This is the way my investment tournament win was reported on BigSmarty.com:
EZ Money Wins First-Ever Shootout Tournament
After 5 exciting weeks of trading EZ Money pulled off an EZ victory against Top Leader who went down in a final flurry of trading today. EZ's portfolio ended in a modest 6% gain for the week compared with other porfolios he has shown in earlier weeks. EZ made steady gains throughout the final week ending at $106,493. Top Leader ended the tournament at $100,806 (down $222 for the day).
Each of EZ's 5 matches were strkingly different. The first week EZ ended with a portfolio of $102,701, which was less than $1k over donnyboy. In the 2nd week EZ finished at $104,756, a $6k difference with jujubee's ending portfolio of $98,663. Gidget was EZ's 3rd heads-up match, and finished the week at $89,833 against EZ's $115,820, a 26k difference.
The fourth week was an exciting contest with two apparently equally-matched players. They even traded some of the same stocks. OvertheRainbow$$$ shot ahead in the first day to $163k against EZ's $157k. Rainbow was ahead by over $6k on Tuesday, but lost her edge by a mere thousand dollars on Wednesday and never recovered her lead. By Friday EZ was at $181, and Rainbow was at $162, lower than any portfolio since Monday.
Week 5 started with Top Leader just under EZ. Both were in the red at the end of the first day. They seemed to swap trading days throughout the week, but both ended with some serious last-minute trading. Top Leader could never quite catch up.
The next Shootout starts the second week in October with impressive cash prizes.
----------------
I'm inviting everyone to come join us for the next round of tournaments. Why would you want to? Well, one great reason is because they pay cash prizes. $1,000 for first place in most of the tournaments. And at least up to $50 for placing in the top ten of a weekly contest. Another reason is because they are great fun. It's like combining Fantasy Football with investing. One more reason is you can learn a lot about how to manage your investments without any expense.. the tournaments are FREE and you don't use any real money (you just get real money back when you win)
Join us, please.
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Hurricane Humberto
Our family and friends thought we were crazy two years ago when we announced that we would be relocating from snowy Utah to hot, humid, hurricane stricken Southeast Texas. We bought our beautiful little 10 acre ranch only a couple months after Hurricane Rita had ripped through the area. The home we bought needed to replace the roof and make other "Rita damaged" repaired before we could proceed with the purchase.
So with that in our recent memories you'd think we would keep up to date on the storms blowing our way. But noooo, not us.
Late yesterday afternoon a friend stopped by to check on the horses he pastures here. He informed me that a storm was on Houston's doorstep and would hit us during the night. I immediated checked the computer and sure enough there it was. Satellite photos were showing the storm moving right up the highway to our little paradise.
I quickly tied down a few things and opened an irrigation trench that goes around one side of our house to prevent it from flooding. Then we had dinner and watched a dvd. The air outside was calm but dark. The storm hadn't hit when we went to bed about 10:30 and I figured it had stalled somewhere.
When I woke up this morning the air was still calm but the clouds had started clearing. Not a drop of rain nor a gush of wind had passed through during the night. The storm hit about 50 miles south of us in the Beaumont area and pushed eastward into Louisianna. Power was lost in Beaumont. Read the news here.
We have a lot of friends who live there. We are part of the Beaumont Stake. So we will be seeing if anyone needs our help with clean up etc. But for our family and friends... we are well, we are safe. Our first experience with a hurricane was not much of an experience at all.
So with that in our recent memories you'd think we would keep up to date on the storms blowing our way. But noooo, not us.
Late yesterday afternoon a friend stopped by to check on the horses he pastures here. He informed me that a storm was on Houston's doorstep and would hit us during the night. I immediated checked the computer and sure enough there it was. Satellite photos were showing the storm moving right up the highway to our little paradise.
I quickly tied down a few things and opened an irrigation trench that goes around one side of our house to prevent it from flooding. Then we had dinner and watched a dvd. The air outside was calm but dark. The storm hadn't hit when we went to bed about 10:30 and I figured it had stalled somewhere.
When I woke up this morning the air was still calm but the clouds had started clearing. Not a drop of rain nor a gush of wind had passed through during the night. The storm hit about 50 miles south of us in the Beaumont area and pushed eastward into Louisianna. Power was lost in Beaumont. Read the news here.
