On October 6th, Cramer made that prediction about stocks dropping 20% when stocks traded between 10,322.52 and 9,503.10. Right now the market is trading at 8100, so we’re down between 20% from that point on October 6th. There could be another 500 points to go though! Are we nearing a bottom? Volume is up, too, significantly, too…

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If you’d been reading recent headlines on Yahoo, like this one, you’d be tempted to believe the same thing…

But is it? Is the end nigh? Or shall we all live again to trade and make money? Well, if you haven’t already guessed, I tend to the latter point of view. We will always prevail, perhaps a little wiser, certainly a lot poorer. But we will all be investing again one day in the not too distant future. At the moment, that might be hard to imagine as you and I are likely sitting on huge losses on our portfolios (I’m down over 50%, at the moment - you are hardly likely to be doing much better!)

Long way to go?

We should never use the past to judge the future, but previous statistics can be informative. The two most serious downturns in the 20th century were quite severe. The second crisis was in 1970’s when the Dow Jones plunged nearly 50% but what is worth noting: the greatest point loss (by points) was in fact only #17 in the total percentage losses. We’re now approaching 45% downturn, so there could still be some downside on this. There are likely to be only a few buyers out in the markets, but they are totally swamped by the number of sell orders chasing buyers. An awful lot of ‘unwinding’ still has to be done before a more orderly market returns and there’s more of a balance between buyers and sellers.

But in each of the downturns that occurred, people got back to business (eventually) and those downturn periods can hardly be seen in the chart above. But with markets still prone and intervention seeming not to work, we just have to figure out how to get from here and now to then.

Are we at the bottom?

Many pundits are suggesting that the bottom of the market is not yet near, but that it is coming. While no one is sure of the exact time frame, several writers talk extensively about ‘capitulation’ - the notion that the selling is exhausted, and buyers’ orders match sellers’.

Jeff Cox, in CNBC, writes “…But while hedge funds and industrial investors have been bailed out of positions, individual retail investors have still not reached the severe panic point.” It’s quite likely most of us have been steamrollered by the market as we jostle our buy/sell orders. I know I have: I now know the meaning of trying to catch a falling knife! He goes onto say that heavy volume will indicate that the capitulation phase has started, unfortunately we’re just not seeing that yet.

The recent MotleyFool Poll is indicating that most people think we are headed for 7500 points on the Dow, so far. But the stock market is hardly a democratic forum! So take those results with a large pinch of salt!

So what is an InvestorBlogger to do?

This is what I’m doing these days as I try to make sense of what’s going on, how I’m being affected by the Credit Crash, and where I’ll be in 12 months time:…

1. Keep eyes on your cash! It’s YOUR CASH!

Really, it’s just survival out there, that’s the name of the game now. Making sure that your cash is as safe as you can - verify that you have cash in the bank, that your bank deposits are sufficiently insured or guaranteed. I’m planning to separate my funds into two bank accounts in separate institutions. While my own government authority has guaranteed deposits until 2009, having no access to these funds even temporarily could cause some cashflow problems, so I’d rather not take the chance.

2. Be better informed! Read, read, read…

I’m sure this is one that should affect us all! Here we are fretting about problems and issues that we all know little about: WTF is a Credit Default Swap? Well, since people are taking such risks with their money (and ours!), it seems that we have to all become better informed about the systemic risks these people are taking without so much as consulting us. I, for one, will endeavor to be much better informed about these matters.

3. Pie in the sky: that’s all it can ever be!

Skepticism has always been one of my strong suits, but now I’m becoming even more skeptical of the truisms, investing wisdoms, and aphorisms passed from advisor to client all over the world. I just don’t see why we should all be told that we have to invest in the stock market, expect 9% returns, and take SO MUCH risk without any chance of reward. No businessperson worth their salt would invest in a business like that. Yet that is what most ‘retail investors’ face everyday.

I’m sure that I’ll be adding to this discussion shortly, but I wonder: how are you affected by the crash? What are you doing to protect your investments? How do you see things?

