Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Blue Zones
Now onto better and happier thoughts...
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Wednesday, June 11, 2008
more items for sale, purses
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joyce
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pics of items for sale
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joyce
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pics of items for sale
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Friday, May 23, 2008
Have you ever wondered about Jordan Almonds at weddings?
| |
about Jordan Almonds, the ubiquitous wedding treat? These fancy, sugarcoated candies are rich in flavor and in cultural meaning, particularly at Italian, Greek, and Middle Eastern weddings. Whether decorative items, party favors, or simply nutty nibbles, here's a taste of these confections' yummy symbolism. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE Fresh almonds have a bittersweet taste, which represents life. The sugarcoating is added with the hope that the newlyweds' life will be more sweet than bitter. ITALIAN WEDDINGS Five almonds signify five wishes for the bride and groom: health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and longevity. These almonds decorate each place setting as favors, tucked into pretty boxes or tulle bags called *bomboniere* that are often personalized with the couple's names and wedding date. GREEK WEDDINGS Sugarcoated almonds in traditional Greek weddings are called *koufetta*. They are placed in little bags in odd numbers and are served on a silver tray. Odd numbers are indivisible, symbolizing how the newlyweds will share everything and remain undivided. Tradition holds that if an unmarried woman puts the almonds under her pillow, she'll dream of her future husband. MIDDLE EASTERN WEDDINGS Candy-covered almonds, considered aphrodisiacs, are always on hand (have too many and you may leave the reception early!). A SWEET IDEA Jordan Almonds make great wedding favors -- wrap a cluster in tulle tied with ribbon, pack a few in boxes (made of sugar, straw, paper, metal, or plastic), stuff some in decorative bags, or pour a handful into champagne glasses or glass bowls. Attach a little card with a note explaining the almonds' meaning (so guests know they're not just an intermezzo between the salad and the filet mignon). Consider using this Jordan Almonds poem: Jordan Almonds for Thee Five sugared almonds for each guest to eat To remind us that life is both bitter and sweet. Five wishes for the new husband and wife -- Health, wealth, happiness, children, and a long life! by Jill Girardo |
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joyce
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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Funds worthy of your tax rebate
Fund Spy
Looking
for a smart place to put your modest windfall? These 10 mutual funds
boast minimum initial investments of $1,000 or less.
By Morningstar
Americans
outside the highest tax brackets are getting checks for $600 to $1,200
in their mailboxes and bank accounts, thanks to Uncle Sam. (Click here to check with the IRS on your eligibility.) So, I'm here to help you figure out what to do with the money.
It
seems funny to me: The economic mess was caused by individuals,
companies and hedge funds taking on way too much debt, so our solution
is for the government to go into more debt and cut everyone a tax
rebate check. I'm very much in the same camp as my colleague Christine
Benz, who recently advised readers to pay off debt with the money.
However, if you're in good shape on that front, I'd suggest investing it in a mutual fund and watching it grow.
Even
a modest investment can grow into something meaningful over time.
What's more, if it's your first or second fund, it provides a great
place for you to send more money over time, so that before you know it,
you're talking about some serious money. One of the most important
factors in how comfortably you retire is how soon you start saving.
So, let's get right to it. To start, think about the Vanguard Star (VGSTX) fund, which invests in other low-cost Vanguard funds. But there are other choices besides the Star fund.
I'll
share five good no-load and five good adviser-sold funds, all with
minimum investments of $1,000 or less. I chose all 10 from
Morningstar's FundInvestor 500 list of mutual funds.
No-load funds
Harbor Bond (HABDX).
Minimum investment: $1,000. If there's something you want to buy in the
next few years, a bond fund is a good place to build up your stash. The
good ones are pretty dependable and offer decent returns. Harbor Bond
just happens to be one of the best. It has low expenses and is run by
Bill Gross and the rest of Pimco, one of the best bond shops around.
The fund sticks with high-quality debt but frequently beats its peers
and its index by making clever macroeconomic bets.
- Julius Baer International Equity II (JETAX).
Minimum investment: $1,000. This one is run by former Morningstar
Managers of the Year, and it makes top-down bets with uncanny accuracy.
The record here is fairly brief, but managers Rudolph-Riad Younes and
Richard Pell have built a great long-term record with Julius Baer International Equity I (BJBIX).
The only difference is that Baer International I invests a bit in small
caps, and Baer International II doesn't. Needless to say, foreign stock
funds like these require more than the few years' time horizon of a
bond fund.
