tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23477920686476039302024-10-07T01:32:11.217-05:00Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-19512885891791593572012-04-18T21:29:00.000-05:002012-04-18T21:29:27.717-05:00

It seems like forever since I started talking about Europe and their debt crisis.  It's taken awhile, but their problems are now starting to affect the U.S. In Good News From Europe, Though I Have Trouble Seeing It, I stated that Eurozone spending accounts for 41% of S&P 500 revenue.  During the earnings pre-announcement season, I noted one company that I follow blamed failure to

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-77819217861199771282012-04-12T00:55:00.000-05:002012-04-12T00:55:26.252-05:00

You can talk the talk. Do you walk the walk? - Full Metal Jacket Well it didn't take to long for things to get dicey again in Europe.  Even though Greece was restructured 3 weeks ago, and the ECB lent ~$1 Trillion of LTRO funds, bond rates in Italy and Spain are climbing higher.  On March 1, the 10 year Spanish bond was 4.87%.  Today Spanish rates hit 6%.  This is

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-1732975432563253222012-04-09T00:05:00.098-05:002012-04-09T01:05:53.924-05:00

For many years now, my father has told me to watch the baby boomers.  Look at what this large population segment wants and needs - invest in that, build a business model around that he would tell me.  Considering that individuals born between 1946-1964 number approximately 77 million, baby boomers account for practically 25% of the US population.  Indeed if you can find an

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-6624958419728962332012-03-15T00:24:00.001-05:002012-03-15T00:27:27.293-05:00

Secular (adjective) - in economics, occurring or persisting over an indefinitely long period. With stock markets around the world continuing to rally, it seems that the all clear has been sounded.  Indeed yesterday in response to JP Morgan announcing a dividend hike, the Federal Reserve announced the results of the another round of bank stress tests.  Out of 19 banks, only four

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-18957067062820818782012-03-11T23:54:00.002-05:002012-03-12T00:25:50.699-05:00

Quite often when I write, I feel like I need to say something about time horizon.  If you're a long term investor, you really don't need to focus on the daily news (except my blog of course...).  Now if you have an ADD-like complex where you have to monitor all things financial and economic, welcome to my world.  Please note though that I rarely make changes to my long term

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-89930678239579916152012-03-08T23:31:00.000-06:002012-03-08T23:31:52.072-06:00

Fool me once, shame on you.Fool me twice, shame on me. - unknown If I had a nickel for every time that I could use that quote in talking about Europe's problems, the U.S. Mint would lose some serious money.  From Coin Update: Cost to Make Penny and Nickel Rises, Annual Loss Reaches $116.7 Million (emphasis mine)The cost for the United States Mint to produce and distribute the cent

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-67358595597135147392012-03-07T15:06:00.000-06:002012-03-07T15:06:27.863-06:00

Offense wins games, defense wins championships. - unknown While we're sure to trip at times, the goal is not to fall. - Todd Harrison I've been debating today's topic for a few days now.  My main worry is not that the topic is controversial, but whether I can clearly articulate my point-of-view.  So with the caveat that these are my views based upon my risk tolerance, my time horizon

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-47487478329233729752012-03-05T07:15:00.001-06:002012-03-05T11:49:49.682-06:00

I hope everyone had a good weekend because it's back to the grindstone today.  I'll admit that I spent almost no time this weekend thinking about the markets or what was going on in the world.  It was wonderful to "get away." However I did run across another piece I want to share.  I originally read this when Paul Farrell first published it on Marketwatch, but had totally

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-5023810502824481052012-03-01T23:20:00.000-06:002012-03-01T23:20:29.465-06:00

The tiny, initial clue ... by allowing us to imagine what we do not know, stimulates a desire for knowledge. - Marcel Proust Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Welcome to Worthwhile from the Web.  Ok, the name is corny, but I wanted you to be able to easily distinguish independent articles that deserve your time from my

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-31171229625960095782012-03-01T07:01:00.001-06:002012-03-01T07:06:02.561-06:00

If you saw a potential train crash coming, would you stand on the tracks in the hopes that the train might stop in time, or get out of the way?  Many Europeans from Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy are choosing to get out of the way.  The potential train wreck they foresee is either their country abandoning the euro or a possible break-up of the euro-region. Regardless, this leads

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-29909631173283139612012-02-29T01:12:00.001-06:002012-02-29T01:18:15.757-06:00

I was scamming those guys for months. Every transaction, I kept a little. You?It was easy. Cash deposits! Millions of dollars in small bills changing hands.Who's going to miss $10,000 here, $20,000 there?Drug dealers.That's right.  They did. It's why I'm living out of a suitcase now. - Lethal Weapon 2 Yes, it's that time of the month again - where we get to play "Where did my

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-11222408404118594012012-02-27T16:37:00.002-06:002012-02-27T22:28:28.497-06:00

History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes. - Mark Twain Before we get into today's edition of 14 Minute Investor, I wanted to share why I've been missing in action these past few days.  In case you haven't read Maybe I'm Not a Lazy Investor, my full time occupation is stay-at-home dad.  Occupied is exactly what my 5 year old and 2 year old keep me.  Rather than delve in the

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-74917391212428492032012-02-23T00:32:00.000-06:002012-02-23T00:32:07.460-06:00

With all the optimism that Europe is recovering from the debt crisis, all eyes are on released economic data. Today, we get the preliminary February Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the Europe.  As reported in Marketwatch: Weak PMI fans euro-zone recession fears. The preliminary composite purchasing managers index fell to 49.7 in February from 50.4 last month, according to

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-47398717836114672202012-02-22T00:42:00.000-06:002012-02-22T00:42:50.963-06:00

Serendipity - the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. Ok it's already late, and I want to cover a range of items in this article.  So let's jump right in... Even More on Gold A few hours after I posted Gold, Another Diversification Option, I received John Mauldin's free weekly Outside the Box newsletter to which I am a subscriber.  

