Investorial

Let’s get one thing straight - Investorial does not seek to align itself with the mass media for the simple logic that you can’t criticize effectively what you are a part of! Surf quickly around the net, you will find various news, blogs, critiques of how the stock market abandoned Google and Yahoo. Shareholders rushing to sell because earnings per share missed by one penny. It’s utterly ridiculous for this media frenzy around the topic.

Yet, Investorial has stayed quietly on the sidelines. We were not the first to blog about the stock price rollercoasters of Yahoo, Google and we never will seek that title. What we like to do is find that article hidden within the mess which can expose the idiocy of the situation in such a simple way that it is a wonderous sight to behold!

What tickles us the most are articles that do not discuss numbers, do not talk about statistics but simply talks to a reader in plain English, and still achieves what all those analytical journalism could not. I’ll say again, Herb Greenberg is a genius!

So we are all looking forward to tax season right? (tongue-in-cheek) I wonder if Herb thought of this when he started writing about the Google speculators. Herb succintly leveraged this angle to put those speculators in their place; judging with common sense, and explaining his view so clearly to me that I couldn’t help cracking a smile at the end of those paragraphs.

I’ve deliberately left out the content because you should be the judge. I’m not sure if you’ll agree with me, but have a read for yourself. I also profiled Mr. Greenbereg in a previous post.

CBS MarketWatch: “Don’t Blame Google” by Herb Greenberg

Forbes.com ran an article today on 7 Financial Planning Diseases, capitalizing on the New Years Resolutions atmosphere to capture reader attention. Personal Finance For Dummies author, Eric Tyson, explains that many people twist the fundamentals of personal money management and get themselves into trouble. Here’s a summary and my self-analysis. (Read the article for more details)

1. Excessive Spending
2. Workaholism
3. Herd Following & Information Junkies
4. Extreme Save-ism
5. Procrastination
6. Mismatched Style (between couples)
7. Adolescent-Onset Budgeting Woes

My self-analysis
This list is geared more towards adults with a family and kids. As a single guy, #6 and #7 do not apply to me, but will be something I have to be mindful in the future. Striking a balance between #1 and #4 is a struggle for most people. I believe I am doing well in that area. I don’t spend money often. But when something is worth spending, I won’t sacrifice quality for thriftiness. I still don’t understand how #2 works or fits in this list. #5 is an admitted failing of mine. Often I’d have many ideas to blog on Investorial, but my procrastination renders these ideas usely in the think-tank. Some times, I forget to pay bills with that attitude too!

I’m leaving #3, “Herd Following & Information Junkies”, for last because this is certainly one of the reasons why Investorial began as a hobby. I do not necessary think being an information junkie is a sin. Both herd followers and contrarians have a habit of gathering a lot of information. The difference is how they process that information! Herd followers get excited about the news that they want to hear, and are more apt to jump on the bandwagon without performing further analysis. Their preconceived conclusions and quick-to-judge attitude leaves them as vulnerable ripe pickings for contrarians and skeptics who often dig and uncover for facts that are more-than-meets-the-eye.

Are you a herd follower or a contrarian? Sound off please!

So I’m home for the holidays and the last thing I want to do is read or view any financial or investment related media. The markets can get by without my attention for a few days! In fact, I firmly believe in Warren Buffett’s assertion that you should buy a stock only if you can not worry about it for 10 years; even if the stock markets close for 10 years!

I love spending time with family and friends and inevitably my discussion will lead me to talk about investment related topics. My mother is a self-taught investor and we often discuss about little things that she wants to understand, for and from her trading experiences. One interesting topic came up: When should you hold onto a stock?

Now some people may not agree with me, and thank goodness for that! I’ll explain - its only rational for me to hold a stock if the stock can reward you for holding it. In other words, the stock should give you dividends while you own it! Let’s examine this closer!

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Right after this post, I’ll be driving about 8, 9 hours to go up to the cold north of Timmins, Ontario, Canada for the holidays! Timmins is the home of Shania Twain if you didn’t already know. I should have access to internet and looking to do some holiday posting over cups of hot chocolate!

To you and yours, Merry Christmas!

Email has replaced many forms of communication media, and is unscrupulously used by scammers and con artists to extend their reach to a global arena. It’s not just about simple identity thefts anymore. Those phishing emails seem pale in comparison to the many other scams perpetrated by others on the internet. At least, when it comes to identity theft, you did not participate much except that you mistook a well-disgusied website as an authentic one and gave away your passwords and personal information.

The Nigerian email scams are not new. They’ve been steadily becoming a popular menace for consumers since 2000 and perhaps before that too. I myself, know of a few persons in my circle that have almost fallen victim to the scam. The fortunate ending was that no money were ever exchanged and their folly were caught in time! Being a savvy internet surfer since the internet gained popularity in the early 1990s, I was glad that I helped one of these individuals wake up to the sobering truth.

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My posting frequency has slowed down a lot in the last few days for both Investorial and my personal blog VinceChan.net. I’m currently working on a project that has been occupying most of my waking hours. The fact that I’m posting this blog at 2:04 am is proof enough I hope!

Besides that, I feel a need to reach out to my fellow bloggers. I am implementing a new feature to accept story submissions. If you are enthusiastic about how financial information is presented, or if you saw some article/media that you would like me to comment, please use the new “Submit a story” link located just beneath my picture on the right side-bar.

I will start by moderating these submissions, and I will definitely include full credit and links to your sites if you wish. Perhaps we can even bring you on board as a blogger on this site!

So don’t all of you rush to submit stories now! But I hope to hear from you!

The age old question, does money buy happiness? One of my friends seem to think so, and I can’t say I disagree but I’ll approach it with a different angle!

I was messing around with my Friendster one night (thanks to Jen!) and was actually having fun doing it. I’ve been a bad card-carrying member of Friendster since September 2003 but have not actually linked anybody as my friend. But I was really waiting for everyone to join in to make my search easier (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).

I came across an old acquaintance from my University days. James is a big fella who is in my opinion, extremely smart. If you’ve ever heard him speak or talk to him, you can tell that he has a unique perspective apart from other people. Jame’s blog, Random Thoughts, has a post about his thoughts on money and happiness. It is an interesting read, and “Big Jim’s” personality certainly shines through too!

My perspective, I don’t think “Money makes happiness”. There are many people with money that are not happy. Instead, I submit that “Lack of money makes you sad”. No matter what your dream of a lifestyle is, if you do not have the funds to make it a reality, you will not be happy. Do you agree?

Big Jim’s Random Thoughts: 7 Degrees of Happiness

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I do not consider myself an expert in investing and finance, but it is a passion of mine to read investment and financial articles to further my knowledge. Why not turn this passion into a topic for blogging?

But there is more to Investorial than simply a vehicle for blogging. I have learnt the many tricks and tactics that the financial community uses to dissemenate information for their own benefit. The average consumer is practically helpless when it comes to financial education, since it is not a topic for classroom teachings. There are many good articles, but there also exists many articles that are down right dangerous if interpreted incorrectly, or taken at face value.

Investorial is my editorial on investment and financial articles to bring to light the good, the bad and the ugly of the investment and financial articles. I also encourage discussions and look forward to interacting with you, the readers! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is a personal web site, reflecting the opinions of its author. It is unaffiliated with any NASD, CSC or OSC broker/dealer. Statements on this site do not represent the views or policies of anyone other than myself. The information on this site is provided for discussion purposes only, and are not investing recommendations. Under no circumstances does this information represent a recommendation to buy or sell securities.