A few days ago I was working in my yard and saw a few green apples on our tree.  I picked one and started eating.  It was sour and tasted awful to me.  But I ate it anyway.

Why?  Because it was MY apple.  It was grown on MY tree.  It was in MY yard.  It was ME who took care of it.  It was watered and pruned by ME. 

I don’t like the green apples from my tree, but I have eaten them anyway…they’re MINE…don’t I have an obligation to eat them? 

Sounds silly doesn’t it?  It is, but how often do we do this with our programs at church?  Or with different things in our lives?  At one point it may have been a great fit.  It may have worked for another leader or group of people.  It may have been relevant for a certain time period.  It may have benefited the ministry or family or yourself at one time, but not any longer.   

But we keep doing whatever it is because, well, we just don’t want to give it up.  There’s too much investement.  Time.  Energy.  Resources.  It’s MINE, doggonit, and I’m going to keep doing it even if it doesn’t work.  Even if it doesn’t do anything for me or anyone else.  Even at the expense of having something better. 

Sometimes we keep eating apples we don’t like.  Silly, isn’t it?  So what’s the answer? 

Stop doing it. 

What apples are you eating that you don’t like?

More and more investment clubs are formed to fund a specific business or project.  

In order to be formed properly and to ensure adequate funding, a detailed business plan is required in each case.    Business plan assistance can be had from multiple sources, but each will require a detailed interview from the principals forming the club.

Before seeking a consultant to write your business plan, you may do well to see how much of it you can assemble yourself.  

Free templates for business plans are available from the Service Corps of Retired Executives, at http://www.score.org/template_gallery.html

Buffett’s 7 Contrarian Principles

1. Do not follow the crowd. Ignore the market, the crowd, and its fashions.
2. Have fixed investment principles.
3. Do not put your eggs in many baskets. Put all your eggs in one basket – and proceed to watch that basket.
4. Do not rely on outside analysis. Do your own research – and do it thoroughly.
5. Do not often act on a hunch. Always have sound, well-argued, well-researched reasons for your investments.
6. Do not place small amounts in each basket. Only buy if you are prepared to put at least 10% of your net worth into the stock.
7. Do not watch the market intently. Do not switch holdings frequently. Expect to hold your investments for ever. Do not avoid holding cash.

Philippines Investment Manila Makati Prime Location Hotel Sale Property Real estate

Manila Makati Prime Location Hotel Sale

Hotel Located Along the Makati Kalayyan Ave.

And Very Near P.Burgos and Rockwell Makati Prime Location.

6 Stroy Building and 1 KTV BAR and small Office Include.

KTV Bar was rent (Monthly 400,000 PHP) and small Office. (Monthly 20,000 PHP)

Hotle has 24 Guset Room (Standard , Delux) and 6th fl now managed Restaruant.

KTV Bar Ground Floor is Stage , Open Guest Seat , Kithcen , Stock Room.

KTV Bar Second Floor is Private Guest Room.

@ Hotel and KTV Bar Need Renovation and Make more Guest Room@

Makati Near P.Burgos has Many Hotel and Condotel.

So it’s Prime location To do Business Hotel & KTV Bar.

We have Sample Computaion Hotel & KTV Bar Yearly

Incoming and Expenses and Gain.

If you want find Safe and Clear Investment Property in Philippines

Contact US.

Hotel Sale Info.

Lot Area : 300 SQM

Floor Area : 1800 SQM ( 6 Story)

Hotel & KTV Bar Guest Room : 34 (per floor 8 guest room)

Include Hotel &KTV BAR Permit

(Now can not make ote & KTV Bar permit)

Sale Pric : 120 M PHP

###Broker Wellcome!!!###

For More Inquire Contact To GoldenBell Properties Inc.

Look For Jimmy Lee

Offiice 632 996 8362

Cell Phone : 63 915 890 7914

E-Mail : wonwoolee612@hotmail.com

http://manilalife.tistory.com/

http://manilacondo.wordpress.com/

My wife invested a tidy sum more than a decade ago in five Chinese companies – and then forgot about it. When going through some paperwork, she rediscovered her investments and learned they had grown five-fold in value by November, 2007.