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-49739700913576935572012-02-21T00:45:00.000-06:002012-02-21T00:45:02.378-06:00

You've heard of the Golden Rule? Whoever has the gold, makes the rules. - Jafar from Disney's Aladdin Regardless of the movie genre, you can always find some truth in movie dialog - even in a Disney movie. While today's quote is the perfect segue into why there has been a lack of financial fraud prosecutions since the beginning of the debt crisis, this blog attempts to steer clear of political

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-45534863647223830562012-02-19T23:59:00.013-06:002012-02-20T00:14:15.801-06:00

It's the economy, stupid. - Bill Clinton What keeps you up at night?  Recently I can say this blog is keeping me awake, though it's because I'm busy typing in front of my computer instead searching for the cool spot on my pillow.  Still in the spirit of the question, one item that keeps recurring in my mind is bullish stock analysts versus my hesitance to reallocate into stock mutual

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-86415777375391364012012-02-17T23:59:00.007-06:002012-02-19T23:24:40.372-06:00

Fly me to the moon Let me play among the stars Let me see what spring is like On a, Jupiter and Mars In other words, hold my hand In other words, baby, kiss me - Frank Sinatra (Fly Me to the Moon) When I first started thinking about this article, I focused on how the EU's Long Term Refinance Operation (LTRO) was approximately the same amount deposited overnight at the ECB (~€500 billion).  

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-22248093909164443112012-02-16T01:14:00.000-06:002012-02-16T01:14:31.343-06:00

Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe. - Albert Einstein In Forbes recently, Robert Lenzner reports Financial Illiteracy Widespread in America. A huge swathe of the American population are illiterate with respect to their finances and lack basic skills in dealing with numbers, a highly respected economic think-tank, the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge,

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-10337335859261048282012-02-15T07:30:00.001-06:002012-02-15T07:31:35.915-06:00

I've said it before, Europe is heading towards a recession.  Today we have confirmation that a number of EU economies are contracting: From Marketwatch: Euro-zone GDP shrinks, cushioned by core In a preliminary estimate, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat said gross domestic product contracted by 0.3% in the fourth quarter compared to the previous three months. Compared to the

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-5158031346459921662012-02-14T01:07:00.000-06:002012-02-14T01:07:47.472-06:00

Darling you got to let me know Should I stay or should I go? If you say that you are mine I'll be here till the end of time So you got to let me know Should I stay or should I go? - Clash The song above rang a bell as the S&P 500 closed today up at 1352.  Not a new high, but relatively close to the 2011 high of 1363.  The American Association of Individual Investors reports in its

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-24284445936656368902012-02-12T23:58:00.003-06:002012-02-13T07:49:24.866-06:00

I'm gonna do to you what my daddy did to me. I'm gonna teach you to HATE spending money. I'm gonna make you so sick of spending money that the mere sight of it will make you wanna throw up! - Rupert Horn in Brewster's Millions Wouldn't it be something if we required all politicians to undergo this exercise from Brewster's Millions?  It might even be less expensive for taxpayers than all the

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-371900739937984212012-02-10T23:59:00.006-06:002012-02-22T22:46:25.714-06:00

The years rolled slowly past And I found myself alone Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends I found myself further and further from my home And I guess I lost my way There were oh so many roads I was living to run and running to live Never worried about paying or even how much I owed Against the Wind - Bob Seger So here I am 3 blog's into this endeavor, and I'm already

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-47814332840355106662012-02-10T02:11:00.000-06:002012-02-10T02:11:57.132-06:00

What are the three terrors of the Fire Swamp? One, the flame spurt - no problem. There's a popping sound preceding each; we can avoid that. Two, the lightning sand, which you were clever enough to discover what that looks like, so in the future we can avoid that too. Westley, what about the R.O.U.S.'s? Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist. - Princess Bride The

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-51454451252597729082012-02-08T23:05:00.000-06:002012-02-08T23:05:59.572-06:00

If you owe the bank $100, that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem. - J. Paul Getty Yesterday in Maybe I'm Not a Lazy Investor, I wrote a select list of items I'm watching with a little detail.  Today I've found multiple headlines that provide a glimpse of more detail.  Dip Me in Axle Greece and Call Me Slick - (adapted from Pixar's Cars)

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347792068647603930.post-18141278256557547352012-02-07T14:27:00.003-06:002012-02-23T19:45:22.978-06:00

If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else. - Yogi Berra Keeping in mind that this a family friendly conversation, I ask the following - is there such a thing as knowing too much information?  I'm searching for an answer to this question with regard to finance and economics, and how these subjects relate to and impact my retirement nest egg. A Little Background

Brian Ozimekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310175058840336610noreply@blogger.com4