Forbes.com - Rovio - Audacious (Angry) Birds

I am still receiving Forbes Magazine for free.

I am going through the recent Forbes magazine issue and came a cross an article on Rovio Mobile and how tey are trying to "seek global domination."  There have been 250 million downloads and the report that on some days, players spend up to 200 million minutes playing the game.  They also report that Angry Bird merchandise is the third-most knocked-off brand  in China.

It is funny that Angry Bird diagrams are also being used in school physics tests too.

Related websites:

• Click here to go to the article on Forbes.com 
• Official company website: http://www.telikin.com/

You can support me by subscribing to Forbes with the following simple steps:

• Click on this link to be taken to Upromise
• Click on the See Deals and Shop button
• In the next window, you can either click on Barnes and Nobles or enter the following address in your web browser: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/forbes

Forbes.com - Going, Going, Gone

Just going through a recent issue of Forbes magazine (which I am still getting for free).

Here is another article on helping get rid of (a lot) of stuff.  The examples they give include "downsizing, helping a parent move or handling an estate..."

The key points include the following:

• Accept that downsizing is tough
• Do your homework
• Call in an appraiser
• Be wary of family lore
• Don't junk that Buck Rogers patch
• Call in an auction house
• Donate and deduct
• Pass down some heirlooms as gifts
• Consider capital gains
• Reduce paperwork for your heirs

Read here for more details:

• Click here to read the article on Forbes.com

You can support me by subscribing to Forbes with the following simple steps:

• Click on this link to be taken to Upromise
• Click on the See Deals and Shop button
• In the next window, you can either click on Barnes and Nobles or enter the following address in your web browser: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/forbes

Forbes.com - 10 Steps to Make Your Kid A Millionaire

I am going through a recent of Forbes Magazine.  Here is another article that covers 10 steps to "ensure that your family's next generation is an affluent one."

Here are 10 steps:

• Don't Overeducate
• Find a Cheap B.A.
• Fund a Roth
• Shun Card Debt
• Shop for a 529
• Give Away Grandpa's IRA
• Start them Young (budgeting)
• Give Stock
• Put Your Kids In A House (gift of downpayment)
• Hire Your Offspring (if you own a business)

For more details click here to be taken to Forbes.com 

You can support me by subscribing to Forbes with the following simple steps:

• Click on this link to be taken to Upromise
• Click on the See Deals and Shop button
• In the next window, you can either click on Barnes and Nobles or enter the following address in your web browser: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/forbes

Forbes.com - TiVo Off The Mat

Here is an interesting short read.  If you have been following me on this blog, you will know that I am receiving Forbes Magazine for free.

Here is a quick blurb about how TiVo's Chief Executive Officer bought 10,000 of the company's shares.  This is the first time in eight years that one of the executives have purchased shares in the open market.

Tom Rogers, the Chief Executive, feels that they are undervalued.  The article discusses the following factors:

• Increased spending on research and development to handle both internet media and cable/broadcast content. 
• Increased value by decreasing DVR prices but also increasing monthly fees
• Likely settlements from AT&T and Verizon
• Possible expansion with large media providers (such as Time Warner).

Read here for more details:

• TiVo Off The Mat on Forbes.com

You can support me by subscribing to Forbes with the following simple steps:

• Click on this link to be taken to Upromise
• Click on the See Deals and Shop button
• In the next window, you can either click on Barnes and Nobles or enter the following address in your web browser: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/forbes

Invest in Real Estate via a REIT?

Here are a couple of additional reads if you are interested in investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).  The benefits of investing in a REIT are diversification and liquidity.  Be sure to review the tax implications of this type of investment.

There are two articles that can be found on Forbes.com that cover the:

• Largest commercial property trusts
• The biggest REITs

For more information on wikipedia on REITs, click here

To subscribe to Forbes magazine, click below:

What kind of customer are you?

If you have been following me, you will know that I have been receiving Forbes magazine for free (at least until December 2011 based on the current label).

In a recent issue, there was coverage of ELoyalty, which was founded by Kelly Conway which has developed software to decode a caller's personality.  Based on the personality type, the call center can then focus their approach to what that caller may desire.  The six kinds of customers are as follows:

• Emotions-Driven (30%): forge relationships with agents before directly into the problem
• Thoughts-Driven (25%): want facts and analysis
• Reactions-Driven (20%): either love or hate something
• Opinions-Driven (10%): language is full of imperatives and minds are resolute
• Reflections-Driven (10%): prefer silence to banter
• Actions-Driven (5%): craves movement and progress

To read more about this, click here to be taken to the article.

