Continue reading An Interview with America's Sexiest CEO: Hilary Rowland

An Interview with America's Sexiest CEO: Hilary Rowland originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PR is a crucial element to any brand. With the ever growing online world it is important for brands to keep up with this factor and understand the power of online PR.

We talked to Kerry Bannigan, CEO of Nolcha: Fashion Business Services to discuss the power of PR, including keep up with the changes of industry and embracing online and technology into marketing plans.

Continue reading How to Effectively Gain Press: An Interview with Kerry Bannigan

How to Effectively Gain Press: An Interview with Kerry Bannigan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Apr 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In a world where one line of data can mean the difference between success or ruin for individuals, companies, or even entire countries, the validity and security of sensitive data has increasingly become of paramount concern. A raft of cyber-security companies are answering these important issues with solutions for everything from email privacy to network breach protection. One such company, and a stand out in its field, is Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC).

Continue reading An Interview with Carlos Solari of Computer Science Corp.

An Interview with Carlos Solari of Computer Science Corp. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Over 10,000 leaders in technology, business, and finance recently gathered at Columbia University in Manhattan to analyze emerging trends at the second New York Entrepreneurs Week. The conference featured such companies as SecondMarket, FirstMark, Capital Behind the Burner, Behance, Nolcha, TheLadders.com, Bonobos, 1-800 Flowers, Meetup.com, Thrillist and NYC SBS.

The conference's founder is Gary Whitehill, a 26-year-old entrepreneur who strives to educate entrepreneurs worldwide. Whitehill graduated in June 2007 from Central Connecticut State University with a triple-degree in management, marketing and entrepreneurship. Having been to New York City just once in his life, he relocated to the Manhattan without knowing anybody. Whitehill said, "I knew for sure that one way or another, my decision to move to New York would be an adventure I would not regret," and it definitely paid off, not only for him, but also the thousands of people who attended New York Entrepreneur Week.

Continue reading Gary Whitehill: An Entrepreneurial Lesson

Gary Whitehill: An Entrepreneurial Lesson originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

James Altucher is a financial journalist for The Wall Street Journal and founder of Stockpickr.com. His articles cover every angle of the market; he also stars in feature videos with other financial luminaries. He is the author of Trade Like a Hedge Fund, Trade Like Warren Buffett, SuperCa$h, and The Forever Portfolio.

He has taken a controversial path lately with numerous articles in the New York Post and Huffington Post. Some articles include: "Global Warming Is a Myth," "Should Insider Trading Be Made Legal?" "School of Hard Cash," "The Internet Is Dead (as an Investment)," and "5 Myths the Recession Taught Us."

Rumors of a new addition to the James Altucher library have entered the blogosphere, so I met with James to discuss a possible new book and the response from his recent aggressive views on finance and the stock market.

Continue reading You can profit from James Altucher's insanity

You can profit from James Altucher's insanity originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We've heard from the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve and they say that our recession is ending. We have a 50% bounce in the stock market and we have loads of statistics pointing to a recovery, Now, however, we hear a different voice, one that is steeped in reality, that takes the pulse of business, that is on the front lines, in the trenches so to speak. Let's listen in:

The U.S. is still in a recession which may last until 2010 according to the Association for Financial Professionals. The poll was carried out on Monday and surveyed 1,000 chief financial officers and treasury executives. Here are their findings:

Continue reading U.S. still in a recession that may last until 2010

U.S. still in a recession that may last until 2010 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Broke: The New American Dream

Broke: The New American Dream originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Warren Buffett, tells us more!

Warren Buffett, tells us more! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Canadian views on the US stock market

Canadian views on the US stock market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Neal Berger, the fund manager who called the market top, founder of fund-of-funds Eagle's View Asset Management, is always seeking undiscovered fund managers who exploit a legitimate "edge" or inefficiency in the market. With decades of experience at prominent firms such as Fuji Bank, Chase Bank, and Millennium Partners, he now manages the investments of wealthy families/individuals.

Continue reading Five stock market experts share their views

Five stock market experts share their views originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is the market view from five prominent stock market bloggers. I asked them each one simple question: Where do you think the market is headed, and why? Here are their responses (listed in alphabetical order):

James Altucher - TheStreet.com

Altucher is a financial journalist for the Financial Times, daily contributor to TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM), and founder of Stockpickr. His articles cover every angle of the market; he also stars in feature videos with other financial luminaries. He is the author of Trade like a Hedge Fund, Trade Like Warren Buffett, SuperCa$h, andThe Forever Portfolio.

"The market sold off too much. S&P 700 was anticipating the apocalypse, which is not happening. With $15 trillion in stimulus worldwide happening over the next one to four years there is only one hedge for inflation: owning a broad spectrum of stocks. Buy internets, nuclear energy (Altucher mentions Shaw Group (NYSE: SGR), Cameco Corp (NYSE: CCJ) and USEC Inc (NYSE: USU) in THIS video segment), gold producers, and healthcare stocks."

Continue reading Insights from top stock market bloggers around the Web

Insights from top stock market bloggers around the Web originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Doomsday Scenario: Craig's List is another nail in the news coffin

Doomsday Scenario: Craig's List is another nail in the news coffin originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: General Electric CFO speaks out

Chasing Value: General Electric CFO speaks out originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Exploiting a weakness in the U.S. Constitution, Bush became president in 2000 despite losing the popular vote. He ignored an August 2001 Presidential Daily Brief titled: Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S. Then he used that attack -- along with some trumped up evidence of WMDs -- to justify an invasion into Iraq that killed thousands of people and cost trillions.

