Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Market Correction

For the past few weeks the world has been on pins and needles if you will wondering what is going to happen to the stock markets around the world based on the unrest and protest in North Africa and the Middle East.

The latest unrest has spread to Libya and Bahrain and unlike in Egypt the protests in these countries have turned violent. The Saudi Arabian king also came home early from his convalescence to address the growing unrest of his people and decided to throw billions of dollars to them in aid. Unemployment of the citizenry in these Islamic countries are extremely high and the population is also quite young. You put these two dynamics together with no freedom or liberty and you have a concoction that is infectious and could spread to Europe and Asia.

Also as a result of the unrest oil prices have crept over 100.00 dollars a barrel for the first time since 2008/2009. Couple this with economies that are still very fragile and trying to recover I don't have to tell you that stock markets around the world are going to give back in a very big way what they have earned over the past year and a half. What I suggest to you is to take profit, move money to precious metals and energy at the moment. If you have a 401K, IRA, or a pension account protect yourself by moving to more conservative positions to protect what you have left from the financial crisis of 2008/2009. What I am suggesting to you here is serious and you should act accordingly immediately.

I am not a fortune teller but what I do know is that the crisis in North Africa and the Middle East is not going away anytime soon, so as a precaution please heed my warnings here to protect your profits if you have any and to protect that nest egg of yours if you have any of it left. Stay tuned as there will be more to come and follow this blog regularly it could be the difference in being poor or if you don't or being wealthy if you do.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Art Market


This post is more of me asking you what you think about the art market and particular pieces that will be posted with this blog.

So without further ado, tell me what you think about the following piece; do you like, dislike and why; if you like, how much would you be willing to pay for it and last what sort of services would you expect when buying fina art?

There you have it now take a look at this piece, it is "Untitled" 16" X 20" framed. Mixed media oil and acrylic.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

What is the Sense of Your Money

I have a huge financial seminar coming up this week and based on the feedback that I am getting from folks they are excited becuase they claim that they really need someone to tell them just what sense does it make to manage money? I hear a lot of comments like; it is a rigged system, or something like this; the fat cats control what happens to my money, or try this one on for size; no matter what I do I am still going to lose my money!!

You got to be kidding me, is this what you really think is going on? By the way I have heard this from people of many races, creeds, religions as well as young and old. The financial crisis of 2008/2009 really frightened investors. The one way to protect yourself from this happening again is knowledge. Quite frankly people should not rely on me to tell them this; it is your money you have a vested interest in what happens to it!!

Here is one piece of advice I will give all of you especially if you have a family. Think of your money as a child and you will nurture, care for, see to its healthy growth as you would your own children. Those of you who are single; in your 20's and 30's you should pay very close attention to that partner of yours called your money because if you don't it will cheat you every time they get the chance. By the way your inattention will be the reason it cheats!! Just like a girlfriend or boyfriend the minute you turn your back, that slick and shady money of yours will cheat in a hearbeat. I can't put it any plainer than this. Take control of your money and take control of your destiny!!

I know this sounds funny or even a little crazy but I cannot stand reading articles that describe how much Americans have lost in the financial crisis of 2008/2009. Baby boomers have seriously been affected with loses in their 401K's of 40% to 60%. This is unacceptable and we cannot blame this on the greed of Wall Street. Did you (investor) keep an eye on what was going on in your 401K? Most investor did not and hence where we are right now. We do not have to stand by and become willing victims anymore we can take control of our money and put it to work!!

Put that money to work!!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Social Media's Indelible Presence

I have attended a very exciting social media conference here in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area at Kennesaw State University. Kudos to Kennesaw State by the way; the conference was out of this world and had the largest WOW factor that I have ever seen.

On of the most interesting aspects of the conference was the number of people and businesses that were there trying to get a handle on social media and what it meant to them and their customers, clients and constituents. The other major aspect of what I had observed was there were no public officials and or what we call politicians. If there is one thing that I know about social media is that the viral aspect of a message is that it tends to work best in politics. Surprisingly enough there was no one there from the public policy community that I was able to see.

The purpose of this post though is to bring your attention to the fact that one of the panelists in our morning session mentioned and was second by his fellow panelists is that forward thinking job candidates are touting their social media prowess as an attribute that should be considered for them to be hired. This of course was not surprising to me but what was surprising was the panelists unrequited glee that was associated with this statement. Of course I and others that were sitting with me all had a, "are you kidding me" moment!! That is right, if you need an edge, with all things equal social media skills just might put you over the top if you are looking for a new job.

There is more, another statement by another panelist from ATT stated that they just hired 40 people to TWEET; that is right to put a full-time twitterist. I don't even know if I am putting this in terms that is considered right in the vernacular. The point is this, social media has come to the fore of marketing, public relations and overall business activity. One of the panelist showed an example of a auto boy shop that blogged and you tubed their work on these networks while they were doing the work. Can you imagine the the publicity, marketing value and overall engagement for the customer that is worried about whether their automobile is being repaired with care.

I will leave you with this, social media has changed the world in such a way that it is revolutionary in a sense that groups of people that did not have a voice or a chance to make an impact on society now have the means to do so. The images and actions of those reacting to what has been happening in Egypt is a testament to this. Furthermore, a despot in Mubarak is about to get a taste of what social media can do. In contrast Mubarak can also use social media to rebuild a legacy long after he has left power. It is all in the way that we use this new powerful tool called social media. So get to it and build your own success.