2008 March 12 | money news blog

Archive for March 12th, 2008

12 03 2008

Vernon Manor, Estate of the Day

Posted by: in Real Estate News

Filed under: Estates

Looking at this home in the Peapack area of New Jersey I would guess that it was either an old restored home or a brand new aspirational home. The truth is somewhere in the middle. The MLS lists it as having been built during the 1960s. Vernon Manor is a Georgian-inspired brick manor with a slate roof on 76 acres of land (five parcels total). The property includes lawns, terraces, specimen plantings, a circulating Italian fountain, a guest/pool house, heated pool, brick and stonewalls. The main home is an elegant five bedroom with truly elegant living and dining rooms (although I’m not loving some of the window treatments). The home has a circular staircase and many beautiful windows. The library has a fireplace inlaid with plaster bas-relief, built-in cabinets, bookshelves, moldings and paneling. In the gallery, bookshelves and cabinetry hide a wet bar designed with a painted mural. The master suite includes a gallery space, master bedroom with brick fireplace, dressing area with dressing table, three closets, built-in dresser, and bath with whirlpool tub. The master sitting room has another full marble bath with steam shower. The secondary bedroom wing has two bedrooms, a gallery space, home office, plus an in-law or staff suite with kitchenette and sitting room. This estate is listed at $13.5 million (down from $15 million).

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12 03 2008

Sounds like a good idea. Hope it works.

Posted by: in Your Business

Yesterday several key central banks, including the US, put forth a plan to give bankers confidence in each other. If it works, the plan will grant the central banks to turn straw into gold. If not, it will be just another fairy tale for which local tax payers will have to shell out.

Basically, the financial systems of the world outsmarted themselves. The idea of bundling mortgages and selling them as securities is very sound, if you don’t over do it. Well, people being people, over did it to the point where the bankers of the world became confused by their own ideas. They didn’t know the details of what was in their securities and determined that it was safer to not trade them than to trade them. Not a bad strategy for a few financial institutions, but if everyone does it the economies of the world grind to a stop. That is exactly what the central banks of the world saw building out there.

The plan is to take the securitized mortgages of uncertain risk and trade them for government bonds. The bonds have the full faith and credit of the issuing government. This will work well if in fact the risk in the securitized mortgage instruments isn’t horrible or at least its measurable.

That last point may be the big one. As events have played out and financial markets have collectively come to understand how the mortgage market is going to react, they comprehend the risk in a broad market sense. With that understanding they have the ability to put a price on it and control it. If they financial market is right and yesterday’s stock rally might lead one to think that they are then the financial machines will again start to turn. It will take a little time, two to three months, to really know.

If the program of trading government bonds for securitized mortgage instruments works, we will see the real estate market start to stabilize nationally. Individual markets will react differently, but across the board we’ll have seen the end of the beginning of the real estate market crash. That will mean that it will not be a bad time to purchase at the new low, low prices.

It does not mean a return to previous market conditions. Lenders have learned lessons. Money will be much tighter than before and probably more expensive, but there will be money.

Yesterday was good news. Split a half-bottle of champagne with two friends and sleep better. Some rationality might be returning to the financial world.

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12 03 2008

Gadget Wednesdays: Self-stirring Mug

Posted by: in General work pimps

I’ve to say that I’m not too ~~lazy~~ high-tech and like stirring my own mug, but for those who are just too busy to stir their own coffee, either get an assistant or get this mug:

The Self-Stirring Mug. From the website:

The mug has a miniature battery-operated propeller at the bottom of the it that spins at 3,000 rpms at the touch of a button. Press the “stir” button on the handle and the built in propeller in the base of the mug starts stirring your drink for you.

Too cool or too much? What do you think?

(I vote for “too much”, but that’s just me.)

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12 03 2008

Cowboy wants FBI to pony up reward money - Salt Lake Tribune

Posted by: admin in Latest News

Cowboy wants FBI to pony up reward money - Salt Lake Tribune

Cowboy wants FBI to pony up reward money
Salt Lake Tribune,

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12 03 2008

Sub-prime fallout shelter: Some advice from Accounting$olver

Posted by: in Your Business

Jim has been talking a lot in previous blogs about the sub-prime lending crisis and what you can learn from it. And many people, baby boomers included, are in difficult positions. Ren Garcia over at Accounting$olver has a recent series of blogs on this subject, each with advice on how “fall out shelters” against this crisis:

The stimulus package may help some.

