Will Bernanke Be Reappointed? Handicapping Has Already Begun - Economy * US * News * Story - CNBC.com

Will Bernanke Be Reappointed? Handicapping Has Already Begun - Economy * US * News * Story - CNBC.com

Shared via AddThis

A new blog has risen!

Hey guys! It's been awhile ago and believe it or not I think this is the first post of the year! lol.. This doesn't mean I have been doing nothing, in fact I have been pretty busy lately. The issue I was having, especially with this blog was that it was very difficult for me to update since it was such a general blog. What do you talk about that can be of any interest?
Well, since January I have been actively and intensely self-education myself to the world of FOREX. For those who don't know what that is, it is short for foreign currency trading (Foreign Exchange) and there was (and still is!) a lot to learn! This market has finally opened up to people that don't have a lot of money to invest (like me :) but still want to be part of the trading experience. That was also the reason why I haven't been posting on this blog. I was too busy learning and setting up the FOREX blog which can be found here. On this blog is where I spend most of my time nowadays. Analyzing and share different trading ideas that only fellow traders would be interested in (trust me, lol)
Ocassionally I'll check back here to see if there is anything new, or if something interested happened in my life...

Has the bottom of the recession been reached? (Poll)

I know I've been posting a lot of posts with questions in the title, but that's because eeh,..I have a lot of questions that I'm trying to figure out and want to share. The latest? For those who are into the markets or interested, has the bottom of the recession been reached or do we still have long ways to go?
A heavy topic to come up with on the last day of the year, but leaving 2008 behind which was a horrible year for many, I thought it was suitable. Financial analysts around the world are debating back and forth on this question. I heard one analyst on CNBC that the bottom has been reached indeed and 2009 is nothing but an upwards move although slowly, while another one said that this recession will continue at least until 2010.
On the side is a polling option where you can cast your vote. What do you think? Is everything gonna be fine in 2009?

Will the i7 processor revive the PC game industry?

Hopefully.I certainly would like to see this happen. I always used to love PC games, better then console until I got tired of the installation problems, instability and compatibility issues. However it's not the processor that's the drawback here, neither the amount of RAM or the video card industry. It's Microsoft's failing OS, piracy, the cheaper console alternative and of course the ailing economy.
But the bottom line of the overall picture is I have to say is Windows Vista. No matter how powerful the processor is or how much memory you have, if it gets clogged up with useless background applications, processes and memory mismanagement, your computer will slow down to a point where it's noticeable the processor is not performing optimally.
Windows Vista really hurt the PC industry in general. People are tired of spending money on software that is either incompatible with previous versions or need an update every second.
Microsoft should have stuck with Windows XP there for awhile and tried optimize that instead of building a whole new OS from scratch, but that's a whole other story.
Anyway, the i7 is a truly remarkable piece of work and shows that with this new technology really amazing things can be accomplished. Heavy applications and intense graphics will see a new era if handled properly.
The i7 will only survive if there's a strong OS behind it that will allow this new technology to fully extend it's wings. Even with all the updates and service packs this will not happen in the Vista time period. However with the announcement of Windows 7 it should go hand in hand, at least that's what MS promised.
But we're not there yet. Windows 7 isn't even close to release date and PC's with the i7 processors are still not widely available for a reasonable price.
So we are still ways of a serious competitive PC game industry. That's kind of sad if you think that. An optimal configured PC nowadays can crank out better graphics then a PS3 or Xbox 360. However it will cost about ten times more then a console. It didn't use to be like that, in fact PC had better graphics for about the same price.

Merry Christmas!

I've decided to take some time off until after Christmas. So until then, to all my readers :P have a merry Christmas!

My stock pick for 2009

And the winner is,.. or will be, at least in 2009, Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI ^$0.14)Yes, I know I know, it has cost many investors and day-traders tremendous amounts of money and the overall painted picture is pretty negative, but I'm one of the ones that is still hopeful and see an opportunity here. Before you disregard this pick and comment what an idiot I am for choosing this company as 'pick of the year', please allow me to explain my conclusion.
In my opinion the reason why, after the merger of Sirius and XM, the stock of the new company hasn't gone anywhere is because the merger took way too long. The company is still suffering from the attempt of terrestrial radio to cut this merger off, that it takes time and effort to make this a successful company. During these tough economic times, most companies have trouble staying afloat and Sirius is unlucky enough trying to sprout off season so to speak.
This will change, regardless of what automakers will do, and as you may or may not know, Sirius kind of placed their eggs in this basket on deals with car companies. The auto industry will be the big money maker for Sirius. I'll explain why. Even if the car companies go under, the car landscape will change. If there are no more American cars to buy, people will buy foreign cars, in any scenario people will buy cars, regardless of origin, see my point? With that said the car companies that will dominate their industry then will be attractive to consumers of Sirius. Personally I wouldn't buy a new car that doesn't have this feature, I'm a customer myself since the dawn of satellite radio, and although it cost money every month, I can't live without it.
But with all this there has to be a condition that will be executed very soon in my opinion, and that's the make-up of Sirius management.
Let's face it, Mel Karmazin isn't the most popular guy currently with investors. If he steps down or takes on a different role in the company price per share will rise. Even a couple of pennies increase can make you, depending of course of your initial investment, a lot of money.
And this will happen too, and it will happen soon. So soon that I see this in 2009, even with the economic circumstances. Sure the company is a lot of debt, but I foresee that slowly but surely they will manage to crawl out of this hole. With stock prices this low ($0.14), and with the current outlook, this company has a lot of potential. Mark my words, next year I will write another 'stock pick for 2010' and will look back on Sirius that buy then will be well over $1 a share, an increase of 700%(!)
I say BUY!