- Oakmark Select (OAKLX).
Minimum investment: $1,000. I'm still recommending this fund despite
its brutal slump. I'm a contrarian, and I believe that you stick with
good managers with strong track records as long as they're still
sticking to their strategy. In fact, after a slump is often the best
time to buy. As a shareholder, I'm optimistic there's a rebound on the
way.
- Pax World Balanced (PAXWX).
Minimum investment $250. This fund is an easy one to hold on to because
it adds a 25% fixed-income stake to a 75% stake in equities. Over time,
that's helped to smooth out the bumps a bit. Manager Chris Brown has
built a strong record at this socially screened fund. He follows a
blue-chip growth strategy that has lots of U.S. multinationals that
sell a lot overseas, such as Deere (DE, news, msgs) and Procter & Gamble (PG, news, msgs).
Adviser-sold funds
Ishould note that while load funds have low minimums, you're probably
not going to get a red-carpet reception if the grand sum you are
investing with an adviser is $1,000.
Many are only interested in
those with $1 million or more to invest, but if you already have an
account with an adviser or have access through one of the exceptions in
which people have modest amounts invested in load funds, this list will
help:
- American Funds New Perspective (ANWPX).
Minimum investment: $250. This fund covers the globe with an army of
analysts and managers to find great stocks. The current mix is 55%
foreign, the rest U.S. stocks. A number of broker-sold world-stock and
foreign funds charge too much, so this fund's 0.74% expense ratio adds
a lot to the appeal.
- American Funds Washington Mutual (AWSHX).
Minimum investment: $250. I love funds with low minimums and a focus on
dividends because that means a healthy slug of those dividends makes it
back to investors. This is one of the oldest and most trustworthy funds
with such a focus.
- BlackRock Global Allocation (MDLOX).
Minimum investment: $1,000. This fund will get you diversified really
quickly. It owns 543 stocks and 73 bonds spread out across the globe.
The fund has an excellent long-term record under manager Dennis
Stattman, who has been with the fund since its inception in 1989.
Franklin Federal Tax-Free Income (FKTIX).
Minimum investment: $1,000. If you're in a high tax bracket, this fund
will save you some headaches in April. It puts its $7.7 billion asset
base to good use, loading up on 823 bonds, at last count, so problems
with a couple of issuers won't rock the boat.
- Mutual Beacon (TEBIX).
Minimum investment: $1,000. This fund looks to earn solid long-term
returns with less risk than its peers or the market. It does so by
insisting on stocks trading at a steep discount to their value. That
means betting on restructurings or other fixes to companies with major
problems. Franklin Templeton analysts have done a great job over many
years, and that gives me confidence.
This article was reported and written by Russel Kinnel for Morningstar.
Published May 19, 2008
--
joyce
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Haircuts and car repairs on the cheap
You
can be dollars ahead if you're willing to let some of the 11 million
Americans in training for jobs work on your car or kitchen.
By Karen Aho
Question: How do you chop a $4,000 car repair bill down to $600?
Answer: Take out the labor charges.
But
there's no such thing as free labor, right? Well, actually, there is.
And we don't mean your own labor, or that of the nice uncle who will
replace the brake pads for a 12-pack of beer.
At any one time, 11
million students in this country are preparing for jobs in auto repair,
home construction, Web design, computer technology, horticulture,
cosmetology . . . the list goes on. And in each class, whether it's at
a high school, a community college or one of 1,400 vocational-technical
centers, the instructional mantra is the same: to learn by doing.
By
doing jobs for the public, students are exposed to real job dilemmas,
real customers, each finicky and fickle brand. Just as important, the
school gets reimbursed for materials. Wood, metal, paper, shampoo --
nothing has to go to waste.
Friends and faculty have been taking
advantage of this unadvertised gold mine for as long as young people
have been hammering out doghouses. But anyone can partake, as long as
the work fits into the curriculum and the customer fits into the
students' schedule.
So how much can you save? That depends on the
price of the labor being cut. Auto-repair shops, for instance,
typically charge between $65 and $120 per hour.
Even using a
conservative rate, Dennis Neal figures he's saved more than $10,000 by
taking his vehicles to Madison County Area Technology Center in
Richmond, Ky. His last project -- a weeks-long, bumper-to-bumper
troubleshoot of a 1979 Ford F-350 pickup -- barely nicked his wallet at
$600 for parts. A garage would have cost more than $4,000. Oh, and he
also had to pay a $15 school shop fee.
