Financial Headline News for Tuesday 5/31

Mixed Signals continue on this economic recovery or lack thereof.  Economists are trying to make heads or tails out of all of the news coming out of Europe, Middle East and the US. The Dow was up 128 today but for the month the Standard and Poor's Index was down 1.4% in May.

Here are the leading financial stories for today:

1) The Continued Decline of the Value of Homes- From the Wall Street Journal
Home prices have sunk to 2002 levels, effectively wiping out almost a decade's worth of home equity across the U.S. and imperiling the fragile economic recovery as Americans confront the sinking value of their biggest investment.
A closely watched home-price index released Tuesday showed that prices nationwide fell 4.2% in the first quarter after declining 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Home prices, which slid in March to their lowest level since the start of the 2006-2009 downturn, have tumbled for eight straight months, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index.

2) Greek Bailout- From Reuters
Greece appears to have agreed a tax cut with its international lenders, aimed at forging a broad consensus for more austerity to avoid a debt default, but the opposition said on Tuesday this would still not win its support.
International lenders are demanding that leading Greek political parties sign up to the government's latest austerity and reform drive to ensure that Greece keeps tackling its huge budget deficit for years to come, whoever is in power.
In Berlin, a German coalition source said European Union, IMF and ECB inspectors had struck a deal with the Socialist government on a value-added tax cut.
"They have agreed on it," the source said, following Athens newspaper reports that the "troika" team, which is scrutinizing Greek finances, had backed a reduction in VAT rates.

3) Consumer Confidence Falls Unexpectantly in May- From Yahoo Finance
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to a six-month low of 60.8 from a revised 66 in April, a sign of the toll that high gas prices, a choppy job outlook and a moribund housing market are taking on people's psyches. Economists had expected an increase to 67.

Inspirational Quotes Twitter@Inspire_Us .

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. -Nelson Mandela

THANK YOU TO THE TROOPS WHO HAVE GIVEN THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

On this Memorial Day weekend I want to take the time to honor all of our fallen heroes from every war in American History.

Thanks to them we have the freedoms that no other country can enjoy.

I hope everyone takes the time to think of our fallen soldiers this weekend while you are enjoying the long weekend.

My Favorite Business Self Help Books

1) Wins, Losses and Lessons by Lou Holtz- this memoir penned by  football legend Lou Holtz chronicles the ups and downs of his coaching career. The most important thing I will always remember from this book is the way Mr. Holtz lays out his goal setting principles by putting them in the following categories:
           
               1.Things I want to do as a Husband
               2.Things I want to do religiously
               3.Things I want to accomplish professionally
               4.Things I want to do financially
               5.Things I want to do for excitement (personally)

I follow this set up each January 1st when I make my yearly goals.

2) Pushing the Envelope All the Way to the Top by Harvey Mackay- I have mentioned this book in a previous blog.Mr. Mackay said in 'Pushing the Envelope' something I will never forget-the receptionist is the most important person in a company because he or she is the first person an outsider sees in person or hears on the phone. The receptionist sets the tone for a company since they make the first impression to an outsider. This is good advice to follow for any business entity.

He also mentioned in the book that the Mackay Envelope Company (now known as Mackay Mitchell Envelope Company) makes it desirable for employees to stay. This retention of employees cuts down on the extremely costly expense detailed on a companies income statement of recruiting for new talent to replace departing workers.

3) Time Management from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern-this is the first time management book I have read back in 2000. I still to this day follow her organizing and time management principles.

Miss Morgenstern believes that there are three primary reasons why people have difficulty managing time: "technical errors" (miscalculating the length of a task); "external realities" (new baby, new job) and "psychological obstacles" (perfectionism). What makes her program work, she attests, is that instead of trying to change people's natural behaviors and preferences, she encourages them to expand upon whatever is working already, no matter how overwhelmed they may feel.

Inspirational Quotes from Twitter @Inspire_Us:
The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done. -Arnold Palmer

My Favorite Classic Business Books

These classic Business Books should be read and reread often:

1) The Seven Habit of Highly Effective People-by Stephen R. Covey
    This book is based on the following 7 Principles:
            1. Be Proactive
            2. Begin with the End in Mind
            3. Put First things First
            4. Think Win/Win
            5. Seek First to Understand and then to be Understood
            6. Synergize
            7. Sharpen the Saw

I have always remembered from reading this book for the 1st time back in the 1990's the second  principle-Begin with the End in  Mind.  I try to use this simple concept for every decision I make. I recommend everyone follow this as a guide in decision making.