Now as Bush goes on his self-pity tour before he (hopefully) leaves office in less than a week, bin Laden is apparently still alive and enjoying a last laugh at Bush. Bin Laden's latest video blames Bush for weakening America which permitted Israel to invade Gaza. Bin Laden is partially right -- Bush has weakened America.

Continue reading Bin Laden's latest video blames Bush's weakness for Gazan plight

Bin Laden's latest video blames Bush's weakness for Gazan plight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

So spooked by the market that you've withdrawn cash from your investments to stuff beneath your mattress? Or do you simply crumple every mutual fund statement without opening?

Yesterday as I sipped my coffee, Payson Swaffield, vice president and chief income investment officer of Eaton Vance of Eaton Vance (NYSE: EV) in Boston, shared with me by phone some current alternatives in fixed-income investments. There are two worlds of fixed-income investments (bonds, essentially), according to Swaffield. One is very low risk and low return. The other is slightly higher risk but has equity-like return possibilities.

First some definitions: A fixed-income instrument is an investment in a bond or another debt security issued by a government or government agency, such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, a municipality, or a private enterprise. Fixed-income investments have traditionally provided lower volatility than equity investments as well as risk diversification, Swaffield says.

Continue reading Bond basics: Looking for an alternative to cash? Some fixed-income options

Bond basics: Looking for an alternative to cash? Some fixed-income options originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Fortune interviews Buffett on CNN

Fortune interviews Buffett on CNN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since Friday's surprise announcement that John McCain picked Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his VP, numerous unpleasant facts have emerged which may make McCain regret his hasty choice. And since she has not been officially nominated by the Republican convention, it's not too late for McCain to pick Karl Rove favorite Mitt Romney instead.

Here are some of the reasons that McCain should reconsider his decision:

• Hearbeat away. She has had very little experience governing and none with foreign policy. This would be fine if McCain was in robust good health. Unfortunately, that is not the case. She could actually become President and it is far from obvious that she has the most executive experience among all the potential VP candidates that might need to step in if McCain could no longer do the President's job.
• No longer a shoe-in for Evangelical vote. She was strongly supported by the Evangelical wing of the Republican party due to her religious beliefs and her decision to keep her fifth child after she learned it would have Down syndrome. But with her 17-year old daughter having a child, some might question how strongly Palin believes in abstention until marriage.
• Corruption concerns. It is not clear whether McCain knew that Palin was under investigation for firing a public safety commissioner who refused to fire her brother-in-law. And did he know that she denied involvement with lobbyists in an interview with Maria Bartiromo, even though a TransCanada lobbyist played a central role in getting a $500 million subsidy for that Canadian company to build a gas pipeline she was pushing?

Continue reading Should McCain let Palin go?

Should McCain let Palin go? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Our government has been doing its share of bailouts in the last year. It put $29 billion of taxpayer money at risk to finance the takeover of Bear Stearns. It stands ready to use $800 billion to bailout Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE). And now General Motors (NYSE: GM) wants $50 billion in government guarantees to finance fuel efficient cars. I have been looking into the bailout issue and whether it is beneficial or a misuse of funds - and there is a lot of debate about this issue. These bailouts may make political sense but are they in the long-term economic interests of the country?

A colleague of mine who was a Budget and Cost Analyst for a top government agency has been thinking about the political aspect of bailouts and shared his thoughts with me. As he wrote, "It is a sure thing that either party could get votes from a bailout, but they might loose some as well. Where a party could really improve its position would be to support a bailout, but lose."

He suggests that this outcome would pay off in the short-run but could damage long-term economic outcomes. As he suggested, If the party supported a bailout but lost, "it could claim that it was trying to support the victims, but had been frustrated by the other party. And this could be used to promote the party for many years in efforts to get votes. While maneuvers of this sort may get short run votes, over the long term they might be hurtful of sound economic growth and performance."

Continue reading Do bailouts pay?

Do bailouts pay? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bloomberg News reports that hedge fund Bridgewater Associates has estimated that the total write-downs from the current credit crisis will total $1.6 trillion. With $400 billion in write-downs taken so far, this $1.6 trillion estimate would put us about a quarter of the way through the crisis. So far, banks have raised $321 billion in capital to buffer those write-downs.

And Teddy Forstmann, a private equity veteran, agrees with this assessment. In an interview from Saturday's Wall Street Journal, he said the current credit crisis is the worst he's seen. As he said, the problem started after 9/11 with the Fed giving away money at negative real interest rates. This created so much cash that banks could not find ways to lend it out where risk and reward were in balance.

So they created new ones which mis-priced risk. These include loan syndication -- in which banks originate loans and take a fee for selling them to someone else -- and securitization -- in which banks packages lots of loans as securities and sell those to hedge funds and other institutional investors. Unfortunately, these only work when the prices of the underlying assets are going up.

Continue reading Banking crisis in second inning

Banking crisis in second inning originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hedge Fund guru George Soros warned over the weekend, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, that " the crude oil market had been significantly affected by speculation." Because of all the speculators driving the price of crude higher and higher, Soros went on to say, "Speculation... is increasingly affecting the price, the price has this parabolic shape which is characteristic of bubbles."

While I tend to disagree with Soros when he predicts that we are headed for a very deep recession, I do think that there isn't much justification to $130+ per barrel of crude. After all, the continuing cry of increasing demand falls short, when the big consumers of oil, are experiencing slower economic growth. After the Olympics, I wouldn't be surprised to see Chinese growth take a sharp fall as well, as many of the public works projects come to an end.

I think that potentially, we will see crude oil fall back to the $50-60 per barrel level.

Aaron Katsman is Senior Portfolio Manager of the Israel Growth Portfolio, of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 5/27/08

Oil prices may ease after the Chinese Olypmics originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 May 2008 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.