"They've helped me out a lot," he said. "They've saved me tons."
Money isn't everything
Neal,a retired U.S. Air Force jet mechanic, says he's compulsive about
workmanship and prefers the school over some garages. The students have
good tools, good training, a good work ethic and an attentive, honest
instructor who "wouldn't let the truck out on the street if it wasn't
ready for the road."
"In some ways we're better, because there are
reputable shops and there aren't," said Art Coon, an auto-body teacher
at the Wilco Area Career Center, in Romeoville, Ill. "Our students are
taught the proper methods, where at some of the body shops they skip
steps."
Video on MSN Money: Donna Freedman finds deals
Treasure hunting in thrift storesIf
you're buying at retail stores you're wasting money. Follow Donna
Freedman as she explores the local thrift store to find great deals you
won't believe.
At Wilco's body shop, students use only
high-end coats and primers and can bang out a fender and repaint the
adjacent panels for $100, a fifth the cost of a shop.
On the
downside, it might take five days instead of two to get your vehicle
back, and there's no free rental car. You could also get turned away
altogether, if the shop is full or the students aren't studying your
problem. And while instructors check each step, student shops don't
guarantee their work and may ask you to sign a liability waiver (though
no one, even a paramedic, expressed any qualms about safety).
Patience is required
InOklahoma City, Tina Woodfork waited four months for her custom-built
kitchen from Metro Technology Centers. Students often spend just a few
hours a day in a skills class and work carefully, stopping for
instruction.
The payoff for Woodfork's patience? Beautiful cabinets
with raised panel doors and concealed hinges, an island and a counter
for less than $1,000 -- the cost of the red oak the instructor bought
at a contractor's discount. A professional would have had to charge
$8,000 to $10,000 to cover labor, workers' compensation and insurance.
If
you hire a student to build a Web site, keep in mind that he may call
with frequent questions that an experienced designer would have
anticipated early, or could tackle on his own.
"Customers might
need a little more personal commitment to the project than they would
going to a professional business," said Rodney Kozar, a multimedia
instructor at the Auburn Career Center, near Cleveland, whose students
create free slide shows and videos.
If these deals sound appealing, how about:
A
$5 haircut. Yes, some are still priced that low. BJ's Beauty and Barber
College outside Seattle even gives free cuts to unemployed people and
their families.- Choice
rib-eye beef for $7.99 a pound, about $3 less than market price. An
agriculture school's meat lab might even flash freeze and shrink-wrap
it. Some schools farm and sell fish. - A
three-course lunch for $4.75 at a culinary school. Or a five-course
dinner for $25 at a five-star institute with a good bottle of wine at
the distributor's price ($15 instead of $25-$40). - Free tax preparation by accounting students, at evening clinics set up for low-income filers.
- A shed or doghouse built by carpentry students for a quarter the retail price.
Computer repair from a budding techie. Let a student try to save your crashed system for $25 instead of several hundred dollars.
Preschool classes for tens, instead of hundreds, of dollars a week, and with a high number of adults present.- A pampering facial or an indulgent body wrap from a cosmetology school at half or a third the price of a salon.
- A dog grooming for $10 instead of $40.
Flowers arranged at a wedding, for the price of the flowers only.- Business cards, newsletters and posters printed by a graphics program at half the usual cost.
- A Web page for your nonprofit or small business in exchange for crediting the student on the site.
The pros and cons
It's possible to get custom-made work. Neal,
the auto customer, also brings designs to mechanical and welding
students because they have a shop and because, outside, "the chance of
finding a journeyman craftsman anymore is nil to none."
You'll find a friendly atmosphere.
If you want a private, quiet spa treatment, don't go to a beauty
school, where students might work together in a large room. But if you
enjoy eavesdropping, it can be a great place to pick up information.
The same can be true at a culinary institute, where chefs-in-training
may enthusiastically share their techniques.
The work available can vary. A
school's first priority is education. Your transmission rebuild might
not align with the curriculum. Or you could luck out and become a class
project. A Texas man got a 1947 Farmall A tractor restored to mint
condition -- every bolt oiled -- by an agriculture mechanics class. He
paid $4,700 in parts and the students put in 800 hours.
School services can be challenging to find. Schools
aren't out to compete with private businesses, and they don't advertise
their services. To find technical schools in your area, check a U.S.
