A.I.G. Bail-Out....who's next? WAMU

Man, another insane day in stock market. After news broke this morning that the Federal Government will allow a bridge loan in the tune of $85 Billion dollars to bail out the troubled Insurance giant AIG (American International Group).

You would think that that move would have somewhat calm the market, but instead it drops another 400 points. So, if you had money in the market, just this week alone, you would have lost about 8% of your money.....In less than a week! The worst part is that the weeks not even over yet.

Anyways, this deal will allow the Fed to own 80% of AIG, and AIG agrees to pay back the Feb within 24 months. I am sure it will be for a pretty high interest rate. At least the Fed is making money on this deal. Maybe they will use it for another "Stimulus Check" to give us, the average Joe tax payer. (I can only hope)

It's amazing what has been happening. I red somewhere that this is comparable to the colapse of the financial market during the great depression era. But, the big difference is that the Federal Government is actually doing something to try and prevent an all out cathastrophy. I mean, they have their hands on Fredie Mac, and Fannie Mae...now its AIG. Kinda scary.

I wonder what tomorrow brings to the market? I heard that WAMU is next on the chopping block of banks that are in need of help....what about Morgan Stanley, or Goldman Sachs? Some bank like Wells Fargo will probably buy them sooner than later.

But, like the investors of the great depression, if you stay the course (Assuming, you have at least 10 years in the market or more), then history shows that your money will be ok. I believe that, and I believe in the market, and I still believe in this free market system. We just need to hold on tight.

Let's cross our fingers for better news tomorrow.

The Sky is Falling

Yesterday was a bad day if you follow the financial market. The Dow dropped 500 points or about 5% in one day with the news of Lehman Brothers collapse, and Meryll Lynch being sold to Bank of America. I mean I never thought that this would happen in my lifetime. Lehman is an institution that has been around for over 150 years. That's a long time. On the same day, AIG (American International Group) comes out looking for money because they don't have enough, and today the Fed decided to bail them out in the tune of $85 Billion dollars. Thats just crazy!!!

My opinion is that it's all about GREED for these large companies. They just leveraged themselves too much, and gambled that they will come up ahead on this subprime realestate debacle. I wonder how long this negative news will continue. I know that in the long run, your money is better off in the stock market, but the way things are going, you kinda start to wonder where the hell should you put your money that will be safe. And get this, WAMU is another bank that got a "Junk" rating. WAMU? ....who's next, B of A. I am thinking B of A must be crazy. They just acquired the ailing mortgage company Country Wide, and now they are in the process of buying Merryl Lynch. Either they got money, or? Just imagine, the image of that BULL with Meryll for stability will no longer exist. The company Meryl Lynch which symbolized the elite investors advisors will now be called something in the line of B of A advisors......tragic.

They say that banks are FDIC insured of up to $100K of your cash money. But, I heard somewhere that the reserve has a maximum amount aside fo $50 billion dollars. But, get this, with all these banks in trouble...they are actually at $1 trillion dollar at risk. Now, you do the math. Is your money really safe in the bank?

Hopefully, this week we will get some positive news. I saw a commercial of Mcdonalds offering "Fancy" Coffee now. Made me think that Micky "D"s might be a good stock to buy :)

Complacent and Lathargic

It's about 10:30 pm, and I took a break from working to put some thoughts in. Recently, I had a good friend FINALLY leave. He stayed with me for almost 6 months. Not something I anticipated or was prepared for. I'm so thankful to my wife for being so understanding. Even though I know, she was not happy with the situation. I felt bad for my 5 year old son, who had to put up with our guest.

What came out of this experience was realizing how much it interrupted my life. I apparently am not the person than can kick this guy out of my home. I was never good at ending things or . I was not the type that just "Tells you like it is". I tackled problem internally, and avoided confrontation as much as possible. Don't get me wrong, I'm a "GO GETTER" kinda guy, but it seems that I always just try to brush off every problem by ignoring it, until its either a bigger problem or it's sometimes too late to solve. It's my biggest weakness.

Gotta get more "TOUGH" with life. When I do decide to tackle problems head on, It always seems to turn out better than what I thought it would be. It just seems that sometimes, things just pile up, and then you just Freeze and do nothing at all.

Back to this friend of mine. I was literally in a state of "Hold" with my life when he was here. It was so liberating when he left, that I told myself this situation will never happen again. I have to say NO or I have to set LIMITS. Not just to him, but to certain things I do in life. I have to know my limits when it comes to my clients. I have to say NO to taking clients that are just not going to be very productive for my business. I have to be able to "TELL PEOPLE" how I really feel, and stand firm. Indecisive is such a destroyer of my progress. Sometimes, it's better to say Yes or No rather than a maybe or not sure, or especially no response.

Going to try to work on that. My livelihood depends on it.

Blogging Again is like talking to an old friend

It started about 3 years ago when my brother introduced me to the world of blogging. The first one's where short and sweet, but then it evolved into more of a cyberspace confession booth. You know, I think that is why therapist are around; it just seems so much easier to talk to a total stranger about your thoughts than someone close to you. By blogging, you get to put your thoughts out to a world of mostly strangers, and you don't have to pay for it...great concept.

Then in early 2006, I just stopped. Like a lot of people, life happened. I don't have a specific reason why I stopped, I just did. But lately, people around me started talking about blogging, and I said to myself..."Hey, I used to blog, wonder if I still have that account?"

So, I logged one night and checked the "Favorites", and there it was...Blogger.com. The challenge now was to remember the password and ID. After a few attempts, I was a in. Let me tell you, it's like watching an old episode of your favorite show, except it's your past thoughts. It was an amazing experience to read what you where thinking 2-3 years ago. As I red my own posting, each one brought me back to that moment, and why I wrote what I did. Some where funny, or at least I thought it was. Others, where just useless, random thinking. But, what was more important was that it made me realize how much I missed blogging. So, like committing to working out on a regular basis, I, RUFINO AUTUS, declare that I will start and continue blogging once more; and vow not to stop for any reason...........or at least till something more interesting comes along :)

So, off I go on this adventure again. I say goodbye for now my old friend, it was nice to talk to you again, and I am looking forward to blogging with you soon.