Fortune Watch

The recipe for a successful business meal seems deceptively easy. “Let’s meet for lunch,” you tell a client or associate. You get together. You talk business. A business lunch is never about lunch, it’s about business.

The self-made rich don’t get there by accident. They weren’t broke up until one day when they went to their mailbox they found that someone had left them a check for a few million dollars. The self-made rich got rich because of what they know, how they think, what they do and how they do it.

Do you think that if you knew what they know thought like they thought, and did the things that they do, in the same way that they do them, that you too may become rich? I think that you would find that indeed you would become rich by following that formula.

But why take them to lunch (or dinner)? The self-made rich have learned that their time is very valuable. You may be able to buy some of their consulting time but it won’t come cheap.

But even the rich have to eat sometime. Also, when that rich person is having lunch he is probably more relaxed and open to conversation.

What do you think a self-made rich person likes to talk about? You will probably find that his two favorite topics of conversation are himself and the things that he is doing to make money. The self-made rich get that way by following their passion and learning how to leverage that passion so that it provides them with a large amount of money.

Okay. Why should you pay for lunch? After all, that rich person can afford to pay much more easily than you can.

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The euro climbed to a record high of US$1.5070 in midmorning European trading on Wednesday as sentiment increased that the U.S. Federal Reserve would continue its rate cut campaign.

Oil prices rose to a new intraday high near $102 a barrel Wednesday as a slide in the U.S. dollar prompted investors to pump more money into energy futures as a hedge against inflation.

Along with the rise in the British pound, which is nearing US$2 again, the surging euro will not be kind to Americans visiting Europe — they’ll have to pay more for hotel rooms in , entrance fees at the Louvre and chocolates in Belgium.

On the other hand, the stronger Euro makes shopping trips to the more appealing to Europeans.

The Euro’s strength is not likely to weaken anytime soon, given that any “worsening in interest-rate differentials dilutes a key support for the dollar.”

Weaker growth prospects in the United States, coupled with its deficit will “exert a significant downward influence” in the long term and cause some countries to shift more of their reserves from dollars to other currencies, including the Euro.

But, at the same time, the European Central Bank, which has left its own rates unchanged since last summer, is expected to keep them at 4 percent when it meets next week.

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To be a good investor it requires financial intelligence that you should constantly improve. You have to start reading a lot of books and magazines, the great idea can come without even knowing. Inform yourself from local, national, even from global news. Any information you get from TV or newspaper, you need to learn something from it, keep your mind open. That’s how you start to become a good investor.

Successful investing requires three components, money, time and discipline, the chances are that you have the first two and have to work on the discipline part.

Investors who analyze the company can better judge the value of the stock and profit from buying and selling it. Your greatest asset in stock investing is knowledge (and a little common sense). To succeed in the world of stock investing, keep in mind these key success factors:

– Analyze yourself. What do you want to accomplish with your stock investing? What are your investment goals?

– Know where to get information. The decisions you make about your money and what stocks to invest in require quality information.

– Understand why you want to invest in stocks. Are you seeking appreciation (capital gains) or income (dividends)?

– Do some research. Look at the company whose stock you’re considering to see whether it’s a profitable company worthy of your investment dollars.

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When people discuss retiring or having a sea change or chasing their passion, the different reactions usually involve money: “I’d love to do it but I don’t have enough money.”

You reach retirement age and don’t have enough to retire on, you’ll be left with two options, either to delay your retirement or reduce your standard of living in retirement. Which one would you choose?

It always helps to know what you are aiming at and wealth creation is no different. I will assume that you want to build wealth in order to be able to retire and still live well. How much money will you really need?

I was attending a wealth building conference and one of the other speakers, a financial planner, made a statement that when you retire you only need about 50% of you pre-retirement income. I was amazed at this statement and I asked him back stage how he came to that conclusion. He told me that all retired people do is sit around and watch television all day.

My response to him was that this was a description of what broke people do (namely his clients). Retired people who have successfully built a decent wealth portfolio are living the time of their life! What are you aiming at? The lifestyle of the television watching clients of our financial planning friend or the time of your life lifestyle that comes with wealth?

How much will you need for a good lifestyle in retirement?

The short answer is that, if you want to maintain the lifestyle that you are accustomed to then you will need a monthly income equal to your monthly income one month before you retired. Anything less and there is something that you will have to give up.

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College costs increase at about twice the inflation rate. Current increases have averaged 5% to 8%.

It is no secret that college tuition and expenses have been on a steady rise for many years. This has many families worried that they will not be able to afford to send their kids to college. Many even shy away from encouraging their children to dream of a college education. Trade skills are almost being forced on the younger generation. The daunting and staggering college costs are changing the way that we raise our kids.

Imagine if you were told not to dream. What if you told your parents that you wanted to be a doctor and they just had to turn you down? What does this do to the self esteem of a young child? Many families, college educated or not, struggle to keep up with housing costs and the cost of living in general. Saving for college simply is not in the cards for a lot more families than many would like to believe. What does this mean for the future of our country?

