Week 1 ~ 2010

Here are a few things making some news this week:

Buying a Car – If buying a car, take a look at discontinued brands. General Motor’s Saturn and Pontiac brands may serve up some great discounts because they will soon no longer cease to exist. The real question may eventually be finding parts for any brands that will be discontinued, but if you read the consumer reviews and can find a reliable model this investment may be a good bet. If you don’t need the discontinued deal of the century, then take another look at Ford brand cars. For has resurrected itself from the dead and improved its car offerings and has grown in market share over the last year.

Throw Some Dimension’s on It – The D’s I am talking about are “DIMENSIONAL”. Here are a few reasons why movies and TV are going from 2D to 3D. Now I personally saw Avatar in 3D and now want to see it in 3D and in IMAX, why I guess because bigger is always better. If you are not noticing, the media industry is moving to 3D and this is no accident. It started with them testing us, with movies that were throwing objects at us…as I heard My Bloody Valentine and Final Destination did. Then they used it for fun films and now blockbuster biggies like Avatar. 3D is not only going to be hitting the big screen it will also be right there in your homes. Yes, the television industry wants to offer you 3D TV’s in the near future and even the station’s like ESPN have announced they will be offering certain games in 3D. The other reason I have heard that 3D is on the rise in the movie industry is to reduce piracy. Now this may make a lot of sense as this industry has been looking for the white knight answer of reducing movie piracy. It may be a great reason that Avatar, which will go down as one of the biggest movies in history is mainly being released in 3D. I truly believe it is because the movie is new and made with revolutionary detail. But I could also see the registers ringing (all the way to the bank) if one of the biggest movies of all time cannot be easily copied. I am now wondering if it is truly a better experience for watching TV and movies?? I imagine the experience will change slightly over time, but I am not sure if I would prefer to slip on my special 3D glasses if that were a requirement every time.

An Early 2010 Gift List:

GOOGLE NEXUS ONE – Google just entered the device market and is now making a phone, well sort of. The Google phone, Nexus One, is being made by HTC but is Google’s phone. One of the unique features Google will give you and me is the right to stick with our cell phone company if we like them. Most phones nowadays tell you to switch to an exclusive carrier; however, Google is going to offer its phone in a format that can work with YOUR carrier. Yes the phone is considered ‘Unlocked’, a feature that is common internationally but not here in the US. That usually explains the price, because your carrier is not helping you with the price and you aren’t locked into long –term contracts. (3.7 inch screen, 5.1 megapixel and $529 unlocked)


AMAZON KINDLE, TABLET PC’S – The first is the new e-reader device. For a generation of people that have grown up reading on screens this is the holy grail of eliminating night lights bookmarks. I am already used to downloading and it seems easy to download my books and go. For me this would be great on the train and if I can (download) and read the Wall Street Journal or web articles then I may never part with this thing. I am not sure what all formats it reads but who needs books. The Apple Tablet PC also made the list for all of the new PCs that are thin, light and will allow you to write on the screen. Yes, like you are writing on a piece of paper, hence the name tablet. Can you imagine how much paper and I didn’t even think of myself as much of a tree hugger.


TATA NANO – Tata, the Indian car manufacturer may actually set its sight on the US sooner than later. And I can fulfill my dream of adding a car to my Xmas list. For the whooping price of $2500 you can own a new vehicle. Now all I need to do is to get 100 friends to hold the gift cards and go in on purchasing me a car that will never have problems finding a parking spot in Chicago.

Junk Your Clunker...

I previewed the details of this program awhile back. Cash for Clunkers has been a huge success for the automotive industry and they just got extended another lifeline. The Congress approved another $2 Billion dollar measure that will allow the program to continue. If you still have questions about junking your clunker see the official site here:

Car Allowance Rebate System: http://www.cars.gov/

Urbanomics Market Update - June 20th

Urbanomics Market Update
~the update for people that don’t watch the “stock channel”

GAS, the last time I wrote my update I predicted gas prices were going to rise and boy did they take off. As of a couple of days ago, the price of gas at the pump has risen for 50 (this is not a typo) straight days!! AAA, noted recently that the nationwide price average is around $2.679 and every state is joining in this party at the pump. Since I was sport on with my last analysis I will include my most recent prediction on the direction of gas.

Gas Prediction: My thoughts are that gas will start to top out at these levels. The fundamentals of economy just can’t support gas at these levels…people will take other measures as they did last year to ease this costly burden. At the right price, I would look to make an investment that gas begins to drop.


STOCK MARKET, this week the stock market was down roughly 3%! You may think that there are a few signs that things may be improving but I would not be running to join the crowd. Be afraid because a number of experts are betting that the rally is running out of steam just as the everyday investor is starting to pump money back into their investment portfolios, mutual funds, and retirement portfolios. My prediction won’t change…so check out my write up from last time below.

Market Prediction: if you had peeked at the stock market you might have seen that it has been doing really well in the last couple of months. If you feel like you missed the party…DON’T. The reasons vary as to why it was moving up rapidly (like people spending their tax checks at the beginning of the year) but it probably won’t continue going up so quickly much more. This is my opinion but the economic data doesn’t lie. The data recently released says:
- Consumers are saving and not spending money
- Housing foreclosures are on the rise again (And rates continue to rise!)
- Unemployment continues to reach record monthly numbers (Unemployment dipped last month and is on the rise again!)

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT,

Cash for Clunkers – The Congress just passed a bill known on the streets as “Cash for Clunkers”. It probably took a cue from Germany which has passed a wildly popular strategy in their country. This bill was going to be hard to argue against as it helps boost a lagging industry, cleans up the environment, and lowers the consumer’s bills. The bill requires you to buy a car that is more fuel efficient that your last car and you will get a voucher of up to $4500 to make this switch. The real name of the program and a link to the website can be found here: www.ConsumerAssistanceToRecycleAndSaveProgram.org
Or try the auto industry’s site aimed at promoting the bill:www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com

Home Buyer Tax Credit – A new proposal is moving around the senate to INCREASE the existing tax credit. Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia is the brains behind this new proposal which want to raise the existing $8000 credit to $15000!!! The other changes are this bill would be for ALL homebuyers in contrast with the last which was just for first time buyers. The other change would be to eliminate the income limits which are currently capped at $75000.

Prediction: My opinion is this will have some trouble passing through Washington. At a time when Wall Street and the Real Estate industry have lost our trust, this bill will raise too many questions about who is really benefitting from the latest home tax credit. By removing the income limit and opening it up to anyone this could potentially benefit wealthy homeowners and property investors…two groups who may need the least assistance out there and have the least amount of trust out there.

HOUSING, things still look uncertain for this part of the market.
- A new wave of foreclosures are still set to hit the market
- The tax credit deadline is looming
- Rising interest rates are not positive for consumers