Department of Education search engine or your state's department of education Web site for a listing (such as this one for Kentucky). You might luck out and find a section for consumer services on the school's Web site, such as this one at the Miami Valley Career Technical Center
in Clayton, Ohio. If not, large schools usually have a public affairs
office that can provide information. If that fails, simply call the
school and ask for the department you need. Instructors (or students)
can tell you what public services are available. Keep in mind that not
only are students' hours limited, but many schools have spring and
summer breaks.
Video on MSN Money: Donna Freedman finds deals
Treasure hunting in thrift storesIf
you're buying at retail stores you're wasting money. Follow Donna
Freedman as she explores the local thrift store to find great deals you
won't believe.
Remember to give back.
If you do get work done and walk away with a fat smile and a fat
wallet, don't forget to express your gratitude with a donation.
Students often use the money to take trips to skills contests. Consider
giving back 10% of what you saved and feel good about being part of the
educational process.
Published April 19, 2007
--
joyce
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Market Dispatches 5/19/2008 8:40 PM ET
Rally fades as techs sell off
Crude
oil closes above $127 a barrel for the first time. Techs fall back
after SanDisk's CEO sees fuel costs hitting consumer spending. A report
on leading economic indicators suggest a stronger second half for 2008.
By Charley Blaine and Elizabeth Strott
Weakness in technology stocks and crude oil's first close above $127 a barrel cut the knees out from a stock market rally.
The Dow Jones industrials had been up as many as 150 points but ended with a gain of just 41 points to 13,028. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which had cheered market bulls when it crossed its 200-day moving average, ended with a gain of just 1 point to 1,427.
The Nasdaq Composite Index fell about 13 points to 2,516, in part because flash-memory maker SanDisk (SNDK, news, msgs)
CEO Eli Harari offered a cautious outlook that high oil prices will hit
consumer spending. That gutted a rally in semiconductor stocks that
began when Goldman Sachs upgraded the entire group. SanDisk fell nearly
8% to $29.85.
It was the worst performer among S&P 500 stocks and the 19 stocks in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX.X). The index itself off 0.8% to 418.
Plus, SanDisk was the second-worst performer among Nasdaq-100 ($NDX.X) stocks.
At the same time, share of Apple (AAPL, news, msgs) fell 2.1% to $183.60 on concern about weakening sales of its iPod music player.
Even the Dow Jones Transportation Average ($DJT)
was battered by the late-day selling. Up as many as 168 points to a
record 5,537 in the early afternoon, the index finished up just 26
points to 5,395. Trucking company YRC Worldwide (YRCW, news, msgs) was the leader, up 3.3% to $19.17.
Railroads generally were higher after a Stifel Nicolaus analyst upgraded Union Pacific (UNP, news, msgs)
to "buy" and raised 12-month target prices for two other rail
companies. Package shippers also rose with the broader market, even as
oil climbed closer to its trading record. Union Pacific was up 0.3% to
$153.50.
Railroad and trucking stocks have been among the best
stock market performers all year as exports of farm products and
chemicals have been booming. The group's strength have given many
analysts and economists confidence that the recession, assuming it
exists, will be mild at worst. Rising transportation stocks seen as a
leading indicator for the economy overall.
With today's close,
the Dow transports are up 18% this year, compared with a loss of 1.8%
for the Dow and 2.8% for the S&P 500. The index would be up even
more if three of the four airlines in the index -- JetBlue Airways (JBLU, news, msgs), Continental Airlines (CAL, news, msgs) and American Airlines parent AMR Corp. (AMR, news, msgs) -- weren't down 17% to 38% for the year.
Continental was down 6% to $16.89 today; AMR was off 4.8% to $8.73. JetBlue was off 0.2% to $4.87.
The fourth airline in the Dow Transports -- Southwest Airlines (LUV, news, msgs) -- was down 1.3% to $13.22 today but is up 8.4% on the year.
The
market has been hit by a number of late-day fades in recent weeks, in
part because the market seems to react badly to every new closing high
for crude oil. Crude oil is up 11% this month, 25% on the quarter and
32% on the year. The late-day buying appears to have been set off by a
comment from Chakib Khelil, president of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries, who said the organization wouldn't meet to discuss
boosting production before its planned meeting Sept. 9.
The Amex Oil Index ($XOI.X) moved up 1% to 1,615. Dow components Chevron (CVX, news, msgs) and ExxonMobil (XOM, news, msgs)
were both up 1.8% to $102.20 and $94.36, respectively. The two were
stocks were the third- and fourth-best performers among the 30 Dow
stocks.
