Please don’t bother yourself looking this up in the dictionary, this disease is rather new and has come to the notice of most doctors last week. It all started mildly two weeks ago when stock prices started to plummet on the floors of the NSE. Then, some investors who had huge holdings in stocks that are not too fundamentally sound saw no reason to panic.
Now it has become clear that all is not well, as most stocks are taking a beating. This has forced some investors to panic heavily as the bears approached the trading floors. So many investors tried to dump their losing stocks and run for it, alas! The exit was too small for all of them to squeeze through at the same time.
There will be casualties of course, small investors trampled in the stampede and as such could not cash out quick enough. Their brokers can’t sell, especially those that has slow stock brokers. One respectable investor forgot to drive his car home last Thursday, he trekked two kilometers home (he was so confused from losing so much in a day that he forgot he came to work with a car.) another one took Friday off and stayed indoors to sulk at home, pretending to madam that he was sick (or was he not?)
Caution is advised here. Don’t invest or speculate with any amount of money you cannot afford to lose. Some invest with the house rent, and others with the children’s school fees. This is very risky as it will make you to make emotionally charged decisions while investing.
Stockleria as a disease is treatable, just travel to a place where you will not have access to news, no internet connections, no radio or phones and forget about the NSE. This will save you a lot of stress.
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
MY FIGHT WITH THE POLICE.
Nigerian policemen are starting to behave a little better now than before, like I just passed a police checkpoint (I thought the damn thing has been scrapped across the nation. I was surprised when the policemen there flagged me down gently and asked me to park by the side of the road. I did just that and was politely asked to step down from my car.
I came down and was told to open my boot, the contents were checked and it was locked back. Then my vehicle particulars and other identifying documents were verified. You can imagine my surprise when all my particulars were handed over to me with muffled apology for wasting my time! What, in Nigeria?
Let me now relate to you my experience at the same checkpoint last year. I was driving along and there was this heavy set up of logs, all set up to obstruct any driver. I was not stopped by the first set of policemen, so I drove along. Few meters on, all hell broke loose.
I was almost accelerating when a policeman in front of me lifted an AK47 and cocked it in my face, with his hand on the trigger, running back and shouting at the top of his voice to me, warning me to park or he will shoot me on the head, Jesus!
The look on his eyes meant exactly what he was saying, no be small thing at all! My mind rushed to all the accidental discharge cases where innocent civilians were shot in cold blood. I carefully parked and came down charging at the bastard! It was a big scene; I was hurling all kinds of abuse my mind could remember at the idiot.
I was asking why he should point a gun at me; we blocked all other traffic at the centre of the road. All other policemen rushed towards us, some annoyed at me, some at their colleague. We were exchanging words freely, I wanted to tell him where he belongs, he and me were raving and ranting for nearly two full minutes.
The argument was that they claimed I was stopped further back and I refused to stop, me? What for? I was never stopped! He was beating his chest and asking me out for a fight, I in turn asked him to remove his uniform and I will beat him silly, and you know what, he pulled his top vest, dropped his AK47 and advanced towards me. Only the intervention of more than six other policemen calmed us both.
Later I was making calls with my Blackberry handheld PC, ha! That got to them quickly that this might not be the normal poor Nigerian that they are used to. I called two big men, issuing instructions that my life was in danger.
They later calmed me down and started begging me to forget the incident, while the idiot that cocked his gun in my face was still ranting, apparently under the influence of one hard drug or the other. I later agreed to leave after the elderly officer in charge of that operation begged me to drop the issue and go home.
Nigeria, we hail thee!
I came down and was told to open my boot, the contents were checked and it was locked back. Then my vehicle particulars and other identifying documents were verified. You can imagine my surprise when all my particulars were handed over to me with muffled apology for wasting my time! What, in Nigeria?
Let me now relate to you my experience at the same checkpoint last year. I was driving along and there was this heavy set up of logs, all set up to obstruct any driver. I was not stopped by the first set of policemen, so I drove along. Few meters on, all hell broke loose.
