Jan 29 2011

Week 02 2011

Tag: Weekly PositingsRay Pendergast @ 3:04 pm

( Please see Kangaroo Money’s Disclaimer published as Disclaimer 2011 on 01/09/2011 . )

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Photo Source: Image Source Page: http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=67065&st=15

One of the USoA Space Shuttles being rolled out to the launch pad.

As shown above, the USoA Space Shuttles move from their specially designed Vehicle Assembly Building over to the launch pad it will fly from via a specially designed Transport Crawler at the rate of .8 miles per hour, making the full trip from building to pad in about 5 to 7 hours, depending on which launch pad is chosen. Should there be something wrong with the orbiter assembly — like what happened during Christmastime in 2010 — the process works in reverse, returning the orbiter assembly to the Vehicle Assembly Building for necessary repairs.  Now, you are most likely questioning what this information is doing as the lead in to a financial blog that discusses the USoA economy here in 2011.  Good question.  So allow us to answer.

If the Space Shuttle is not 100% approved to fly by all the powers that control a launch or flight of that craft, it needs to be backed away from the launch area, fixed and the movement process restarted again.  Because of launch windows, flight times, payloads, NASA schedules and personnel issues, the decision to roll a Space Shuttle to the launch pad and a decision to roll it back to the Vehicle Assembly Building is not easily made.  It is costly, time consuming and a huge scheduling problem.  But, nonetheless, in the interest of safety and performance, a reset is sometimes necessary.  So, back the Space Shuttle goes along that slow, crawling route to be repaired prior to being launched, because once it is up in space it may never be repairable.

The Economy can sometimes do the same thing, taking that same reverse road trip so as to get back on track.  And, as with the Space Shuttle, it is not a decision that is taken lightly, made quickly or performed without considerable effort.  The Economy, like that slow .8 miles per hour trip from launch pad to building, can barely be seen going in reverse until after the trip is complete.  In trying to see that movement, many false views can be plotted as forward progress because of a trick of the eyes, or in this case seen as statistics.  And suddenly, mistakes can be made in plotting a successful course full speed ahead.  This is one of the problems that the current USoA Government has had in the last 2 years in trying to decrease the percentage of unemployment and increase overall business production.  The process is steady but slow, forward but building, often invisible during but obvious after the process has occurred, and most importantly, the overall process works best with minimal input from the outside world.

At this time, the current USoA Administration is finding out just how the 2010 November Election results will impact them and the desired implementation of their overall programs voted into operation during 2009 and 2010.  The overall business community, especially manufacturing and service sectors, are terrified that what happened to the financial sector will happen to them, namely lost of investor faith, additional government regulation, and worst of all, government oversight / “partnering”  due to behoven money in the form of loans and bailouts.  Business has always understood that there are times that the forests must be thinned to allow for the health of the best trees to survive.  Government believes there are times when the forests must be clear cut and replanted to allow for any healthy trees to grow again.  The former allows slow ongoing growth and the latter allows slow ongoing growth with the difference being that the former allows the market to dictate how things happen while the latter tries to follow a dictated directed path that the market usually ignores.

With all of this being said, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 96.2 points since the first of the year in 2011, oil and silver are both way, way up in the same time frame just to name two commodities.  This has driven up transportation costs, chemical costs, energy costs, food costs and the like.  When your basic operating material costs rise faster than your production capabilities and sales totals do, the economy is not doing well.  Too many things are pointing to a necessary pruning of the forests to clear out the dead wood and let the good trees flourish.  Not enough things point to clear cut all of the wood available and do a replant of the forests then wait for a regrowth of strong timber to sprout before their eyes.

So this week, as the KM Team and KM Partners put the acorns of years past to growth pruning here on the website, we leave you this week with a quote from a NASA leader that is keeping to our lead comments above.  Please see if you can figure out who this is without looking below to find the answer.  “”The teams have done a tremendous job of staying focused and working this problem.  There’s been lots of ups and downs but the team has really stayed focused.”  Yes, it’s NASA saying this, not the current Administration economy gurus or even Wall Street.  But don’t you wish it WAS those groups saying that?

Now, let’s blast off to learning, earning and enjoying shall we?

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We at KangarooMoney.Com and KM Partners realize and appreciate you taking your time and effort to read our blog.  All of us here at KangarooMoney.Com will continue to be here to help you find the way through the economic minefield that seems to have been created.  For this week, and going forward, the typical weekly information will appear up front and the new weekly information will appear down below.  Enjoy, learn and earn for the future as we all find our way back from the fear and darkness that has been.

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First and foremost, the KM Team and KM Partners have decided to publish our Disclaimer as a separate posting effective January 2011.  Please spend a moment reading that posting to make sure that you understand that the writers of this blog are expressing their opinions only.  When you have finished reading the Disclaimer 2011, please spend some extra time going back and keeping us honest by reading some of our previous postings — and verifying the dates! — to see how the KM Team and KM Partners have been doing for the past year.  The KangarooMoney.Com and KM Partners all think that you will find our “opinions” are better than some other peoples’ so called “facts”.  Please make sure to leave your comments on your thoughts and our opinions.  Each and every comment will be read prior to posting!

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You the reader, will find the KangarooMoney.Com weekly comments here on this page with more detailed opinions and reasons following after you hit the ( click here to read more ) highlight.  ( Currently, the KM Team has turned this feature off so that one and all can get a feel for our writing and to read all that is available.  In the future at an to-be-announced date, this feature will be turned back on. )  As an educated reader, you know that anyone can tell you a “fact” in a one or two sentence blurb but, the KM Team and KM Partners like to back up our comments with our own views that you can read so that you can understand where we are getting our opinions from.

Below this weeks articles, there is the Updates and Comparisons Section, or the U & C as we call it here in the office.  In the U & C, the KM Team will give you some of the latest information concerning some of the previous comments and articles that have been published here as well as comparing the KM Team and KM Partners take on things as opposed to some of our mainstream and blog world counterparts.  The Updates and Comparisons section is a nice way to see if the KM Team is staying the true course in the stormy ocean of The Economy.

Down lower on the page, you will find our Market Mover of the Week feature, which highlights a prediction for the one person that the KM Team and KM Partners believe will be the one person most responsible for shaping and driving the USoA markets and / or economy for the upcoming week.  Included in this feature is the follow-up on who the MMW was for the week just past as well as pointing out if KangarooMoney.Com was correct in our prediction of who this was and who we determined to be the real Market Mover of the Week.