Aluminum giant Alcoa (AA, news, msgs) was the Dow leader with a 3.3% gain to $44.59, followed by Boeing (BA, news, msgs), up 2.2% to $87.07.
Amazon.com (AMZN, news, msgs) led both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100 with a 7.6% gain to $82.29 on an upgrade from Goldman Sachs.
| Mon. | Fri. | Chg. | Month chg. | YTD chg. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude oil (NYMEX) (per barrel) | $127.05 | $126.29 | $0.76 | 11.98% | 32.37% |
| Heating oil (per gallon) | $3.6751 | $3.7028 | -$0.0277 | 15.68% | 38.71% |
| Natural gas (per million BTU) | $10.9540 | $11.0940 | -$0.1400 | 1.02% | 46.39% |
| Unleaded gasoline (per gallon) | $3.2366 | $3.2235 | $0.0131 | 10.42% | 29.94% |
A big day for earnings ahead
You may think the first-quarter earnings season is over. But you'd be wrong.Tuesday is full of big companies reporting profits, including Dow components Home Depot (HD, news, msgs) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, news, msgs) in the morning and afternoon, respectively.In addition, discount retailer Target (TGT, news, msgs) also reports, along with Medtronic (MED, news, msgs), financial software maker Intuit (INTU, news, msgs) and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB, news, msgs).
All will fill out the picture of the health of the consumer, especially Target and Red Robin.
Red
Robin's restaurants mostly inhabit the suburbs, and the stock peaked in
July 2005 about the same time that housing stocks peaked. It's down
about 35% since and fell 16% in the first six trading sessions of 2008
alone. But, while the stock was off 3.5% to $39.99 today, the close was
up more than 48% from its Jan. 9 low.
The company is expected to report 50 cents a share in earnings on revenue of $256 million, up 13% and 20% from a year ago.
Separately,
the Labor Department will release the Producer Price Index for April at
8:30 a.m. Tuesday, and economists expect it to show an increase of 0.5%
for last month.
Core producer prices are expected to have risen by 0.2% in April.
Unlike
the Consumer Price Index, which is seasonally adjusted to account for
normal price fluctuations, the PPI will likely show the impact of
recent jumps in food and energy prices. The report comes out on
Wednesday before the opening bell.
Leading indicators suggest a better second half
For much of the day, stocks took strength from a better-than-expected report on leading economic indicators.The
Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators rose an
unexpected 0.1% in April. Economists had expected a flat reading.
"These
data certainly reflect a weak economy, but not one in recession," said
Ken Goldstein, labor economist at the Conference Board.
April's gain follows a 0.1% increase in March, which "could be a signal that the economy may not weaken further."
Six
of 10 leading economic indicators rose in April, including stock
prices, the interest-rate spread between the Federal Reserve's federal
funds rate and the 10-year Treasury note, and consumer-goods orders.
Microsoft back in talks with Yahoo
Like a high school relationship, talks between Microsoft (MSFT, news, msgs) and Yahoo (YHOO, news, msgs) -- called off earlier this month -- are on again. (Microsoft is the publisher of MSN Money.)
On
Sunday, Microsoft said that it is "considering and has raised with
Yahoo an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo but
not an acquisition of all of Yahoo."
Yahoo responded by saying that it is "open to pursuing any transaction which is in the best interest of our stockholders."
The
timing of this announcement is what is most interesting, New York Times
reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin told CNBC. Sorkin said Microsoft is trying
to get in the way of a deal between Yahoo and mutual rival Google (GOOG, news, msgs).
Microsoft
on May 3 withdrew a $33-per-share offer for Yahoo; the software giant
had offered $31 per share for Yahoo on Feb. 1, but Yahoo rejected that
bid as too low. After Microsoft's withdrawal earlier this month,
billionaire investor Carl Icahn said that he had purchased roughly 59
million shares of Yahoo stock and lined up a 10-person slate of
nominees to replace Yahoo's current board of directors at the company's
annual meeting on July 3.
Microsoft
may buy only Yahoo's search business, according to technology site All
Things Digital, while The Wall Street Journal said that the deal would
likely involve Yahoo carrying search advertisements from Microsoft.
"What
Microsoft is most interested in is getting that Yahoo subscriber base,"
Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, told
Bloomberg News. A complete merger may have provided challenges for
Microsoft, Barnicle said.
In the statement, Microsoft said that it "reserves the right to reconsider" making a new bid for Yahoo.
