Note to Ducknwork

[mjh345]

They aren't shipping our jobs overseas, just getting out of the market because we can't compete with cheap overseas labor. Something just doesn't seem right about that...

Agreed, something really doesn't seem right about that
Sorry for your bad news, and good luck with a speedy and successful job search

One door closes and another opens regards

[JDogger]

Oddly enough, that job hunt is going to get started a tad sooner than I thought. We had a meeting today and they announced that the plant will be closing down in April.

I guess I'll be dipping into my emergency fund and getting me some of that Obama money while I'm at it!

They told us that they cannot make the product profitable enough to remain open. The Korean companies (LG, Samsung, Kenmore) own 70% of the US market, leaving 30% for the rest of us, including the big guys, like Maytag and Whirlpool. They aren't shipping our jobs overseas, just getting out of the market because we can't compete with cheap overseas labor. Something just doesn't seem right about that...

Good luck duck...and I mean that...JD

[ducknwork]

Good luck duck...and I mean that...JD

Thanks...

and no, you may not come and eat my children.

[depittydawg]

Don't want to lose this in a unrelated thread so will start our own .

This is a thread about investing philosophy. 1st a little background - as I reached the end of my engineering career I looked at things I might like to do to keep the mind active. Politics was out after my unsuccessful run at the State Legislature & a good view of the inner workings of that process. But liking numbers & having a reasonable level of success, a good econ prof in college, led me to financial planning. So I took several courses, did quite well, but was unwilling to accept the fact that I would have to work for someone else for two years, pimping their product, to be in line to get a CFP. So I opted out, do mostly my own research & use that of the Mutual Funds we own for additional ideas.

Of note, the FP classes I took were mostly myself & a bunch of retired Public employees wanting to supplement their income. When test time came I rarely missed a question while these people were scoring in the 70-85 range. What do they call someone who graduated last in their class at medical school "Doctor" & it would be no different in the CFP world. So that's what you could possibly get. I know that I offered to teach a couple of my dog friends how to invest, they felt it too hard so placed their money with a CFP who proceeded to lose 80% of the principal, so they don't play dogs no more .

Investing is not that hard & it's personally rewarding as is training your own dog. Reading, Numbers & a little common sense go a long way. The really neat thing is you never stop learning as the circumstances of the world change regularly & you need to be aware to take advantage of that!

There are tried & true axioms that never change:

1) Where are the customers yachts, hopefully the MOTR'er will get to ride on his broker's someday .

2) Buy when the herd wants to sell, sell when the herd wants to buy.

3) "It's different this time", when that talk reaches a certain level it will be proven wrong .

4) When the news stand boy is giving stock tips, you probably want to lighten up you portfolio.

those are just a few that ring true!!!!!!!!!!

So if folks want to talk about investing we can do that in a generic manner. You young guys better know how cause the government only knows how to run Ponzi schemes & they are not to dependable. We did it for a while on Guthrie's website & hopefully people picked up something.

So I took several courses, did quite well, but was unwilling to accept the fact that I would have to work for someone else for two years, pimping their product, to be in line to get a CFP. So I opted out, do mostly my own research & use that of the Mutual Funds we own for additional ideas.
Of note, the FP classes I took were mostly myself & a bunch of retired Public employees wanting to supplement their income. When test time came I rarely missed a question while these people were scoring in the 70-85 range. What do they call someone who graduated last in their class at medical school "Doctor" & it would be no different in the CFP world. So that's what you could possibly get. I know that I offered to teach a couple of my dog friends how to invest, they felt it too hard so placed their money with a CFP who proceeded to lose 80% of the principal, so they don't play dogs no more .

.[/QUOTE]

Couple of notes on this. A few years ago a hired at a large Investment firm which will go un-named. This firm, as most, hired large numbers of people, put them through a course of preparation for the Series 7, and Series 63 licensing, then turned them loose with sales goals. I scored in the 90% brackets in each exam. Most in my class were, as you say in your experience, in the 70% bracket, 70% being the minimum for licensing. Many failed the exams, which were not easy by any means, several times and had to retake them until they passed.
Now I can say for a fact that those who are successful in this business achieved their success not because of investment savvy, but by putting in many hours and developing excellent sales skills. If you have a broker that is in the 6 figure brackets or higher in income, you can rest assured, he / she is an exceptional sales person.
For myself, I was in it for the stategy of the game. To me a "win" wasn't necessariy landing the most accounts, but making the best return for customers. I loved that part of it. Needless to say I eventually got out of that business, because of the intense sales pressure, and what I viewed as a conflict between the pressure to 'sell' and the desire to focus on investment strategies.
That isn't to say that there are a lot of brokers out there that are good at both. One advantage of using a broker is that he / she is going to be much more objective with YOUR money than you will be. When it's your own hard earned money, its hard to let it ride through the risks. In my case, I achieved higher returns for my clients than I did for myself for this very reason.
So what is the expectation? According to data I have read, the majority of mutual funds, brokers, and professionals in this business under perform to the markets at large. And for that, they extract a pretty good chunck of your money.
Investing is like anything else in life. If you know absolutely nothing about your car, what are the chances you'll get hornswaggled into putting more money into "maintenance" then is necessary? Same thing holds true for investments. You don't need to be an expert. But you need to understand the principles, goals, and expectations. You need to know how to evaluate what your broker tells you. After all, it is YOUR money, and YOUR decision.
My advice is to get more than one opinion. And form your own opinion on your strategy and mix. Then make your decisions. When you get into this stuff, its fun!
good luck.

