Down, down, down.. then Up,Up, UP!
The markets are showing to be have more changeability, than the weather in Ottawa in May! We saw huge jumps this week after last week’s massive drops, and now Gold (Au) is at it’s highest price ever per ounce. Does this mean we should all go out and buy Gold? Um, no, but it does bode well for Canada, when Natural Resource prices go up (Oil, Gold, Natural Gas, Peat Moss, etc.,), so keep up that Gold hoarding! We also got to enjoy the Montreal Canadiens knock off the Penguins and move on to the Conference finals (while Montreal burned), what are these rioters going to do if the Habs win it all?
My Writings for the Week
- Is Mortgage Insurance A Scam ? Is Mortgage insurance a scam ? It certainly is highly overpriced, for what you receive, and not worth getting.
- Of Debts and Deficits The budget deficit and the national debt are two different values, although the first adds to the second, but many times the media seem to mix them up.
- Better Employment Numbers So some very good news from Stats Canada with 109,000 “new” jobs in April, which is very good news in a very murky time for economic news.
- Expo 67 , the greatest World’s Fair Ever ? Yes, it’s me going off topic again, but I am constantly impressed with the quality of the movies of the best World’s Exposition ever, the one in Montreal in 1967 ( Expo 67 ).
- Random Thoughts: Things don’t go boom Times they aren’t a changing Given this week started with a possible disaster in New York, it seems to be ending with hopefully less oil being expelled into the Gulf of Mexico.
From the Blogosphere
In the blogosphere lots of advice to stay calm during these “interesting” times in the market, which is good advice, but also some interesting commentary on life in general.
- Balance Junkie really liked my post Of Debts and Deficits and had their own post Debt Clock: What Does Yours Look Like? where the American version of the debt clock appears, note they are 24 times worse off than Canada (and they have a huge military complex to pay for as well, we only have socialized medicine)
- The Fiscal Geek asked a question I have asked a couple of times Does Money Buy Happiness? and the answer is, not directly, but it certainly can buy peace of mind. Then again, check out The Year of Giving for another perspective as well.
- The High Cost of Funerals is something that is worrying Michael James, and given the comments from his wife, he best sleep lightly as well.
- The Frugal Trader over at the Million Dollar Journey points out how to Save Money with VoIP (Voice Over IP) I always love when people adopt new technologies and it saves them money.
- Speaking of High Tech shenanigans, Preet at WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo pointed out the new Rogers iPad Pricing and 3G Data Pricing in Canada as usual we are getting the dirty end of the stick from our wireless providers. Isn’t it just cheaper to get an American plan?
- Larry MacDonald has some interesting Rebalancing puzzles to make you go Hmmmmm… while Michael James shows you rebalancing strategies: periodic versus thresholds, thus you should be better balanced.
- Gail V-O gives us 7 Questions Borrowers Should Ask and I’d like to point out I discussed in my post Mortgage Insurance question number 7!
- The Canadian Couch Potato has now landed a new gig with a New Couch Potato Column in MoneySense good for them!
- Mr. Cheap over at The Four Pillars writes about how easy it really is Tracking Finances, and to some it is a more daunting task than it really is.
Your official watch out message for the week? Watch out for ATM skimmers, like this one, evidently in the Ottawa area there have been many incidents, and my wife’s card was compromised some time last year as well.
The MUC police made it clear that the looters were hooligans who took advantage of the fact that a crowd of fans were celebrating and that it was not the fans themselves who created the problem. In fact, the only place I have seen the term riot used so far on this occasion has been in this blog?
Thanks for the mention! Looks like we’re ending the week on a down note but hey that’s life for a stock investor. As they say, if you can’t stand the heat, don’t enter the kitchen…
Thanks for the mention. On the subject of fan riots, if you define fans as those who attend games, then I seriously doubt that fans are involved. What hooligan could afford to attend a game with the high prices charged now?
Thanks for the link! I don’t think many people really need a 3G iPad, the WiFi only models are probably fine for 80% of users….
True, I would rarely need the 3G connectivity, but then again Mrs. C8j has a special place in purgatory for me if I bought one
Thanks for the mention and have a great weekend!
The MUC police made it clear that the looters were hooligans who took advantage of the fact that a crowd of fans were celebrating and that it was not the fans themselves who created the problem. In fact, the only place I have seen the term riot used so far on this occasion has been in this blog?
The CBC and local Ottawa press have certainly been using the term “riot” a fair amount, but then again, their idea of a riot might be two rabid squirrels fighting over a peanut… Never is the real fans that cause the problems, it’s the opportunistic boobs who take advantage of the situation to “have some fun” at the expense of others.