Daily Intent

Santa Barbara, CA
Over the next few weeks the Market Street Report will begin focusing on the “Best Advice” received.  Might we get a bit of wisdom out of these brief write-ups?  I hope they inspire.  Should you have advice that you’ve received which impacted your life, please don’t hesitate to email me…

“When I was young, maybe 6 or 7 years old, I’d play on the Navy golf course with my pop.  My dad would say, ‘Okay, where do you want to hit the ball?’  I’d pick a spot and say I want to hit it there.  He’d shrug and say, ‘Fine, then figure out how to do it.’

He didn’t position my arm, adjust my feet, or change my thinking.  He just said go ahead and hit the darn ball.

My dad’s advice to me was to simplify.  He knew that at my age I couldn’t digest all of golf’s intricacies.  He kept it simple.  If you want to hit the ball to a particular spot, figure out a way to do it.

Even today, when I’m struggling with my game, I can still hear him say, ‘Pick a spot and just hit it.’  When I’m making adjustments during a round, I know some of the television commentators theorize that I’m changing this or moving that, but really what I’m doing is listening to Pop.”  - Tiger Woods Interviewed by Jessica Shambora, www.CnnMoney.com

Do you know what you are aiming for?  Or are you just stepping up to the ball and swinging at it with the intent to hit it forward in the vicinity of the green?

If you can be bit more focused with your approach, you will begin training your mind.  Zero in.  Spend time figuring out how to get there.  Then step up and make it happen.
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Catalyst - Meeting of the Minds - “Tapping global resources, locally”
Jim Wolfe, Past CEO/President of Balance Bar, shared his great experience Wednesday.  Listed herein are three takeaways.
1. Early on in your company, make sure to bring in someone that has focused experience in the field.  Make sure they are germane to your organization and field.
2. Align yourself with only the best
3. Care for your people and you won’t have difficulty keeping solid talent.
 Visit http://www.catalystsb.org/meetingoftheminds
The next executive will be John Dilts, CEO of Maverick Angel Investors.  Aug. 13th.

Buzzword: Deer Market
“A flat market. Neither a bull or bear market, a deer market is characterized by low activity, with timid investors waiting for a sign of which way the market is going to end up moving.

The term is used to illustrate when investors who are unable or unwilling to move due to uncertainty - like deer who freeze when “caught in the headlights” of a vehicle. ” -Investopedia.com

  Six Points to Ponder:

   1. Mickey Mouse’s ears slump on profits.  Oil slicks profits down 66%.  California home prices are up for the third month in a row.  US GDP down 1.5% on the quarter, much improved from the 5.5% decline last quarter.  Market appears to be finding a bottom.
   2. Markets reach their highest mark of the year - The Dow is trading at 9183, S&P 500 at 988 while the Nasdaq is at 19992.  Oil is level, $68/bbl.
   3. Northwesterners visit their doctors for Vitamin D overload as weather tops 100 degrees.
   4. Microsoft and Yahoo struck a deal to enhance their search capabilities, better compete with ginormous Google and heighten profit potentials.
   5. Japan experiences 6yr high unemployment and near 2% price drops.  Deflation?
   6. The Spaniard, Cantador, won his second consecutive Tour de France.  Live Strong Armstrong took a heroic third.  While baseball players continued to deteriorate their heroic status with steroids.

Positives:

    * Though earnings are quite low, unemployment is quite high, and the economy seems to be facing strong headwinds, the recent earnings reports proved to investors we’re leveling off.  The grim projections don’t seem to be coming into fruition.  Companies are still finding ways to make money, maybe not nearly as much as they use to, but they are still moving forward, or at least less downward.  “less bad is still acceptable.”  This should give us all hope that the dark thunderous clouds overhead will be pushed aside by rain clouds, something we can all deal with, even if it isn’t as relaxing and freeing as a sunny summer day.
    * Sunny days through the weekend present ideal conditions for Seattle’s Seafair, to many, a party on water. Air conditioning sales heat up.
    * The Golden State, known for being a leading indicator in and out of recessionary eras, has inventories falling and prices increasing.  Stabilization?  A conversation with a local appraiser yesterday gives reason to believe so.
    * “Under the 10-year deal announced Wednesday, Microsoft will operate search technology across its own and Yahoo’s sites, in return for a revenue-sharing agreement.  ‘Yahoo gets 88% of the search revenue they have today,’ Mr. Ballmer said. ‘They have 0% cost of goods sold against 88% revenue and they have no [research and development] expense and no ongoing [capital expenditure],’ Mr. Ballmer added.  He said Yahoo would likely see its profits expand 70% from the deal, based on numbers Yahoo has released. ‘This was a win-win partnership,’ he said.”  -wsj.com

Negatives:

    * We are getting excited over bad news that is not as bad as we expected.  Still seems a bit silly.
    * The Japanese continue to hurt.  Deflation is leading them to save even more than they already did, putting more downward pressure on GDP.  Their economy will continue to slump and see stagflation until confidence is restored and underlying infrastructure reworked.
    * A sport once known for its rules, respect, and strong hold over America’s sport, continues to prove its fallibility.  Baseball’s steroid era relentlessly antagonizes its reputation.  Yesterday Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz had their 2003 negative drug test results released.  Nothing will be done because of the lack of bans during that season.

Services: Conversations in Confidence
Whether you are a friend, family member or newly referred client, I promise to keep your details confidential for life.  I promise to offer you a safe sounding board to figure out your home finance situation, opportunities and long term goals.  Please don’t hesitate to call or line up a time with me.

Local:

SB Greek Festival
Where: Oak Park
When: Saturday and Sunday
Cost: $0 unless your get suckered into buying a Giro
Why:  Breaking plates, eating fantastic food, and being loud.

Live and Be Well,

Jeff Bochsler