Going lower, you will find a similar feature called International Impact Incident of the Week.  The Triple I section will highlight an international situation either just passed or an expected upcoming event that the KM Team sees as having a major impact on the USoA financial markets.  Similar to the MMoW feature in nature, a weekly review will be held each week and you can track how the KM Team and KM Partners preformed in their predictions.  With our multitude of International readers, we expect you all to keep us pretty honest in this section.

Still lower you will find our Definitions of the Week.  In this section there will be items that explain some of the more technical terms used in our articles of the week.  There is now a BlogRoll attachment that will allow you to go over to a complied dictionary for our DoW going all the way back to the beginning of KangarooMoney.Com.  Feel free to hop on over to the Dictionary whenever you feel the need to get the straight scoop on what we’re talking about.  Or even just to check out some of the financial / political expressions of the day.

At this time, the last feature we would like to mention is one that we hope will help you to see where the KM Team and KM Partners are coming from and where we are trying to go to.  Up in the BlogRoll section of the page is a little something called the Stock Docket, which is a link to a list of companies and their stock symbols that have been mentioned here in KangarooMoney.Com.  The link will take you to a spreadsheet that list the company names, their stock symbols, the index they are traded on, the week they were mentioned here, and a listing of stock prices that included the Friday just past closing price.  The KM Team with a firm lead from the KM Partners also highlight which stocks we supported at the time of mention and those that we did not support.  While this is a considerable undertaking on the KangarooMoney.Com Teams’ part, we all feel that this will help to determine how things are going and guide us through the minefield of the USoA Economy.  Eventually this feature is planned to be moved into an interior page, so please comment on this feature as much as possible before that happens.

Those of us that started the Stock Docket would love to have been right each and every time in this area but we have to admit that this is just  not possible and sometimes even the KM Team is caught off guard.  We feel bad saying that but, we also realize that we are in some pretty good company when it comes to “being caught off guard”.  All we’re going to say is that Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers are no longer with us and that KangarooMoney.Com is still here.  It is safe to say that the current Stock Docket is nowhere near where or what the original Stock Docket started out.  The dramatic dips, dives and drops of the last few years have caused some serious reconfiguring of numbers as well as some re-evaluations of stocks and companies.  Because of those facts, the new 2011 choices, new outlooks and new recommendations / not recommended choices will be put forth by the KM Team and KM Partners and will be tracked as you have grown used to.  Like the real world teaches us, choices are rarely life long and unchangeable.  We will let you jeer at us in late 2011.  Or maybe you will cheer us, as we hope you will.  As we said, the last few years have given everyone a left hook from deep center but, we didn’t lose the whole pile…did you?  Just remember, a share here, a share there and pretty soon it all adds up to real money.

Please remember that the KM Team, KM Partners, KangarooMoney.Com and all of our contributors are not accountants, stock brokers or personal financial advisers, nor are we even Lawyers.  Should any one be any of those professions, full disclosure will be made attached to their writing.  In the meantime, you need to be sure that you do what YOU want to do.  If the KangarooMoney.Com opinions can help you have a better understanding of what has happened, is happening and / or is going to happen in such a way that you decide upon a path to follow, then our blog is serving a purpose.  You don’t have to agreed with us and you don’t have to follow what we publish as the end all-be all of the financial world.  All you have to understand is that this blog is ONLY guidance and direction as we believe it.  If you or yours uses ONLY our humble writings as your sole guidance and direction in the markets and economy dealings of the USoA to base decisions on, do NOT come crying, or suing, any member of KangarooMoney.Com, the KM Team, or KM Partners for something that has happened that we did not or could not foresee.  We certainly hope that this clears up any questions you might have in that regard.

And finally, because we are writing this for everyone to read and enjoy, please don’t be afraid to drop us a comment and let us know how we are doing.  This is an ongoing work-in-progress where we hope to bring fresh changes, new site additions and new page features to the blog as we go forward.  As the days go by, we won’t forget to tell you how we think we are doing — so don’t YOU forget to tell US how we are doing!  Seeing your comments up on the page for all to see is always a rush so be constructive and informative for the community, not selling junk and whining about something deeply personal.  Remember, we need to moderate what is written so please be nice and allow us to publish you as is.  For now, enjoy, learn and earn!

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During 2009, the KangarooMoney.Com team determined that some of the attached websites on our BlogRoll were no longer appropriate to be attached here and active.  With that in mind, the multiple discussions that took place in the KM Team offices about taking down the outdated websites and adding new websites to the BlogRoll that are more in line with our train of thought, have now come home to bear fruit.  Continuing this week and throughout 2010, new additions to the BlogRoll will take place that will give you, the Reader, new opportunities to visit some of the websites that the KM Team and KM Partners visit on a regular basis.  Of course, most of these will be financial or news based but not always, so check out the listing to see what new information is available.

This week, the new addition to the KangarooMoney.Com BlogRoll is one of the most respected and well known financial names in the world.  As a news reporting network that keys on the financial engines of the USoA markets and business, the KM Team is adding the website http://www.forbes.com/ which will take you to the premier Forbes website.  At this time, Forbes and its well known owner and Editor-In-Chief Steve Forbes, publishes the magazines Forbes, Fortune and Business Week as well as the popular website.  As one of the most recognized financial names in the world since 1917, the KM Team feels that this is an excellent addition to the sites BlogRoll. Enjoy this new addition but make sure to use it to your advantage.  Just like everything else we try to give you here at KangarooMoney.Com!