 2) Who Moved My Cheese-by Spencer Johnson

I just reread this book recently for the first time in over a decade, The message still resonates-especially in this economy. This teaches us to move out of our comfort zones to achieve what is meant for us in life. If we get stuck in our ways-we will always run into dead ends like these 2 mice, Sniff and Scurry, kept doing until they started searching for cheese in new places.

This book is only 96 pages and can be read in about an hour. If you haven't read this book, please take the time to order it or get it from your library. It shows how change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective.

 3) How to Win Friends and Influence People-by Dale Carnegie

This classic written by Dale Carnegie back in 1936 is a gem of a book. I have to reread this book soon to refresh my memory of the other sections. One part of this book I focused on when I first read it was the Six Ways to Make People Like You:

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interest.
6. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

I try to remember to call people by their names in conversation. Like this book says-it is the most important sound in any language.

Inspirational Quotes from Twitter @Inspire_Us

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything but they make the most of everything.

My Favorite Financial Websites

1) http://finance.yahoo.com/- I find this the clearest way of getting the up to date stock market activity in their Market Summary section. I also like their personal finance stories. In addition, I am impressed with how many other financial websites like MarketWarch, Fortune, CNN Money contribute to make it a one stop shopping for finance articles.

2) http://online.wsj.com/home-page- I look at this periodically throughout the day to stay abreast of current market trends. It is a great supplement to the newspaper edition which I love reading daily.

3) http://www.realclearmarkets.com/- This is a great website for the best of daily articles from all different newspapers mostly in the US but sometimes other countries. They also publish exclusive articles for Real Clear Markets as well.

My Favorite Financial Publications

1) Wall Street Journal-a must read everyday. I make a point to read Marketplace as well as Money & Investing sections each day. With the speed of events, I also have to follow financial news on WSJ.com during the business day.

The Marketplace section gives a nice layout of corporate news and Money & Investing recaps the previous days financial trends. 

2) Forbes- publishes bi-weekly. Well rounded array of stories regarding CEO's, companies, personal finance, current events, etc.

My favorites are the lists ranking various categories and being a huge sports fan, I really enjoy the Sportsmoney features detailing Sports business news and trends.

3) Kiplinger's Personal Finance- I just started subscribing to this last month. So far I like the common sense stories on Investing, Money and Living. There are very good tips on stretching a buck and making the most of it grow in their articles.


Motivational Quote from @Sports_Greats

If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven't done anything today. -Lou Holtz

My Favorite Job Search Resources

I have been looking for a Senior Accountant/Financial Analyst position since September 2010. Networking and LinkedIn seem to be the best ways of connecting to people who are in position to hire.

I have also read many books on the art of job searching. These are my favorite authors and their books I recommend:

1) Martin Yate, CPC- in my opinion he is the Babe Ruth of the job search.  I have been following him since the 1990's with his 'Knock Em Dead The Ultimate Job Search Guide' (now it its 25th year anniversary edition.)  Everything is in this book you need from networking to the tough interview questions.

I also love the 'Knock Em Dead Cover Letters' book which teaches how to tailor your position desired to how the cover letter should be worded to suit that position.

I always tout this book to my friends in the job search process.
http://www.amazon.com/Knockem-Dead-2010-Ultimate-Search/dp/1598697811

2) Dan Miller-what a surprise, I learned about him through the Dave Ramsey show.

I have read his books ' No More Mondays' and '48 Days to the Work You Love.'

Reading these books helped me came out of my comfort zone of sitting in front of a computer all day doing accounting to starting a blog and networking.

He also has a great website for job tips: http://www.48days.com/

3) Robin Ryan- I just came across her last September through the Harvey Mackay book I mentioned the other day about job searching techniques. I read  2 of her books '60 Seconds and You're Hired' as well as 'Over 40 and You are Hired'.  Great advice in both books on the entire job search process. 
http://jobsearchbookstore.com/home/

I also just found out that she has a blog for the unemployed which I am gonna start following as of today.
http://www.robinryan.com/blog/2011/05/11/easy-way-to-improve-your-computer-skills/

Best of Luck to all still looking for a new position as I am in the same boat and understand your journey.

Inspirational Quote @Inspire_Us

You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars -Henry Ford