[depittydawg]

Oddly enough, that job hunt is going to get started a tad sooner than I thought. We had a meeting today and they announced that the plant will be closing down in April.

I guess I'll be dipping into my emergency fund and getting me some of that Obama money while I'm at it!

They told us that they cannot make the product profitable enough to remain open. The Korean companies (LG, Samsung, Kenmore) own 70% of the US market, leaving 30% for the rest of us, including the big guys, like Maytag and Whirlpool. They aren't shipping our jobs overseas, just getting out of the market because we can't compete with cheap overseas labor. Something just doesn't seem right about that...

That really sucks. I've been there before. The problem n the US is that we don't have a manufacturing strategy in our country anymore. For some reason, American policy has dramatically shifted over the last generation from one valuing and guarding our industires, and holding our workers and their contributions in high regard, to simply peddling them to the lowest bidders for the sole benefit of short term profits and return to investers. Go figure.

BTW, most of the capital that has built Korea, China, etc originated in the US. We could go into a lot of details, but that is for another thread. Like I said, I've been there, just about everybody has. Good luck.

[Duck Blind]

Oddly enough, that job hunt is going to get started a tad sooner than I thought. We had a meeting today and they announced that the plant will be closing down in April.

Sorry to hear that...
The great pioneers of the industrial revolution would role over in their grave if they knew what was going on in this country. Some call it "globalization". I call it greed.

You should try to latch on to one of those government jobs that Obama has created for you. You're already paying for it.

Thoughts and prayers are with you my friend...good luck on the hunt.

--Brian

[dnf777]

Good luck Duck. You sound like a resourceful kinda guy, and will figure something out soon.


On a separate and non-personal note, we all got a chuckle out of Rush's mocking of the Chinese. I'll bet everytime an American factory closes and they open one in its place and give a couple thousand jobs to their people....who does the mocking. Makes my blood boil.

But try to pass a law incentivizing corporations to stay WITHIN our borders.....and WHOA NELLIE! (in other words....enact a FAIR trade agreement, not FREE trade)

[Blackstone]

Oddly enough, that job hunt is going to get started a tad sooner than I thought. We had a meeting today and they announced that the plant will be closing down in April.

I guess I'll be dipping into my emergency fund and getting me some of that Obama money while I'm at it!

They told us that they cannot make the product profitable enough to remain open. The Korean companies (LG, Samsung, Kenmore) own 70% of the US market, leaving 30% for the rest of us, including the big guys, like Maytag and Whirlpool. They aren't shipping our jobs overseas, just getting out of the market because we can't compete with cheap overseas labor. Something just doesn't seem right about that...

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I hope your job search goes well, and ends quickly.

[huntinman]

Good luck Duck. You sound like a resourceful kinda guy, and will figure something out soon.


On a separate and non-personal note, we all got a chuckle out of Rush's mocking of the Chinese. I'll bet everytime an American factory closes and they open one in its place and give a couple thousand jobs to their people....who does the mocking. Makes my blood boil.

But try to pass a law incentivizing corporations to stay WITHIN our borders.....and WHOA NELLIE! (in other words....enact a FAIR trade agreement, not FREE trade)

I have a novel idea, how about lower corporate taxes, reduce regulations and in general get the hell out of the way of business? Then maybe the jobs would come back. We don't need more laws. We need Less gov't intervention. Boil away doc.

[dnf777]

I have a novel idea, how about lower corporate taxes, reduce regulations and in general get the hell out of the way of business? Then maybe the jobs would come back. We don't need more laws. We need Less gov't intervention. Boil away doc.

That's what I've been saying. Corporate lobbyists have owned Bush I, Bush II, Clinton, and now Obama in regards to opening up cheap labor markets at the expense of American jobs. (uh, I mean 'NAFTA')

Obama has just proposed sweeping changes to help remove many regulations that he sees detrimental to job growth in America. This is after consulting with business and investment leaders. That's what everybody wants the president to do, right? Listen to industry leaders and work together to foster an environment that will lead to job growth? Let's hear an "attaboy"??

Just kidding. Obama can't wipe his butt in the right direction without getting attacked and criticized by the right!