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  1. As the new year opens, the Republicans take charge of the USoA House of Representatives and the USoA economy remains at the very least sluggish, the KM Team discussed what one of the major keys to a successful upswing to the USoA economy could be.  <click here to read more>  Despite the roundtable debate agreeing that job creation was important it was decided that this could not be the major key to getting the economy chugging along again.  The term is too vague and undefined to be anything except a sound bite by any of the political parties in the USoA.  This led to a discussion of companies that the KM Team felt was poised to push forward with increasing not just their overall head counts but also to increase their associated feeder companies that could begin moving the economy forward.  As always, the KM Team tossed about such companies as Google Inc. ( symbol GOOG, traded on NASDAQ, currently near its 52 week high after a 6 month run up, not recommended at this time )  and even the anticipated IPO of Facebook ( Goldman Sachs is working this particular situation as of this posting ) but it was determined that companies such as these do not really MAKE anything with the exception of advertising for others.  For those of us that remember the ”Dot-Com Bubble” burst of March 2000, these companies smack of the same situation in the KM Teams’ opinion.  This attitude and opinion pointed the roundtable to review a manufacturer, a maker of physical equipment, that could be an excellent lead in for the next up turn — Caterpillar Inc. ( symbol CAT, traded on NYSE, currently near its 52 week high after a full year run up, recommended at this time).  Caterpillar has been striving to recapture its pre-downturn glory and this run-up is a major step towards this goal.  Being a major world wide supplier of farm and construction equipment, Caterpillar can indicate where in the world local economy recovery can be in action in the near future.  But for as big as Caterpillar is and as fast as the stock is climbing, it has to be noted that in the last 12 months, CAT had 37.68B USD in sales but made a profit of only 1.96B USD.  It is always unusual to note that a profit of nearly 2 BILLION DOLLARS is lack luster but it is an item for concern.  If sales continue on this pace, that concern will disappear.  As the situation stands, Caterpillar is a company that can not only lead when it comes to determining economy upticks around the world but also in supporting and building all of  the feeder companies that support the manufacturing facilities in the USoA.  The KM Team feels that this type of manufacturing is what is necessary to start the long and solid road to recovery for the USoA,  And perhaps even for the rest of the World as well.
  2. There is little doubt that in a matter of weeks, if not days, there will be a return to the days of a barrel of crude oil costing between $100 to $150 similar to the summer of 2009.  Considering that oil is already pushing the $85 per barrel envelope, the question that begs to be asked is when will the high end of that $100+ range be here again?…and what are we going to do about it when it is?  <click here to read more>  In October 2010, OPEC came out with the pronouncement that it still felt that $75 per barrel for crude oil was a price level they would like to see oil at, this at the time that that barrel sold for between $66 and $70 per barrel.  Now that same barrel of crude oil is going for between $88 and $95 depending on where you are buying it from.  But how can the price of oil still be rising in a global economy that is screaming stagnant growth at best?  How can oil companies still be getting the market back to the $100+ per barrel range when it seems like nothing is happening in the manufacturing world anyplace on the globe?  Well, a solid economist would tell you that this is exactly the time to own the items that companies will need to start that long steady growth of manufacturing back to the pre-2008 levels of production that they, and we, all crave.  Buying items like oil, steel, cement, building equipment, even land at the bottom of the business cycle is always your best bet.  But hedging crude oil at a time like today is hardly a risky bet.  It’s one of your best money making chances in the last several years.  Let’s face it, with USoA refineries shut down to the tune of over 50%; with the Alaska Pipeline halting oil flow due to a major repair effort on some of its aging buried pumping stations; with offshore drilling still viewed as a disaster just waiting to happen; with most of the worlds major oil fields residing in some of the most unstable, and unfriendly, countries in the world; it is just a safe and sure thing that whispers in the back of people’s minds that oil will NOT be going down in price in the near future.  If ever again at all.  So, how do you as a share buyer and maybe a true investor get in on the money to be made by this situation?  Buying into the major oil suppliers at this time, although a little late, will be your best bet. Companies like ExxonMobile Corp. ( symbol XOM, traded on the NYSE, recommended at this time ) currently trading at a little over $74 per share or $18 higher than its 52 week low just 6 months ago; Chevron Corp. ( symbol CVX, traded on NYSE, recommended at this time ) currently trading at a little over $91 per share or $24 higher than its 52 week low just 6 months ago; even that hooligan of the oil companies we all love to hate, British Petroleum ( symbol BP, traded on NYSE, recommended at this time) currently trading at a little over $46 per share or $20 per share higher than the deep, dark days of the well blow out back at the bottom at the end of June 2010, just a little over 6 months ago.  Do you see the pattern yet?  At the beginning of the long, hot, “no off-shore drilling allowed” summer of 2010, most oil company stocks could be had for about a third to half of its current share price.  Why?  Because the Deep Water Horizon disaster scared everyone that ocean oil drilling would quickly be outlawed and the oil companies would have not place left to drill for new oil supplies.  A fair opinion considering the utter panic that set in between the end of April 2010 and the end of August 2010.  Except for one thing.  People in the USoA, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, even China still not only want to drive, those people NEED to drive.  As the USoA again retests the $3+ per gallon price for a gallon of low grade gasoline, it will be very interesting to see where the “outrage bottom” is located at.  The “outrage bottom” will dictate how many new off shore wells get requested, how many offline refineries come back online, how many unsavory countries still get cash and the almost latest weapons and how many politicians here and abroad get re-elected in the next 12 to 24 months.  In the meantime, there seems to be money to be made on rising oil prices which can then be put back into new, and perhaps old school, companies in the same time period.  Perhaps you reader should be looking at “green” companies to put that oil company profit into?  Or better yet, USoA electric generating companies?  Ah, but that’s another story for a slightly later time.

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Updates and Comparisons:

Week 19 2008: In that long ago post, Kangaroo Money pointed out that it was critical to promote and rely on the strength of your brand, using Walt Disney Company as the example.  At that time, Disney was trading at about $35 per share.  As of this writing, Disney ( symbol DIS, traded on the NYSE, recommended at this time) is trading at $39.74 per share.  While that $4 rise in share price between these two articles looks sluggish, a closer review of the share price chart will show that DIS have a large drop off in price per share dropping down to $15.59 on March 9, 2009 before starting its successful 2 year climb back up to its current price.  While Walt Disney Company suffered along with every other company in the USoA, and indeed around the world, it shows great determination that the stock dip and bounce is still well ahead of the curve for similar companies during this vast down turn.  At this posting, DIS is actually revamping and reviving its associated amusement parks for better customer interactions, is actually realigning its movie studio and television network offerings and is in the process of launching a brand new cruise ship to handle its cruise and island resort business.  While other major companies are having major issues with their business plans and are in the process of either continuing their layoffs or keeping their headcount levels at current numbers, Disney is hiring and planning further expansions around the world.  Rely on the strength of your brand?  As Mickey Mouse would say, ”You Betcha!!” 

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Market Mover of the Week 02 2011: There’s a new Sheriff in town for 2011.  He’s the 61st leader of a group of 435 men and women whose daily discussions impact and shape the entire world, now and in the future.  That new Sheriff is new Speaker of the House John Boehner.  As one of the impacts of the November 2010 voter revolution, the Republican Party had the elected seats to take over the USoA House of Representatives and thus elect the third most powerful person in the USoA Government, the Speaker of the House.  Rep. Boehner is replacing the outgoing Speaker, Rep. Peolsi, who helped to ram through a number of excessively costly laws and programs over the last 2 years.  Rep. Boehner is expected to change the focus of the current elected government by being the driving and guiding force for at least the next two years of the People’s House of the USoA.  This week, the KM Team thinks he’ll be the driving and guiding force of the USoA economies and thus, the Market Mover of the Week 02 2011.