We have a lot of friends who live there. We are part of the Beaumont Stake. So we will be seeing if anyone needs our help with clean up etc. But for our family and friends... we are well, we are safe. Our first experience with a hurricane was not much of an experience at all.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Wall Street awaits rate decision from Federal Reserve this week
From The Associated Press
By Madlen Read
NEW YORK — With two weeks of volatility behind it, Wall Street faces the prospect of more turbulence — unless the Federal Reserve comes to the rescue.
Waxing and waning worries about a shrinking availability of credit have sent stocks gyrating, with the Dow Jones industrials swinging by triple digits four straight days last week. On Friday, the Dow plunged more than 280 points after Bear Stearns Cos.' chief financial officer described the current turmoil in the credit market as being the worst he'd seen in 22 years; on other days, news of mortgage lenders' problems or disappointing housing data provided the impetus to sell.The Fed's Open Market Committee's regularly scheduled August meeting on Tuesday might be key in whether the markets can settle down or not. The Fed is widely expected to keep the benchmark rate steady at 5.25 percent, as it has done since last summer, so the focus will as usual be on its economic policy statement.
For months, Fed policy makers have stated they expect the economy to recover, and that curbing costs is their primary concern in light of uncomfortably high inflation. Given the past two weeks on Wall Street, investors are likely to be more interested in whether the central bank addresses credit conditions, and, if it does, what it has to say.
Still, if the Fed gives any hint that it might consider raising rates — an action that would make mortgage and corporate credit more expensive and harder to obtain — the market can expect to see more of the kind of selling that has chopped more than 800 points from the Dow since it closed above 14,000 for the first time on July 19.
That drop, which comes to nearly 6 percent, puts the Dow more than halfway toward the technical threshold of a correction, which is 10 percent. Some analysts argued the stock market was way too high and therefore due for a shaking-out. But the turmoil the market has seen the past few weeks is more than portfolio housecleaning — some investors aren't sure stocks are the place to be if there's less easy money around to fund the buyouts and companies' stock buybacks that had powered the market's rally during the first half of this year.
But even if the market gets a lift from the Fed, there's a good chance it will be short-lived — in its current state of mind, Wall Street is shrugging off good news and choosing to sell off on every mention of words like "credit," "subprime," "mortgage" and "default." Even in calmer times, the market has been able to hold on to soothing remarks from the Fed for only a short period of time — believing, perhaps, that the central bankers are as fickle as Wall Street itself.
Last week, despite Friday's huge loss, the Dow fell just 0.63 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 fell 1.77 percent and the Nasdaq composite index lost 1.99 percent.
A few economic reports there is little economic data that will help soothe the market this week. On Tuesday, in addition to the Fed statement, Wall Street will watch for the Labor Department's preliminary reading on second-quarter productivity and labor costs, and the Fed's report on June consumer credit.
Productivity is expected to have increased 2.2 percent from the preceding quarter, and costs are expected to have risen 1.9 percent. Consumer credit is expected to have gained $6.7 billion, compared to May's $12.9 billion jump.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department releases data on June wholesale trade, and on Friday it reports on July import prices.Economists predict that wholesale inventories rose 0.5 percent in June, the same as in May, and that import prices rose 0.7 percent last month, a smaller increase than in June.
Earnings season winds down the bulk of second-quarter earnings have come in, but this week brings results from some key technology companies.On Tuesday, Cisco Systems Inc. is expected to report a profit of 35 cents a share for its fourth quarter. The computer-networking company closed at $29.46, at the top of its 52-week range of $17.10 to $30.39.
Sprint Nextel Corp. on Wednesday is expected to report earnings of 22 cents per share. The wireless provider closed at $19.77, at the midpoint of its 52-week range of $15.92 and $23.42.
Vonage Holdings Corp. releases quarterly results Thursday, when it is expected to report a loss of 34 cents a share for the second quarter. The Internet phone carrier's shares closed at $2.04 on Friday, at the low end of its 52-week range of $1.83 and $9.07.
By Madlen Read
NEW YORK — With two weeks of volatility behind it, Wall Street faces the prospect of more turbulence — unless the Federal Reserve comes to the rescue.
Waxing and waning worries about a shrinking availability of credit have sent stocks gyrating, with the Dow Jones industrials swinging by triple digits four straight days last week. On Friday, the Dow plunged more than 280 points after Bear Stearns Cos.' chief financial officer described the current turmoil in the credit market as being the worst he'd seen in 22 years; on other days, news of mortgage lenders' problems or disappointing housing data provided the impetus to sell.The Fed's Open Market Committee's regularly scheduled August meeting on Tuesday might be key in whether the markets can settle down or not. The Fed is widely expected to keep the benchmark rate steady at 5.25 percent, as it has done since last summer, so the focus will as usual be on its economic policy statement.
