JulyJasmine: June 2008

Friday, June 27, 2008

Proposed changes in taxes after 2008 General election

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

MCCAIN - 15% (no change)
OBAMA - 28%

How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.

DIVIDEND TAX

MCCAIN - 15% (no change)
OBAMA - 39.6%

How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama or Clinton become president. The experts predict that "Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit."

INCOME TAX

MCCAIN - (no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250

OBAMA - (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750

How does this affect you? No explanation needed. This is pretty straight forward.

INHERITANCE TAX

MCCAIN - 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA - keep the inheritance tax

How does this affect you? Many families have lost businesses, farms and ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will not only lose them to these taxes.

NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY BOTH CLINTON AND OBAMA

* New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet
* New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already)
* New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity)
* New taxes on retirement accounts and last but not least....
* New taxes to pay for socialized m edicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

Can you afford Clinton or Obama? I can't!

If Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Could Enact All Of His Campaign Proposals, Taxpayers Would Be Faced With Financing $874.35 Billion In New Spending Over One White House Term:

If Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Could Enact All Of His Campaign Proposals, Taxpayers Would Be Faced With Financing $874.35 Billion In New Spending Over One White House Term:

Updated February 14, 2008: Obama's National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank Will Cost $60 Billion Over Ten Years; Equal To $6 Billion A Year And $24 Billion Over Four Years. Obama: "I'm proposing a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that will invest $60 billion over ten years." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On Economic Policy, Janesville, WI, 2/13/08)

Obama's Health Care Plan Will Cost Up To $65 Billion A Year; Equal To $260 Billion Over Four Years. "[Obama]
campaign officials estimated that the net cost of the plan to the federal government would be $50 billion to $65 billion a year, when fully phased in, and said the revenues from rolling back the tax cuts were enough to cover it." (Robin Toner and Patrick Healy, "Obama Calls For Wider And Less Costly Health Care Coverage," The New York Times, 5/30/07)

Obama's Energy Plan Will Cost $150 Billion over 10 Years, Equal To $15 Billion Annually And $60 Billion Over Four Years. "Obama will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, invest in low-emissions coal plants, and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid." (Obama for America, "The Blueprint For Change," http://www.barackobama.com/, Accessed 1/14/08, p. 25)

Sunday, June 22, 2008

最近股市不是很好, 希望大家 Diversify your Portfolio

My Stock Market Savvy (3)

If you want to stay in the game, you have to diversity your portfolio.
9 sectors for your Portfolio

1. Basic Material
industry leader, Aluminum, Oil & Gas, Gold, steel; the first group to react to economy

2. Conglomerates
Very diversified company, act like one stock mutual fund.
GE, 3M; it is hard to get all information at once

3. Consumer Goods – defense type
Drinks, Tooth Paste, Auto, Home Furnishings, Clothes, Cleaning Products
When it is bearish market, this sector holds very strong

4. Financial
Banks, Thrift, Insurance, Investment Broker, Trust; very sensitive to interest rate and economy; FED will more likely hold the key interest rate steady at this meeting.
Citigroup, American Express, Bank of America, AIG, Wachovia, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, US bankcorp etc.

5. Health Care – defensive type
Biotech, Drug Related, Hospital, Drug stores/ Manufactory; in general, it takes 10 years and $100M to develop a
drug; so make sure to buy big drug company which has strong assets to support its R&D. Pfizer, Merk

6. Industrial Goods - defensive type
Air Space, building material
Good for beginning of good economy

7. Services – defensive or offensive
Advertisement, Freight, Auto Dealer, Broadcasting, Catalog, Education, Gaming Entertainment, Books, Retails
People are the assets of these companies; so research on management team would help

8. Technology – Offensive or defensive
High Tech, Green company stocks are tend to be popular when economy is good; more investment will move to these companies.
Energy efficient tech companies could move ahead of the market right now.

9. Utilities – very defensive

My Stock Market Savvy (2)

How to Pick a Stock?

Quantitative

I have heard many experts said this, especially in this economic down term (not recession yet):

B.S.W.E. –buy stock with earnings

B.P.N.P.—buy profit not promise

Here are some basic index or factors that will affect stock price

1. P/E

Trailing P/E – price / reported earnings

Forward P/E – price / Analyst estimated earnings

It is hard to tell from P/E ratio itself, different industry has different P/E ratio

Only in auto industry, buy high P/E, sell low P/E

2. PEG = P/E / Growth Rate (ideally, the longer the term you use, the more accurate)

If PEG = 1, stock price is fairly priced

If PEG > 1, stock price is under priced, a good sign to buy

If PEG < 1, stock price is over priced

3. β – stock price movement compare to S&P index (as of 1)

E.g. If β = 0.75, it means price moving 75% compare to 1, less volatile

Some people like to see their stocks move up and down, they feel excited about it; some don’t. It’s your preference to buy a more or less volatile stock.

4. Div’d Yld – dividend paid / stock price

The higher dividend, the riskier the stock

5. PSR = Price / Sales Ratio

If PSR <1, a good indicator that the stock has chance to do well

If PSR >1 Not a good sign

Grocery industry tend to be low

6. EPS – this is a company’s bottom line, looking for a solid growth trend

Using Value Line Coca-Cola (NYSE-KO) as example

1. PE ratio = 20.7

2. PEG = 1.76

3. β = 0.75, less volatile than average market

4. Dividend Yield = 2.5%

5. PSR = 53.66/13.45= 3.98

6. EPS = 2.95

7. ROE is 12%, normally, large cap average ROE is 8%

Historical High $88.9 in 1998 and Low $36.1 in 1996 in the past 20 years. Analyst expected price in 2010-2012 high is $85 and low is $70.