Market Mover of the Week 01 2011: The phrase “Everything old is new again” has special meaning in California this year.  For those of us who remember the first time we heard the phrase “Governor Jerry Brown” back in January 1975, hearing the same phrase again in January 2011 was not just interesting but rather a full circle traveled back to interesting days.  To be honest, Jerry Brown was and is, most likely the only man in California who actually wants the job that he has been elected to.  Having already been the Governor of California for eight years from 1975 until 1983, the irrepressible and honorable Brown came back to the position having never really left the scene in California politics having been including the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees (1969–1971), California Secretary of State (1971–1975), chairman of the California Democratic Party (1989–1991), Mayor of Oakland (1999–2007), and California Attorney General (2007–2011).  At 72 years old and the oldest currently serving State Governor in the USoA, here’s hoping that “Moonbeam” stills shine as brightly now as he did 30 years ago as the KM Team chose him as the Market Mover of Week 01 2001.

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International Impact Incident of the Week: The vote that started yesterday in the southern area of the country of Sudan ( located in Eastern Africa ) that is a effort to move towards splitting the oil and resource rich area away from the constant warring of the the petty thugs in charge of local areas in the northern part of the country and to create a new nation that may help its starving and dying population.  It may also just one big bad situation into two big bad situations as the other nations of the world — the USoA included — attempts to exploit the riches to be found in southern Sudan.  China for example, has been on a rapid and pressing hunt for any and all oil that is not located in the Middle East…some that is.  That country would be a major player in the new country and a major partner in that government in order to secure contracts and resources.  So would Russia.  So would a dozen other countries of, shall we say, “dubious intent” when it comes to helping the people of the region verses getting the oil and minerals to market.  Consider too that the major players in the roughly half of Sudan who would be left behind in this nation making move — call those players “the men with the guns” — probably will not be very happy to have money taken from their pockets and thus food from their mouths.  Those major players may not “let” the southern Sudan leave the fold just because they want.  The voting will continue at least until the end of Week 02 2011.  The counting of the votes will take much, much longer.  But the determination of the outcome of that vote?  Well, this vote could make the 2000 USoA Presidential Election issues look like a coin toss both in length and body count.  KangarooMoney.Com will keep you dear readers informed of this Triple I issue through 2011 and beyond as necessary.

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DEFINITIONS:

Investor: An investor is a person who puts money into an operation on the basis of long term growth of the operation and of the money that was placed.  Investors are not mere stock holders, money changers, temporary lenders or short time bank accounts.  An Investor believes in the long term of where they are putting their money not just in the monetary return but in the actual idea.  Most common people who own stock in a company are mere stockholders, most stock brokers are managers of money and accounts but and Investor can be more readily identified as someone like Warren Buffett or Steve Forbes.

Economist:The dictionary “explains” this as an expert in economics.  That aside, being a Economist is being a person who can explain all or some of what has happened, what is happening and what will happen in a particular economy.  Most accredited economists are claimed to be experts in either a National economy or the Global economy.  However, it is safer to say that true economists can explain either a specific faction of a known economy or a local economy of which they are an important part.

Sudan:The country of Sudan is located in northeastern Africa, with Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Kenya to the south and Chad to the west.  The country actually borders 9 African nations including some of the poorest and most volatile countries in the world at this time.  The Nile River bisects the country giving a East Half and a West Half to the country.  Most of the military-militia type members of the country live in the larger Northern section of the country with more communication with Egypt and Libya and the militant factions to be found there.  The Southern section of the country, with a multitude of natural untapped and unprocessed resources is very poor and not as tied into the military way of life as the north.

Alaska Pipeline : The term commonly applied to the approximately 800 miles of connected 48 inch diameter pipe that moves crude oil from Prudhoe Bay down to Valdez Alaska.  Built between 1974 and 1977 in response to the first Oil Crisis (see Oil Crisis 1973) that drove oil and gasoline prices to 5 times their previous highs in just a matter of weeks, the Alaska Pipeline continues to move about 700,000 barrels of oil per day across the empty lands from oil field to shipping port.  The pipeline has been a vital part of the Alaskan and national economy since start up in 1977 providing income for Alaska residents and filling a desperate need for crude oil to the United States of America.  It continues to fulfill both those needs as of this posting.

“Outrage Bottom”: A term from the KM Team Roundtable that we are using in the same style others use “gag limit”.  An Outrage Bottom would be when a person finally starts to speak out about the latest gas price increase or the increase in HealthCare costs due to new programs and that person is not one who normally speaks out on such things.  The KM Team believes that this is a better description of how people react when they are pushed too far by situations that they passed on being some of their responsibility.  Popular political uprisings are an excellent example of Outrage Bottom.

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( This weeks quote comes from a man whose head has been in the clouds for a number of years now, Mr. Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for Space Operations.  Mr. Gerstenmaier was speaking about the current difficulties with the USoA Space Shuttle Discovery and its external fuel tank.  Repairs were deemed necessary when cracks were detected on the fuel tank in mid-December 2010.  The NASA team decided that the entire Space Shuttle assembly needed to return to the giant Assembly Building for repairs to be performed properly and safely thus insuring a safe launch later in 2011.  While Mr. Gerstenmaier did not reference directly why this effort was necessary, one only has to look to the old Soviet Union in July 1969 at the N1 launch to see why sometimes backwards is better than ever forward. )

Going forward, the KM Team and KM Partners want to thank you all for reading us and keep those comment coming in.  As always, enjoy, learn and earn!  The KM Team and KM Partners.

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Jan 09 2011

Disclaimer 2011

Tag: DisclaimerRay Pendergast @ 4:23 pm
All opinions expressed at the website KangarooMoney.Com are the sole views of the authors.  You, the reader, should not treat any opinion expressed by KangarooMoney.Com as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or to follow a particular strategy but, only as an expression of KangarooMoney.Com opinions.  KangarooMoney.Com opinions at the time of publication are based upon information that it considers to be reliable, gathered from many public sources but, KangarooMoney.Com is not under any obligation to update or correct any information provided on this website.  KangarooMoney.Com statements and opinions are subject to change without notice.  All writings, articles, comments and published information are the sole property of KangarooMoney.Com and cannot be used without expressed written permission of the owners of KangarooMoney.Com.  Past performance is not indicative of future results.  KangarooMoney.Com, nor its authors, guarantees any specific outcome, profit or loss, for its readers.  You the reader, should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investment situation discussed on this website.  Strategies and / or investments discussed on KangarooMoney.Com may fluctuate in price or value at any time.  Investors may get back less than originally invested.  Investments and / or strategies mentioned on this website may not be suitable for you.  The material published here does not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs and it is not intended as specific recommendations appropriate for you.  You the reader must make an independent decision regarding investments or strategies mentioned on this website.  Before acting on information on this website, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and you should strongly consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser before making any investment or following any particular strategy mentioned here.  