For months, Fed policy makers have stated they expect the economy to recover, and that curbing costs is their primary concern in light of uncomfortably high inflation. Given the past two weeks on Wall Street, investors are likely to be more interested in whether the central bank addresses credit conditions, and, if it does, what it has to say.
Still, if the Fed gives any hint that it might consider raising rates — an action that would make mortgage and corporate credit more expensive and harder to obtain — the market can expect to see more of the kind of selling that has chopped more than 800 points from the Dow since it closed above 14,000 for the first time on July 19.
That drop, which comes to nearly 6 percent, puts the Dow more than halfway toward the technical threshold of a correction, which is 10 percent. Some analysts argued the stock market was way too high and therefore due for a shaking-out. But the turmoil the market has seen the past few weeks is more than portfolio housecleaning — some investors aren't sure stocks are the place to be if there's less easy money around to fund the buyouts and companies' stock buybacks that had powered the market's rally during the first half of this year.
But even if the market gets a lift from the Fed, there's a good chance it will be short-lived — in its current state of mind, Wall Street is shrugging off good news and choosing to sell off on every mention of words like "credit," "subprime," "mortgage" and "default." Even in calmer times, the market has been able to hold on to soothing remarks from the Fed for only a short period of time — believing, perhaps, that the central bankers are as fickle as Wall Street itself.
Last week, despite Friday's huge loss, the Dow fell just 0.63 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 fell 1.77 percent and the Nasdaq composite index lost 1.99 percent.
A few economic reports there is little economic data that will help soothe the market this week. On Tuesday, in addition to the Fed statement, Wall Street will watch for the Labor Department's preliminary reading on second-quarter productivity and labor costs, and the Fed's report on June consumer credit.
Productivity is expected to have increased 2.2 percent from the preceding quarter, and costs are expected to have risen 1.9 percent. Consumer credit is expected to have gained $6.7 billion, compared to May's $12.9 billion jump.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department releases data on June wholesale trade, and on Friday it reports on July import prices.Economists predict that wholesale inventories rose 0.5 percent in June, the same as in May, and that import prices rose 0.7 percent last month, a smaller increase than in June.
Earnings season winds down the bulk of second-quarter earnings have come in, but this week brings results from some key technology companies.On Tuesday, Cisco Systems Inc. is expected to report a profit of 35 cents a share for its fourth quarter. The computer-networking company closed at $29.46, at the top of its 52-week range of $17.10 to $30.39.
Sprint Nextel Corp. on Wednesday is expected to report earnings of 22 cents per share. The wireless provider closed at $19.77, at the midpoint of its 52-week range of $15.92 and $23.42.
Vonage Holdings Corp. releases quarterly results Thursday, when it is expected to report a loss of 34 cents a share for the second quarter. The Internet phone carrier's shares closed at $2.04 on Friday, at the low end of its 52-week range of $1.83 and $9.07.
Monday, July 30, 2007
The Workplace Princess
I noticed an interesting article in a newspaper that I was reading yesterday. It brought to mind many past coworkers associates, and employees. I think you will find it interesting so I am reprinting it here in it's entirety.
Is there a 'workplace princess' at your firm?
By Greg Kratz
Deseret Morning News
Sunday, July 29, 2007
During a journalism internship about 16 years ago, I met a reporter who taught me a lot by her bad example. Not many writers love seeing their work edited. But this particular reporter was ridiculous. She had written an extremely long feature story for a newspaper wire service, and she repeatedly demanded that her editors not cut a single word. Not only that, but she wanted them to require any newspaper that picked up the story to run it in its entirety, even though that would have taken a commitment of a full newspaper page. Few papers will give that kind of space to a wire story. As I recall, it took the editors days to talk her into writing an abridged version to send out over the wire. She finally agreed, but she grumbled about it for weeks afterward. And this was not an isolated incident for this particular reporter. I was reminded of her recently when I received yet another press release with the results of a somewhat silly, but telling, survey on American work life. According to the survey, almost half of American workers said there was a "workplace princess" at their job site. And 16 percent said that workplace princess was a man. The study was conducted by Rachelle Canter, author of the executive career handbook "Make the Right Career Move." According to the release, her study included a random telephone survey of 506 employed adults 18 years and older living in private households in the United States between March 9 and 12. It has a margin of error of 5 percent. "As part of a larger study, we asked workers a few light-hearted questions just for fun, and one of those questions was whether or not there was a 'workplace princess,' whether man or woman, where they worked," Canter said in the release. "We defined this as a co-worker who had a special sense of entitlement or privilege. We were stunned to find that 48 percent of American workplaces have a 'workplace princess' right on the premises." The study found that 48 percent of these princesses expected special favors from their employers, 47 percent expressed the belief that they were being treated "unfairly" and 35 percent made other people do work for them. This is, of course, a frivolous study. But Canter said in the release that the narcissistic undertone it shows is worrying. Not only do such princesses drive other people crazy, she said, but they also tend to ruin or derail their own careers without ever knowing why. She goes on to offer some warning signs that you may be a workplace princess. Ask yourself:
• Do you start most of your sentences with "I want" or "I need"?