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There are many reasons why the markets are tumbling right now, and poor lending choices are one of the culprits. If your credit ratings have been affected by the turmoil, you may need to spend quite a bit of time, money and personal energy restoring your credit record through credit repair efforts and renewed borrowing. If you are considering bad credit credit cards from sites such as BadCreditOffers (which provide links to different types of cards, different rates and conditions), I would caution you:

1. Know the Credit Card Interest Rates

Rates for most credit cards are typically between 10%~20%, but can go much higher depending on the card, the agreement, and the penalties. Know this and understand this. Don’t be fooled by “Intro APRs”, “Low Rates”, Freebies, or Minimum Payments. Always know the full rate, work out how much you would have to pay at that rate, and calculate how much interest you would pay over 12 months on a typical amount for your own budget. Oh, and beware those N/A statements. Know why they say “N/A”!

2. Read the Agreement before you sign!

Make sure you read the agreement, esp. if you are going to use the card a lot. Make sure that you understand what penalties may be applied, what rights you have under the agreement, and who you need to contact if you have problems. If you don’t understand the agreement, don’t sign it until you are happy that you do. Find someone who can explain it to you.

3. Check those Statements carefully!

When you get your card, keep it safely along with a record of your usage of the card. Then make sure you check those statements carefully each month. Check off each item as it appears and query any that are incorrect. Then make the payment before the due date to avoid penalties.

I am thankful that I can read my statements (even though they are in a language I’m not competent at), I do have someone who can understand the agreement, and I religiously check each and every statement. It really helps to keep tabs on your credit cards and your usage patterns. But I’m assuming you already do that, don’t you?

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Martha Starr.

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If you haven’t already heard about Kiva, then read about it here.

I want to recruit you to my lending team, Taiwan Gives, on Kiva, a non-profit website that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. You choose who to lend to - whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq - and as they repay the loan, you get your money back.

If you join my lending team, we can work together to alleviate poverty. Once you’re a part of the team, you can choose to have a future loan on Kiva “count” towards our team’s impact. The loan is still yours, and repayments still come to you - but you can also choose to have the loan show up in our team’s collective portfolio, so our team’s overall impact will grow!

Check out the Taiwan Gives lending team, and learn more about lending teams on Kiva in general, by clicking here: http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=330&_isc=9e30de34-e503-102b-9b86-b71337deb4ea.

Thanks,
kenneth dickson

Actually, most credit card statements tell a story: this was no exception. It’s a story of three parts.

Part 1: The business

We’ve been on an energy economy drive for the past four or five months, and the benefits are slowly beginning to pay off in lower electricity bills and lower carbon emissions. It’s staggering how little changes in behavior can have such significant effects: lighting choices, replacing older equipment, changing usage patterns, etc.. I don’t have complete stats for 2008, but I was surprised at how we’ve saved nearly 10% of our annual electricity bill, and there is still one major bill to go. Stay tuned!

Replacing A/Cs is perhaps the most notable way to cut energy use. Our oldest A/Cs are nearly 8 years old, and due for replacement, if nothing else because more modern A/Cs are comparatively more efficient. So after replacing one, we bit the bullet and replaced the one in the office (likely the single heaviest use appliance in the entire school). This month we replaced one that had been malfunctioning in the classroom ever since there was a power outage. It had just been blowing warm air, and wasting our money.

• Damage: NT$48,800 plus installation NT$1450.

Was it worth it? Certainly. Will we save money in the long run? Likely enough to pay for the entire machine! Are our customers/staff happier? For sure.

Part 2: UK Trip

The second part of the story: my unexpected trip to the UK. It was late September when I decided to visit the UK to see my family and friends (an entirely social trip!) but long needed. Maintaining long distance relationships is at best very challenging, at worst almost impossible.

Though, this is the complete list of credit card expenses until September 19th, it was NOT the entire trip expenditure. Woops!

• Phone Bill: NT$1154 - including national and roaming charges;
• Nolita Restaurants: NT$6630 - a meal for my friends, Jane and Philip in Hatfield, which was surprisingly reasonable given the restaurant, but didn’t include much alcohol - one was exhausted and one was driving!
• Boots and Asda: NT$1244 - daily expenses (esp. when I couldn’t cash my traveler’s checks);

Part 3: Online Related Expenses

I finally bought a ‘puter that I could put in my bag. One of the ironies though was that I bought a machine that was made by a Taiwanese company in Shanghai shipped to England and sold cheaper than you could buy in Taiwan at the time.