So subscribe to Forbes Magazine, click below:

Forbes - Investment Guide for 2011

I just recently posted a guide from Money Magazine and to be fair, I am now posting the Investment Guide from Forbes Magazine.  This is another magazine that I am currently receiving for free.  Here are the key components:

• Rethinking Your Risk:  Career (potentially your biggest investment), Dollar, Real estate, and Spending
• Estate Planning On the Cheap: Use software or hire someone?
• Being a Smart Client of a Financial advisor: Trust them (or take a hike), Take the long view, Let the pros decide, and It's a business
• Tracking Vital Signs: Quicken Health Expense, Microsoft HealthVault, and Google Health.  All of which have limitations which you will need to read about. 
• Global Attraction
• Get Naked for Income: Sell calls and puts to gain an additional 1.5% per month?
• Tax-Smart Energy Investing:  for good or bad, the tax rate roll-backs were delayed for another two years.  This portion discusses the use of Master Limited Partnerships
• The Secret Housing Boom:  How to invest in apartment REITs
• High Fliers: Investing in aerospace stocks
• Cashing in on the Comeuppance of Hedge Funds: Why the heydey of hedge funds is over.
• Staying On Target.  How to make target-date funds work for you
• Dividend Stocks for Bond Investors: with interest rates and inflation rising, shift from bonds (which face values go down when rates go up) to stocks with a good dividend yield
• Crash Course: tips for buying car insurance such as raise your deductibles, get uninsured motorist coverage, carry an umbrella, look for obscure discounts, don't buy your teen their own car, avoid limited tort insurance, and insure for a total wreck.
• How to give like Mark Zuckerberg:  like public stock, private equity, liquidation fund, collectibles, and real estate, but look out for the IRS.
• Protection Racket:  look out for indexed annuities
• Florida Fire Sale: how to evaluate buying housing in Florida
• Folk Hero: use your money to fulfill your dreams (and hopefully make money too)

There's a lot of reading (and maybe some skimming), but the information is dense and useful if you want to simply get an overview.

To subscribe to Forbes Magazine, click below:

Nice electricity storage solution: pump water up hill

In this Forbes article (which I still get the magazine for free) by Jonathan Fahey, he talks about the perennial problem of renewable energy sources.  The problem whether it be wind or solar is how do you store it and provide it on a regular, nearly continuous basis?

The solution in this article is to pump water 1,200 feet up when a lot of electricity is being produced and then when it is needed, the pump would become a generator that produces up to 400 megawatts.  This would require building two lakes that each could hold 1.5 billion gallons of water.

There is a 20 percent frictional loss because you spend 5 kilowatt-hours to get 4 kilowatt-hours back.

Click here to read more about this.

To subscribe to Forbes, click here for 1 year or 2 years

Spotlight on Dropbox by Forbes magazine

Forbes magazine had a nice overview of Dropbox and what people may use it for. Yeah, I am still getting it for free.  It looks like I will continue receiving it at least until October of this year.

Dropbox is a website that provides free on-line storage of any files for the first 2 GB. You will need to pay a monthly fee for space above that threshold.  The benefit of Dropbox over Google docs is that you can store picture and music files without any problems.  It also has software that will automatically sync/update files that are also on your computer.  So update the computer file and the Dropbox gets updated as well.

Interestingly, someone installed a keylogger (a program usually used by hackers to find out your passwords) on their computer which uploads the keystrokes up to Dropbox.  So if someone steals their computer, the keylogger will upload what the thief is typing.

Some people are also storing their MP3 files in their Dropbox and streaming the files live to their phone.

I am trying to rationalize the need to setup yet another account at another website with another ID/Password combination.

Click here to read the article on Forbes.com

To subscribe to Forbes magazine, click here for 1 year.

Click here to go to Dropbox.

Forbes: The Bicycle Economy

Here is another article in Forbes Magazine in their "Creative Giving" section about minimizing costs to fulfill needs that help drive economies.

In the May 10, 2010 issue, this article follows Frederick K.W. Day who helped co-found bicycle-component making company called "Sram."  He formed a foundation that built stronger bicycles capable of holding 200 pounds of cargo and withstand bumpy roads all for less than $100.

Related websites:

• Click here to read the article
• Click here to subscribe to Forbes Magazine for 1 year
• Sram's website

Forbes: Cisco's Gadget Guru

I am still getting Forbes for free.  In its May 10, 2010 article, it talks about how Cisco paid $590 million for Pure Digital.  That company was run by Jonathan Kaplan and made the "Flip" video camera product line.

It is an interesting article combining household technology kind of items and how Cisco is trying to improve and increase its image among consumers.

Related websites:

• Click here to read the article
• Click here to subscribe to Forbes magazine for 1 year

Forbes: Major League Baseball team valuations

Yeah. I am still getting Forbes Magazine for free.  In the April 26, 2010 issue, it gives the Major League Baseball (MLB) team valuations.  The top honors goes to the New York Yankees at $1.6 Billion in value and operating income of $24.9 million.  The lowest valued team is the Pittsburgh Pirates at $289 million and operating income of $15.6 million.

Let us look at some of the other ways to look at the teams.  On this page, the article has a table that shows the debt to value for each of the teams.  The Yankees are at 89 percent debt to value ratio.  There are two teams who have no listed debt (Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays).

The Florida Marlins are only at 32 percent debt to value and have a valuation of $317 million.  That gives them a little more than $101 million in debt compared to the Yankees at about $1.4 billion.  The Marlins also had a reported income of $46.1 million.

Yeah, I know, there is still probably huge cash flows from the massive depreciation on the new Yankee Stadium, but it seems like the Marlins would be the team to own.