Our awareness of the investment, however, weighed on us during the calamitous events of 2008 as we watched, month-after-month, the value of the stock slide until we couldn’t take it anymore – in January this year, with the value just 20 percent up from her original investment, we cashed out.

From my previous reporting on behavioral finance, I knew that in the long run the smarter move would be to keep the cash in the market. But an surprise pregnancy and the unplanned expenses (to counter the unplanned joy) made it a straightforward decision for us. At least, we were getting out while we were ahead.

And then I’ve watched the Chinese stock market roar back to life, with year-to-date gains on the Shanghai index alone reaching 90 percent in August.

Doh!

What can I say – we’re human. And as humans we have a nagging propensity to sell low and buy high.

According to behavioral economist, our natural “fight or flight” impulses that kept us alive in the jungle often make our investment portfolios dead meat.

A buy and sell of a stock on a single day is a virtual coin toss: investors have a 50.2 percent chance of making money, investment counselor Philippa Huckle once told me. The longer investors hold, however, the chances of profit expand exponentially: there is a 70 percent likelihood of earning a profit holding for 18 months. Hold for five years, odds increase to a 95 percent probability of positive return, she said.

Yet despite this knowledge, our patience for investment is slipping: from 1984 to 2000 the average stock buy was held for two years and seven months; by 2004, the average slid to two years and two months.

According to Dalbar Inc., a financial research company, a $10,000 mutual fund investment in 1985 left to sit without withdrawal would be worth $95,000 in 20 years, despite losses suffered during the 1987 market crash, the 1997-98 Asian currency crisis and the technology implosion of 2000.

One interesting fact from behavioral finance research helps explain why we dropped that forgotten Chinese stock once we became aware of it – loss aversion. Research shows that investors “feel” the loss twice as much as a similar gain: In other words, the experience to lose $1 ,000 twice as intense as the pleasure of a $1000 gain.

Watching the stock drop month-after-month became too much to take, and we – like a lot of other investors – wanted that pain to go away. And it cost us.

Now I’m trying to forget that, too.

SOLO– Badan Pelaksana Kegiatan Usaha Hulu Minyak dan Gas Bumi (BPMIGAS) dan Kontraktor Kontrak Kerja Sama (KKS) ikut serta dalam Central Java Investment Business Forum yang digelar di Hotel Sunan, Solo, Jawa Tengah pada 18-19 November lalu.

Dalam sambutan pembukaan, Gubernur Jawa Tengah, Bibit Waluyo mengatakan, pemerintah Jawa Tengah siap mendukung dan memberikan kenyamanan untuk para investor yang akan berinvestasi di bidang Infrastruktur, agrobisnis, migas, tambang batubara, properti, dan manufaktur. Pihaknya akan memberikan kemudahan dalam proses perijinan mulai dari tingkat provinsi sampai kabupaten.

Terkait pengelolaan industri migas, Bibit berharap BPMIGAS dan kontraktor KKS yang beroperasi di Jawa Tengah dapat memberikan sosialisasi pengelolaan sumur tua.

“Supaya Badan Penanaman Modal Daerah Propinsi Jawa Tengah dapat ikut serta dalam kegiatan industri usaha hulu migas,” kata Bibit.

Dia berharap, forum tersebut membuka peluang bagi kabupaten/kota yang ada di Jateng untuk menjaring investor dan mengembangkan investasi di daerah. Total nilai proyek yang ditawarkan dari 35 kabupaten/kota yang ada di provinsi ini mencapai Rp 10,7 triliun.