Mine’s the blue one! Of course, not running Linpus. Sorry!

Enter the Acer AspireOne - Net Book. It’s proved very useful, and I’m seriously glad that I got it. I was able to make calls through SKYPE, surf the Net, listen to music and even do more than just rudimentary blogging on that little 8.9″ screen.

• Damage: NT$17,310. Of course, being an overseas customer, I may be able to reclaim part of my tax (approx. NT$1800) making the deal even better value for me!

I also paid a writer who is helping me co-author a series of posts on the Dow Jones Indexed Companies. I also paid Google an AdWords activation fee.

• Total cost for this: NT$1319.

And, finally, after earning points on the airconditioner purchases at Carrefour, bonus points on our credit card bonus points, we also earned a little cash back on some of my purchases: NT$-213.

• I’m still not exactly sure what purchases triggered this, but still every little helps to reduce the total damage: NT$79,694.

There were no interest or penalties added to this month’s credit cards, and my secondary card had no outstanding purchases at all. oh, and I nearly forgot the NT$2000 life insurance premium that was paid.

It’s funny how credit card expenses can highlight the unfolding stories that compromise our lives. Have a look through your credit card statement? Can you see a story developing there?

• Oh, and by the way: most frivolous expense trip - Hong Kong Airport Starbucks Americano and water bought with a credit card HK$39.00. Just silly.

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True to form, you will find all the social bells and whistles you need for this online investors’ community called Inner 8 which seeks to bring investors of all kinds together under the following statement “Inner8 technology gives you the best, personalized ideas, and lets you keep the savings“. Given the background of the owners of Inner8, this site should not be underestimated as it tries to bind investors with complex data analysis.

The deal for investors though is quite simple: you connect with investors from a wide range of backgrounds as you all seek to make money trading online, whether it is stocks, bonds, or whatever. There are several pages in which you can interact: Tools and Community.

The tools page is worth playing with: you can simply tweak the controls at the bottom to show what kind of market segments you are interested in, then you will see the results on the right.

The community page is also worth a look to find people online who are investing. There are similar slider controls that you can play with as you search for members to form your community.

Both tools and community pages are works-in-progress as the range of tools are limited, as is the size of the community. But one thing is sure: if Inner8 sticks around long enough, they will be able to develop a focused and passionate group of users. The tools are innovative and promising, as is the community. I’ve already joined, and have filled in a bit of my profile.

>

You’ll see this banner throughout the website, and hopefully elsewhere, too!

First does your blog meet these requirements?

#1 Must be self-hosted and running some version of WordPress (not WordPress.com)
#2 Must be unique posts (ie. not published elsewhere).
#3 Traffic levels at least 100 visitors a month on average.
#4 PR is not required, though.
#5 Monetization Stats are NOT required.
#6 English Language Blogs Only.

Please comment me with information, or contact me, or email me ( investorblogger @ gmail dot com), suggested pricing and availability. I will be buying the content, the domain and anything else you care to include. I will negotiate the price with you.

This would be ideal for a blogger who is giving up their blog and/or would like to sell their blog and is concerned about selling: I plan to maintain the original blog and begin adding to the archives again. Any Questions?

I will examine deals that I receive: if you think your blog is suitable, why not drop me a line?

In blogging, the big news was the launch of Chrome from Google as a fairly polished and minimalist browser set to challenge both FF and IE.

In finance, we are pondering the next president’s economic policies and inviting debate on who will be better for the US and world economy. InvestorBlogger also reached its second birthday and we celebrated ‘a little’. Of course, with us nearly reaching a milestone in several ways, we posted the next story on the Dow Jones Series: Johnson and Johnson. The Dow has been on a wild ride this week: who knows how it will finish the week! We also looked at a simple tool for converting currencies.

InvestorBlogger finally created a static  home page for the main blog, linking to the feature articles. I’ve sitll go to work on the actual pages at the footer, but the new site is finally becoming a coherent whole with identifiable streams of content. It’s quite exciting!

Apart from a few other newsbytes, photos, videos, and twitter updates, that was the week on InvestorBlogger Dot Com. You can of course subscribe to our feeds, or via email.

