Archive for December, 2006

Keep Track of Your Personal Finances In One Place

Have you ever wondered what you should do with “that nice Christmas bonus I got this year”? I always wonder. For some reason, I come to the conclusion that a new TV or something cool for my car like some big brakes or a Valentine One would be ideal. I’m sure you guys have something else in mind. When it comes down to it, I usually opt to reduce my credit card debt (what little is left), tuck some away in one of my retirement plans, or add to my kiddo’s Upromise 529 account (visit my post about Upromise in case you’re wondering how you can save money for your child[ren]’s education).

Well, Jason Knight and Mark Hedlund, co-founders of Wesabe.com, created the interactive website in December of 2005 to “pool our knowledge…to take control of our money to reach our financial goals”. In a nutshell, the site works similarly to something like Microsoft Money where it keeps track of your finances (income, spending, etc) and makes suggestions based on your habits…and on the goals you set. They’ve even got a blog called “Wheaties For Your Wallet” with some tips and news with regard to keeping your finances in order. I could go on and on about the website’s offerings. Take a few minutes to watch the following video about how Wesabe works…and then pay them a visit.

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Power Tool Drag Racing. Really?

Just when you thought you’ve seen it all…

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SmartMoney Magazine: Where To Invest In 2007

SmartMoney Magazine recently published an article titled “Where to Invest in 2007″ by Russell Pearlman and Reshma Kapadia. The article visits past economic conditions and how that has played a role in the performance of stocks. Today companies are “generating more growth overseas, immunizing themselves against the swings of the U.S. economy”. Ok. So, where do we put our money? SmartMoney suggests the following industries:

This year’s sectors to watch are Investment Banking, whose deal-making is now global; Chemicals, boosted by cheaper energy; Internet, where ads and retail are here to stay; Insurers, which thrive amid disaster; and Beverages, since alcohol is recession-proof. In Emerging Markets, you can profit from the new global middle class.

There are some individual stocks they suggest we keep our eye on this coming year…in no particular order, of course.

• Dow (DOW) - With more than 60% of its sales coming from outside the U.S., the chemical giant (and they make plastic stuff too) has offset its increasing productions costs, which consist primarily of oil and natural gas, by increasing its prices. Best of all, insider trading is occurring, which is always a good sign.
• Yahoo! (YHOO) - Aside from the fact that Yahoo! is expected to earn 30% more in revenues, the company’s new paid search system, Panama, is being rolled out now to compete with Google’s already burgeoning ad system. Advertising expected to grow 20% annually for the foreseeable future. According to research discovered Daniele Guerini on seekingalpha.com, Yahoo generates $0.04 per US search vs $0.11 at Google. Panama could definitely help reduce the gap significantly. A reduction of the gap to a more reasonable 30% discount [$0.077 per search] would generate approximately $800M of extra revenues based on the number of searches…revenues generated at no extra cost.
• Diageo (DEO) - First of all, look at this chart…marvel with me. Thanks. Some might say that chart looks good enough to drink. In case you’re not familiar with Diageo, the company engages in the production and distribution of spirits, wines, and beer worldwide. It offers a range of premium brands, including Smirnoff vodka, Guinness stout, Baileys Original Irish Cream liqueur, Captain Morgan rum, and Tanqueray gin. Diageo’s other spirits brands consist of Crown Royal Canadian whisky, Seagram’s 7 Crown American whiskey, Seagram’s VO Canadian whisky; and beer brands comprise Harp Irish lager, Smithwick’s ale (pronounced Smith-icks for you non-beer drinkers), and Red Stripe lager. Last but not least, it also owns the distribution rights for the José Cuervo tequila brands in the United States and other countries. As everyone knows, people drink in both good times and in bad. Diageo has managed to keep its operating margins above 20%, and it offers an attactive 3.1% dividend yield. Even one of coolest mutual funds on the planet, The Vice Fund, includes Diageo in its holdings…#2 in its holdings at 4.36% of its fund (as of 12/14/2006, Morningstar.com). You can read more about The Vice Fund in my previous post. SmartMoney also picked this stock in 2004 and 2005. I wonder if they get free drinks. Even if they didn’t, how could you not pick them?

