Archive View (October 2008)

How important is it to you that people be polite at work? A professor of psychology at West Chester University in Pennsylvania conducted a study all about rudeness in the workplace. Jennifer Bunk found that about 75 percent of workers say they’re treated rudely at least once a year. That can mean anything from being ignored by the boss or hearing snide remarks from coworkers. So, you say, rudeness in the office just makes for an unpleasant work environment. But, according to this study, it also harms productivity. This professor goes so far as to say that the “silent treatment” and other more...

I’ve talked about financial education before, but another concern for this country is political literacy. I was astounded when I read an article recently about a survey that asked U.S. citizens three questions dealing with political knowledge. In their survey of adult Americans, only 18 percent of those questioned answered all three questions correctly. That’s not a huge number. I was thinking to myself that those questions must have been of a very complex nature to have received such a low score of correct answers. I was wrong. They were simple, and here’s what they were:  What is the controlling party of the more...

While the press has made the economic downturn and the credit-default swap debacle a top story, don’t let it stop you from living your life and making your dreams come true.  Bad news sells better than good news and I am not here to sell anything. Listen up to what I am about to say...the real estate market is not dead.  That being said, there has been a major correction to many of our nations markets but that is just the way that cycles work.  The question becomes:  Do you want to take advantage of the buying opportunities or sit on the more...

Before last month, you probably had to be in the trenches of the financial sector to have known anything about credit-default swaps.  That’s why it comes as a huge surprise to find out that there’s been a 55 trillion dollar dirty, little secret on Wall Street.  It’s almost unfathomable that these types of hedging practices could have brought down some of the largest and oldest financial institutions in our nation’s history... and most of us didn’t even know they existed.   A CDS contract involves the transfer of the credit risk of municipal bonds, mortgage backed securities, or other corporate debt between more...

Because of all the excitement and interest surrounding this year’s presidential primaries, voter registration figures are way up. Numbers are up for women, young people, and nearly every ethnic group. They’re up in rural and urban areas, in the North and in the South. Record-breaking turnouts are expected at the polls on November 4. The boards of elections all over the country are recruiting and hiring plenty of extra workers to handle the expected long lines as people show up to cast their votes. Even before the final presidential contenders were decided, nearly one in 65 adult Americans signed up to vote in more...

Thomas Barrack Jr. is a friend of mine who happens to be a brilliant guy. We’ve partnered on ventures and he’s the CEO of Colony Capital. He’s been following the financial crisis and occasionally sends me his thoughts about what is going on. He makes such good sense that I’d like to quote a few paragraphs from what he sent me a few days ago: Why Can’t Anybody Find the Bottom? It all boils down to trust! The mantra of the country is “In God We Trust--but not counterparties.” No buyer trusts any seller, banker, insurer or intermediary. No investor trusts any depository, more...

On a recent interview on CNBC, I was asked a few questions about the current situation with the banks and the market. Here are the questions (summarized) and my answers: Q: What do you think about the economy after we get through this credit mess. A: The economy is really driven by oil, and every time something good happens, oil goes up. Oil is the thing that killed the economies of many nations in the first place. OPEC is probably sitting down right now to raise the hell out of oil, and it’s going to take all of the good out of the more...

I’ve had my fill of naysayers and critics. To me it’s a negative approach that doesn’t serve any purpose. Here’s a quote by Theodore Roosevelt that I keep handy because it’s so right on: It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena: whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again... who knows the great enthusiasms, the more...

Back in August of 1993, Michael LaMonica had no idea that he would develop into the successful real estate investor that he is today. That was the year he took his job as a service provider for one of the largest trucking companies in the world. The hard work was alright with him, and he needed a secure income. But as he navigated his truck through what he calls the “rat race” streets around New Jersey making his deliveries, Michael started to dream about something much bigger - real success, control over his own life, a business of his own and more...

People who are around me will often comment that I ask a lot of questions--all the time. One reason is that I want to know as much as I can about everything, Another reason is sometimes I need to know how much or how little someone else knows. But mostly it’s because I’m curious. A few years ago I received a letter from my kindergarten teacher. I can remember her, and she obviously remembered me. She told me in her letter that I asked more questions than any student she’d ever had in her entire career as a teacher, which spanned several decades more...

On the day before the Rosh Hashanah holiday each year for the past eighteen years, I receive a message from a Rabbi in Los Angeles. I am not Jewish but have many observant Jews who work for me, so I am well aware of the holiday schedule and that Rosh Hashanah is their New Year, a time for celebration. I find his message of thanks to be especially resonant because he and his wife lost their son years ago, yet they call to remind themselves (and me) of the many blessings they’ve had in life. The reason the Rabbi calls me every more...

Just yesterday I was reading about George Clooney, who apparently doesn’t want to say ‘yes’ to a return appearance on “ER”--the show that made him famous. “ER” was one of the most successful of television series, with a big fan base as well as critical acclaim. From there, Clooney went on to great success in films, and has shown himself to be a remarkable and diversified talent. The gist of the article seemed to be that George Clooney isn’t grateful--to either the show that launched him or his former boss, or to his loyal fans. I can understand that any action--or non-action--can more...

With today’s economy, unfortunately more and more people are finding themselves without jobs. Different people, of course, handle the situation in different ways. Some jump headfirst back into the job hunt, polishing their resumes and interviewing skills. Others take some time off to regroup and maybe consider a career change. But there’s a newer, growing trend. Some people are turning toward plastic surgery. Apparently, a lot of people figure that they need an edge in order to appeal to prospective employers so they go under the knife or at least settle for some Botox. They think that no matter how experienced or more...