Jan 03 2011

Special Notice — Week 01 2011

Tag: SPECIAL NOTICERay Pendergast @ 10:34 pm

Happy New Year To All!!

As 2011 dawns with a clear and sweet taste, the KangarooMoney.Com Team and the KM Partners wish a successful and rewarding year to all you, our valued readers.  With the New Year comes a re-dedication to you, Dear Reader, to make KangarooMoney.Com a “must read” blog of financial information and comment.

Continue Learning — Earning — Enjoying as the New Year brings to you all the knowledge and growth you can handle in your efforts to succeed in 2011!

 

The KM Team and KM Partners!!


Dec 24 2010

Merry Christmas 2010!!

Tag: SPECIAL NOTICERay Pendergast @ 6:40 pm

From the KangarooMoney.Com Team & the KM Partners,

We wish a very Merry Christmas to you and yours and all the joy the holiday season can instill.

 

Looking forward to our big reboot and rebirth in 2011!!  Learn, earn, enjoy!!

The KangarooMoney.Com Team & KM Partners


May 09 2010

Week 14 2010

Tag: Weekly PositingsRay Pendergast @ 8:33 pm

( Please see Kangaroo Money’s Disclaimer published as Disclaimer 2010 on 01/03/2010 . )

In matters of timing, media can be King.

In matters of timing, media can be King.

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In the Business World, timing is everything.  Good timing, bad timing, up timing, off timing, some timing, and my personal favorite, two timing.  The entire premise of the success of a process change, of a product launch, of a company buy out or a well placed comment to drive a moment home, has timing as the foundation for that particular success…or for it’s failure.  Timing as the key factor for success is not isolated to business when it comes to being a critical item.  An example?  Earlier in January 2010, many rumors made the rounds that President Obama would have his first formal State of the Union speech on the same night as the final season premiere episode of the well loved television show “Lost”.  So many rumors were made in the media and on the world wide web in fact, that White House spokesman Robert Gibbs felt it necessary during the January 8th, 2010 press conference to insure that the State of the Union speech would NOT take place on the same night as that episode of ”Lost”.  As we said, timing is everything.

World wide business efforts over the last 18 to 24 months have been focused on timing as the result of the problems that the nation, and indeed the world, have in their lap today.  When people were buying houses in 2005 and 2006, the banking world was screaming that the time was right, that the market had never been better, that there was nothing safer than buying a house now, Now, NOW!!!.  To an extent, the banks were right.  It was the right time for the banks to lend money and sell houses in 2005 and 2006.  Banks did nothing to discourage people from making one of the biggest mistakes that all people make sometime in life — too much of a good thing can be a bad thing in a hurry.  Like the college frat boy with two girlfriends knowing they wouldn’t be around forever, owning 4,5,8,10 houses in 2006 seemed great so long as you only owned 1 house and 1 mortgage in 2007.  Many, indeed MANY people just didn’t get the 2nd part of that memo.  And 2008 showed exactly why too much of a good thing was just too damn much of anything.

Ah timing.  Wouldn’t it be sweet to have been the person who sold 20 houses in 2007 for 3,4,5 times their actual value and then be able to go back and buy the houses again in 2009 for 1/2 or 1/3 their sale value?  Or better yet, wouldn’t it be fantastic to be the bank who held the 20 houses bought in 2006, foreclosed on them in 2007 and then sold them all again at an lower rate in 2008, looking towards the future?  3 times the money for only 1/2 the work.  Say what you want about it being unethical business but nobody forced anyone to buy houses they couldn’t afford, lie on their mortgage applications and wait with baited breath for television shows like “Flip This House” to come on every week.  Two important personal notes that we should all pay attention to: 1) if sounds too good to be true, it isn’t true and 2) if the only household income you have is from a part time or even full time job at a fast food restaurant, you can’t afford a house with a mortgage and all the associated necessary household payments, no matter who lives with you.  And it won’t matter if your lender is a Government Entity — think Fannie Mae or Freddi Mac, both of whom are still around but are wishing it was 2007 again.

As you have probably noticed during 2010, time and timing has been a cruel and harsh mistress indeed to the KangarooMoney.Com Team.  Due to the circumstances of the real world, our writing team has been off and on during these first few months and it has been difficult to have the same type of witty conversations and debates that were so ongoing in the Fall of 2009.  But times change, people change, jobs change.  The good news is with the laptop and web camera technology available today, it’s possible once again to have those rousing roundtable discussions like before.  If only it didn’t seem like a bad special effect from an old Superman movie…

Now that Spring is here and the conversations have fully restarted, that television re-run season is starting up again like the old days ( except that “Lost” thing ) and all of the business scrambling of 2008 and 2009 SEEMS to have passed, perhaps some normalcy can return the lives of the KM Team and KM Partners.  We CAN say that friends and clients alike have calmed greatly, realizing that the video song that made their eyes instantly go to the top of their foreheads had it so correct before the Bad Times came.  The Circle of Life does indeed go round and round, hitting the high points just as surely as hitting the low points.  Sometimes, it just seems like the Bad Times will never end, which makes us all forget that we thought the Good Times would never end when we were howling at the Moon.  Before there was a VE or VJ Day, there was a Pearl Harbor, and before that there was a 1940, and before that there was a 1929, and before THAT there was the Roaring Twenties.  Everything in a circle, all that follows leads.  Even 9/11 had a 9/10 and a 9/12.  Time can be viewed in many directions.

So while we tip back in our deck chairs, some wearing spring jackets and long pants while others have loose shirts and flip flops, I’ll leave you with the important phrases from two very wise men.  The first is a song writer and performing artist, best selling author, restaurateur and all around party type of guy who wrote “No, you never see it comin’, always wonderin’ where it went, only time will tell if it was time well spent; It’s another revelation, celebrating what I should have done, with these souvenirs of my trip around the sun..”  That Little Joeys is from Mr. Jimmy Buffetts’ song “Trip Around the Sun” which we recommend for this 2010 Springtime listening in order to shake off a little of that 2008 & 2009 dust so as to be ready for the rest of 2010 in fine form.

Which leads us to the second promised quote.  This was from a gentlemen who was also a best seller but not in music or books, per se, but rather in being of the Universe…and understanding it.  He helped us to understand the Universe as well and some of his writings, lectures and accepted laws of science still help us to grasp the huge hugeness of the Beyond The Earth there is out there.  In fact, we here couldn’t think of anyone more qualified to wrap up this little beat on time then this gentlemen who once said ”The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.“  Which, if you were a banker or a bankee in the last two or three years, you have to appreciate the phrase!

