benjamin franklin

an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. :)

rice rice baby

I have always stated that the us is going to suffer a recession and i am that happy that somehow it really happened and i didnt make myself look like a fool. ;) but after that i also stated that prosperity will transfer here in asia and after a few months this year it hasnt looked promising..... tsktsktsk :-( and my dad has consistently repeated that we are in a crisis right now and after doing a little research and careful study on the subject my father was right on a lot of points and maybe without being conscious about it.... the drop in the american economy drove investors and speculators alike to buy gold, oil and other commodities as a hedge against the weakening us dollar. As a result, it drove the prices of commodities up which resulted a meteoric rise of gold and oil, even reaching new highs, with almost every machine in this world being driven by oil it resulted in rising costs in everything from transportation, food and almost everything. I still believe that there will still be a shift in capital from the us to asia because in simple plain logic any businessman or investor will always put his money where he can get better returns and asia in my opinion is the next best thing after the us right now because asset prices here are not that high compared to europe and other parts of the world. :) so it might be true that capital will probably go here after the us recession but it also came at a price. Tsktsk and then there is another, the weakening us dollar and the strengthening peso, though looking at the bigger picture it is better for our government that our currency strengthened because it will lower our foreign debt which would lower our deficit and same is true with companies with dollar loans. But in return we are also lowering the purchasing power of our dollar dependent families or families receiving remittances from abroad. From P55 to P41 is a 25% decrease so if your receiving $1,000 a month a few years ago it would translated into P55,000 in expenses be it groceries, shopping or investing but now it is only worth P41,000. Ofw family budgets are definitely affected. Then you have to factor in the fact that basic commodity prices have been rising lately. Tsktsktsk gasoline has been steadily increasing the last few years. When i first started driving diesel was at P9.80 per liter imagine that???? below P10 a liter and maybe that was 10 years ago then when i had my own car in college it was at P15.00 already and now its at the P40 range already. Tsktsktsk i will put it in numbers so that you will understand the impact it has on our daily lives.:) 
diesel is increasing at a rate of 15% per annum. tsktsk and i think it will keep on going up and with that expect fares to also go up. And i think the most serious crisis of them all right now is the rice shortage which is a staple to the filipino diet. :) they say that there is a rice shortage and i really dont know the truth behind it. Some say that this is a ploy of the government so that the people will forget about the zte deal scandal. I really dont know but what i do know right now is that a solution should be made for the rice prices to stop rising and to stabilize. Tsktsk im calling all the rice hoarders to please release whatever rice they may have for the betterment of our country. If you keep hoarding rice at this time i believe it is tantamount to economic sabotage and the government should do something about it. :) i have even heard stories that the warehouses of these rice hoaders when they were being checked up by the officials were empty but the truth of the matter is that their stock were in barges in the middle of nowhere. Calling officials please do something about this. I really dont know the truth about this. But that is the story thats been going around. Maybe its just a rumor or maybe its the truth i really dont know but every avenue to fix the rice shortage should be checked by the top men of the nfa. :) please do something about this!! :) according to my friend from the media holp-ups, burglaries and related crimes have been increasing lately which is probably because of desperate attempts for money. These are desperate attempts for money and to be able to provide for their family. Tsktsktsk another sign that a lot of the population are having money problems or hardships. Tsktsktsk im sure the government realizes this and businessmen should expect an increase in wages soon. Tsktsktsk can you see the pattern???? its a vicious cycle!!! everybody is affected in this. :) talked to a college classmate who is now an executive in the sm department store and she told me that the sales have dropped in almost all of their branches and they attribute this because of the rice shortage and it being a staple of every family. Families have to adjust their budgets for the increase of price in rice. Tsktsktsk im sure there will be bad debts here and there because of the crisis but it wont reach that level of the us subprime crisis so we dont have to worry about that. :) let us hold on tight, it will be a bumpy ride in the next few months but i know there is light at the end of the tunnel. :) every economy will undergo its ups and downs and this is something that we have to surpass. :) to put it in simple words i dont know what the market is suffering from right now. Is it just a slight fever of flu i really cant diagnose it. Hehehe :) just continue to do research and continue to find for diamonds in the rough. :) bargains are to be found at this time. :) patience is a virtue. :) i still expect oil and gold to keep on going up so better buy your loved ones some jewelry while its still cheap. :) God bless. :)
p.s. For any comments, questions or suggestions please email me at compounder888@gmail.com. And for questions sent to me by email last week i'll answer them soon. :)

a thought

"returns are normally beyond our control but risk is within our control." - francisco colayco

death, taxes and rising prices

Im inclined to write another article about this one because i just cant stop myself from doing so and that i cant stop people around me from talking about it. :) how many times have we heard our elders talk.... “when i was still a kid coca-cola was only worth P0.10” or “when i was in high school batchoy was just just P0.30” or “when i was still in school my allowance was just P5.00 a week” or “your grandfather bought this lot for only P10.00 per square meter”. :) hopefully someday i can also say that.... “i first bought urc at P6.40 per share.” or “mbt was just selling for P25.00 per share when i started investing in stocks.” :) but these stories are all so true. :) they say that the two absolute things in life are death and taxes and i could say one of the ALMOST absolute things in life should be rising prices in almost all things. :) and that also applies with stocks but.......... only with quality stocks. As warren buffett said “when holding a great stock time is your best friend but when holding a bad stock time is your worst enemy.” When i say quality stocks they are the ones with a solid business with room for growth and at the same time they have solid and honest management :) but just because those two things are present in a company it doesnt that you'll buy them right away but you wait for them to drop to a certain price wherein you could get superior long term returns. :) but that is easier said than done because one of the hardest parts in investing is the waiting...... waiting for the right price that is. :) i have done some calculations of some basic stuff that we consume like coke has increased at an average of 8.25% per annum in the last 50 years and batchoy has increased at an average of almost 12% per year. :) which brings compounding back in my head. :) im a social smoker i must admit and i have to admit that the figures and future compounded returns or losses that is could drive me to stop smoking once and for all. Lets calculate here: if i smoke a ream of cigarettes every month with the cost of a ream for the sake of simplicity at around P300 which is P3,600 in a year. And now making assumptions here are the results. This will be the money that i lost if i had foregone smoking and instead invested it in stocks:
15% per annum in 15 years P29,293.42
in 20 years P58,919.53
in 25 years P118,508.23
in 30 years P238,362.38
20% per annum in 15 years P55,465.28
in 20 years P138,015.36
in 25years P343,426.38
in 30 years P854,554.73
this is the power of compounding to you at its finest. :) and i still havent mentioned the mounting medical bills because of heart, lung, bad gums, bad teeth, insomia, yellowish fingertips and a weaker immune system caused by smoking and not to mention that men are more prone to impotence when they smoke. Phew!!!! so in the end you will lose more than the figures that i mentioned above. :) again remember that health is wealth so dont kill yourself working for money. Enjoy it also every once in awhile. :) i have made up my mind to buy a nikon dslr the d80 model. But please i dont want to count the future income that i will lose if i buy this camera..... its my new hobby and you need to have a diversion every now and then. :) enjoy life but also be prudent. God bless you always and good luck with your investments. :)