Read the entire article to see what other stocks the magazine recommends at SmartMoney.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

2007 Lexus LS460 Revisited

If you recall in my previous LS 460 post, I said that “Lexus has outdone itself” with all the new gadgets in the LS 460, but also wondered how many “over/under bets you could wager on how many of these things will break before your warranty is up”. Well, a couple of the folks over at Automobile Magazine tried using the perpendicular parking function and had an interesting time doing so.

See the video for yourself.

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Robert Earl Keen: Songrwriter…Storyteller

This weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing one of Texas’ best artists, Robert Earl Keen (REK), at Floore’s Country Store in Helotes, TX. If you’ve never listened to Americana (aka, Texas Country), you’re missing out. Don’t let the word “Country” scare you, especially if you’re not a fan of Country Music. Robert Earl Keen’s music is best described as Jimmy Buffett meets Tom Petty meets Lyle Lovett. The last one comes of no surprise since REK and Lovett were neighbors in College Station, TX while attending Texas A&M University. According to REK’s bio on Wikipedia.org, the two became friends and performed together on the front porch. This eventually grew into inspiration for a song entitled “The Front Porch Song”, which both would add to their repertoire.

Some of REK’s most well-known songs include The Road Goes On Forever (And The Party Never Ends), Gringo Honeymoon; and fittingly enough for the season, Merry Christmas From The Family. There are several others worth mentioning. If I had to recommend one album that offers a good sample, I’d suggest No. 2 Live Dinner.

If you ever have a chance to see him live, do it. You won’t be disappointed. According to his website, he will be appearing in the following cities:

• Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - Wormy Dog Saloon, Oklahoma City, OK
• Saturday, September 30, 2006 - Bass Performance Hall, Ft. Worth, TX
• Sunday, December 31, 2006 - Austin Music Hall, Austin, TX
• Monday, January 8, 2007 - Music Fest ‘07, Steamboat Springs, CO
• Thursday, January 11, 2007 - Grizzly Rose, Denver, CO
• Friday, January 12, 2007 - Wheeler Opera House, Aspen, CO

For more dates, click here.

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Online Sales Grow 25% for 2006

According to comScore Networks, online sales are up another 25% this year. Through the first 38 days of this shopping season, total online retail spending has reached $15.6 billion. In Week 5 alone (beginning 12/03/2006), spending was above $3.5 billion. This comes as no surprise as the busiest shopping week is directly ahead. The busiest single shopping day is thought to be today, tomorrow, or Wednesday according to Gian Fulgoni, the chairman of Web usage tracker comScore Networks. I alluded to this in my Amazon’s Top 10 Electronics List post. You can see Mr. Fulgoni’s interview this morning on CNBC.com.

comScore released its Top Ten List of online retailers (Nov 1st through Dec 8th) and the results may come as a surprise.

1. Amazon.com
2. Dell.com
3. Yahoo.com
4. Walmart.com
5. JCPenney.com
6. Ticketmaster.com
7. Apple.com
8. VictoriasSecret.com
9. BestBuy.com
10. CircuitCity.com

I was surprised to see that BestBuy.com was only #9 given all the hoopla on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, to the company’s credit, it has experienced the most growth of all of the retailers listed versus 1 year ago. And although Apple.com is listed at #7, don’t forget that iPods have been a large part of other online retailers’ sales, including BestBuy.com, CircuitCity.com, WalMart.com, and Amazon.com. Speaking of which, 3 of today’s top 10 electronics sellers on Amazon.com include iPods (#2, Apple 30 GB iPod video Black [5.5 Generation] - #5, Apple 2 GB iPod Nano Silver [2nd Generation] - and #7, Apple 80 GB iPod video Black [5.5 Generation]).

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Fast & The Furious: Sahara Desert

It could be that its already past my bedtime, but I laughed at this longer than I should have. So, in the interest of my sanity, let me know if you like it…regardless of your rating scale. This guy definitely takes drifting to a whole new level…that’s for sure.

• Bike Drift

His buddies put this SUV on two wheels:

• SUV on Two Wheels

And I’ve seen some pretty impressive off-roading videos, but this is the coolest one I’ve seen in a long time.

Popularity: 1% [?]

BlogRoll

• Milk Was A Bad Choice
• CrackBerry.com
• Stock Trading 101
• For The Love Of Sports
• Project Spurs
• Busted Coverage
• WallStreetFighter

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