest at Forbes.Com

Its a superb article. . . to say thee least. Anytime someone is willing to write a story on how Billionaires made their Billions im alllll about it!!

Out of Sight out of mind

2008-04-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

[WASHINGTON — With consumer confidence slipping and gasoline and food prices soaring, President Bush delivered an unusually dark assessment of the economy on Tuesday, saying the nation was in “very difficult times, very difficult.”

There are no quick fixes, Mr. Bush said, to ease the pain Americans feel. Mr. Bush used a Rose Garden news conference to go on the offensive against the Democratic-controlled Congress, accusing lawmakers of being uncooperative on bills that would address pocketbook issues.

Democrats pushed back, accusing Mr. Bush of trotting out old ideas and of favoring big oil companies at the expense of average Americans.

The sharp exchanges struck a different tone from when the two parties joined forces on an economic stimulus package, including tax rebates that are being issued. Since then, the president and Congress have not agreed on addressing the economic troubles, and by Tuesday they mostly blamed each other.

“If there was a magic wand to wave, I’d be waving it, of course,” Mr. Bush said, referring specifically to gasoline prices, which have climbed $1.40 a gallon in 18 months. “But there is no magic wand to wave right now. It took us a while to get to this fix.”

“He says he’s concerned with high gas prices and high food prices and student and home loan problems. But the truth is that the president has closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears as these crises have grown.”]-NYT

Little growth for thee American Economy

2008-04-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

[The American economy remained stuck in the slow lane over the first three months of the year, expanding by a modest 0.6 percent annualized rate, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday morning.

The weak performance reflected the increasingly thrifty inclinations of American consumers in the face of plummeting real estate prices, tightening credit and a deteriorating job market. Economic growth was also hampered by a continued pullback in construction and business investment.

Still the number was slightly better than expected and helped to push the major market indexes higher on Wednesday.

The only factors preventing the economy from sliding backward were the growth of American exports — aided by a weakening dollar — and a buildup of inventories by businesses. Exports and inventories set aside, final sales of American goods and services domestically dipped at a 0.4 percent annualized rate in inflation-adjusted terms, the first decline since the end of 1991.

The very fact that economic activity expanded as opposed to shrinking challenged the broad assumption that the economy is ensnared in a recession. A government-appointed panel of economists ultimately decides whether a particular patch of trouble qualifies as a recession, which is defined as a “significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months.”

“It doesn’t get us across the chasm,” said Robert Barbera, chief economist at the research and trading firm, ITG. “It will make things look better than they are for a few months, but it doesn’t change the fundamentals. The underlying circumstances are unambiguously recessionary. It’s a fait accompli.”]-NYT

Cavs vs. Wizards

2008-04-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

I really hope they close out this serious tonight. Wizards have been playing dirty in my opinion, trying to take LeBron out. Im a fan of success and hard work. I for sure want to see LeBron succeed. And speaking of LeBron he is a BEAST!!

Thee battle shall go down tonight on TNT.

Also for your delight. Some glory by Jay! Gotta love it!

Book of Glory: Volume 2

2008-04-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since we were in the second round of the playoffs. "LETS GO LAKERS!!!!"

[They'll keep a low profile until the Utah-Houston series ends, which will be either Friday in Utah or Sunday in Houston. The Jazz leads the series, 3-2.
The Lakers will congregate today at their training facility in El Segundo, although it might be only a light workout.

Until an opponent is decided, they can ruminate on being the first team to sweep a best-of-seven series from the Nuggets in their 32-year NBA existence.

Along those lines, Kobe Bryant's 134 points were the most against Denver in four playoff games, easily topping the 112 scored by Kiki Vandeweghe for Portland in 1986.]-LAT

Basque on Fire

2008-04-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

["We do have firefighters on three sides of the building to protect the nearby businesses," Davies said. Fire is on the northwest corner of Hollywood and Vine, in the center of numerous high-end redevelopment projects underway such as the new W hotel and residences. The building involved is home to Basque, a nightclub and restaurant.

The building on fire has not been declared a total loss yet but has been deemed as "under demolition," Davies said.]-LAT

Crazy!

Caleb Campbell: From Westpoint to the NFL

2008-04-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

[When the Lions selected Army safety Caleb Campbell in the seventh round Sunday, the crowd at Radio City Music City Hall erupted into a "U-S-A" chant. Campbell is attempting to become the first football player to take advantage of a recently implemented rule by the U.S. Military Academy that allows athletes to play professional sports immediately upon graduation.

"This is unbelievable," said the 6-foot-2, 229-pound Campbell, who was wearing a Lions cap. "It gives me goose bumps."

On his off day, which is normally Tuesday in the NFL, he'll be required to speak to local high schools about opportunities in the Army.]-ESPN

More than literal groceries prices are rising. . .

2008-04-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

"Food has moved around the world since Europeans brought tea from China, but never at the speed or in the amounts it has over the last few years. Consumers in not only the richest nations but, increasingly, the developing world expect food whenever they crave it, with no concession to season or geography.

But the movable feast comes at a cost: pollution — especially carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas — from transporting the food.