Shares
of Yahoo closed up 2 cents to $27.68 on the day. Microsoft dropped 1.8%
to $29.46 and was the worst-performing stock among the 30 Dow stocks.
A pricey fill-up awaits holiday travelers
With the Memorial Day weekend ahead, drivers face a lot of pain at the gas station.The
average price of self-serve regular gasoline jumped 17 cents to $3.79 a
gallon over the last two weeks, according to the Lundberg Survey, which
polls about 7,000 gas stations across the country. "We are within 21
cents of $4 a gallon," survey editor Trilby Lundberg told reporters.
"There seems to be very good chance that we will reach it."
MSN's Stock Challenge: Win $15,000!
Two
metro areas have already seen $4 gas: Chicago, where the average was
$4.07 a gallon, and New York's Long Island, where gas prices averaged
$4.01 a gallon. Record gas prices have caused concern for consumers and
have had an impact on retailers; more consumers are using their
spending money to buy necessities like gas and food instead of buying
discretionary items that could help lift sales at retail stores.
Video on MSN Money
Come on, is inflation really that low?If
they're going to lie to us about inflation, shouldn't they make the
lies believable? Jim Jubak says there's no way gas prices fell during
April, as the government claims.
"There's
a perception that demand is going to hold up pretty strongly this
year," Mark Pervan, senior commodity strategist at Australia & New
Zealand Bank in Melbourne, told CNNMoney.com. "This idea that the
market just couldn't handle ($100 per barrel) oil has just gone out the
window . . . so there's a parallel shift at where the market will
trade."
Lowe's gives weak forecast
The slumping housing market is weighing on home-improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW, news, msgs).
This
morning, Lowe's said its first-quarter profit fell 18% to $607 million,
or 41 cents per share, from $739 million, or 48 cents per share, in the
same quarter last year. The results topped Wall Street's estimates by a
penny. Lowe's said it expects to earn between $1.45 and $1.55 per share
in the second quarter, well below analysts' consensus of $1.55 per
share.
"The generally poor economic outlook, including
well-known housing pressures, rising food and fuel prices and a more
negative employment picture eroded consumer confidence and impacted
discretionary purchases for the home," Chief Executive Officer Robert
Niblock said in a statement.
Shares of Lowe's lost 2.6% to $24.25
today. Rival Home Depot, which reports first-quarter earnings on
Tuesday, was off 0.8% to $28.87.
Analyst calls boost Amazon, National City
Amazon.com shares jumped after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral."True,
Goldman said, "a long recession could hurt Amazon's stock." But that
could help Amazon as well "by removing offline retail capacity and
pushing consumers to shop online."
National City (NCC, news, msgs)
shares got a boost from Citigroup this morning. Citigroup upgraded the
bank to "buy" from "hold," sending shares up 5.4% to $5.88. Citigroup
also lowered earnings estimates on brokerages Goldman Sachs (GS, news, msgs), Morgan Stanley (MS, news, msgs) and Lehman Bros. (LEH, news, msgs), citing "a tough operating environment," which will weigh on the companies' results.
Goldman shares fell 1.5% to $184.40; Morgan Stanley shares fell 2.1% to $46.20, and Lehman shares fell 2% to $42.79.
What's on tap this week
Lowe's concerns about the housing market could well be confirmed
Friday, when a report on existing-home sales is expected to show a
decline in April. Economists predict the report from the National
Association of Realtors will show a 1.6% drop to an annual rate of 4.85
million. Existing-home sales make up about 85% of the market. A
critical question is the inventory, usually measured in months' supply.
It was 9.9 months in March and has hovered around that number for seven
months. In 2005, there was just a 4.5-month supply.
Rising numbers
of foreclosures are adding to the surplus of unsold homes on the market
-- which, in turn, is weighing on home prices. "A recessionary
environment will arise during this year, triggered by housing
weakness," Michelle Meyer, a Lehman Bros. economist, told Bloomberg
News.