(sumber : bpmigas)

(Pekanbaru) BADAN Pelaksana Kegiatan Usaha Hulu Minyak dan Gas Bumi (BPMIGAS) melakukan sosialisasi pengusahaan sumur tua di Hotel Pangeran Pekanbaru, Senin (23/11). Kegiatan dihadiri sekitar 40 peserta yang berasal dari pemerintah daerah, Badan Usaha Milik Daerah (BUMD) dan Koperasi Unit Desa (KUD) dari daerah Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Sumatera Utara, Riau, dan Kepulauan Riau. Kepala Perwakilan BPMIGAS Sumatera Bagian Utara, Muliawan mengatakan, acara dilakukan agar pihak-pihak terkait mempunyai kesamaan interpretasi, persepsi, dan cara pandang terkait pengusahaan sumur tua. “Peraturan Menteri ESDM sudah detail menjelaskan. Tapi kerap kali ada perbedaan karena belum tersosialisasikan dengan baik,” kata dia. Dalam pertemuan tersebut, terungkap masih ada kendala dalam inventarisasi sumur-sumur tua yang dimiliki kontraktor kontrak kerja sama. Di sisi lain, BUMD/KUD masih menunggu daftar sumur-sumur tua untuk ditindaklanjuti. BPMIGAS berharap, kedua belah pihak berperan aktif dan saling memberi masukan. Pasalnya, jika sumur-sumur idle tersebut dimanfaatkan, maka dapat berkontribusi terhadap produksi minyak nasional. “Daerah pun bisa merasakan hasilnya,” kata Muliawan.

(sumber : bp migas)

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 640

The past weak saw a special anniversary celebration, which is in no calendar of national events: 30 years since NGOs started to work in Cambodia. Nowadays, when the participation of NGOs – foreign and national – is assumed as a regular feature of life in society, it is surely not easy to understand the extraordinary nature that foreign NGOs came to Cambodia in 1979. At that time, the majority of UN member states considered the Cambodian government to be illegal. The so called “Western” countries and the People’s Republic of China agreed on the point that the Khmer Rouge representative continued to legally represent Cambodia at the United Nations until 1990. Seeing this agreement between these two world powers normally not much in agreement, many Third World countries went along with this understanding. Only the socialist countries (except China) and India established diplomatic relations with the government in Phnom Penh after the end of the Khmer Rouge regime. And US citizens, working in Cambodia, even if their salaries did not originate from the USA, had to pay “punitive taxes” in the USA.

30 Years NGOs in Cambodia Celebration

Eva Mysliwuec, now the director of Youth Star Cambodia, who had came to Cambodia in May 1980, spoke at the commemoration, on behalf of the NGO Organizing Committee, about the three decades of NGO partnerships with the people and government of Cambodia, saying,

“It is very moving to look around this room and to see so many people who have contributed to the Cambodia in which we live today. How far we have come since 1979!

I remember well my arrival in May 1980, in a country devastated by war and genocide. I remember vividly my first meeting with Samdech HUN Sen who was then Foreign Minister and 28 years old.”

There were only five NGOs, who had dared to break the boycot of their home governments: the American Friends Service Committee, CIDSE, Church World Service, OXFAM, and World Vision – now, as the Prime Minister announced in his speech, there are 3,207 NGOs and associations, that is 1,933 NGOs and 1,274 other associations. Eva Mysliwiec continued:

“The core of NGO work was focused on massive relief, meeting health needs and restoring agricultural production in order to prevent famine. Because of the embargo imposed by the Western Community and with precious few resources, NGOs found themselves in a unique role where they had to provide massive infrastructure assistance as well… NGO work in the eighties spanned virtually every sector of Cambodian society and economy, from the restoration of urban and rural water supply, to the rehabilitation of infrastructure, the provision of basic agriculture, education and health inputs, etc. – the list is endless.”

But in spite of all this emphasis on practical actions, she said:

“In my view, the most valuable role the NGOs played in the eighties was solidarity: bearing
witness to the suffering of Cambodian people, bearing witness to the unearthing of mass graves, bearing witness to the continuing hardship caused by the embargo and isolation and especially bearing witness to the resilience, ingenuity and determination of people to rebuild their country. They created a bridge between Cambodian people and the people in countries whose governments did not recognize Cambodia.”

This history has to be remembered, when nowadays, sometimes the opinion is expressed that NGOs have one role only: “to provide humanitarian assistance” – quite different from the wide variety of activities NGOs are engaged with in other countries of the world.

