I'm Back!!!

I have been the worlds worst blogger over the past two months, not even one entry. Shame on me.But the good news is..I'M BACK!!!
Lots of things have happened since my last post.

1. I have reconnected with tons of friends through Facebook. Its been really great and I real laugh to know how everyone is doing.

2. Still trying to figure out what on earth is going on in the financial markets. Most people's portfolios are down at least 50% and the price of oil is hovering around 47 dollars. Gold is up, commodities are down and the big news is the Bernie Madoff scandal. (People got 'bernied' when he 'madoff' with their family fortunes.)There is talk of over 50 billion dollars being lost. Palm Beach mansions, Park Avenue apartments, all gone. This is a perfect example of how greed took over from common sense. I would love to have a portfolio that was growing 10% a year, but when there is no 'downside' and all other funds are showing negative earnings,wouldn't you ask questions? But being the eternal optimist that I am, I can't help but think of the great estate sales that will happen in the near future. Sotheby's and Christie's will be very busy in the coming months. In an economic recession, one must always look for an upside.As for Bernie Madoff, I hope they have confiscated his passport and they put him where he belongs...IN JAIL!

3. Barack Obama will be inaugurated next week. I hope that he will be able to erase the chaos and mess left behind by George W. Bush. Its funny, because living in Brazil with all of the financial mess and corruption that is part of daily life, I always believed that the USA was untouchable and the strongest economy in the world. Not any more. Barry has a big fix up job in order and I hope for Americans that he will be able to get them out of this disaster.

4. On aa lighter note, I saw on Anderson Cooper (he is a hottie) that the porn industry wants a bailout too. You know that things are bad when this sort of stuff happens...In effect, it is just a mockery of how the US is nationalizing its industries.The porn industry is probably doing just fine...But the automakers? Should the US government bail out these industries? Its a difficult call to make. If the auto industry fails, that will be the end of Detroit and probably the rest of Michigan. Why doesn't the government invest in re-educating and upgrading the autoworkers so they may be competitive in a new job? Instead of giving handouts to the Big Three, why not invest in the people who may be out of a job very soon?

5. Remember the big news in 2008 about the lack of basic food(rice, corn etc)? What happened? We don't hear about it anymore. The price of corn has plummeted, as well as the price of cattle. A farmer friend of mine said that he receives less per cow these days than he did 30 years ago...whats going on?

6. I hope the price of oil goes up to around $60 a barrel. If not, the economy in Calgary will suffer bigtime. projects are being cancelled and postponed up in the oilsands because it is no longer viable to extract it. Jobs are being cut at a very frightening rate..Upside? Lots of recreation property and Lexus's will be on the market soon.