I was almost accelerating when a policeman in front of me lifted an AK47 and cocked it in my face, with his hand on the trigger, running back and shouting at the top of his voice to me, warning me to park or he will shoot me on the head, Jesus!
The look on his eyes meant exactly what he was saying, no be small thing at all! My mind rushed to all the accidental discharge cases where innocent civilians were shot in cold blood. I carefully parked and came down charging at the bastard! It was a big scene; I was hurling all kinds of abuse my mind could remember at the idiot.
I was asking why he should point a gun at me; we blocked all other traffic at the centre of the road. All other policemen rushed towards us, some annoyed at me, some at their colleague. We were exchanging words freely, I wanted to tell him where he belongs, he and me were raving and ranting for nearly two full minutes.
The argument was that they claimed I was stopped further back and I refused to stop, me? What for? I was never stopped! He was beating his chest and asking me out for a fight, I in turn asked him to remove his uniform and I will beat him silly, and you know what, he pulled his top vest, dropped his AK47 and advanced towards me. Only the intervention of more than six other policemen calmed us both.
Later I was making calls with my Blackberry handheld PC, ha! That got to them quickly that this might not be the normal poor Nigerian that they are used to. I called two big men, issuing instructions that my life was in danger.
They later calmed me down and started begging me to forget the incident, while the idiot that cocked his gun in my face was still ranting, apparently under the influence of one hard drug or the other. I later agreed to leave after the elderly officer in charge of that operation begged me to drop the issue and go home.
Nigeria, we hail thee!
Monday, 24 March 2008
Should we respect public treasury looters?
There are situations that present conflicting views and task our judgment as a people with a peculiar culture. Sometimes these happenings are not recent occurrences but could still be fresh on our memories like they happened yesterday. I am talking about looting the treasury of this nation and the way we should regard these affected individuals.
Looting of the treasury, abuse of office, misallocation of public resources, fraud and outright theft of state funds or installations are crimes that should only be punished as soon as possible. This doesn’t seem to be a possibility in the present day Nigeria. This is because the nation as presently constituted still has a lot of in built flaws that prevent this group of men and women from being tried in the courts like common criminals they are.
It will be funny to note that while the masses were crying and suffering in abject poverty, living on less than a dollar a day, these leaders were busy amassing frightening wealth and worse still are stashing them far away from where it would have provided companies and hence jobs for the teeming unemployed graduates. The public infrastructure was either too poorly maintained or totally nonexistent. Roads were so poorly constructed and maintained that you could be surprised if you learn that humans drive cars on these deathtraps. And to make it doubly tragic is the constant harassment from the government officials who drive in long convoys and insist that the poor masses in rickety buses should leave the roads to give them a pass as many times as they want to pass these roads.
This is very saddening when you remember that it is still these corrupt government officials that failed to build these roads. Yet they chase you out of the road; remember also that the hold ups will not be there in the first place if the roads were passable. Starting to count their litany of offences will be like writing another book entirely. Besides, this is out of our topic of discussion for now. What should occupy our attention is how we should treat these people after all these days.
Let me quickly remind us here that these men should still be considered innocent until the courts say otherwise. This is a fact; the law is very slow in catching up with these looters. The masses are watching helplessly as these men still go about in gleaming jeeps and still build mansions in all parts of the world. They still walk around as if nothing will happen to them anymore.
So, what has this got to do with respect for elders as we were trained to do since childhood? The African young person is taught from birth to always be obedient and respectful to adults. This same respect is what we grow up with and it accompanies us until old age. It will not be out of place to see us Africans smiling at strangers and greeting them with a cheerful countenance. In some cultures in Nigeria, you are expected to use two hands while greeting anybody that is your elder. Some cultures almost kneel down to greet adults. But the one that takes the Oscar is the culture in Nigeria where you lie down and prostrate on your belly to as a sign of respect to your elders.
Such deeply imbibed culture of respect is what I am trying to describe as making it difficult for us to speak out against identified crooks. Most of these past leaders are older citizens and as such culture demands that we still accord them respect, but in the face of what they are being accused of doing? In conclusion, we should learn to condemn the actions of these past leaders wherever and whenever possible, so as to serve as a deterrent to future leaders. Actions should also be taken to bring these people to book as their continued freedom is sending the wrong message to the younger generation.
