Will they or won’t they? Is Hockey going to actually happen this year? In some ways I hope not because I am getting a lot done not sitting in front of the TV swearing at Jason Spezza making yet another blind drop pass. Can the millionaires learn to get along with the multi-millionaires? It’s all quite boring now, do it, or don’t do it, just stop being so boring. The Leafs and Sens continue on with their undefeated seasons (on the optimistic side of things).
The showdown on the Fiscal Cliff looms at the end of the month, and the rhetoric continues to percolate for now, but I suspect as each week passes without a solution will cause more acidic and nasty commentaries from both sides of the U.S. government. So sit back, get some egg nog and enjoy the histrionics on CNN and Fox News, should be quite entertaining.
An interesting week on the markets with CP Rail announcing 4,500 layoffs and their stock going up after the announcement. Citigroup in the states are planning 11,000 layoffs, and their stock went up as well, which begs the question, would a stock be worth infinite money if it could lay off all it’s employees (OK, it was a bad joke we used to tell in the bleak days of Nortel).
For those who love doomsday discussions, two more weeks until the world comes to an end, when Niburu will obliterate the earth and life will end as we know it. I guess I’ll make sure we are having Tacos and I’ll be drinking some tequilla on the 21st to show some respect to our Mayan predecessors.
Weekly Recap
This first week of December had another eclectic set of themes from me with:
- Welcome to Advent, Decembeard and #OldieButGoodie Tweets for a Sunday points out that Advent has started and some of us have not shorn our Movember staches either.
- December is Here, think End of Year financially your end of year is staring you in the face, and remember the days between Christmas and New Years banks are shorter staffed.
- Christmas Financial Cliff is an analogy about how the U.S. government and you both might be going off a fiscal cliff if you are not careful.
- Loose Money Continues for the Holiday Season in Canada no change interest rates for the holiday season so we can continue spending like drunken sailors in Shang’hai (well that wasn’t the actual message from the Bank of Canada, I am reading between the lines).
- Love is Forgiving the Unforgivable (Reader Participation) the final line sums up some folks views of this web site as well!
And thanks to those who added me on Twitter I am now over 1300 folks who follow me, Zut Alors! If you join my “Twitter Posse“, you might notice I am also re-Tweeting some posts from the French Media as well (hell, if I am learning the language, shouldn’t we all?). Check out my Facebook page and find us on Google+as well (but no I didn’t buy Facebook stock). The page includes many different posts, not just my own (kind of like this Friday post, but all week-long), and I have changed it a little bit too (note the new background).
Links for the Week
Discussions about financial cliffs or just good old fashioned Personal Finance Advice , maybe they are putting their money in the vault ? I think vaulting it and not over-spending at Christmas is a good idea:
Top Stories of the Week of December 7th 2012
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I Don’t Know My Way Home in the DarkIs Michael James pointing out the importance of a reasonable work/life balance. He has always had that, I am working towards a better one myself too. |
A Compilation of Warren Buffett’s Online ArticlesThe Canadian Capitalist has an entertaining list of articles about or written by the Wizard of Omaha. Buffett is worth reading about, even if you don’t agree with all of his opinions. |
Would You Buy A House Someone Died In?Nelson at Financial Uproar asks this question. I think my answer is that as long as no one was murdered with a load bearing beam from the house, there shouldn’t be a big problem with that. Nice picture of Robert Stack though. |
Are RRSPs the Holy Grail of Retirement Savings or the Holey Grail?The Blunt Bean Counter points out that while RRSPs have their advantages, like with all tools, how you use them is the most important thing about them. |
Got a defined benefit pension plan? Consider yourself lucky then consider it a big bondMark @ My Own Advisor points out how lucky you are if you have a DB pension, and how you should view it as part of your retirement plan. |
3 Big Budgeting BugsGail Vaz-Oxlade points out a few of the mistakes that we can make while budgeting and planning our finances. Remember a budget is like any plan, it is never done, it can change every day maybe. |
2012 Bonus Round-up - Making $100 an HourReally? Joe at Timeless Finance seems to think he made $100 an hour from his credit cards? It’s an intricate web of thought, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could make money from our credit cards (without using them)? |
The infallible portfolio?Yes, Mark at The Physics of Finance is skeptical about claims of an infallible portfolio as well. Read his point of view on how this concept might just be a “pig in a poke” or possibly a “red herring”. |
Takeover bids from Petronas and CNOOC looking riskierLarry MacDonald points out that the accounting methodologies of China and other countries may make some takeover bids that much riskier. Is it being Xenophobic, or just prudent? |
How to use social media to get better serviceEllen Roseman gives another example of someone who complained enough publicly that they got what they wanted (in the end). Twitter is now the complaint desk of the world? |
Your advert here send an e-mail for info to bigcajunman at canajun finances dot com ! |
Former Mutual Fund Manager Lashes Out Against Industry (PODCAST)Preet is back and he is having more fun on his podcasts too. He will also be on the O Network in the new year with his new TV show too! |
Tweet of the Week
Seuss Army Knife twitter.com/0boy/status/27…
— JD Rucker (@0boy) December 4, 2012
Other Bookkeeping
Putting it in the Vault (at the Diefenbunker in Ottawa (Canada’s Cold War Museum))
Remember my RSS feed is available too, and I have added an RSS Comment Feed as well. Have a look at my micro-blog on Twitter, where you can see a whole plethora of good articles and pithy comments by me as well. Twitter feed where I re-tweet many great articles by some of my featured writers (and make the occasional odd or off colour commentary on life (in 140 characters or less)).
I am also on reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest and other Social Media sites (look for the BigCajunMan userid) as well. If you have social media accounts, don’t forget to vote for my posts (see the nifty dashboard on the bottom of each article, where you can cast your votes). As they say in Quebec, vote early and vote often!
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