Daily Intent

This past week in Santa Barbara was extremely heavy.

A subtle, single stream of smoke, drawing contrast to the beautiful green ridges behind, soon transformed into a powerfully disconnected fire.  Dual fronts on Easterly and Westerly flanks and close proximities to thousands of homes left our town overwhelmed.  Low thundering helicopters, fear, and night heat waves led us all restless into the final half of the work week.

As the fire progressed, emergency evacuations were ordered.  Cars were packed tight, the most important of personal items creating the base for all other “it would be nice to have” items.

We found refuge on friends floors, couches, blow-up air-mattresses.  For eight hours each day preoccupation replaced efficient occupation.  Helplessness was pervasive as we handed over our homes and towns safety to our fearless firefighters.

We could do nothing but magnetize ourselves to television updates.  81 homes damaged or destroyed.   Over 8000 acres burned.

At the moment, safety concerns are abating.  Families are moving back to their homes.

We now all prepare to take one step closer to our fellow Santa Barbaran.  We begin the rebuilding of our city.  We will support those that have lost their homes.  We will reopen our stores of business to provide resources.  We will take the necessary precautions so such doesn’t happen again.  We take action.

My personal thanks goes out to Scott DeVore.  Five days he had to put up with me.

And a hug and helping hand goes out to Tek and Tommy.  We’ll up you rebuild. 
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SAVE THE DATES:
Catalyst - Invest in Yourself.  Invest in Your Community.  Tuesday, May 19th. 6pm.  Stateside.  Peter Mathies shares his knowledge about how to build a company with a “Wow factor.”  Of interest to entrepreneurs.  www.catalystsb.org

First Time Homebuyer Seminar.  Wednesday, May 20th.   6pm. Santa Barbara College of Law.  I’ll be teaming up with Goodwin and Thyne Real Estate Professionals and First American rep, Judy Ratrray to bring you a comprehensive look at buying a home for the first time.

Dealing with Emotionally Charged Situations / People. Monday, June 1st.  6pm.  My office.  Sean Mason will be drawing out the skills necessary to operate appropriately during emotionally charged situations.  Continue bettering your abilities.  Of interest to all.

Buzzword: Ovoboby
“A condition in which a market is considered to be overbought, overly bullish, overvalued and is experiencing upward pressure on Treasury yields. If the market falls into this condition, it is thought to be a warning sign to investors of potential near-term market downturns along with the potential for longer term negatives.

This term was coined by John Hussman, a fund manager and market researcher, to reflect certain market conditions. The market is considered to be overbought when the S&P 500 is at a four-year high and is also trading 5% higher than the levels of the index six months ago. The market is considered to be overly bullish when the bullish sentiment of advisors within the Advisors Sentiment Index, created by Investors Intelligence, is above 53%. The market is considered to be overvalued when the price/peak earnings of the S&P 500 are above 18. The yields in the market are considered to be facing upward pressure when the yield on a three-month Treasury is higher than it was six months earlier.” -Investopedia.com

  Six Points to Ponder:

   1. Jesusita Fire overwhelms the American Riviera.
   2. Markets have two day pull back to end / start the week. The Dow currently at 8463, still better than a week ago.  S&P 500 currently at 914 and the Nasdaq at 1736.  Oil in at $57.
   3. Jobless rate has risen to 8.9%.  $7.73Bn quarterly loss for Toyota.
   4. US Banks need $75Bn according to the Stress Tests.
   5. The Benjamin Franklin founded US Postal Service is considering cutting back their number of delivery days to five as losses mount.
   6. Lebron and Cavs, Billups and Nuggets, keep dominating.  Lakers and Celtics are shaky at best.  Tiger experiences another final day struggle.  Manny Ramirez out for not 1 but 50 games.

Positives:

    * Firefighters.  Both locally and regionally.   Phil Faulding!
    * As we sat helpless for 5 days, we can now take action and help our community.
    * Oil prices are staying low, keeping our gas prices low.
    * Slowing of jobless claims, though the rate is higher, gives hope the bottom is amidst creation.
    * One of the great weddings I’ve been too:  Steve and Chelsey Harding.  Congrats.

Negatives:

    * Good friends losing their homes.
    * Good friends losing their jobs.
    * Banks still have big steps to take in order to get back in line with secure and conservative banking.
    * US mail services getting cut back is a bit bothersome.  They need a facelift.  We’d much rather they make cuts in other forms than via days of delivery.
    * The Lakers are not playing with pride, nor was Manny.

Services: Lose Your Home? Need Loan Info?
 If your loan is/was with Countrywide or Bank of America and you lost your home, please don’t hesitate to call me.  I can track down all the necessary information you will need moving forward.

Local:  Vedanta Discussion Hosted by me and Seth Streeter
Where: University Club
When: Thursday, May 14th.  7:15pm
Cost: $20
Why:  Better your mental health.  Man speaking was recently on PBS about the subject.

Live and Be Well,

Jeff Bochsler