http://pfblogs.org/ Delivering all the personal finance blogs you can handle -- and then some. contact@pfblogs.org en-us Copyright 2008 2008-05-15T00:03:02-05:00 http://pfblogs.org/ Learning to say NO to ourselves is one of the most beneficial habits we can develop. I call it a habit because it is truly is. People who never tell themselves NO have a difficult time doing it. On the other hand, people who regularly tell themselves NO find that although it may not be easy, it becomes less difficult the more you do it. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101457 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101457 Christian Personal Finance 2008-05-15T00:03:02-05:00 Make a payment a few days late on a HELOC today and the bank may term it out without your approval. You may have a very high credit score, never been late on a payment or pay above the minimum every month and still the bank may pull the HELOC. We are in [...] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101454 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101454 Matrix 2008-05-15T00:01:57-05:00 Today's stable inflationary figures coupled with Congress' suspension on buying oil for the Strategic Oil Reserve caused a large bump in the stock market. During this time, I sold off half of my Dow call options, making about $300. Unfortunately, I'm still in the hole for other options that I have bought.During the afternoon, the market began to dip, as finicky traders began to take advantage of the large uptick to make some quick profits. By day's end, the upward movement had been halved. Believing that this downward pressure was purely speculatively based, I bought in near the end of the day on both the Dow and Nasdaq ETFs, hoping for another quick pop tomorrow.I will update this post with the spreadsheet of my trading activities when the data becomes available. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101456 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101456 Money and Sense 2008-05-14T23:56:56-05:00 In the beginning of April my husband and I contemplated cutting the cord on our satellite TV. We rarely watch television, so it seemed silly to pay over $80 each month to Direct TV. Through a number of wonderful reader suggestions we've decided to use a combination of Netflix and iTunes to watch our favorite shows for a fraction of the price. We're also planning on purchasing an Apple TV.We're not quite ready to make these changes just yet. For one, we need to purchase a TV that is compatible with the Apple TV, our current TV is not. While we set aside money for the new purchase I called Direct TV to ask for a discount. They appeased me with a minor monthly discount plus free HBO for six months.In the last few weeks I've watched a whole bunch of movies. Since we'll only have access for a limited time I'm also tivo'ing the movies I don't have time to watch and queueing them up for future viewing. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101455 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101455 One Frugal Girl 2008-05-14T23:42:00-05:00 CNN/Money takes a look at six gas-saving myths. One that stuck out to me is number 5: To A/C or not A/C. Although it may be possible to save money by not running the AC, it is a miserable ride and driving with your windows down will ruin your headliner. I know [...] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101452 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101452 AllFinancialMatters 2008-05-14T23:37:55-05:00 Wow, it feels weird posting since I haven't in almost two weeks. On Monday May 5th we welcomed our baby girl into the world, and we couldn't adore her more. She is so beautiful, and so tiny, she is a little miracle.As far as our finances go, as you can imagine I haven't looked at or touched them in almost two weeks. Who knows where we are, and I know I need to find the time to get up to date but things have been a little busy around here, and I haven't been getting much sleep with late night feedings so I am tired. I hope to get into some kind of new routine soon, but we will see how that goes. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101445 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101445 My Money Story 2008-05-14T23:35:31-05:00 The preliminary financial statements for the March 2008 quarter issued by integrated oil and gas behemoth ConocoPhillips (COP) included scads of performance data but no Balance Sheet. When we analyzed these initial results, we assumed that the Balance Sheet did not change between 31 December 2007 and 31 March 2008. An updated Balance Sheet, and much other useful information, became available about a week later when Conoco submitted a formal 10-Q report to the SEC.We have updated our analysis to incorporate the latest data. The GCFR gauge scores did not change from the initial analysis, with the exception of one round-off anomaly, as can be seen below: Cash Management: 10 of 25 (unchanged) Growth: 14 of 25 (unchanged) Profitability: 10 of 25 (unchanged) Value: 1 of 25 (unchanged) Overall: 27 of 100 (down from 28) The data in the 10-Q didn't change our examination of Conoco's first-quarter Income Statement, which was included here.The updated Balance Sheet did change the values for some of the Cash ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101444 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101444 Gauging Corporate Financial Results 2008-05-14T23:31:00-05:00 Academics say their "sentiment indexes do, to a large extent, capture a prevailing greed versus fear." ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101443 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101443 All About Alpha 2008-05-14T23:26:22-05:00 Back when I was interning as a bank teller (Is that the “This one time at band camp…” line of this blog?), my co-worker Patsy used to go through the Walgreens ads methodically and then show us all the things she bought for “free” after mail-in rebates. At the time, I thought this was [...] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101451 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101451 Finance Gets Personal 2008-05-14T23:26:13-05:00 Today was Day 29 of my 29-Day Giving Challenge. I'm ending this challenge the same way I started it off: by passing on some clothes Tyler's outgrown to a colleague who's expecting a baby boy.I was going to share some thoughts about the challenge, but instead of writing, I spent most of the day thinking about my friend J. For a while, we kept in touch in spurts - we'd talk several times during the same week, and then not talk for months. A few years ago, she moved several hundred miles away and we've pretty much kept in touch via sporadic email exchanges and Christmas cards. Today I found out that her husband was killed in an accident yesterday. It's really hit me hard because they have two boys, just like us. The youngest is just two months older than Alex, so J. and I were pregnant at the same time. The oldest is about three years older than them. And I get teary every time I think of them having to grow up without their dad.Unfortunately, I only met J.'s husband once. So I can't do what I really wish I could do, which is write down some ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101453 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101453 Chief Family Officer 2008-05-14T23:24:00-05:00 All of the above charts are telling me one thing - leave yourself open to some more selling. There was a clear failure at the test of the down sloping 200 DMA on the NAZ. The early move up was on tepid volume and the afternoon sell-off was on increasing volume into the close. The result was a bearish shooting star. The little curving pattern forming on the McClellan Oscillator is also interesting. We'll follow-up in a few days to see how it pans out. Leadership for this afternoon's sell off was courtesy of large cap tech names we know and love - AAPL, RIMM, BIDU, GOOG...The HANS daily chart below is setting up a nice bear flag after a wide, high volume flag pole. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101449 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101449 Trading Goddess Stock Blog 2008-05-14T23:22:00-05:00 Just checked our credit reports on Annual Credit Report website. Fortunately, we have nothing to worry about.For those of you not familiar with the website, it allows you to obtain your credit reports from all three credit bureaus once a year at no charge. You'll have to pay to obtain your credit score, though.Checking your credit reports at least once a year is very important, so don't forget to take advantage of this great opportunity. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101447 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101447 Toxic Money 2008-05-14T23:19:00-05:00 A House panel Wednesday backed a 3.9 percent pay raise for all military personnel next year, mirroring Senate plans to give troops a bigger boost than Pentagon officials had requested.Members of the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee included the money in their draft of the new defense authorization bill, which sets spending and policy priorities for the military in fiscal 2009.Defense officials had requested a 3.4 percent increase, equal to the index's inflation estimate. But earlier this month Senate lawmakers backed the 3.9 percent figure, indicating that both chambers will likely adopt the higher raise when they negotiate compromise legislation later this year.The House panel also announced plans to eliminate co-pays for preventive care procedures such as cancer screenings and cholesterol tests in an effort to encourage more Tricare patients to seek medical advice before serious problems occur. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101442 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101442 Active Duty Military Money and Matters 2008-05-14T23:15:16-05:00 Results for the 2 Months Ended May 15, 2008Debt/Asset ratio dropped to 0.51% (very close to having 2x more assets than liabilities)Net Worth moved up 11.3% ($15,523) to -- $152,482Total Assets increased 4.7%Total Liabilities decreased 1.0%House Value/Total Assets dropped to 69.7%Non-Registered Portfolio grew 30.1%Results for the Year Ended May 15, 2008 Debt/Asset ratio fell from 0.60% to 0.51%Net Worth moved up 39.6% ($43,226) from $109,256 to $152,482Total Assets increased 12.5% Total Liabilities decreased 5.4% House Value / Total Assets dropped from 76.5% to 69.7%Non-Registered Portfolio grew 107.9% over the yearResults for Two Years Ended May 15, 2008Net Worth moved up 190.7% ($100,022)Debt/Asset moved from 0.77% to 0.51%In two years we grew our net worth by an average value of $4,168 per month. We also went from have $0.77 cents of debt for every $1.00 in assets, to presently having $0.51 cents in debt for every $1.00 in assets.--Wow, what a great bi-monthly report! A combination of several factors allowed us to rebound in a big way from the March, 2008 update. These include an employment income bonus, tax return, and stock market gains.For the year, I am very happy with the results as we grew our net worth by $43,226, ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101448 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101448 The Moneygardener 2008-05-14T23:13:05-05:00 Stanley, Inc. (SXE)Complete Story » ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101439 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101439 Seeking Alpha 2008-05-14T23:02:07-05:00 As My Small Cents is going through some transitions and growing pains at the moment I thought I would make a list of my blogging mistakes. After all, it's not until you're really aware of your mistakes that you can begin to fix them... right?What does this post have to do with personal finance? Well I started this blog to help me meet my goals, and I want My Small Cents to be the best it can be. So, in no particular order, here are ten of the biggest blogging mistakes I've made. I'm sure there are more to come...Getting distracted. For example, right now! I sat down to write this post, then followed one link to another, to another to another and ending up writing an email. Not the best way to work productively. When I have limited time I end up getting even more distracted.Posting too often. Sometimes I think that posting every day is good, for fresh content, but other times I think it's not great as it leads to burnout. I'm going to try to shoot for five times a week, and not kick myself when I don't make it.Comparing myself to others. Lynnae, from Being ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101437 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101437 Small Cents 2008-05-14T23:00:01-05:00 Sony Corporation (SNE) Q4 FY08 Earnings CallComplete Story » ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101440 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101440 Seeking Alpha 2008-05-14T22:55:11-05:00 If you bought into SOLF here, I'd be looking to take profits ... just about now. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101450 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101450 Trading Goddess Stock Blog 2008-05-14T22:53:00-05:00 Here's a great article on managed-care organizations (MCOs) and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) "As MCOs, WellPoint and UnitedHealth connect millions of customers with hundreds of thousands of health-care providers. As with the PBMs, size is the key determinant of bargaining power. Customers want access to a broad network of providers, and providers want access to all of those patients. If you ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101436 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101436 RetireRichBlog.com 2008-05-14T22:48:07-05:00 Image via WikipediaRisk is inherent when dealing with money and today that risk is a bit higher than in quieter times. Don’t let yourself be complacent - plowing your money into a low-interest bank account may be “lower risk,” but there is still risk. What if your money is only making 3% in [...] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101435 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101435 Deep Market 2008-05-14T22:45:55-05:00 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101434 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101434 No Credit Needed Network 2008-05-14T22:39:13-05:00 Here's a frugal tip, make your own aftershave. I will have to give this a try.http://www.ehow.com/how_2285808_own-aftershave.htmlThings You’ll Need:1/2 cup rubbing alcohol1/4 cup witch hazel1/2 cup distilled water3 drops oil of benzoin1 tbsp olive oil1/2 cup dried herbs and/or a few drops of essential oils of choiceStep1 Combine all the ingredients in a GLASS jar.Step2 Store jar in a cool, dark place, remembering to give it a good shake a couple times a day, for 2-3 weeks.Step3 Strain to remove all the solids from your new aftershave.Step4 Pour aftershave into a glass container of choice.Step5 Keep refrigerated. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101438 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101438 Engineer a Debt Free Life 2008-05-14T22:31:00-05:00 I entered college not really knowing what to do with regards to how to manage tuition and school finances. I had the idea that every student didn't have the ability to pay their own tuition in its entirety and that they would always need grants, scholarships and school loans.Now that my financial sense has been upgraded, I regret not taking all the subsidized Stafford loans to the maximum amount possible. My first and second years, I borrowed just enough to pay off tuition, including grants and scholarships. This school year, my sister also entered college so I received much more financial aid and thus, didn't need to take any loans.Subsidized Stafford loans require repayments half a year after graduation with an interest rate of less than 5%. I checked my college financial aid account and realized that I could have borrowed more than $5000 per year. Even if I didn't need it for tuition, I regret not taking it so I can put it in my HSBC direct online savings account.It is much better than taking advantage of 0% Balance transfer credit cards since I do not have to pay every month and I could hold the money for more ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101432 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101432 Realm of Prosperity 2008-05-14T22:30:36-05:00 Mr. Icahn’s interest comes less than two weeks after Microsoft withdrew a $47.5 billion offer for Yahoo after being rebuffed. The deadline for board nominations is Thursday.Mr. Icahn has told associates that he bought as many as 50 million shares of Yahoo — worth more than $1 billion — in anticipation of pressing for seats on its board. He has also inquired at Microsoft, through various friends, ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101430 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101430 RetireRichBlog.com 2008-05-14T22:24:05-05:00 MCGC Capital Corporation (MCGC), a Business Development Company (BDC) provides debt financing to small as well as mid-capitalization companies. They are required to invest at least 70% of their total assets in private or thinly traded public companies. The company has elected to be treated as a Regulated Investment Company (RIC) as of January 2002 and is thus exempted from paying corporate taxes [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101431 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101431 One Family's Blog 2008-05-14T22:19:00-05:00 Though I whined about snowflakes yesterday I have to say I'm happy with the snowflakes headed to my bank. Tomorrow is the halfway mark for the month and I'm up to $381.38!Technically the figure is $409.05, but I decided to take the money I spent eating out for lunch while babysitting out of the snowflakes. I may be babysitting for that family again later this month and I will definitely be bringing enough food to tide me over to avoid eating out.The snowflakes are a mix of passive and active income. I've seen passive income defined as income outside of your regular job. I define it as the things I don't have to put time or thought into. In the case of my snowflakes it's interest from the snowflake account and returns from Lending Club. For me active income are the things that require work/effort for the reward. In this column it's babysitting, mystery shopping, surveys, etc.I don't have enough planned to double that before the end of the month but I'm going to try to hit the $500 mark. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101424 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101424 Paying Off My Future 2008-05-14T22:14:04-05:00 All of the above charts are telling me one thing - leave yourself open to some more selling. There was a clear failure at the test of the down sloping 200 DMA on the NAZ. The early move up was on tepid volume and the afternoon sell-off was on increasing volume into the close. The result was a bearish shooting star. The little curving pattern forming on the McClellan Oscillator is also interesting. We'll follow-up in a few days to see how it pans out. Leadership for this afternoon's sell off was courtesy of large cap tech names we know and love - AAPL, RIMM, BIDU, GOOG...The HANS daily chart below is setting up a nice bear flag after a wide, high volume flag pole.Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: NSYS +22.9%; SINA +8.8%; NEON +8.4%; A +4.5%; SSRX +4.1%; TSTC +3.9%; PRGN +2.2%... Companies trading down in reaction to earnings: SSTR -34.2%; PRCP -20.0%; CTRP -10.0%; SNS -8.1%; OESX -6.5; STV -6.0%; GPIC -5.0%; BRCD -3.5%; DNN -3.0%; SLRY -2.7%; ASYS -2.2%... Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: SDTH +2.8% (announces proposed offering of ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101441 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101441 Wall St. Warrior 2008-05-14T22:12:00-05:00 We didn’t have a will. While we don’t have many assets to speak of at the moment, if something horrible should happen to us, the courts would decide where our son would be placed. He could even end up in foster care for a while until the courts make a decision. That [...] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101429 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101429 Blogging Away Debt 2008-05-14T22:02:24-05:00 A few years ago, anyone that mentiond investing in Columbia would likely draw laughs or skepticism, especially from the general populous, but for those looking for the next frontier of BRIC-type growth opportunities, Columbia is at the top of the list. Under Uribe, the country has started to emerge from the veil of kidnappings and corruption to recognition that Columbia is a real player in the world economy.The case for Columbia:Free Trade Agreement:Currently, there is much consternation and debate over the proposed Free Trade Agreement with Columbia. As usual with our disingenuous politicians, this is much ado about nothing and it comes down to pandering and politicking. Some little-known facts are that the U.S. has actually been engaged in free trade with Columbia for several years, but on a one-way basis only. As an incentive to allow Columbia to prosper by trading with the US, the expectation was that this opportunity would allow Columbia to fight the drug cartels, and this effort seems to have been successful, given recent results. Since the 1990's and without interruption, a can of coffee or a banana sold into the U.S. from Columbia has entered duty-free with no tariffs, while a tractor or bottle ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101446 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101446 Everyday Finance 2008-05-14T21:59:00-05:00 Can you really double your salary without having to work more? What a premise! I’ve never met anyone who didn’t want to get paid more for the job they were doing. I’ve heard it described time and again that the best job out there, is one that offers you the most money for [...] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101420 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101420 The Digerati Life 2008-05-14T21:54:03-05:00 I have to admit, I was pretty shocked when I logged in online to check my checking account statement. It said my account was overdrawn, and I had four overdraft charges totaling nearly $110. Huh? I had just transferred $500 from savings to checking the day before. This had to be a mistake. Besides, I told myself, I have overdraft protection on my checking account.So, I drove to the bank (I prefer to handle matters like this face-to-face, not on the phone) and approached the teller. I explained the situation. It turns out the $500 transfer had not yet been credited, so indeed the account was overdrawn. "But, I have overdraft protection," I protested. "Yes," I was told, "but that means we will pay the checks for you. You will still incur overdraft charges." I explained that this is not what I was told when I first opened my checking account five years ago, and that I was paying $12 a month for this overdraft protection. I had a "special" account. The teller then told me something that shocked me. "We have overdraft protection on ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101421 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101421 Savvy Frugality 2008-05-14T21:49:08-05:00 Or maybe not. Since my cell phone is my only phone I have been going over my allotted minutes lately. Extra minutes cost 40 cents! I either need to stop answering my phone or get more minutes. I don't want to be completely anti-social so I looked in to upgrading my phone plan with Verizon. Verizon just sent me a coupon for a free month of service if I signed up for another year long contract so I did. Now I am regretting it. My plan is 300 minutes and 3000 night and weekend minutes for $35. Nights start at 8pm. The next best plan is 450 minutes for $40. Sounds good, 150 more minutes for $5. Here's the catch...with the new plan, nights start at 9pm. I have already told people to call after 8pm if they can. I am not going to ask them to call after 9pm. Sometimes I go to bed at 9! So, if the people that I talked to after 8 are now calling during peak hours, I will probably need more than 150 extra minutes. That doesn't save me anything. I will still be going over my minutes. The next plan is 900 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101422 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101422 Frugal Freedom 2008-05-14T21:48:41-05:00 Paidtwice wrote about starting an emergency fund even when you have debts to pay off. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart right now, being new to the whole financially responsible lifestyle.It fills me with pride that I currently have $250.20 ( $0.20 free cents I might add due to interest) in my ING direct account. It will soon swell to over $350 as soon as my bi-monthly $100 clears. I still owe on debt, though. I have been keeping my head in the sand about most of it for quite some time now. The reason is because I was one of the "I can't save any money or pay down my debt because I am always playing catch up." As of April 3rd, 2008 I made a vow to stop using this as an excuse to not have an emergency fund, to not fund my retirement, to not get my company match on my 401K, to not live financially responsible.I know that as of this minute I am not living completely and 100% responsible because I owe people money that I am not paying. But at ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101425 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101425 