All the more it was interesting that also the keynote speaker, Ingrid Srinath, Secretary General of CIVICUS (“Promoting a worldwide community of informed, inspired, committed citizens who are actively engaged in confronting the challenges facing humanity” – with member organizations in 110 countries), described the fundamental task of civil society not just in terms of development or humanitarian project implementations, but located their role in the present situation, after the collapse of many schemes based on an free-market system, where human rights an democratic are more under threat than before.

“In Latin America, Africa, Eurasia and Asia authoritarian governments are being permitted to crack down with impunity on civil society and media freedoms through new, draconian legislative and fiscal controls if they control access to energy resources, investment or markets… Funding for defending these rights, for strengthening civil society architecture and for building solidarity across civil society groups is also much harder to come by as donor resources are stretched by increasing domestic needs and by more immediate humanitarian needs…

“The possibilities of mounting a coherent challenge to the economic paradigm of market fundamentalism and the patent inequity of the institutions of global governance have never been greater. For the first time in history peoples from Michigan to Manila, Madrid to Mali, and Mumbai to Moscow can share the realization that the root causes of their individual problems, and hence their interests, are in fact, identical. From slums to forests, fishing communities to assembly-lines, indigenous peoples to suburbia – the people we so often refer to as ‘ordinary’ are increasingly aware of the connectedness of their causes. It’s up to us as civil society to provide the means for them to mobilize in solidarity with each other. We have unprecedented access to the information, networks and technologies that permit us to support their struggles against tyranny and injustice…

“Speaking in Moscow a few months ago, Barack Obama affirmed that ‘meeting these challenges requires a vibrant civil society; the freedom of people to live as they choose, to speak their minds, to organize peacefully and to have a say in how they are governed; a free press to report the truth; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; a government that’s accountable and transparent.’

“We know from experience that active citizenship is the only antidote to this takeover of governance and that investing in the creation, nurturing and protection of civil society rights is the only vaccine. We know, or ought to, that empowering people to defend their own freedoms to exist, engage and express is not only the most sustainable development strategy but the only morally defensible one…

“Despite, or rather because of, our lack of hierarchical command and control structures, our diversity and belief in values-led approaches, civil society is better equipped to grasp, respond to, and evolve collective solutions that require a fundamental shift in world-view than either governments or businesses. And possibly better at displaying the humility required to build the cross-sectoral partnerships without which we cannot possibly resolve these crises…

“Doing so will take more than a business as usual approach from us. It will take each of us as individuals, organizations and alliances setting aside our egos, our brands, our narrow self-interests and our differences to come together in unprecedented levels of collaboration and genuine partnership that focuses on amplifying the voices of those least heard, and of finding common cause across boundaries of nationality, geography and thematic interest.

“If we can aspire to that ideal, we may, just may, address the stupendous challenges before us and even realize the goals you have all dedicated your lives to, whether you approach that goal through the lens of volunteerism or human rights, faith or secularism, charity or human rights – the overarching goal of civil society in all its forms – a world based on equity and justice.”

Such a challenge to reflect, to consider a clear fundamental orientation for the day-to-day work of civil society is important. And it is equally important that civil society communicates clearly to the other sectors of society its claims and commitments. It is important to see what the suggested orientation is: “to struggle against tyranny and injustice, and for equality.”

The address of the Prime Minister dealt, according to reports, a lot with the planned NGO Law. There is some apprehension among the NGO community, because a current draft is not available for public discussion in the community.

Some examples given, why an NGO Law is important – like to prevent terrorist acts planned under the cover of NGOs – were widely not seen as convincing: the intended terrorist attack against the British Embassy had been stopped in time, and the Indonesian terrorist Hambali was arrested – both without an NGO law.

The following reported concern of the Prime Minister is surprising. There are detailed and elaborate forms from the Council for the Development of Cambodia – CDC – where NGOs have to describe source of funding and work plans – on the national level and in the provinces – which serve exactly this purpose since many years ago, though the Prime Minister said now:

“The Royal Government wants to know where NGOs get the money from and how they use it for what. ‘Just this they do not want to tell.’”