Now, it’s time to get on with the show!

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We at KangarooMoney.Com and KM Partners realize and appreciate you taking your time and effort to read our blog.  All of us here at KangarooMoney.Com will continue to be here to help you find the way through the economic minefield that seems to have been created.  For this week, and going forward, the typical weekly information will appear up front and the new weekly information will appear down below.  Enjoy, learn and earn for the future as we all find our way back from the fear and darkness that has been.

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First and foremost, the KM Team and KM Partners have decided to publish our Disclaimer as a separate posting effective January 2010.  Please spend a moment reading that posting to make sure that you understand that the writers of this blog are expressing their opinions only.  When you have finished reading the Disclaimer 2010, please spend some extra time going back and keeping us honest by reading some of our previous postings — and verifying the dates! — to see how the KM Team and KM Partners have been doing for the past year.  The KangarooMoney.Com and KM Partners all think that you will find our “opinions” are better than some other peoples’ so called “facts”.

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You the reader will find the KangarooMoney.Com weekly comments here on this page with more detailed opinions and reasons following after you hit the <click here to read more> highlight.  ( Currently, the KM Team has turned this feature off so that one and all can get a feel for our writing and to read all that is available.  In the future at an to-be-announced date, this feature will be turned back on. )  As an educated reader, you know that anyone can tell you a “fact” in a one or two sentence blurb but, the KM Team and KM Partners like to back up our comments with our own views that you can read so that you can understand where we are getting our opinions from.

Below this weeks articles, there is the Updates and Comparisons Section, or the U & C as we call it here in the office.  In the U & C, the KM Team will give you some of the latest information concerning some of the previous comments and articles that have been published here as well as comparing the KM Team and KM Partners take on things as opposed to some of our mainstream and blog world counterparts.  The Updates and Comparisons section is a nice way to see if the KM Team is staying the true course in the stormy ocean of The Economy.

Down lower on the page, you will find our Market Mover of the Week feature, which highlights a prediction for the one person that the KM Team and KM Partners believe will be the one person most responsible for shaping and driving the USoA markets and / or economy for the upcoming week.  Included in this feature is the follow-up on who the MMW was for the week just past as well as pointing out if KangarooMoney.Com was correct in our prediction of who this was and who we determined to be the real Market Mover of the Week.

Going lower, you will find a similar feature called International Impact Incident of the Week.  The Triple I section will highlight an international situation either just passed or an expected upcoming event that the KM Team sees as having a major impact on the USoA financial markets.  Similar to the MMoW feature in nature, a weekly review will be held each week and you can track how the KM Team and KM Partners preformed in their predictions.  With our multitude of International readers, we expect you all to keep us pretty honest in this section.

Still lower you will find our Definitions of the Week.  In this section there will be items that explain some of the more technical terms used in our articles of the week.  There is now a BlogRoll attachment that will allow you to go over to a complied dictionary for our DoW going all the way back to the beginning of KangarooMoney.Com.  Feel free to hop on over to the Dictionary whenever you feel the need to get the straight scoop on what we’re talking about.  Or even just to check out some of the financial / political expressions of the day.

At this time, the last feature we would like to mention is one that we hope will help you to see where the KM Team and KM Partners are coming from and where we are trying to go to.  Up in the BlogRoll section of the page is a little something called the Stock Docket, which is a link to a list of companies and their stock symbols that have been mentioned here in KangarooMoney.Com.  The link will take you to a spreadsheet that list the company names, their stock symbols, the index they are traded on, the week they were mentioned here, and a listing of stock prices that included the Friday just past closing price.  The KM Team with a firm lead from the KM Partners also highlight which stocks we supported at the time of mention and those that we did not support.  While this is a considerable undertaking on the KangarooMoney.Com Teams’ part, we all feel that this will help to determine how things are going and guide us through the minefield of the USoA Economy.  Eventually this feature is planned to be moved into an interior page, so please comment on this feature as much as possible before that happens.

Those of us that started the Stock Docket would love to have been right each and every time in this area but we have to admit that the financial meltdown of 2008 caught us all off guard.  We feel bad saying that but we also realize that we are in some pretty good company when it comes to “being caught off guard”.  All we’re going to say is that Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers are no longer with us and KangarooMoney.Com is still here.  It is safe to say that the current Stock Docket is nowhere near where the original Stock Docket started out.  The dramatic dips, dives and drops of the last few years have caused some serious reconfiguring of numbers as well as some re-evaluations of stocks and companies.  Because of those facts, there will be a last 2008 and 2009 Stock Docket and then the new 2010 choices, new outlooks and new recommendations / not recommended choices will be put forth by the KM Team and KM Partners and will take effect.  Like the real world teaches us, choices are rarely life long and unchangeable.  We will leave the last 2008 and 2009 SD up on the BlogRoll just so you can jeer at us in late 2010.  Or maybe you will cheer us, as we expect you to.  As we said, the last few years have given everyone a left hook from deep center but we didn’t lose the whole pile…did you?  Just remember, a share here, a share there and pretty soon it all adds up to real money.

Please remember that the KM Team, KM Partners, KangarooMoney.Com and all of our contributors are not accountants, stock brokers or personal financial advisers, nor are we even Lawyers.  Should any one be any of those professions, full disclosure will be made attached to their writing.  In the meantime, you need to be sure that you do what YOU want to do.  If the KangarooMoney.Com opinions can help you have a better understanding of what has happened, is happening and / or is going to happen in such a way that you decide upon a path to follow, then our blog is serving a purpose.  You don’t have to agreed with us and you don’t have to follow what we publish as the end-all-be all of the financial world.  All you have to understand is that this blog is ONLY guidance and direction as we believe it.  If you or yours uses ONLY our humble writings as your sole guidance and direction in the markets and economy dealings of the USoA to base decisions on, do NOT come crying, or suing, any member of KangarooMoney.Com, the KM Team, or KM Partners for something that has happened that we did not or could not foresee.  We certainly hope that this clears up any questions you might have in that regard.

And finally, because we are writing this for everyone to read and enjoy, please don’t be afraid to drop us a comment and let us know how we are doing.  This is an ongoing work-in-progress where we hope to bring fresh changes, new site additions and new page features to the blog as we go forward.  As the days go by, we won’t forget to tell you how we think we are doing — so don’t YOU forget to tell US how we are doing!  Seeing your comments up on the page for all to see is always a rush so be constructive and informative for the community, not selling junk and whining about something deeply personal.  Remember, we need to moderate what is written so please be nice and allow us to publish you as you have written you comments.  For now, enjoy, learn and earn!