| Mon. | Fri. | Chg. | Month chg. | YTD chg. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treasurys | |||||
| 13-week Treasury bill | 1.805% | 1.800% | 0.005 | 34.70% | -42.52% |
| 5-year Treasury note yield | 3.090% | 3.116% | -0.026 | 1.88% | -10.56% |
| 10-year Treasury note yield | 3.839% | 3.850% | -0.011 | 2.13% | -4.86% |
| 30-year Treasury bond yield | 4.575% | 4.579% | -0.004 | 1.73% | 2.60% |
| Currencies | |||||
| U.S. Dollar Index | 73.175 | 72.960 | 0.215 | 0.63% | -4.59% |
| British pound in dollars | $1.9482 | $1.9585 | -0.0103 | -2.01% | -2.07% |
| Dollar in British pounds | £0.5133 | £0.5106 | 0.0027 | 2.05% | 2.11% |
| Euro in dollars | $1.5513 | $1.5603 | -0.0090 | -0.68% | 6.14% |
| Dollar in euros | € 0.6446 | € 0.6409 | 0.0037 | 0.69% | -5.79% |
| Dollar in yen | ¥104.61 | ¥103.95 | 0.66 | 0.65% | -6.47% |
| Canadian dollar in U.S. dollars | $1.009 | $1.001 | $0.0081 | 1.52% | 1.62% |
| U.S. dollar in Canadian dollars | $0.992 | $0.999 | -$0.0073 | -1.43% | -1.60% |
| Commodities | |||||
| Gold | $905.80 | $882.10 | $5.90 | 4.70% | 8.09% |
| Copper | $3.7755 | $3.8265 | -$0.05 | -3.30% | 24.15% |
| Silver | $17.0280 | $16.9600 | $0.07 | 2.62% | 14.13% |
| Corn | $5.8675 | $5.9100 | -$0.04 | -2.25% | 28.81% |
| Crude oil (NYMEX) (per barrel) | $127.05 | $126.29 | $0.76 | 11.98% | 32.37% |
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joyce
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Friday, May 16, 2008
wedding ceremony music
Here is a recommended program order that we have found to be most successful.
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~nkung/recordings.html <--- sample songs here
This program is equally applicable for Trio and Quartet:
Prelude:
Handel - Aria
Campra - Rigaudon
Brahms - Theme from First Symphony
Mozart - March from "Marriage of Figaro"
Mouret - Rondeau
Brandenburg - Concerto #3
Seating of the Families:
Bach - Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Vivaldi - Largo from Winter
Entrance of Bridesmaids:
Pachebel - Canon in D
Bach - Sheep May Safely Graze
Entrance of Bride: ( you may make a selection )
Wagner - Wedding March
Clarke - Trumpet Voluntary
Purcell - Trumpet Tune
Unity Candle:
Mozart - Alleluia from "Exsultate, Jubilate"
Recessional: ( you may make a selection )
Handel - Hornpipe
Mendelssohn - Wedding March
Handel - La Rejouissance
Postlude:
Handel - Entrance of the Queen of Sheba
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Collateral Foreclosure Damage for Condo Owners
May 15, 2008
Barbara Sanz has never missed a mortgage payment, but the plunge in real estate is punishing condominium owners like her anyway.
Four years ago, she bought her first condo in a glassy new Miami tower when the building was filling up. Now nearly one in six residents in the 43-story building is battling foreclosure and their contributions to the building association are shrinking. Each of the remaining owners has had to chip in an extra $1,000 assessment and $50 more a month for cable and Internet. That is on top of Ms. Sanz’s $450 monthly maintenance fee.
Even though she pays more, her building has broken washers and dryers and unusable exercise equipment, and her hallway is spotted with mold.
“It’s not fair,” said Ms. Sanz, a 32-year-old event planner. “The first two years, I enjoyed all of the benefits of living in a condo. I’m disappointed now. I hate the way the building looks.”
When people buy condos, they expect their monthly fees will cover many of the responsibilities that they would otherwise have as owners of single-family homes, like cutting the grass and paying the water bills. Now many find themselves nagging each other in the hallways to pay their assessments and adding special fees while haggling over chores. In Miami, Chicago and San Diego, condo owners are adjusting to the economic woes, sometimes by mowing themselves and working shifts for building security — all while lamenting their lost community.
“What motivated people to go into the condo market in a way that led to overbuilding was the expectation that it would be easier than owning a home on a maintenance basis,” said Sam Chandan, chief economist at the real estate research firm Reis. “The downside is that your fate is tied to 50 or 100 other people who may stop making their condo payments.”
Many of the numbers compiled on home sales specifically exclude condos, which account for one out of eight homes in the nation, and that missing data may be masking just how weak the housing market really is. Sales of existing condo units were down 26 percent in March from a year earlier, compared with an 18 percent decline for single-family homes, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The pain in the condo market, mostly in urban areas, may not only be deeper than in the rest of the housing market during this downturn but more prolonged. Bargain hunters say they are reluctant to buy into a building even when the upfront cost seems low because they might have to pay unexpected fees as distressed neighbors default on their mortgages or just stop paying the association fees that cover everything from taxes to pool maintenance to air-conditioning repair.