Here are obviously some misunderstandings about administrative processes involved. In addition, most donors, providing financial resources to NGO, have requirements for professional auditing, and the results are not secret. Compared to the recent calls by the Prime Minister to curb multiple remuneration payments to government advisers, combined with the repeated calls by the Prime Minister to economize gasoline usage by a better control on the use of public vehicles, allows the assumption that the handling of finance in the NGO world is comparatively well organized and transparent.

What is important, therefore, is the clear statement of the Prime Minister, that the NGO Law will not interfere with the normal activities of NGO: “I guarantee that it is not an action to restrict the freedom of NGOs, please believe me.” Should lower level authorities try to act differently, civil society can appeal to this public promise of the Prime Minister.

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Please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

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I’ll be twenty five in matter of months and I feel so adult. It’s kinda scary, though.

Well… It is!

Apparently that I have so many things to achieve and suddenly I already twenty five. Eww… I remember I called one woman with “Tante” once I knew she was 25. And now I am becoming that woman. Eeewww!!! I will never ever announce my real age anymore to anyone alive after this time. Seriously. I have changed my birth year on FB, yea really, go and check. I wont be surprised if next year you are questioning about how old I am.

Ha ha ha. Actually no, being twenty five is not that scary at all. Well, maybe a bit.

The hardest part for being adult is people’s expectation on me. I hope no one minds if I put it this way: See, if I am an investment, my parents have invested their large amount of capital and now I am about to mature then expected to give them back the capital invested plus the investment rate, of course! (My Mum would cry if she reads this).

Anyway…

I’m just being honest!

Love, peace and gaul!
!!Lets not forget I still want Wii. Or Xbox is also fine!!

Greater Greenville South Carolina Real Estate Residential Market Conditions, Homes Sold, Listings and Homes for Sale – November 22nd – November 28th 2009

For the week of November 22nd to November 28th 2009, there were 80 homes that closed escrow in the Greater Greenville SC real estate market. High list price for these sold homes (including Condos and Townhouses) was $1,210,000, Low list price was $16,000, Average list price was $154,386, Median list price was $135,450, and total list price volume was $12,350,881.

High sold price for these 80 sold residential homes was $1,075,000, Low sold price was $8,200, Average sold price was $146,425, Median sold price was $131,450, and total sold price volume was $11,714,051. High Days on Market (DOM) was 616 days, Low DOM was 0 days, Average DOM was 82 days, and Median DOM was 57 days.

There were 28 residential homes that went under Pending or Contingency Contract status in the Greater Greenville area during this period. High list price for these homes was $499,900, Low list price was $18,900, Average list price was $158,882, Median list price was $125,300, and total volume was $4,448,700. High DOM for these Pending and Contingency contract homes was 432 days, Low DOM was 6 days, Average DOM was 97 days, and Median DOM was 57 days.

133 homes were newly listed in Greater Greenville during this period. High list price price for these homes for sale was $1,800,000, Low list price was $19,900, Average list price was $207,151, Median list price was $155,000, and total new listings volume was $27,551,208. 

Statistics used in this post was gathered from the Greater Greenville Association of Realtors inc. Multiple Listing System. These statistics may not include sales like new construction or For Sale by Owners that were brokered by member firms. Greater Greenville includes Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Easley, Fountain Inn, Mauldin, Taylors, Travelers Rest, Piedmont, Landrum, Marietta, pelzer, some parts of Spartanburg County, Anderson County, Pickens County, Laurens County, and Oconee County.

Remember: The $8,000 first-time Home Buyer Tax Credit has been extended to April 30th, and has also been expanded to include a $6,500 tax credit for move-up buyers who have occupied their home for at least five years.

Please Contact Victor Amadi at 864-525-0201 for more detail on the $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit, and for all your Greater Greenville Real Estate needs.