Under longstanding trade agreements, fuel for international freight carried by sea and air is not taxed. Now, many economists, environmental advocates and politicians say it is time to make shippers and shoppers pay for the pollution, through taxes or other measures.

Under a little-known international treaty called the Convention on International Civil Aviation, signed in Chicago in 1944 to help the fledgling airline industry, fuel for international travel and transport of goods, including food, is exempt from taxes, unlike trucks, cars and buses. There is also no tax on fuel used by ocean freighters.

The ability to transport food cheaply has given rise to new and booming businesses.

The European Union has led the world in proposals to incorporate environmental costs into the price consumers pay for food."-NYT

SHARP RAISE IN CREDIT CARD FEE'S!!!

2008-04-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

"Even as the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates, financial institutions have sharply raised rates for credit card customers — even those who pay on time — as they grapple with losses from other bad consumer loans.

This month, Washington Mutual (WM) told some credit card customers that it was raising their rates by as much as 100%. Discover (DFS) is lifting its penalty rate to 31%, effective May 1, and may apply that maximum to consumers who exceed their credit limit twice in a rolling 12 months.

That's why even responsible consumers whose credit scores haven't changed are being hit, says Joseph Ridout, a spokesman for Consumer Action, an advocacy group.

He notes that as banks lose money on mortgage loans, it's logical they would try to boost credit card profits. "If one end of your business is suffering, you look to the other end to pick up the slack."

To boost profits, some banks have also imposed higher fees on consumers for paying late, transferring credit card balances and withdrawing money from an ATM.

The danger for card holders is that as some struggle to pay bills, steep rate or fee increases could nudge them toward default. Credit card delinquencies — a precursor to defaults — have been climbing, and overall consumer loan delinquencies are at their highest since 1992.

"If every (card company) raises your rate, you might have to write the debt off or go into bankruptcy," says Dan Blanton, of Pevely, Mo. He was notified this month that his Washington Mutual credit card rate would nearly double, to 24%."-USA Today

Cali Heat

2008-04-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is how hot it was this weekend. . . .

LiveStrong: Practice Makes Perfect

2008-04-27T20:12:00.001-07:00

If you cant Stop them, Hire Them

2008-04-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

[PARIS — Jérôme Kerviel, the Société Générale trader who used his knowledge of the French bank’s electronic risk controls to conceal billions in unauthorized bets, has a new job — at a computer consulting firm.

Mr. Kerviel, who was given a provisional release from prison on March 18, started work last week as a trainee at Lemaire Consultants & Associates, which specializes in computer security and system development, a spokesman for the former trader, Christophe Reille, confirmed on Friday.

The news comes a few days after Société Générale held a farewell party for two managers of the derivatives trading desk who resigned in the wake of the trading scandal, which the bank blames for losses of about 4.9 billion euros, or about $7.1 billion.

A lawyer for Société Générale, Jean Veil, said that he was “delighted” that Mr. Kerviel had found employment. “It means he will be in a position to start repaying the bank.”]-NYT

"I'm going to send you six hundred bucks - spend it however you want."-Ol Uncle Sammy

2008-04-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

[NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)
That's exactly what's Uncle Sam is about to do for millions of taxpayers. Here's what every tax filer needs to know about the soon-to-be-distributed stimulus checks.

The Treasury Department said it hopes to get the first $50 billion out by the end of May. People who use direct deposit will get their payments soonest. By the end of next week, checks will have been deposited into the bank accounts of 7.4 million people. Most people will get their payments by July 11.

One-time payments will be sent to at least 117 million low- and middle-income households, 20 million senior citizens living off of Social Security and 250,000 disabled veterans.

You must file a federal tax return for 2007.]

May or may not be just enough for gas. . . save it dont spend it on random items you dont need. . . .

Ferrari or Porsche Turbo?? . . . tough call.

2008-04-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

[How much would you pay to puke in a Porsche 997 Turbo?

For Bruce McDonnell, the tab came to $4,990, plus airfare and hotel. He said he'd gladly do it again. "I tossed my cookies," said the 50-year-old computer salesman from Arlington Heights, Ill. "But what an amazing car."

This month, McConnell joined a group of exotic car enthusiasts at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana to participate in Supercar Life, the latest -- and fanciest -- in a growing group of four-wheeled fantasy camps that put drivers behind the wheels of cars that mere mortals cannot afford.

Under an overcast sky, he and several others steered Porsches, Ferrari F430s, Lamborghini Gallardos, Mercedes CLK AMG63 Blacks and Aston Martin DB9s (collective horsepower: 2,439) around the track. They flirted with 140 mph, then staggered out with legs trembling and grins on their mugs.

For just under five grand, clients get breakfast, a brief class in high-speed driving, and then buckle in and put pedal to metal. Throughout an eight-hour session, interrupted only by a lunch of beef medallions and chicken monterrey, they drive each car multiple times, trying 0-60 acceleration and braking, slaloms and open-track acceleration.]-LAT

Funny I just saw a burgundy version of this Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano its meeaannnn!!