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During 2009, the KangarooMoney.Com team determined that some of the attached websites on our BlogRoll were no longer appropriate to be attached here and active.  With that in mind, the multiple discussions that took place in the KM Team offices about taking down the outdated websites and adding new websites to the BlogRoll that are more in line with our train of thought, have now come home to bear fruit.  Continuing this week and throughout 2010, new additions to the BlogRoll will take place that will give you, the Reader, new opportunities to visit some of the websites that the KM Team and KM Partners visit on a regular basis.  Of course, most of these will be financial or news based but not always, so check out the listing to see what new information is available.

This week, the new addition to the KangarooMoney.Com BlogRoll is a very well done and put together website that is chocker block FULL of information and stories but, very, very light on photos, videos and flashy ads — which is very welcome situation.  The KM Team is very happy to see a website devoted to content and not flash, especially when it comes to financial information!  This week, the new BlogRoll site is  wallstreetedition.com so please enjoy this new addition but make sure to useit to your advantage.  Just like everything else we try to give you here at KangarooMoney.Com!

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  1. Part of the problem with the Housing Market is that most people don’t realize what the Housing Market consists of.  Hard to believe, it’s more than just…houses.  <click here to read more> While the overall problem over the last two years has been high mortgages, low purchasing and too many houses, the additional impact has been felt across the board in any field that has to do with what we understand to be housing.  It can be said for example, that the land plots, the existing houses and the new houses that were bought over the last 10 years were just that, things.  They weren’t places, they weren’t homes and they weren’t even long held investments.  Because of those facts, the items in those houses were not always used and a great deal of them still remain new or like new.  So, doesn’t this impact items like furniture, appliances, associated trappings, lawn equipment and all of the little home repair products from places like Home Depot (symbol HD, traded on NYSE, currently trading at its 52 week high after a 6 month run up, recommended at this time) and Lowe’s (symbol LOW, traded on NYSE, currently trading just off its 52 week high after a 6 month run up, recommended at this time) and your local hardware store.  More and more, people are not picking up, packing up and moving on down the road.  So this means that the moving companies are suffering like no time in the last 30 years as people are forced to remain where they last find themselves living.  Which is a pity because people are not trying to live in the towns and cities that they find themselves in now.  The towns and cities are also losing as well.  Losing tax proceeds as the overvalued homes sink back to normal rates.  Losing interested citizens who only want to get out at close to break even from when they came in.  Losing ground to keep their town or city on the Fast Track for the next Wal-Mart distribution center (symbol WMT, traded on the NYSE, currently trading near its 52 week high price although the 52 week range is rather narrow at about $9 from the high to the low, not recommended at this time) or to get the show piece high-speed rail stop.  Instead, towns are having to re-evaluate their school systems, the road systems and their water systems, floating bonds instead of ideas.  Yes, the housing market bubble that popped was and still is, made up of much more than a glut of homes, a lack of mortgages and a faithless buying public who saw dollar signs on the For Sale signs rather than a wonderful place to live and raise a family for 20 or 30 years.  Those are the same people who are beating down the doors of Congress in weak attempts to recoup their money from big banks and big mortgage companies.  For the sake of the economy and the country, let us hope that people learn to love their current homes, increase their value as they spend time and love on them and stay in one place long enough to return value and respect to the phrase “homeowner”.
  2. Staying with the housing theme, let’s turn back the clock just a little bit here at the KM offices.  Sherman, set the Way Back Machine for Week 37 2008! <click here to read more> During Week 37 2008, the KM Team spent serious efforts savaging the economy as we faced hurricanes (remember Gustov, Hanna, Ike and Josephine…all in a 14 day span), the beginnings of a major strike at Boeing, and simple pleasures like 9% of all homes in USoA covered by mortgages were in default and a climbing unemployment rate of a horrific 6.1%.  What we wouldn’t do to see those numbers today!  Well, not the hurricanes but the rest of the numbers.  At that time we wrote in horror of the potential of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac possibly being “bailed out” by the Treasury Department, whatever that meant.  Boy, did we and the American Public ever find out just what “Bail Out” really meant.  The critical run of the two housing giants Fannie and Freddie became front page news, put home ownership on the same level as running Enron and made babbling fools out grown Congressmen.  Nearly two years ago, the coming storm in September 2008 had given forth thunder like peals but had yet to rain down on us.  Now, it feels like Spring Thaw in Fargo ND.  But scariest of the scaries was that between them, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned approximately 6 BILLON US DOLLARS of the total USoA mortgages in existence at that time — which was one half of all USoA mortgages currently in existence at the time.  One half of all mortgages.  Think on that for just a moment.  Now think on the history of Fannie Mae for a moment, that it was created in 1938 during the height of the Great Depression with the goal being that it would buy and securitize mortgages as a way to insure that backing funds were always available.  Fannie Mae was also designed to make more mortgage funds available for low income families of the time, very different than the present day concept of the low income family.  Because of changing times, the USoA Government in 1968 converted the existing corporation into a private shareholder owned company, which would remove the monies involved from the Federal Budget.  Less than two years later in 1970 the USoA Government created the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation known as Freddie Mac to compete in the secondary mortgage market with Fannie Mae ( symbol FRE, trades on NYSE, no recommended at this time).  Prior to August 22, 2008 — does this time frame sound familiar? — the rating service Moody’s had given Feddie Mac an A1 ranking.  But, on August 22, 2008 it was revealed that both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had tried to gain Warren Buffett and others as investors which caused Moody’s to cut their rating down to Baa3, which is essentially what we all call Junk Bond Status.  We bring this up because somewhere between 1968 and 2008, those 20 short history filled years, the American Public bastardized the concept of “owning your own home” into “home ownership”.  The two are not the same despite how it reads to the eye.  When you “own your own home” you are committing to many, many years of living in, adding to, personalizing, showplacing a building that before you and your family moved in was a lifeless, soulless, historyless building but at the end of 10, 20, 30 years was a place of family joy filled with happy memories tuned especially to the owner family.  But to be in a “home ownership” mode, you were a business, a corporation that has many buildings in it but no personal attachment.  In the interest of the public and the bottom line, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac became corrupted in the bottom purpose and sold out to the bottom line.  Was it the USoA Government’s fault?  Was it Fannie Mae and Freddie Macs’ greedy managers fault?  Was it purchasers of the mortgages fault?  The answer is no, no and no.  Once again, it is the American publics’ fault, not for allowing this situation to happen but for forcing this situation to happen.  The American public’s demand for personal profit without future planning forced this situation to spiral so far out local and eventually national control that the “housing crisis” didn’t just happen, it still remains today as this is written.  It also didn’t help that the American Public bailed quickly at the local level as soon as it looked like people with multiple buildings / mortgages might be held accountable for their actions.  The result of this selfishness?  Not only the “housing crisis” but also the ”banking crisis” as well as the banks got caught stuck with all that bad unmovable debt.  The lesson here is clear for all to see.  But, that lesson was clear in 2008 and well before then as well.  Now the lesson should be, make a plan for the future and learn the history of the past before you make a move in the present. 

