I think most people are wondering at this point what is going on. It seems that our economy and business as we know it continues to crumble. Major banks and investment firms have faded into history. Now, the wolf is at the door and we are all left to wonder if it will hold.

    Many people will and have lost their jobs, many others have lost their retirement. Will punishing companies that are struggling help or taking back wall street bonuses put the $100s of billions of dollars we have lost back in to the market ? The easy answer, no.

    The really enemy here , the thing we should be most angry with is with our regulators and commitees that were created and paid to provide oversight. The problem is everyone had their hand in the cookie jar, and when times were good, it was one big cookie jar! Like any good snack it taste good at the time but soon you are hungary again.

    In this instance the cookies were mortgages that increasingly were given to people who did not have the means to repay such obligations. And not only did they not have the means but they were also given bad loans with outrageous rate resets. Money was also given freely to speculators, more often then not people with very little experience , who were looking to ride the gravy train.

   Lets fast-forward to the presence though because what is done is done, we just need to fight for tighter regulation going forward. Otherwise , as they say, ” history is doomed to repeat itself.”  A brief summary to provide some scope of our current situation; Bear Stearn’s is gone, Lehman Brothers is bankrupt, Washington Mutual is gone, Merrill Lynch will probably merge with Bank of America, Indy Mac is gone, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac our in conservatorship, the government has more or less bought AIG, and Citibank has written off billions of dollars in assets.

   Now I hear people talk and I think many have this perception that in the past couple years this has happened. I think George Bush has let us down just as much as the next guy, but these companies have been operating dangerously for years in order for them to have so much of their companies worth tied up in assets that have no collateral. Greed , and the constant lack of the SEC to ensure that common shareholders are protected from poorly run companies. Especially those capable of halting the entire U.S. economy.

   What’s the good news you are wondering. It is a great time to investment. Their are some such as General Electric and Bank of America that have hit some real lows. Also, Research in Motion got hammered with a downgrade last week that as a technology person is completely unjustified. It is like their is a file sale in the stock market and the people with long-term vision will profit handsomely. *PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT WITHOUT YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE AND OR SEEKING PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.

   On that note, I believe it will get worse before it gets better. I believe paying off debt is now more important than ever. I do think the bailout plan will pass and regardless of who gets elected our taxes will go up. Between the bailout plan, the war and the overall lack of financial control in Washington, there is no other way for this nation to continue operating unless we generate more cash. With that please see my poll below and cast your vote.  -Matt

[poll id="3"]

     As if on queue oil is already up $2 before the market open. This time I guess it is some thing going on in Nigeria.  As they say , if it is too good to be be true it probably is. So oil is heading back up which is no surprise to me. Like I said the hedge funds and market movers likely sold it off so they could move the price down to move it back up. As such i would not do your happy dance yet.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil climbed back above $130 a barrel Friday in Asia as news of an output cut in Nigeria helped to halt the steady decline in prices that began three days ago.

Eni SpA said Thursday that it had shut down pipelines carrying 47,000 barrels of oil a day after a “sudden drop of pressure.”

A Nigerian military official said an explosion had damaged an Eni pipeline in the country’s oil-rich south early Thursday, although he didn’t know how severely.

“I can confirm that there was an explosion, but we don’t yet know if the pipeline was vandalized or if it was an accident,” Col. Chris Musa, the head of the Bayelsa State military, told The Associated Press.

Eni said in a statement that the causes of the incident were unknown but that it had already call in units to start repairs.

“A lot of the threat to Nigerian production has already been priced in, but that explosion may create some interest,” said Mark Pervan, a senior commodities strategist with ANZ Bank in Melbourne.

Nigeria’s major militant group - the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta - denied any involvement in the blast. Armed gangs, some with political motives, regularly attack oil installations in Nigeria’s southern river delta region.

