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Friday 27 February 2015

The Federal Reserve’s True Agenda and how to deal with it

Following up on my blog of July 15, 2010 entitled “Why Reshaping the Federal Reserve is today an Absolute Must”  I thought I’d share these thoughts with you, demonstrating the Federal Reserve’s true agenda in the economy today, and why reshaping the Fed is again needed more than ever at this juncture of our country’s economic history.

In fact, contrary to popular belief, I frankly believe that the Fed has spent the last two decades creating the illusory “wealth effect” in people’s minds; knowing very well that what they do has no direct effect on the economy. If you can drive the market up 50 percent, people feel richer…and happier.

The Fed basically wants us to go out there and buy stocks, which are overpriced because bonds they have manipulated into being even less attractive. So, we’re being forced to choose between two overpriced assets. Plain and simple.

For More:  The Federal Reserve’s True Agenda and how to deal with it

Thank You,

Thursday 26 February 2015

Can we separate Economics and Politics?

Some people criticize the injection of politics into economic discussions.

But economic historians tell us that economists used to understand and accept that economics is wholly interrelated with politics, and that politics affects our economy.

They note that modern economists have artificially tried to somehow separate the two, like Descartes tried to separate the mind from the body.

Indeed, the father of modern economics – Adam Smith – talked a lot about politics in relation to economics.

Read More:  Can we separate Economics and Politics?

Thank You,

Thursday 19 February 2015

America Tear down the wall before it’s too late

I am afraid America makes less sense every day.

Little children are randomly slaughtered in their schoolrooms. Predator drones roam the skies over foreign countries exterminating bad guys, along with innocent women and children (collateral damage when it occurs in a foreign country). Drugged up mentally ill kids with no hope and no future live lives of secluded quiet desperation until they snap. Ignorant, government educated, welfare dependent drones with no self respect or respect for others, assault, kill and rob within their government created urban ghettoes. Sociopaths who committed the largest financial crime in world history walk free and continue to occupy executive suites in luxury office towers in downtown NYC, collecting millions in bonuses as compensation for crushing the American middle class.

Academics, whose theories have been thoroughly disproven, continue to steer our economy into an iceberg while accelerating the money printing and debt issuance that will sink our ship of state. Corrupt, bought off politicians pander to the lowest common denominator as their votes are only dependent upon who contributed the most to their election campaigns, which never end. Delusional, materialistic, narcissistic, math challenged consumers (formerly known as citizens – live for today, enslave themselves in debt, vote themselves more entitlements, and care not for future generations.

For More:  America Tear down the wall before it’s too late

Thank You,

Tuesday 17 February 2015

Things about being Wealthy

I am often asked what is it to be wealthy that most people don’t know much about.

Well here are some facts that may surprise you and that you may or may not have imagined along with some tips as to how to best deal with it.

1. Being wealthy is an incredibly isolating experience. What I mean by that is you can’t really complain about your problems except within your small circle of rich friends. Otherwise, you will sound like an asshole. Even if you do, non-rich people can’t really empathize with you.

There are a few other problems associated with being rich such as family/friends asking for money, unexpected jealous reaction from friends/family, pressure to deal with more complex tax, estate planning and investment planning, etc… The joy of “set for life” doesn’t seem to offset the anxiety from hoarding the huge sum of money. In addition, when you don’t work because you are rich but can’t hang out with your friends who have to work during the week, you feel like an outcast of society.

For More: Things about being Wealthy

Thank You,

Monday 16 February 2015

How Killer Serial Entrepreneurs Operate

I talk to and meet close to 500 entrepreneurs a year – from the true maverick game changers to the guys as arrogant and dumb as can be -

I believe what differentiates a killer serial entrepreneur from the rest of the crowd is frankly how they operate – no matter what product they are offering.

With around 30 year experience on Wall Street backing over 125 companies worth in aggregate over 10 billion dollars during the time period, I thought I’d share with you some of my thoughts in this regard.