• 1. InvestorBlogger Dot Com: URL = http://investorblogger.com/feed/
• 2. Dollar Travels Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/pf/feed/
• 3. Blogging Travails Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/blogging/feed/
• 4. Sticky Rice Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/taiwan/feed/
• 5. BlogCarnival Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/blogcarnivals/feed/
• 6. Top 20 Money Making Feeds: URL = http://investorblogger.com/top-20/feed/
• 7. Entire Site: URL = http://investorblogger.com/?wpmu-feed=posts

Enjoy your weekend.

In blogging, we looked at five new plugins that you might want to try out on your blog. Then we looked at a new series called DEAD END BLOGGING or how to avoid the charlatans of the blogging world. And finally, we examined the current situation between PayPerPost and PageRank, just in time for a new update on the Google Dance.

In finance, I showed you to track your expenses via Google Docs and the new Forms feature. Then showed you what happened when I *I* failed to use any system for tracking my credit card expenses in early August. There was also an update on the third in our Dow Jones Series: JP Morgan (JPM: NYSE).

Apart from a few other newsbytes, photos, videos, and twitter updates, that was the week on InvestorBlogger Dot Com. You can of course subscribe to our feeds, or via email.

• 1. InvestorBlogger Dot Com: URL = http://investorblogger.com/feed/
• 2. Dollar Travels Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/pf/feed/
• 3. Blogging Travails Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/blogging/feed/
• 4. Sticky Rice Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/taiwan/feed/
• 5. Entire Site: URL = http://investorblogger.com/?wpmu-feed=posts

Enjoy your weekend.

In one post, Steve provided some great tips on getting up and running with AdWords.

Then on Wednesday, I examined whether more expensive hotels were really worth the difference or not. Surprisingly there was a slight premium I found on the price, but it seemed worth it.

There was a recent post that covered updates on InvestorBlogger’s site and how they were impacting traffic: returns, time on site, etc. in a positive manner.

And the Top 20 Money Making Feed Download has been given a refresh, so take a look at who’s out and who’s in.

On Monday, I reviewed a website that was offering credit filing and reporting services in CreditSaint - The Saint or the Sinner? You Decide… as I took a critical stance, it didn’t go down well with the advertiser, but then as an external user, I was NOT impressed… When you are using lesser known financial services, be prepared to check out the website!

On Tuesday, I looked at Wordpress MU vs. Wordpress Vanilla flavor. It’s a challenging platform, but I have figured out almost all the problems except 2: how to present the front page and the sitemap.xml that I need for Google.

On Wednesday, I posted a video of a speech by Steve Pavlina and a picture of a Sunset in Taiwan!

On Thursday, I asked the simple question: Reveal ALL my personal financials, lift the veil on some of finances (e.g. Net Worth and Investments), or keep them away from prying eyes? Still looking for suggestions!

Then on Friday, I found some great deals on financial magazines courtesy of Amazon, so look at those if you read financial magazines! And I finally posted information about my own feeds on this blog… so make sure you subscribe to the right one!

Stay Tuned!

What feeds can you find on InvestorBlogger?

There are a number of sub-blogs on this domain now, each of which as its own feed.

1. The main feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/feed/

This feed is the front door to the other blogettes, and is intended to feature the ‘best of…’ each of the other blogs for readers. It will also contain ‘lighter material’, basic information, and so on.

2. Dollar Travels Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/pf/feed/

Dollar Travels contains the posts related to Personal Finance, and the remit is WIDE open. All topics are subsumed under “Just how far does your dollar go? Read on…”

3. Blogging Travails Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/blogging/feed/

Blogging Travails covers all the material on tech, blogging, making money online and much more. It’s off to a strong start.

4. Sticky Rice Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/taiwan/feed/

This sub-blog features picture posts, life in Taiwan, Politics, and all the other posts that don’t fit in anywhere else.

And …

… there is a whole site feed which includes ALL posts on the website. If you would prefer a higher frequency feed, then subscribe to that feed:

5. Whole InvestorBlogger and NOTHING BUT Feed: URL = http://investorblogger.com/?wpmu-feed=posts

Notes: I’m planning to publish both the main site feed and the Whole 100% Feed with one being summaries and the other full posts at some point, but my first attempts didn’t work properly at all. There are another few sub-blogs hosted on this URL, but I will feature them as time goes by. It’s likely that you may not wish to subscribe to all the posts, esp. if the volume of posts picks up. If so, please subscribe to the appropriate channel only.