• When was the last time you listened for 30 minutes to a friend or colleague with a problem?
• When was the last time you called a colleague to see how they were doing?
• When things go wrong, do you blame the situation or other workers?
If this self-examination leads you to believe you are a princess, don't fret. Canter said you can be rehabilitated if you first acknowledge that you are self-centered, and then try to break the cycle. For example, she suggests:
• Think first of what you can contribute to others.
• Volunteer to help a colleague with a project and ask for nothing in return.
• Notice others and thank them for their contributions.
• Practice random acts of kindness.
Now, this sensible advice may not change the world, but it could change your workplace — or you, if you're a workplace princess who has seen the error of his (or her) ways. So what do you think? Do you have a workplace princess in your office? Are you a reformed (or not reformed) workplace princess yourself? View the source
Now consider the contrast of the new Workplace Rules of Etiquette as published by Yahoo's Penelope Trunk this past Wednesday.
It leaves something to think about if you feel you aren't getting ahead in your career.
Is there a 'workplace princess' at your firm?
By Greg Kratz
Deseret Morning News
Sunday, July 29, 2007
During a journalism internship about 16 years ago, I met a reporter who taught me a lot by her bad example. Not many writers love seeing their work edited. But this particular reporter was ridiculous. She had written an extremely long feature story for a newspaper wire service, and she repeatedly demanded that her editors not cut a single word. Not only that, but she wanted them to require any newspaper that picked up the story to run it in its entirety, even though that would have taken a commitment of a full newspaper page. Few papers will give that kind of space to a wire story. As I recall, it took the editors days to talk her into writing an abridged version to send out over the wire. She finally agreed, but she grumbled about it for weeks afterward. And this was not an isolated incident for this particular reporter. I was reminded of her recently when I received yet another press release with the results of a somewhat silly, but telling, survey on American work life. According to the survey, almost half of American workers said there was a "workplace princess" at their job site. And 16 percent said that workplace princess was a man. The study was conducted by Rachelle Canter, author of the executive career handbook "Make the Right Career Move." According to the release, her study included a random telephone survey of 506 employed adults 18 years and older living in private households in the United States between March 9 and 12. It has a margin of error of 5 percent. "As part of a larger study, we asked workers a few light-hearted questions just for fun, and one of those questions was whether or not there was a 'workplace princess,' whether man or woman, where they worked," Canter said in the release. "We defined this as a co-worker who had a special sense of entitlement or privilege. We were stunned to find that 48 percent of American workplaces have a 'workplace princess' right on the premises." The study found that 48 percent of these princesses expected special favors from their employers, 47 percent expressed the belief that they were being treated "unfairly" and 35 percent made other people do work for them. This is, of course, a frivolous study. But Canter said in the release that the narcissistic undertone it shows is worrying. Not only do such princesses drive other people crazy, she said, but they also tend to ruin or derail their own careers without ever knowing why. She goes on to offer some warning signs that you may be a workplace princess. Ask yourself:
• Do you start most of your sentences with "I want" or "I need"?
• When was the last time you listened for 30 minutes to a friend or colleague with a problem?
• When was the last time you called a colleague to see how they were doing?
• When things go wrong, do you blame the situation or other workers?
If this self-examination leads you to believe you are a princess, don't fret. Canter said you can be rehabilitated if you first acknowledge that you are self-centered, and then try to break the cycle. For example, she suggests:
• Think first of what you can contribute to others.
• Volunteer to help a colleague with a project and ask for nothing in return.
• Notice others and thank them for their contributions.
• Practice random acts of kindness.