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Updates and Comparisons:

Week 01 2009:The KangerooMoney.Com Team and the KM Partners loudly protested the coming Socialism-ization of the USoA that drew the vocal ire of many reading Democrats and some leaning Republicans as being too over the top and too critical of the incoming administration.  We ranted about the upcoming additional bailouts for companies that the KM Team felt should have been closed and shut down because their business plans led to failure.  And we lamented the “Audacity of Hope” attitude of some people who want their past mistakes forgiven and their “homes” saved for them, even if they can’t afford them for 50 to 75 years of mortgages”.  We were harsh.  We were critical.  We were blunt.  So the KM Team and KM partners have a question for you — are you better off now than you were in January 2009?  Let us know — make a comment, drop a line, argue the point.  ( But we think you’ll agree with us, not argue. )

Week 02 2009: In an additional article from this week, the KangarooMoney.Com Team spent time talking about a very good book written by Thomas Fleming, “The Perils of Peace” which several of us had just finished reading.  In reviewing that article, we were drawn to the comment made in a letter by the then Superintendent of Finance (a modern day Treasury Secretary) Robert Morris who said “We are likely to become an unruly, ungovernable nation…the confidence of the people being destroyed, the credit of the government lost, its vigour is of course gone, and this unhappily at a time when exertion is most wanted.”  As we stated then, the very scary thing about these comments is that they were written in 1781!!  From that first week in 2009 until now, the feelings of how things are being turned into hopeLESSness out of the great hopeFULness that November 2008 and January 2009 promised.  We deeply hope the high water mark of this Administration is still to come.

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Market Mover of the Week 14 2010: As much as it pains the KangarooMoney.Com Team to pig pile on top of the national media, we can’t help but all agree that we have no choice except to acknowledge that Tiger Woods will be the MMoW for Week 14 2010.  When he tees it up play in the 2010 Masters at Augusta GA, his return will be more than just to golf as a sport.  He will also be returning as spokesman for several companies, testing the absolute limits of how far a great athlete can fall before it is deemed too far both for the public and for the businesses behind him.  No matter where Tiger finishes in the field, just his playing will raise the viewership for the match as well as the ad rates for the weekend.  This is serious test of the publics’ gag reflex and what they will buy when it is tied to a fallen hero.  Thus, the MMoW for Week 14 2010 many need several mulligans to reclaim his appeal, and not on the course. 

Market Mover of the Week 13 2010: Last week the KM Team touted the recent election of the former Prime Minister of Iraq, Mr. Ayad Allawi and the potential impact  of the business community not only in the Middle East but also in the world wide markets as well.  While it appears that the new Iraq government led by Mr. Allawi will not be seated for some time as the government tries to form up, the excellent news is that it appears the violence that so often takes place before, during and after a Middle East country has an election is not going on this time.  Mr. Allawi will have done a great deal if nothing continues to happen in the country due to his election and leadership.  The KM Team is happy to see this trend andfeel that there may be a more serious corner being turned for the business world at large because of this trend.

International Impact Incident of the Week: While technically not an International Incident as the KangarooMoney.Com Team has written about over the time of this blog, we do feel that this weeks Triple I is Easter.  The celebration of Easter impacts so many people, so many countries and so many businesses around the world that the celebration can not be down played as to the impact on the worldwide business community.  Because of that, the Triple I of Week 14 will be the wide impact, disruption and addition to business as we stride into the week ahead.

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DEFINITIONS:

Government Entity: The common term used to describe a local, state or federal department, group or organization that is wholly inside and under control of the associated government.  Typically, this type of department, group or organization has no elected officals within it or directly running it but instead answers to a higher organization on a side “dotted line” authorization chart.  Control and budgeting of this type of organization is fully funded by tax money but does not come under direct taxpayer control.

Flip This House: An American televison show currently on the A&E Network that shows how selected casts of people buy and rehab houses in different USoA city markets for profit above the cost of originally buying the house.  The casts on the show buy homes, add what is necessary to make the house resalable, such as new floors, new windows and / or new appliances, then market and sell the homes.  The goal on the show is exactly the same as in non-television world, to sell the house for more money than the original purchase price plus the cost of any upgrades that were performed.  Considered to be a “reality series” type of televison show, nothing is known to be scripted on the show.

Way Back Machine: Originally a short feature on the old “Rocky and Bullwinkle” cartoon show, Mr. Peabody ( a super intelligent dog with glasses ) and his boy Sherman ( a not so intelligent pre-teen boy with glasses ) made use of a machine built by Mr. Peabody that they referred to as the WABAC machine that was actually a time travel machine.  In each short, Mr. Peabody and Sherman would travel backwards to some famous event in history and have some hand in making the event happened as it they knew but not necessarily how it was going to happen without their “interference”.  The short always started with Mr. Peabody asking for Sherman to “Set the WABAC Machine for…” and would always end with some pointed and terrible pun on what just happened.  

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( This weeks quote comes from a man who used to need no introduction, literally.  Unfortunately for us all, he died in his sleep on April 18, 1955 after refusing surgery to save his life, saying “I want to go when I want.  It is tasteless to prolong life artificially.  I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.”  This was a man who was a human quote machine for his whole 76 years!  But more than that, he was a man that most people from 1900 until today and most likely in the centuries to come was thought of as one of the greatest scientists and thinkers of Mankind.  His theories and science is still being proven today, 55 years after his death.  This weeks quote belongs to Albert Einstein.  Whom we are quite sure is sticking his tongue out at us all at beyond light speed right this second.  After all, only he could do that, right? )

Once again, the KM Team and KM Partners want to thank you all for reading us and for keeping  those comments coming in.  We do read every one of them and try to respond / answer as many of them as possible.  While we don’t always like being “tricked” by some of you posters, suffice it say that Super-Internet Dan is on the job catching your tricks and quirks from your writing and he is preparing a reverse web bomb back at you right this very minute!  In the meantime, stay in touch and keep smiling.  As always, enjoy, learn and earn!  The KM Team and KM Partners.

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