Basicfinancial 2008-05-14T21:48:31-05:00 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101427 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101427 No Credit Needed Network 2008-05-14T21:44:30-05:00 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101428 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101428 No Credit Needed Network 2008-05-14T21:43:41-05:00 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101414 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101414 No Credit Needed Network 2008-05-14T21:43:04-05:00 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101415 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101415 No Credit Needed Network 2008-05-14T21:42:24-05:00 Here is a conversation my sister and I just had about the different job opportunities she thought I might be good at.  Thanks SIS....you are so helpful!! ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101419 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101419 Save Leigh Ann 2008-05-14T21:42:00-05:00 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101416 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101416 No Credit Needed Network 2008-05-14T21:41:11-05:00 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101417 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101417 No Credit Needed Network 2008-05-14T21:38:55-05:00 Investors keep hoping for a happy ending, but the facts suggest otherwise. The nation's largest mortage lenders don't have nearly enough capital, they are heavily exposed to a housing market that remains in freefall, and they have a mission that... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101411 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101411 Financial Armageddon 2008-05-14T21:37:42-05:00 Updating my Carpet Fund. So far I have had 3 no spend days, so I am adding 30.00 dollars to my carpet fund. Previous Balance 255.00add 30.00 285.00 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101412 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101412 Cents-To-Save 2008-05-14T21:35:00-05:00 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101418 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101418 No Credit Needed Network 2008-05-14T21:34:52-05:00 · Football, tailgates saved: USC signs 25-year lease at Coliseum [IHT] · Burbank High School is now 100 years old [KNBC] · Let's walk. Polar bears now officially endangered [LA Times] · How those foreclosures are affecting condo buyers [NY... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101426 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101426 Curbed Los Angeles 2008-05-14T21:26:50-05:00 Will Rogers was a popular actor, columnist and radio personality who died in a tragic plane crash more than 70 years ago. One of the things he was famous for was his homespun wisdom and pithy but often very insightful... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101408 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101408 Financial Armageddon 2008-05-14T21:23:12-05:00 PALMS: Spend, Palms, spend! rep from Councilman Bill Rosendahl's office wrote the following email to West Side Neighborhood Council Presidents; the email appeared in the Palms Neighborhood newsletter. Question mark not ours; not sure of the status. "Dear Mar... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101410 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101410 Curbed Los Angeles 2008-05-14T21:18:41-05:00 Today's Big percentage gains on Big volume!RCHCAAS FXPTJAVOPKUBETNYNYFSIN CVLT NCOCSPIRCPSLYGEKONGBELMSLRYVMWX ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101407 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101407 Trade 4 Cash 2008-05-14T21:07:03-05:00 The billionaire investor and activist shareholder, Carl Icahn, has decided to move ahead with plans for a proxy fight at Yahoo and will propose a dissident slate of directors, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Mr. Icahn, who has told associates that he has bought as many as 50 million shares of Yahoo, is leaning [...] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101405 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101405 DealBook 2008-05-14T21:06:28-05:00 I happened to pass by a gas station today that had a sign advertising a credit card with a 5% cashback option. While there was probably a catch since I whizzed by the advertisement sign, I was with another person who made a comment on how he felt that credit card rewards with points [...] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101409 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101409 AL6400 Blog 2008-05-14T21:03:01-05:00 It’s been a while since I’ve written an entry. When I don’t write much it means either that something is on my mind, or that I’m very busy. In this case, both of these scenarios were my reality. Word has been going around at my company for the past couple weeks that layoffs were [...] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101399 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1101399 Midlife Beginnings 2008-05-14T21:01:59-05:00