Most people wants to go to the United States of America. This is usually the dream of the most people in Asian country. They always looked up the American’s way of living. Asian always updated in American’s politics, products, jobs, movies, fashion sense, etc. Americans are a big influence in their lives. The connotation of being Americanize got a good impression with a tag of being elite or higher rank in soceity. There are countries struggling to learn the English language well. They believe that big companies hires applicants that speaks English.It gives them a good impression and it’s now the language of the corporate world. Clothing style plays also a major part. American designer or brands are being patronize. America is a country that is being idolized by most countries.

Apple has been riding a wave of success like nothing they have seen before, ever since they brought iPods to consumers. The computer company had reportedly made more than $3.1 billion over the last four years and stocks have been incredibly high because of it.

Now in what could be the next Enron, Apple has admitted that their is evidence to prove that their stocks were grossly mishandled and that’s it financial accuracy dating back to 2002 might well be false.

Apple shares fell $3.26, or 4.7 percent, to $66.33 and might continue to fall as Apple looks into their own finances to get a hold of things.

Biodiesel, a wave of recycling for the future, a new fuel that’s starting to get popular, that is based on recycling or using vegetable or food oil for fuel. Many at-home-labs and conversion projects will go and pick up used vegetable oil from fast food places like Mc Donalds for free, take it home, filter it, and process it for their biodiesel engines. The result? a consumable cost of 25-50 cents/gallon, and an engine that can get upwards plus of 75 miles to the gallon. Sound fabulous? it is conceptually, but its alot of work to clean the oil at home. Biodiesel pumps however are being installed in many states and available at the pump. A bit cheaper than petrol, you still get the maximizing effect of miles to the gallon. How to convert your engine over to biodiesel? There are kits as cheap as $200. However, you have to already have a diesel engine to start the conversion. An amazing new investment strategy? Invest in biodiesel companies to maximize your profit … there’s growth there too, more miles for your dollars, in many more ways than one. Just google “biodiesel” and you’ll be amazed by this new technology. If I already had diesel engines in my car and RV, you can bet I’d already be converted. Just wish there was a way to convert my regular engine over. :: sigh :: someday.

SeekingAlpha.com is a great stock market and personal finance site.

They have an entire section devoted to charts and data by market sector.

They also have a recent Apple conference call transcript posted. An excerpt:

The quarter’s revenue of $4.36 billion was the second highest in Apple’s history, topped only by our record December quarter results, and grew 34% year over year. These results were driven by continued strong growth in our music business and solid performance in our Mac business during the transition to Intel.

Operating margin for the quarter was 12.1%, and net income was $410 million, or $0.47 per diluted share on a GAAP basis.

Excluding the impact of $42 million in non-cash, stock based compensation expense, operating margin was 13.1%, net income was $440 million, and diluted earnings per share were $0.50.

The quarter’s non-GAAP operating margin was the second-best ever for Apple and demonstrates the leverage in our business model.

This is interesting. You’d think Apple makes most of its money these days from iPod and iTunes related sales.

Nope, Mac volume is still a huge earner for them:

I’d like to first talk about our Mac business, which represented 50% of our total quarterly revenue, an increase 7% year over year. Mac units were up 4% year over year to 1.11 million, and ending channel inventory was within our target range of 4 to five weeks.

Read more here.

Technorati Tags: apple, charts, stock, investing

According to Yahoo News, “Nordic telecommunication giants Nokia and Ericsson will need to grow by acquisition to counter the long-term impact of a planned merger of Alcatel and Lucent on their business.”

French company Alcatel and US company Lucent are merging to become a giant company worth about $25 billion, which will make them the 2nd biggest telecom in the world (behind US-based Cisco).

Some analysts are suggesting that Nokia should now think about merging with German company Siemens. Similarly, Ericsson should consider increasing its fixed-line business so that it can stay competitive.

For now, according to Optically Networked, Alcatel and Lucent are focusing on “the massive job of synchronizing operations on both sides of the Atlantic” and deciding which side will “bear the brunt of the layoffs, which are expected to be about 10 percent of the combined workforce of about 88,000.”

Are you a fan of long-term investing?

If so, Morningstar is suggesting you take a look at stocks in the media sector.

Media stocks have performed poorly over the past few years, but don’t let that deter you:

We suspect that future returns for media stocks will be much better than those of the recent past … and we’re not just saying this because the past several years have been so bad.

In fact, 40% of the 60 media stocks Morningstar covers have ratings of either 4 stars or 5 stars, and the media sector overall includes more undervalued stocks than any of the other 12 sectors Morningstar analyzes.

Where should you start? How about Washington Post Co., one of Morningstar’s favorites. And don’t forget The New York Times Co. and The Wall Street Journal. Finally, remember to take a look at local options: firms — like Journal Register, McClatchy and Lee Enterprises — that “own scores of small, community-based newspapers … are much less vulnerable to changes in technology.”

AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger is reporting that “inflation, after spiking at the start of the year, slowed sharply in February, reflecting large declines in fuel prices and the cost of clothing.”

In February, energy prices fell by 1.2 percent. Pump prices dropped 1 percent, home heating oil was down 2.8 percent and natural gas prices fell 4.5 percent, the biggest one-month drop in 4 1/2 years.

Food prices moderated, rising just 0.2 percent. A big increase in fruit prices was offset by declines in the prices of vegetables, dairy and poultry products.

[…]

Outside of food and energy, clothing costs posted a 1 percent decline last month, the biggest one-month drop in nearly five years. However, the price of airline tickets jumped 1.2 percent and medical costs were up 0.5 percent.

Denver Airport
Denver Colorado
http://www.flydenver.com/
Out on the east side of Denver, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by Toll roads with the exception of I-70, this airport is easy to access with very little congestion. They have alternative parking spots with shuttle for $5/night. Easy drop off, Easy check in to the airport, and a massive foodcourt. Unfortunately the wireless internet is not free - you have to be a cingular wireless subscriber, though T-mobile roam service is available for $5/24 hours. Shuttle trains to the concourse and a bit of artsy decoration and building structures. 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

Will the appointment of Ben Bernanke to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve mean a continued deficit-running economy, but lower inflation?

That’s what seems to be the consensus on WallStreet following the announcement.

Financial Times: Bernanke likely to be tough on inflation, relaxed on deficit

MarketWatch: Getting a read on Bernanke

CNN Money: Bernanke hearing may come next month.

CNN Money reports:

The Senate Banking Committee could hold a hearing on Ben Bernanke’s nomination to be chairman of the Federal Reserve as early as Nov. 14, a senior Democratic aide said Wednesday.

WaPo: Bernanke’s Learning Curve

It’s clear Bernanke has some rather large shoes to fill. Greenspan left an impressive record that will be tough to match, especially without another dot-com Bubble or similar bull run that the US economy saw in the ’90s.

If only, there was a way for investors and corporations to understand what motivates people to buy and sell stocks. If only, the brain could signal when certain stocks like Enron or Tyco were not the viable stocks they were touted to be. With the advancements in neurology, scientists may discover what motivates buying, selling and holding behavior.

A novel science is exploring the link between the brain and personal financial behavior. The new field is referred to as neuro- economics. It seeks to demystify the biology underlying economic behavior. Across the nation, research trials and universities are probing cerebral cortexes for the connection between the brain and investing decisions.

Researchers are trying to learn how the neural networks impact buying behavior. From buying to selling, the study is evaluating the way humans splurge and save. The studies are evaluating how the financial mind works. Scientists are working to demystify how neural circuits formulate the decision process. “We have started looking for pieces of economic theory in the brain,” states New York University neuroscientist Paul Glimcher.