For More:  How Killer Serial Entrepreneurs Operate

Thank You,

Friday 13 February 2015

My Personal Reflections on Davos 2015

In just a matter of years, we’ve seen the digital revolution transform business, politics, media and society right across the world.

The Davos fest early this year only confirms the trend where this revolution is clearly driving a shift from ‘old’ to ‘new’ power in the world.

A new power’ world characterized by a shift away from unthinking consumption to people being ever more involved in creating, sharing, funding and owning products, services and ideas.

Where old power business models are defined by what one company has that others haven’t, new power models are renewable because they are driven by the passions and energies of the many.

Take a close look at Bitpay and Blockchain, both shaking up the banking industry by giving more people access to a new currency in a secure way, without the permission of governments and institutions.... Along with Sidecar with their true marketplace experience challenging Uber and Lyft to get people moving.

For More: My Personal Reflections on Davos 2015 

Thank You, 

Thursday 12 February 2015

Central Banks: A Question of Governance

Fiscal year 2015 is upon us, and is fast becoming the year of historic monetary policy changes in light of an appreciating US currency and, in turn, a blanket decrease in European and Asian economic growth.  Since late 2014 and in full swing 2015, the Danish central bank, the Swiss National Bank, and  the Bank of Russia cut key interest rates, with probable Turkish Central Bank short term rate cuts to follow.
 
The Bank of China has recently reduced its requirement ratio as well to encourage growth. In the US it is expected that the Federal Reserve raise short term rates by mid-year 2015, a policy change that has not been effectuated for over three years. It is apparent that governments are depending heavily on central banking to modify economic growth patterns as a short term solution.
 
 
Thank You,

Wednesday 11 February 2015

So you wanna Get and stay Rich?

I get a lot of questions about how to get rich, and my answer is very simple.

Don’t spend too much. Mostly save. Always invest.

Yet so many people do the exact opposite—invest poorly, spend way too much, save almost nothing, and remain willfully ignorant about their finances.

Why? Because they don’t understand their relationship to money.

So how do you develop the good habit of turning you situation around, get out of your hole, get on the right track and stay on it?

The first step in changing money habits is taking a cold hard look at your financial input and output by adding up all your earnings and subtracting all your expenditures over three months. If your number is positive you’re one of the few people taking in more money than you spend. If your number is negative, and like the majority of men and women, you spend more than you make.

For More:  So you wanna Get and stay Rich?

Thank You,

Monday 9 February 2015

Long Trend Of Jobs Data Shows Zombie Recovery for Professionals

Suspicions among white-collar professionals that the recovery is an illusion, or at least has left them behind, are validated by official government data buried in the monthly employment reports, based on household surveys, which few bother to actually read.

Even more worrisome is the continuation of a decade-long decline in the number of self-employed, a category which includes many of these same professionals.

While even the seasonally-adjusted employment data show an uptick in five of the six unemployment measures (Table A-15 of the January 2015 jobs report, available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm), the unadjusted numbers in the same table show a measurable increase in unemployment.

However, that is not news to the white-collar workforce which has not fully recovered and which may never recover. Remember that the official data, if anything, paints a rosier picture than reality, because it is based on methodologies which strain to overstate employment and understate unemployment.

For More:  Long Trend Of Jobs Data Shows Zombie Recovery for Professionals

Thank You,

Going for your Gut feeling – Yes or No?

I have often asked myself this question and I am sure the same applies to you.

My view on this is that you should go with your gut feeling when you have a threshold level of relevant experience.

In my opinion, gut calls are usually very little if any helpful when it comes to looking at deals or similar investment opportunities requiring quantitative analysis and much more important but still not enough when it comes to picking or relying on people.

For More:  Going for your Gut feeling – Yes or No?

Thank You,

Friday 6 February 2015

Want to crush ISIS? No way but Boots on the Ground

I personally believe ISIS will never become a serious and credible state in the world.

They have made it clear that they don’t care much for international diplomacy or law  and that only Sharia can be used to govern their new state.