Use your tax rebate to upgrade your skills.

Look at your lifestyle and make changes.

Clean out and sell stuff.

Get ready to change jobs.

Good advice. Thanks, Ren.

Tags: record-keeping solver, sub-prime crisis

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12 03 2008

Why do you want to run your own small business?

Posted by: in Your Business

This is a multiple answer question. I’ve always thought it was a 2 answer question, but I’m open to the idea that there can be more.

One of the primary answers better not be because I need the money. Money does not come quick or easy running your own business. Over night success takes 3 to 5 years of 60 hour weeks. Another isn’t I’m doing it for my children, spouse, whoever, but someone other than myself. Believe me one answer isn’t because I want to see more of my family. That’s a whole different set of issues with which business has nothing to do.

The primary answer about why you want to run your own small business superior be because I love doing whatever it is your going to do. If you don’t fall asleep and wake-up thinking about this business in an excited to be alive way, you’ve a problem. You should have a difficult time falling to sleep and wake up early because you’re so enthused about this business.

Another answer is you better like dealing with people. You will spend the vast majority of your time as a small business owner teaching, selling, being involved on nearly each level with people, most of whom you never met until you got into this small business.

Another thing you superior enjoy is dealing with money. Enjoy it or not money is the grease that makes the gears go ’round. No money, no business. Well, that’s three. Guess I broke my own rule.

Do you’ve any other answers to that question?

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12 03 2008

Sub-prime fallout shelter: Some advice from Accounting$olver

Posted by: in Your Business

Jim has been speaking a lot in previous blogs about the sub-prime lending crisis and what you can learn from it. And many people, baby boomers included, are in difficult positions. Ren Garcia over at Accounting$olver has a recent series of blogs on this subject, each with advice on how “fall out shelters” against this crisis:

The stimulus package might help some.

Use your tax rebate to upgrade your skills.

Look at your lifestyle and make changes.

Clean out and sell stuff.

Get ready to change jobs.

Good advice. Thanks, Ren.

Tags: record-keeping solver, sub-prime crisis

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12 03 2008

Why do you want to run your own small business?

Posted by: in Your Business

This is a multiple answer question. I’ve always thought it was a 2 answer question, but I’m open to the idea that there can be more.

One of the primary answers better not be because I need the money. Money does not come quick or simple running your own business. Over night success takes 3 to 5 years of 60 hour weeks. Another isn’t I’m doing it for my children, spouse, whoever, but someone other than myself. Believe me one answer isn’t because I want to see more of my family. That’s a whole different set of issues with which business has nothing to do.

The primary answer about why you want to run your own small business better be because I love doing whatever it is your going to do. If you don’t fall asleep and wake-up thinking about this business in an excited to be alive way, you’ve a problem. You should have a difficult time falling to sleep and wake up early because you’re so enthused about this business.

Another answer is you better like dealing with people. You will spend the vast majority of your time as a small business owner teaching, selling, being involved on nearly every level with people, most of whom you never met until you got into this small business.

Another thing you superior enjoy is dealing with money. Enjoy it or not money is the grease that makes the gears go ’round. No money, no business. Well, that’s three. Guess I broke my own rule.

Do you have any other answers to that question?

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12 03 2008

Small Business “retirement” idea - Home Typing Service

Posted by: in Your Business

Mary Emma Allen, over at Home Biz Notes, recently answered a reader’s question about starting a ho me typing business. I’m assuming the question was about word process on computers, not typewriters. Reminds me of the old Selectric typewriters with the balls you could replace for different fonts…. Back in the 80s, when I had small kids, I had a word processing service, using an old Wang standalone word processor. When I started it up, it sounded like the propellers on an airplane revving up.

As with any type of home business, you’ve to know about the business stuff and the marketing stuff as well as the typing/word processing. It’s simple to say, “I’m going to begin a business. I know this field, or this type of work.” It’s not so easy to figure out how to bill customers, deal with the ones who don’t pay, market your product or service, and keep changing your marketing to attract new customers when the old ones stop using your services.Jim had a great post last week about a guy who learned a lesson about starting a business for his children. Learn about the business stuff and the marketing stuff before you start that retirement business.

Tags: baby boomers, home biz notes, retirement

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