Archive for July, 2008

Financial Lies from Merrill

July 28th, 2008

After the close on July 17th, Merrill Lynch announced earnings. Actually it wasn’t earnings, because they lost money. They lost $4.65 billion on writedowns. On the 18th, the stock rebounded from earlier losses and closed slightly higher for the day on hopes and beliefs that the worst was over and that financial stocks had put […]

Jewish Perfection

July 25th, 2008

Perfection is definitely not a Jewish thought or attribute. Consider the patriarchs of Judaism such as Noah who gets drunk, Jacob who steals his brother’s birthright by misleading his father Isaac, and even Moses, the greatest of all Jews, speaks with a lisp and disobeys God. And we could have a field day talking about […]

Where was Moses?

July 17th, 2008

Where was Moses when God gave the Ten Commandments?
Before I answer that easy question, its important to read what specifically happens before God reveals the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. Basically, an eighty-year-old Moses goes up and down Mt. Sinai four times to communicate with God and the people of Israel. Why all the schlepping […]

While Rome Burns

July 16th, 2008

Apparently I’m not the only one outraged at the incompetence of not only Wall Street but every government official possible. The problem with the state of our economy is leverage and greed. And Congress and every other government official wants to blame speculators, senators and rumors. It is extremely sad that not one government official […]

Voyage

July 16th, 2008

This is one of the best things I’ve ever read:
To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen, who play with their boats at sea–”cruising”, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and […]

Sir John Templeton

July 9th, 2008

Sir John Templeton, one of the great investors of all time, has died at age 95. He was a great influence on me as a young kid trying to learn about investing. Not only was he a great investor, he was a great human being. Below is a link to an old Wall Street Week […]

Let There Be Light

July 4th, 2008

I am currently in Jerusalem studying at a place called Pardes (Pardes link). I thought I would write an update as to why I’m here and what I’m studying. Here is one teaching I learned this week that I thought quite profound.
The Torah and Judaism is filled with contradictions and one of the best ways […]