Lastly, my study combined with analyst recommendation shows RRC, ENOC, GFA, WIN are good catch.

Friday, June 20, 2008

贡献一个昨天听来的笑话.

一女子下夜班，一男子尾随图谋不轨，女子慎怕，路过坟地，灵机一动，对坟墓说：“爸爸，我回来了，开门啊。”男子大惧，哇哇大叫奔逃。女子心安，正要离开，忽然从坟墓中传来阴深深的声音：“闺女，你又忘了带鈅匙啊。”女子惊骇，也哇哇奔逃。这时从坟墓里钻出个盗墓的说到：“靠，耽误我工作，吓死你们。”突然不知从何处又传来一个声音：“你倒是快挖呀，我在这里都被埋了20年了？”盗墓的巨惊骇，哇哇狂奔逃。守墓的得意地笑道：“知道我厉害了吧。”突然，棺材里传出一个声音：“干嘛打扰我睡觉？”守墓的大惊，落荒而逃。流浪者生气：“好不容易找个清静的地方睡觉，也要被打搅。”

Monday, June 16, 2008

喝水 - 保持健康再瘦身

水不含卡路里，同时会产生饱胀的感觉，所以饮食就会减少. 同时可以清除经期前的肿胀感。当饮凉水时，还可以因为肠胃加热凉水，而帮助燃烧体内的卡路里.

大清早：喝杯暖水清肠胃

　　我从十五六岁就养成一早起床，在吃个丰富早餐前先喝一大杯冷开水，有助推动胃肠蠕动，令你产生WC的意向，这样每天定时帮你排除体内毒素。这招喝水KeepFit法有不少明星都效法，瘦身成功指数极高！

午饭时段：餐前饮水减食量

　　尝试每餐前尽量饮一杯清水，一来可以填饱咕噜咕噜响的五脏庙，降低饮食分量；二来补充身体所需的水分，加速新陈代谢. 怕可以一边吃饭一边喝水，分散人的注意力，而且可以拖慢进食速度，令饱意更快出现.

下午茶时段：闻花水戒零食

　　一到Coffee Break，食欲又发作，如果随手拿出常备的零食，如薯片、饼干、Coco 等都是高热量美食，一不留神一个下午茶的热量就高过一顿午餐. 自问自制力不够的姐妹们，不妨在办公座位周围喷点花香喷雾，闻着可以抑制食欲。

晚餐时段：喝水瘦身

　　一个月减10斤只喝水的节食瘦身法是不健康的，正确的饮水瘦身法是借摄取蛋白质和蔬菜，以降低对碳水化合物和糖分的摄取量，而且还要慢慢咀嚼。啤酒和烈性酒都有可能提高体内的可的松，一种将脂肪转移至腹部的荷尔蒙。喝酒时，还倾向于食用更多的食物.

当然, 这些只是一个方便的瘦身, 还有其他很多方法, 如果不配合健身, 减下来的只是肌肉而不是FAT, 很容易反弹.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

亲爱的爸爸, 父亲节快乐!

俗话说 , 严父慈母 . 虽然爸爸对我从来都是严要求高标准 , 可是他在我的心目中和母亲一样 , 也永远都是那么和蔼可亲 . 为我们这个家无私奉献 , 象老牛一样任劳任怨 . 听妈妈说我小时候的尿布都是爸爸一手一手洗的 .

由于工作性质 , 爸爸从前也是经常出差 . 没有上学之前 , 去哪儿 , 他都带着我 , 每次去北京上海广州 ( 北京上海广州的姐妹千万别笑话 , 那时我们内地确实发展慢啊 ) 出差 , 一定有礼物 , 而且我总是抢着去火车站接他 . 最让我感动的是 , 我从小眼睛就不好 , 从小学一年级起就是个小眼镜 . 那个时候流行磁疗贴耳朵治疗近视 . 每隔一天就要去医院看一次 ( 忘记为什么要去这么多了 ). 为了不耽误我的睡眠和上学 , 爸爸就会早上四点起床 , 骑车去医院先挂号 , 拿好号 , 再回家接我 . 把我背在背上 , 凉风飕飕 , 我躲在爸爸结实的身后 , 头靠在他肩上 , 觉得暖暖的 . 当时还小 , 不能体会那么多的爱 , 现在自己有了宝宝 , 才真正懂得父爱母爱的伟大 .

这些年来一直在国外 , 学习 , 工作 , 绿卡 , 疏忽了爸爸妈妈 . 前几年每次回去度假 , 都是今天朋友 , 明天同学的 , 要不就是逛街 , 也很少真正有时间陪陪他们 ( 可能很多姐妹都有这种感受吧 ). 这两年才修心养性 , 回家的时候大多和爸爸妈妈呆一起 , 希望弥补那些失去的时间 .

最后祝大家有一个愉快的父亲节周末. 愿所有的父亲母亲都幸福快乐健康长寿 !