A fanatical force like this does well at first; they carry out brutal acts, capture swathes of land, steal, murder, rape, perform forced conversions to Islam and run a well oiled recruiting machine but this can only last for a while because sooner or later their resources are depleted and the circus over.

So you wanna crush ISIS? Better act fast and swift… Here’s a short list of their Achilles’ heal.

For More: Want to crush ISIS? No way but Boots on the Ground

Thank You,

Thursday 5 February 2015

If I were 22.There is no Substitute for Intelligence gathering & Absorption

I would have loved to have known for example that the Middle East was going to turn the way it did and would have capitalized on the opportunities accordingly – both politically and business wise.

In retrospect, I think the “game changer” move that changed the whole Middle East map was triggered under Former President Jimmy Carter and the Shah of Iran. If the Shah had ignored Carter’s advice back in 1977, there wouldn’t be this problem in Afghanistan, nor would there have been the Iran-Iraq war. Iraq would never have dared to even send a plane over Iran. In fact, the Gulf War wouldn’t have happened, nor the clash between East and West nor any of the problems of the past 30 years, including the exporting of religious fanaticism and the eternal problems my homeland Lebanon was and still experiencing over the time period. 

Radical Islam would not have existed and the Shah would have continued to implement reforms. He made a serious mistake by accepting demands of the Carter administration to give Islamic fundamentalists a national platform. In retrospect, maybe I should have started my career working for CIA instead of Wall Street.  I am real glad though I caught up on all in the last decade and positioned myself accordingly – at the epicenter of the intel gathering process.  Just wished I did it earlier.

For More:  If I were 22.There is no Substitute for Intelligence gathering & Absorption

Thank You,

Wednesday 4 February 2015

Why be a job seeker when you can be a wealth creator and job giver?

A common question that often arises when I sit down with younger people is: ” Now that I am glad to have graduated, how do I find a job, what is your advice? What do I do? Can you really help me given the vast network of contacts you have?”

After listening to that question many times, I came up with a response which I believe says it all.

First off, why should you be looking for a job? Why don’t you think of something else? Why don’t you create for yourself and others a job and acquire the freedom and wealth you really want?  Why don’t you create a new world for yourself rather than wasting yourself in chasing one tiny little job here and one tiny little job there?

For More:  Why be a job seeker when you can be a wealth creator and job giver?

Thank you,

Tuesday 3 February 2015

My Personal Reflections on Davos 2015

In just a matter of years, we’ve seen the digital revolution transform business, politics, media and society right across the world.

The Davos fest early this year only confirms the trend where this revolution is clearly driving a shift from ‘old’ to ‘new’ power in the world.

A new power’ world characterized by a shift away from unthinking consumption to people being ever more involved in creating, sharing, funding and owning products, services and ideas.

Where old power business models are defined by what one company has that others haven’t, new power models are renewable because they are driven by the passions and energies of the many.

Take a close look at Bitpay and Blockchain, both shaking up the banking industry by giving more people access to a new currency in a secure way, without the permission of governments and institutions.... Along with Sidecar with their true marketplace experience challenging Uber and Lyft to get people moving.

For More: My Personal Reflections on Davos 2015

Thank You, 

Monday 2 February 2015

About VC Money and Startups

Having been in the VC/Private Equity business for three decades now I am often asked if VC money can make a startup successful on its own and if not what really does it.

So I thought I’d share with you in here my 2 cents in the hope of further educating entrepreneurs as to the process.

First off, let me state that VC money is a first step but it is never enough on its own. Judging from how most VCs and angels fund more losers than winners, there are plenty of examples that will attest to that.

Now if you want to go to the root of it I really believe it all depends on the type of business you are in.

1. In Consumer Internet entities, it lets you defer revenues, and thus maximize users and go for the viral effect. This for example worked quite well for Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc…. Basically, if you can defer revenues and thereby become a Top 100-200 website, then the result is outstanding…. But if VC money can’t get you to be a Top 400 website — then forget about it altogether.

For More: About VC Money and Startups

Thank You,