Greenville County SC Real Estate and Homes for Sale

Greenville County SC Entry Level Homes for Sale {under $150k}	Greenville County SC Median Homes for Sale {$150k~$300k}	FREE Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation
Greenville County Upscale Homes for Sale {$300k~$600k}	Greenville County SC Luxury Homes for Sale {$600k~$1m}	Greenville County SC Million Dollar Homes for Sale {over $1million}
Greenville County Lots & Land for Sale	Greenville County Condos & Townhouses for Sale	START NEW SEARCH

Greater Greenville County SC MLS Real Estate – Homes for Sale in the Greenville Area of South Carolina. Here you have access to the following market segments: Greater Greenville Entry Level Homes, Greater Greenville Median Homes, Greater Greenville Upscale Homes, Greater Greenville Luxury Homes, Greater Greenville Million Dollar Homes, and Greater Greenville Lots, Homesites and Land for Sale in Greenville County SC. Surrounding towns and communities include: Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Easley, Fountain Inn, Mauldin, Taylors, Travelers Rest, Piedmont, Landrum and Marietta South Carolina. Also includes Greenville County, Spartanburg County, Anderson County, Pickens County, Laurens County, and Oconee County real estate and homes for sale. Call Victor Amadi at (864)525-0201. EXIT Upstate Realty! 

Weblink: - Greater Greenville South Carolina Real Estate Residential Market Conditions, Homes Sold, Listings and Homes for Sale – November 22nd – November 28th 2009

Just Kidding…………But I am sure it has crossed his Mind…………..

I can’t believe we are going to have 4 more years of this Asshole.

This guy’s going to be King for 12 Fucking Years. That is Preposterous. But hey, that’s what $$100 Million Dollars can Buy you in The Big Apple!!!!  His Bloomberg Businesses will increase in Value just by the virtue of  bloomberg being King for another 4 Years. His Businesses increased in value from 6 or so Billion Dollars 8 years ago, to $16 Billion Dollars recently. That fact is directly Correlated to  being the King of NYC. That is the foremost reason he spent $$100 Million Dollars on the Campaign.  That was just an Investment, as he will gain it back 100’s of times over.

Think about it. During the previous campaign, the Schmuck spent $$85 million Dollars and $$74 Million Dollars on the campaign  before that one. That is a total of $$159 Million Dollars. His businesses increased in Value from $$6 Billion Dollars to $$16 Billion Dollars. For an Investment of $$160 Million Dollars, the Schmuck gained $$10 Billion Dollars. Do the Math. Bloomberg may be a SCHMUCK, BUT he’s NOT a Stupid Schmuck!!

His latest Investment of over $$100 Million Dollars will no doubt Yield him a Return of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS over the Course of the Next 4 Years. 

• Buy WPZ below $27 on 11/30/2009
• Buy JNJ below $62 on 11/30/2009

D05 Semi-D,  Private Lift, Full Seaview & Kentridge Park View, Asking $2.9x Mil Onwards.

D15 - Bungalow, with 11m Ground Pool, Asking $3.9x Mil

– Corner Terrace, with Garden, Asking $2.4x Mil

D11  SOLEIL @ SINARAN at Novena – High Floor, 2+1, 1098 sqft, Asking $15xx PSF                                                          

D11  VIVA @ Suffolk Walk – 3+1, 1528 sqft, Asking $17xx PSF                                                                                                            

D15  ONE AMBER @ Amber Gardens – 2  Bdrm, 958 sqft, Blk 9, Asking $11xx PSF                                                          

昨天在圖書館見到陸東本書, 反正唔使錢於是借回來看看, 當中有不少觀點和理念的確不錯. 如大陸的土地儲備並非資產而是負累, 在下跌週期政府有好多名目收費, 內房股更加要貨如輪轉, 快的起好, 快的賣出. 加上中國是社會主義國家, 衣食住行是必需品, 不能任意讓房價上升. 反而香港資源少一定要緊靠地產, 不能讓它死亡, 太多人靠佢搵食了.

計算估值時, 要用P/E, P/B和股息率一起用, P/B是一個長期比較穩定的參考, 一般靠近3倍時, 代表股市非常貴. 而股息接近於2.5%, 股市就非常危險了. 另外比較股市的盈利和資金成本, 若資金成本比股市盈利低, 則代表股市便宜. 難點是準確地掌握到股市的盈利是多少.

而樓市除了看租金之外, 最重要的是重置成本, 如果重置成本高於樓價, 樓市肯定會見底回升.