The first that I clicked, of course, was Making Money. What a treasure trove! There were links to some very fine writings on finance, business and investing as well as articles by the blogger himself on a variety of business concerns. The business tips weren’t the same old run-of-the-mill unrealistic words aimed at big business but good, solid advice that the small business owner can use. The writing was relaxed and casual, almost as if you were sitting down and talking face to face, a welcome change from the formality of most sites dealing with investments and financial matters. I’ll be going back to that category frequently; you can find it in the money making section.

Next up was the NewsBites section at . This was another fine page full of the latest news dealing with the economy, finding markets for your products, ideas for improving your business and making money. I particularly liked the article that addressed how to survive and thrive during the recession we’re in and got a few good ideas for my own business.

Then it was time for something a bit lighter. I’d spent the better part of the evening reading some fine articles and following the links to fascinating financial information so it was time a change. I clicked on the Little Pleasures category and was greeted with not only an amusing clip from a popular movie but a truly magnificent photo of the Tamsui river in Taiwan that rivals anything you could find in a commercial photographer’s portfolio. There was an article about tea shops competing with Starbucks and accompanied by a video clip, a review of a Sony MP3 player and an account of a visit to San Francisco complete with photos. What a great way to add a little beauty and humor to the dour subjects of money and finance!

InvestorBlogger is an interesting, informative site that offers realisticadvice and a wealth of resources not only for investors but for anyone who wants to manage their finances intelligently. My only real gripe about the InvestorBlogger was the pop-up ad on the first page but it was a minor irritation and after all, someone has to pay the bills!

By Anuj.

Anuj, Thanks for your testimonial. I did remove the popup on the front page. It wasn’t worth the hit on the server or the irritation of my readers.

Google AdWords: Does it make Ad Sense?

One of the new things I’m trying is bringing traffic from AdWords. I finally signed up for a Google AdWords account; had my cards accepted and am now running ads for one of my pages. it’s pretty easy to set up, I was surprised. I’ve set up five different [...]

Switching to a New Platform: WordPress MU

As some of you have been following the blog, InvestorBlogger is in the throes of becoming a multi-blog. This is a great thing for InvestorBlogger because I’ve always found that the blog had a fuzzy focus on topics: covering a wide range of topics from Taiwan to Making Money to Blogging Issues and much more.

Dollar Travels: PF Blog Update #1

August 8th, I’ve been working on setting up the first blog on Personal Finance, I’m now going through the archives of InvestorBlogger to extract all the articles on Personal Finance in the past few months, as I’d like to launch (or relaunch) PF Blog with a much sharper focus on expenses and income and dealing [...]

Where to go

This blog is still very much in the startup stage. For current readers, please go to the archives for all of the posts up until August 4th. If you would like, use the search above to search for topics. There are four new sub-blogs, but content isn’t yet published on the new blogs, as I’m setting [...]

Dow Components

For all the Dow Components, click on this link…

Recent Posts

• How Do Bloggers Use Their Credit Cards? Read on…
• Ovation Credit Services: Does it deserve a standing ovation?
• July ‘08 Credit Card Spending Post
• Saving Money: You can save money by cutting energy use!
• Should you use savings to pay debt? It’s tempting

Enjoy, comment.

There are four new sub-blogs, but content isn’t yet published on the new blogs, as I’m setting up the blogs still, and there’s still a lot of work to be done.

In the meantime, if you don’t know where to look: just read the categories or the most recent archives.

Categories: 12 juicy ones! And Fresh!

To visit the original categories:Asides Blogging Buzz Dow Jones Stocks Expenses General Stuff Little Pleasures Making Money Newsbites Taiwan Life Tech This Website Wordpress & WP Classes

Sign up for our email or just subscribe to the feeds.

Posting should resume when at least one of the blogs is upto speed (ie. about 20 posts moved to the blog location).

Kenneth

To visit the main blog… just click here.

To visit the original categories:

• Asides
• Blogging
• Buzz
• carnival of making real money
• Dow Jones Stocks
• Expenses
• General Stuff
• Little Pleasures
• Making Money
• Newsbites
• Taiwan Life
• Tech
• This Website
• Wordpress & WP Classes