Monday, January 11, 2010

Ketchup and Mayonnaise...FNMA 4.5% bond UP and rates down...oil UP and dollar down.

In trading today the FNMA 4.5% picked up 25 bps!  Not too bad.  30 year fixed money still in the low 5% range.
 
Dow picked up just over 40 points as well today.

Tomorrow we will see the "balance of trade" report Remember that one?  Search it at www.chadcan.com and see what you come up with there.  Bottom line: it can have some affect on the market.  It shows the ratio of goods and services we import vs. export.  The B.O.T. has been negative since Jimmy Carter by billions of dollars if you can imagine.  We are a nation of consumers who help support the producers worldwide.  It is our consumption that provides producers with the money that they have been choosing to "park" here in our markets.
 
Let me say that in a different way: Because we are primarily consumers of goods and services, and our money has then been RE-invested in our economy by foreign investors we have been okay with a negative balance of trade. 
 
As a result: our LARGEST "export" is "banking" or providing a stable place for the world to park their money.
 
The downside: forfeit of some self-reliance and we have seen some of the result of nervous foreign investors in the run-up in gold prices among other signs.  Imagine if you held 3/4 TRILLION dollars worth of "stock" in the US (T-notes) and noticed the policies implemented in the US were not having a favorable effect on the value of your "dollars"?  You would likely try to either get involved/gain some political control in one way or another to protect your investment...or move your money.  The problem there is there is really not anywhere else to put money in the world today.  Search "currency explanation" at www.chadcan.com for more comments.
 
Cheers!

Chad
:
 
Sometimes things are all in how they are reported:
 
KETCHUP 
A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar...  During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone 'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now.  She's hitting the bottle.' 

This is an object lesson that I have seen around since the 70's.
 
Got this emailed to me by a loved one last week so I thought I would share.
 
The Mayonnaise Jar

  When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle, When 24 Hours in a day is not enough, Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly,
He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar And proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.   He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up everything else.  He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.  The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor,   as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - family, children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions -Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,'  He continued, there is no room for  the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play With your children. Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

'Take care of the golf balls first --The things that really matter.  Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
'I'm glad you asked'.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

 
_____________
 
Call me if you would like to do just that.  Have a great eve!

--
Chad Schauers

Personal Cell: 406 799 8613
Personal Email: metchad@gmail.com