We are trending towards generation after generation of minimum wage and poverty level workers. What happens then? They can not afford college for their children and so the cycle continues. If you have been worried about affording college for your children, then there are some things that you should realize.

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An education loan is a form of financial aid that must be repaid, with interest. Student loans also provide a variety of deferment options and extended repayment terms.

Student and graduate loans are becoming more popular as student debt continues to rise and students seek alternative ways of dealing with it. The good news is that student or graduate loans are generally available without the need to show steady income or offer security. This is extremely helpful, as most students will not have either of these.

Student and graduate loans also come at relatively good interest rates, particularly having regard to the fact that they are completely unsecured. The thing to be wary of is that such loans may lock the student into a long-term relationship with the lender that may not be the most advantageous one.

Graduate loans on the other hand, are far more expensive than student loans. These loans are generally offered on graduation, when student loans are no longer available, to cover the costs of transition from student life to working life. This may include finding a new place to live, buying work clothes etc.

Graduate loans will also be used to pay off student overdrafts, which are offered to all students as standard features of their bank accounts. The point to remember is that while graduate loans are relatively cheap when compared to personal loans, they are far more expensive than student loans.

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Offshore investment is the keeping of money in a jurisdiction other than one’s country of residence. Offshore jurisdictions are a commonly accepted solution to reducing excessive tax burdens levied in most countries to both large and small scale investors alike.

Selected offshore domiciles are superficially viewed by some as havens used by to conceal or protect illegally acquired money from law enforcement in the investor’s country. Although this may be the case, legitimate investors also take advantage of higher rates of return or lower rates of tax on that return offered by operating via such domiciles. The advantage to this is that such operations are both legal and less costly than the solutions offered in the investor’s country – or “onshore”

Another reason why ‘offshore’ investment is superior to ‘onshore’ investment is because it is less regulated, and the behavior of the offshore investment provider, whether he is a banker, fund manager, trustee or stock-broker, is freer than it could be in a more regulated environment.

Offshore investing refers to a wide range of investment strategies that capitalize on advantages offered outside of an investor’s home country.

The most important advantage in offshore investing is that you can make a lot of money without paying almost any taxes. If the investor lives in a place where he pays taxes like most countries then he will only pay taxes on his dividend or interest made.

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There was this lady Hillybilly
Told Obama you look silly,
With your policies so dumb,
Just like your black bum,
And your small black willy.

All Obama could do was have a big laugh and say “How silly can you get Hilly?”

“We won north, we won south and we won in between,” Obama told a roaring crowd, referring to his victories over Washington and Nebraska. “The Democratic Party must stand for change, not change as a slogan, change we can believe in.”

To deafening cheers Obama, 46, hammered home to party activists that he was the candidate of change, as he laid claim to the Democratic Party’s nomination and down the track the presidency.

Tomorrow’s contests have been dubbed the Potomac Primary, Obama, bidding to be the first black president, is expected to do well in tomorrow’s vote due to the large African-American population in the region.

Hillary Clinton was seen as the inevitable Democratic nominee. She has run a strong campaign, and been an impressive candidate, but much has changed in a short time. Instead of finding a clear path to the White House, has run into the rather extraordinary movement set in motion by Barack Obama.

In reflecting on all of this, I am reminded of a haunting line in one of Bob Dylan’s more memorable songs from the 1960s (Ballad of a Thin Man) It was written in the midst of the upheavals of that period, as the civil rights and anti-war movements and the just-dawning cultural revolution were converging into a social movement.

What is clear now, months later, is that the threads of Obama’s appeal and inspiration, woven together, spring from a powerful philosophy of change that has resonated across generational lines.

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In a bid to remain independent, Yahoo plans to reject Microsoft Corp.’s unsolicited takeover offer, according to reports on the Wall Street Journal’s web site.

Quoting sources familiar with the situation, the Journal reports that Yahoo’s board feels the offer of $31 per share “massively undervalues” the company. A letter spelling out the position is expected to be sent Monday. Yahoo also expressed concern that Microsoft’s offer does not account for risks to Yahoo should the deal be overturned by regulators.

The Journal source said the company would be unwilling to consider an offer below $40 per share, which would represent a $12 billion increase over Microsoft’s original $44.6 billion bid. It is unclear if Microsoft would be willing to increase its bid by such a significant amount.

The two companies have been in discussions about an alliance or merger for more than a year. Yahoo has long hoped to remain independent, believing it can reverse its fortunes and lift its flagging stock price.

In the summer of 2007, investors believed it was possible as well. Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang replaced Terry Semel as CEO and announced he would unveil a new strategic plan for the company within 100 days.

“There will be no sacred cows and we need to move quickly,” he said. But, after the 100 days – and then some – passed, investor patience wore thin, driving the stock lower.

In late January, the slumping Internet pioneer reported a fifth-consecutive quarter of lower profits and warned of “headwinds” for 2008. Yahoo’s battered stock fell to a four-year low, below the $20 per share level, and Microsoft pounced.

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