Now, this sensible advice may not change the world, but it could change your workplace — or you, if you're a workplace princess who has seen the error of his (or her) ways. So what do you think? Do you have a workplace princess in your office? Are you a reformed (or not reformed) workplace princess yourself? View the source
Now consider the contrast of the new Workplace Rules of Etiquette as published by Yahoo's Penelope Trunk this past Wednesday.
It leaves something to think about if you feel you aren't getting ahead in your career.
Monday, July 23, 2007
'Deathly Hallows' sells 8.3 million copies in a day
NEW YORK — It is the richest going-away party in history. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final volume of J.K. Rowling's all-conquering fantasy series, sold a mountainous 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale in the United States, according to Scholastic Inc. No other book, not even any of the six previous Potters, has been so desired, so quickly. "Deathly Hallows" averaged more than 300,000 copies in sales per hour — more than 5,000 a minute. The $34.99 book, even allowing for discounts, generated far more revenue than the opening weekend of the latest Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which came out July 10. "The excitement, anticipation and just plain hysteria that came over the entire country this weekend was a bit like the Beatles' first visit to the U.S.," Scholastic President Lisa Holton said in a statement Sunday. "This weekend kids and adults alike are sitting on buses, in the park, on airplanes and in restaurants reading 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' The conversations the readers have been waiting to have for 10 years have just begun." The numbers are astonishing, but not shocking. "Deathly Hallows" was designed to break records, released Saturday with a first printing of 12 million in the U.S. alone, although Scholastic spokeswoman Kyle Good acknowledged that some stores already were out of copies. "Our distribution strategy was clearly right on target in order to sell 8.3 million copies in 24 hours," she told The Associated Press. "We are working with retailers to move additional copies to the places they are needed most in the coming days and weeks." The book's British publisher, Bloomsbury, expects to announce sales figures Monday. Earlier Sunday, Borders Group Inc. reported that "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" sold 1.2 million copies worldwide in its first day, the biggest single-day number ever for the superstore chain. According to Borders, the previous Potter, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," sold 850,000 copies on its first day of release in 2005. Both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble announced that pre-orders exceeded 1 million. In a truly Beatles-esque moment, seven of the top best sellers on Amazon were Potter-related Sunday, including the audio CD of "Deathly Hallows" and a box set of all seven Potters coming out in September. "Deathly Hallows" was so popular that Hollywood studio Warner Bros. acknowledged it took away business from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth Potter movie, because fans were too busy. "They wanted to get that book Saturday, lock themselves in the house and read it, because they didn't want their other friends by Monday telling them who made it and who didn't," said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros.' head of distribution. Reviews for "Deathly Hallows" have been almost universally ecstatic, and reader enthusiasm apparently intact despite, prerelease "spoilers" that proliferated on the Internet. "The book was fascinating, and I think I'll have to read it through at least once more before I get the full scope of it — but I thought it had some of her best, most action-packed, funniest moments in it," says Melissa Anelli, Webmaster for the Potter fan site www.the-leaky-cauldron.org, who said she finished the 759-page book Saturday. "When I closed the book I was overjoyed and devastated — overjoyed at the story, and the way it had played out, but devastated that the tale was complete," she said. "It did feel like a bereavement, like it was saying farewell to a long-trusted friend." Last week, some surprised and lucky readers received early deliveries of their Potters, thanks to a glitch by online retailer DeepDiscount.com. Over the weekend, some unfortunate readers complained that their books from Amazon.com had not arrived on Saturday, as promised. Amazon.com spokesman Sean Sundwall would not confirm or deny reports of delays but said Sunday that anyone who did not receive it on time would automatically be refunded the cost of the $34.99 book, which Amazon sold for $17.99. Potter fan Anna Todd, a film student at the State University of New York's Purchase campus, picked up her book in person at midnight Saturday at the Barnes & Noble in Manhattan's Union Square. Taking naps off and on, she was finished within 24 hours. "J.K. Rowling does not disappoint; I thought she did brilliantly. It was terrifying; sometimes I was scared to keep reading on. I cried buckets," said Todd, 20, who lamented that "never again will I stay up all night reading a new Harry Potter book, or go to its midnight release party, or invent wild theories about Harry being the Heir of Gryffindor." "That's it," she said. "It's all over. I feel like I just said goodbye forever to my oldest, dearest friend. All I can do is re-read, and in the future when I have children, I'll get to share these books with them. I look forward to that day."
Source: Hillel Italie Associated Press
Source: Hillel Italie Associated Press
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