Daily Intent

Santa Barbara, CA
Are you reading?  From different media sources?  Pushing yourself to consider different points of view?  Pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone?

Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and co-chief investment officer of Pimco, presents a strong case for expanding your mind.  While his father was Egypt’s ambassador to France, El-Erian remembers getting at least four newspapers delivered to his front door.  The newspapers extended from “far right” to “far left” views, from Libertarian to Communist.  His father explained to him, “unless you read different points of view, your mind will eventually close, and you’ll become a prisoner to a certain point of view that you’ll never question.”

These insights hold particularly true in this economic and political environment.  Markets undulate and Obama’s presidency is still in its infancy.  From the Stimulus Package to the Health Care Reform to America’s stance on Korea, Iran, and many others, it is extremely important to expose yourself to many points of reference.  World happenings not your interest?  This holds not only true on a global scale, but on a local level.

We must build models in our mind that are three dimensional.  We must be able to envision topics and happenings from the underbelly, the profile shot, and even the backside.

Take action today.  Plug in a couple new websites to your “favorites” tab.  Be sure they oppose or at least challenge your current tendencies.  Then add one other that is humorous.  Not all life has to be serious.
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Catalyst - Meeting of the Minds - “Tapping global resources, locally”
Niels Johnson-Lameijer, Corporate and Life Mastery Coach. August 26th. Wednesday. 12pm.
Go on and buy your ticket today!
 Visit http://www.catalystsb.org/meetingoftheminds
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Buzzword: Biomimicry
Biomimicry is a new way of designing products.  It founds its research on the question, “how would nature solve this problem?”  And no longer is this a “hippie” thing to do.

“Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a design discipline that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies, e.g., a solar cell inspired by a leaf.  The core idea is that Nature, imaginative by necessity, has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with: energy, food production, climate control, non-toxic chemistry, transportation, packaging, and a whole lot more.
 
Animals, plants, and microbes are the consummate engineers. They have found what works, what is appropriate, and most importantly, what lasts here on Earth.” - http://www.AskNature.org

If you are engineering a new product, be sure to check out this site.  It offers many insights in how to emulate your product to nature.  You need not even be a tree hugger.

  Six Points to Ponder:

   1. Markets. continued their pull back as investors take profits off the table - The Dow is trading at 9173, S&P 500 at 982 and the Nasdaq is at 1938.  Oil is level, $66/bbl.
   2. Tree Hugging.  As Americans continue their need for vacation, oh the joys of two weeks a year, whilst being ever more conscious of their pocket book, National Parks are seeing increased visits.  National Park visits are up 4% this year.
   3. Hispanic Honor.  Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic judge named to the Supreme Court, has been sworn in.
   4. Hey Sweet Tooth.  Sugar prices are at 28yr highs as weather pounded the two largest producing nations, Brazil and India.
   5. Becky Bochsler Power. TJ Maxx’s parent company experienced a 4% uptick in revenues and 31% rise in profits due to increased margins and more shoppers looking for discounts.  TJ Maxx, main marketeer, Becky Bochsler rejoices.
   6. Asian Ambassador.  Korean, Y.E. Yeng, did something no other has done in nearly a decade, take down Tiger in a Major when Tiger was leading after 54 holes.

Positives:

    * “Free weekends” at National Parks.  The government has been incentivizing those that get out into nature.  Since June, many park entrances around the country have been free.  Take advantage.  Yellowstone. Glacier.  Yosemite.  Big Sur.  The Grand Canyon.
    * A new perspective joins the Supreme Court.  Sotomayor, seen as a Democrat win, in actuality had decent bipartisan support.  A handful of republicans voted for her.  Sonia’s background starts in the Bronx, losing her father at 9 years old.  Later she went on to Princeton and Yale.  A great, “overcoming all odds”, story.
    * T.J. Maxx buys fashion brands at below wholesale prices.  As fewer shoppers spend time in higher end stores, inventories for these high-end stores are escalating.  In return, they are left to do nothing but increase discounts levels when selling to the T.J. Maxx and Marshall’s of the world.  The end result, the Becky Bochsler’s of the world get solid apparel on the cheap.
    * Asia has been looking for a golf hero.  Now they have one.

Negatives:

    * There are many cautious investors regarding the US Markets’ upward hyper-activity over the last 5 months.  Thus, we are seeing a pull back over the last couple of weeks.  As aforementioned, September is an inherently poor month for the markets and is expected to volatile.  Many are believing it’s a good time to take profits off the table.
    * With Halloween two months away, might we be seeing higher candy prices?  Inflated sugar prices could hamper children’s loot as neighbors elect the quarter size candy bars instead of the full size Snickers.  Dentists everywhere snicker.

Services: Consolidating
If you have yet to consolidate your 1st and 2nd loan, now might be the time as rates remain low.   Though your line of credit may be even lower than 30yr fixed rates, hedging against higher rates in the coming years will save you dollars in the long run.  Moreover, it will get you on track to paying down principal, something your 2nd, more often than not, has yet to encourage.

Local:

SBMA - Nights Atelier. “Surrender to taste, touch, sight, smell and hearing…”
Where: Santa Barbara Museum of Arts
When: Thursday, August 20th. 5:30pm - 8pm.
Cost: $35
Why:  Some go for the art others for the social abundance. Why not mix the two?

Live and Be Well,

Jeff Bochsler