Click here to read the on-line article

To subscribe to Forbes for 12 months, click here.

Is it time to Downshift?

If you have been reading this blog, you will know that I have been receiving Forbes Magazine for free.  It looks like I will be likely getting it for another six months or so.  In the April 26, 2010 issue, there is an article called "Downshift" by Monte Burke which showcases some vignettes on five people in a variety of industries who have either by choice (most of them) or by being laid off.

This is just another reminder to stay grounded and focus on the fundamentals (live within your means, positive monthly cash flow, emergency savings, etc.) because sometimes you never know what is going to happen.

Click here to read the article.

To subscribe to Forbes magazine for 12 months, click here.

Forbes article about the money behind chelation therapy

I am still getting Forbes Magazine for free.  I have been receiving it for at least one year.

In this January 18, 2010 article on Heavy Metals, Inc., it discusses (briefly) how some providers are trying to push chelation therapy for a variety of diseases.

I'm not saying whether it works or not.  This is just an FYI about the money behind the treatment.

New Media Players for the Family Room

In the recent Forbes Magazine (yes, I still get it for free), there was an article about how hard disk drive manufacturers are introducing media players.  They featured devices by Seagate, Iomega, and Western Digital.

The interesting part is that I recently purchased a couple of the Seagate FreeAgent drives at Sam's Club last month.  They have a Seagate FreeAgent Theater+1080P HD Media Player STCEA201-RK that is available on Amazon.com that can play HD or non-HD media.  The price for the device is right at $149.99.  It looks like it will take any of their current FreeAgent drives.

Not sure it is a need at this time.  Time will tell whether this pans out as a useful tool.

For more information why I go to Sam's Club and not Costco click here on a previous post.  I have "survived" for at least one year without Costco and the only reason why I feel I would need it is for the $10 coupon off of TurboTax?

What's the value of your football team?

According to Forbes, the most valuable football team is the Dallas Cowboys at $1.65 billion. The least-valued team is not surprisingly the Oakland Raiders at $797 million.

What's interesting is Revenue and Operating Income. While the Cowboys have a reported $9.2 million, the number two team (Valuation), the Washington Redskins valued at $1.55 billion has an operating income of $90.3 million. This is ten times that of Dallas. The number three team, the New England Patriots, has operating income of $70.9 million.

Dallas needs to pump up the revenue and/or decrease its costs. Get the cash flow going.

Click here for the complete rankings and see how your team is doing.

We need more of this. Especially in Southern California.

Well, not the wood pellets, but the grinding up of pine trees killed by the bark beetles.

So many nice and interesting articles in the current issue of Forbes (yes, getting for free).

This one is about a guy, Mark Mathis who went into a Home Depot and found out there was a shortage of wood pellets for his stove. Because of that, he started his own pellet mill. After one year, he's already turning a profit.

The best part, is that he's making the wood pellets with wood from trees that were killed by the bark beetles. The wood is dried in furnaces that are heated by sawdust.

Future plans include turning one ton of wood into 60 gallons of ethanol and 800 pounds of wood pellets.

Click here to read more.

Forbes article on High-Frequency Trading

Wow. 40 racks of servers overseen by traders backed by two separate power substations and 196,000 pounds of batteries and soon, also a 2,000-kilowatt diesel generator.

In this Forbes magazine (yup, still getting it free), this article talks about the equipment, locations and ideas to make money within milliseconds. Some have a direct fiber-optic connection to exchange computers. Why transmit via the internet?

All this equipment is needed to do "high-frequency" trades. To me, it's a bunch of arbitrage. The systems perform 2,000 trades in one second. It tries to catch 0.1 0r 0.01 cent differences, but catches the difference thousands of times each day.

Now the NYSE is exploring renting out space for similar connections directly to its exchange.

Just don't get it wrong 2,000 times in one second.

Click here to read the article.

Leverage is a double-edge blade: Another story on Risk and Reward

This one is from Forbes Magazine. Still getting it for free. This story is about Louis Reijtenbagh, a Dutch cardiologist and investor who (sounds like) borrowed against everything. Sometimes he borrowed twice, using the same collateral.

Leverage (borrowing) is great when things are going great and it is properly used (on investments vs. lifestyle costs), but it also hurts when things go against you. Beware how you use this tool....

I love the paraphrase by Warren Buffet: "when the tide goes out you get to see who is not adequately covered by collateral..."

Click here for the article.

From Forbes.com: Stupid Debt Tricks

As previously stated, I'm still getting Forbes magazine for free. In the latest issue, there was an "Ideas and Opinions" look at what games states are playing to plug holes in their budgets. I found the same thing on the website. Here's a couple (see below for the link):

• How does California save $1.2 billion by changing the date on their salary checks from June 30 to July 1? It seems like it would be a one-time effect. It would catch up the following year (or so it seems).
• Michigan plans to charge a $250 license fee on strippers. It is important to note that this opinion reports that there are only 83 topless establishments. They may also take in California prisoners (where does that money come from? California?).
• New York will put ads on their garbage trucks and charge an 18 percent tax on sugary drinks.

Click here for more details.