Attacks on the region’s oil industry infrastructure in the past two years have slashed oil output by almost a quarter in Nigeria, Africa’s top crude producer. The instability has helped push worldwide crude prices to historic highs.
Money.Cnn.Com - Click for Complete Story

   I said in a post in June, Oil and gas prices increase and no relief in sight, that oil would continue its rise and we would continue to feel the pressure as consumers. Now this happens and it make me look like a liar … or does it ? In the article one analyst states that just because oil has dropped from its high of $147 to $130, does not mean all our fears have been cured and we can get back to partying like rock stars. In fact towards the end of the article the author mentions that the AAA report average still holds at $4.114. And I second this as know of the gas stations have lowered their prices either.

    What does this mean ? I think part is as mentioned int the article the market movers our taken some of the huge gain they got in the run-up of oil futures and buying stocks that have been crushed. For instance , Bank of America ( BAC ) , was up $3.83 at closing.  Not surprising considering it still trades for $5.00 below book value. I think the other side of this is the price has to come down so they can move it up again.
Finance.Yahoo.Com - Click for Complete Story

   So my strategy remains, pay off debt, and buy good stocks at a discount. Race you to a million.

-= Matt

    Funny thing human nature, we have this little quirk called denial. You may ask what does that have to do with the price of oil and gas. Its easy, we are in denial about the price and trend of these two commodities. They are going up and will continue to do so. STOP telling yourself they can not keep raising, the price has to come down, its not. Make your life easier and start planning for higher vehicle and home heating prices NOW!. Plan for higher food and electric prices NOW! I do not care who is in office, the ship has sailed. We are on a trend of increasing prices that is not going to ease any time soon.

    I am not trying to bring doom and gloom, I am only trying to give those who think its going to get better at any moment a little slap back to reality. The sooner you see what is happening , the sooner you can turn it to your advantage. So what can you do to weather the storm:

1  - Save some cash for a rainy day. Nothing new here but you have to do it. A penny , dime , quarter at a time, but SAVE.
2 - Don’t give up your treats, but cut back; if you usually get a large coffee , get a medium.
3 - Check your elections at work, make sure you are not giving more to the Fed than you require.
4 - Pay down credit, this is my crutch right now, and I am sure I am not alone. Your fastest return and way of freeing cash-flow will come from paying down debt.
5 - Be positive, be healthy, the better state of mind you are in the more productive you will be.

    Hope this helps. The sky is not falling, the world is not coming to an end, we are still a great nation, and things will come around, its just going to take more time than I think most are willing to admit. So dig in, and I will catch you on the flip side.

AP
Yahoo seeks Google’s aid after Microsoft talks die
Friday June 13, 2:54 am ET
By Michael Liedtke, AP Business Writer 
Yahoo hoping Google’s superior technology will make shareholders forget Microsoft’s bid

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo Inc. became Microsoft Corp.’s takeover prey largely because Google Inc. established such a commanding lead in the Internet’s lucrative search advertising market.
But after eluding Microsoft’s grasp, Yahoo is now turning to Google to help squelch a rebellion among its shareholders who believe it should have accepted Microsoft’s $47.5 billion buyout offer while it was still available last month.
 
Yahoo announced its decision to let Google handle some of its advertising sales late Thursday, just a few hours after revealing it unsuccessfully tried to persuade Microsoft to renew its previous offer of $33 per share. The snub caused Yahoo to conclude that there is no hope for any kind of deal with Microsoft.

Although Yahoo believes Google could help boost its annual revenue by $800 million, the advertising partnership wasn’t enough to ease the disappointment of investors who had been holding out hope for a Microsoft deal.

Yahoo shares plunged $2.63, or 10.1 percent, to finish Thursday at $23.52 and shed another seven cents after the market closed.

Finance.Yahoo.Com - Click for Complete Story

    So Yahoo has flubbed any hope of turning the company around. I don’t own any Yahoo stock but for Jerry Yang to not sell to Microsoft because its Microsoft seems childish. And the market seems to share this settlement as Yahoo’s stock dropped another 2 points. The issue with Yahoo is that none of their businesses our unique and they compete with companies that are bigger and stronger. I don’t care what happens to them either way, but I will continue to watch for sport.