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, which is based in Encino, Calif., estimates that nearly 202,000 condo units will be added this year to the pool of 574,000 added nationally in the last five years. Next year will bring 94,166 more units onto the market.
“We have not even approached the bottom and will not approach the bottom until 2009,” said Hessam Nadji, managing director of research services at Marcus & Millichap.
The shabby condition of some condos means potential buyers insist on especially steep discounts on foreclosed units. Alessandro Comoglio, a 34-year-old investor from Italy, recently visited six apartments in Ms. Sanz’s Miami building with a real estate broker. Mr. Comoglio was surprised to find worn-out hallway carpeting and orange foreclosure stickers partly scratched off the doors in such a new building.
His willingness to spend stopped short of $200,000 for the condo units, which once sold as high as $700,000, according to the broker, Peter Zalewski. Mr. Comoglio also wants a written guarantee that he would not have to pay more fees.
“Nobody knows if the worst is yet to come,” he said. “Nobody knows how much prices will continue to drop.”
Rosa Rodriguez, a resident and property manager at Parkview Point Condos in Miami Beach, says her former neighbors have left her with so many problems that she would never buy a condo again. The 38 foreclosures in her 244-unit building and the unpaid dues nearly cost the residents running water because the building could not pay its bills. The building abruptly stopped repairing its ceiling lobby and left its wiring and ducts exposed when the board ran out of money. She avoids answering questions from visitors about ceiling repairs.
“We’re not going to tell them we don’t have any money,” she said. “That’s embarrassing.”
Buildings with few units can suffer even if it just one owner falls into trouble. Doris Wilson, who owns a one-bedroom apartment in a building in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, struggled to get a lender to pay $2,500 in association fees after it foreclosed on one of the seven units in her building. The bank eventually paid the money, and the association has since been able to paint its wrought-iron fence and clean the sewer system.
Still, Ms. Wilson worries that the expected sale of the foreclosed unit at about $94,000 will hurt neighbors who paid or refinanced their units for three times that price. In the short term, she dislikes asking her neighbors to pay an extra assessment of nearly $220. She dreads going to monthly condo board meetings, and she avoids some neighbors who are struggling to pay the additional fees.
“It’s personal,” she said. “Here they are going through a hard time and you have to ask them to pay.”
Marki Lemons, a Chicago real estate broker, says that investors are hesitant to buy properties with many foreclosures because of the possible problems. Some buildings with four to eight units have had so many foreclosures that their condo associations have disbanded and windows have been boarded up. In these cases, she does not even want to represent sellers, because buyers cannot get financing and will have to pay all cash. Sellers will be disappointed by those buyers’ offers. “They’ll probably give 20 cents on the dollar,” she said.
So far, the Manhattan market has been largely spared, in part because of foreign owners who never sought a quick profit. By the end of the year, about 15,000 units will have been added during the five-year condo boom in Manhattan, according to Miller Samuel, a real estate research firm.
Jonathan Miller, the company’s chief executive, said that foreigners, who have bought up to a third of these new condos, typically put in more cash and plan to hold for some time.
“They’re in it for the long-term equity play,” he said. “They’re looking for a 10-year hold.”
Those who fear a downturn remember that Manhattan co-op prices suffered so much during the housing downturn of 1989 to 1993 that buildings had a hard time luring buyers. This financial instability hurt New Yorkers at all economic levels. Some recall neighbors handing over their Fifth Avenue apartments for $1 because they could not afford the maintenance fees.
Condo owners across the country are trying to ride out the slowdown. Since 2004, when Mark Mills bought his two-bedroom apartment for $622,000 in the 210-unit GasLamp City Square condo in downtown San Diego, 10 of his neighbors have succumbed to foreclosure. The building now has a $115,000 shortfall in its budget because residents failed to pay their condo dues.
He resents neighbors who have rented units they cannot sell to 20-somethings, who leave beer bottles in the lobby and hold late-night parties. He is tired of the constant beeping of a smoke alarm in a vacant unit, indicating a battery needs to be replaced. Still, Mr. Mills is staying because he expects he could get only about $550,000 for his home.
“We couldn’t sell it for what we bought it for,” he said. “I’m in it for the long haul.”
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