There are situations that present conflicting views and task our judgment as a people with a peculiar culture. Sometimes these happenings are not recent occurrences but could still be fresh on our memories like they happened yesterday. I am talking about looting the treasury of this nation and the way we should regard these affected individuals.
Looting of the treasury, abuse of office, misallocation of public resources, fraud and outright theft of state funds or installations are crimes that should only be punished as soon as possible. This doesn’t seem to be a possibility in the present day Nigeria. This is because the nation as presently constituted still has a lot of in built flaws that prevent this group of men and women from being tried in the courts like common criminals they are.
It will be funny to note that while the masses were crying and suffering in abject poverty, living on less than a dollar a day, these leaders were busy amassing frightening wealth and worse still are stashing them far away from where it would have provided companies and hence jobs for the teeming unemployed graduates. The public infrastructure was either too poorly maintained or totally nonexistent. Roads were so poorly constructed and maintained that you could be surprised if you learn that humans drive cars on these deathtraps. And to make it doubly tragic is the constant harassment from the government officials who drive in long convoys and insist that the poor masses in rickety buses should leave the roads to give them a pass as many times as they want to pass these roads.
This is very saddening when you remember that it is still these corrupt government officials that failed to build these roads. Yet they chase you out of the road; remember also that the hold ups will not be there in the first place if the roads were passable. Starting to count their litany of offences will be like writing another book entirely. Besides, this is out of our topic of discussion for now. What should occupy our attention is how we should treat these people after all these days.
Let me quickly remind us here that these men should still be considered innocent until the courts say otherwise. This is a fact; the law is very slow in catching up with these looters. The masses are watching helplessly as these men still go about in gleaming jeeps and still build mansions in all parts of the world. They still walk around as if nothing will happen to them anymore.
So, what has this got to do with respect for elders as we were trained to do since childhood? The African young person is taught from birth to always be obedient and respectful to adults. This same respect is what we grow up with and it accompanies us until old age. It will not be out of place to see us Africans smiling at strangers and greeting them with a cheerful countenance. In some cultures in Nigeria, you are expected to use two hands while greeting anybody that is your elder. Some cultures almost kneel down to greet adults. But the one that takes the Oscar is the culture in Nigeria where you lie down and prostrate on your belly to as a sign of respect to your elders.
Such deeply imbibed culture of respect is what I am trying to describe as making it difficult for us to speak out against identified crooks. Most of these past leaders are older citizens and as such culture demands that we still accord them respect, but in the face of what they are being accused of doing? In conclusion, we should learn to condemn the actions of these past leaders wherever and whenever possible, so as to serve as a deterrent to future leaders. Actions should also be taken to bring these people to book as their continued freedom is sending the wrong message to the younger generation.
SHOULD YOU SELL A STOCK AT A LOSS?
Several authors world over had tried to answer the above question convincingly in the past. The major objective of buying stocks, nay any other form of investment product is the profit motive. Since all investors are in the stock market to make increasing profits by buying good stocks and trying to sell them off when they have become overvalued, it will be painful to sell a stock at a loss.
It is an emotion thing, having to accept less that you invested as a return, not forgetting time wasted and all other resources not utilised. Nobody likes losing money. Some people also find it difficult to agree they are wrong, hence they try to hang in there, believing things will change at the next market turn. some do brag to friends and family what a guru they are, not until the stocks they picked start making losses as it will once in a while, that they now remember that the market is no respecter of personality, position, status and qualifications.
So such investors try to stick to their early convictions and carry on as if nothing happened. Defending their actions with flimsy excuses. They fail to notice that a mistake not corrected goes on to multiply its consequences, dragging the whole portfolio down with it. A large percentage of the investors portfolio will be dormant for long. Not smart, not smart at all. Even worse is the practice of shifting such unperforming stock to the long term section of their portfolio. Another mistake as the place you keep an ill timed mistake will not change it from what it still is, a mistake.
Wake up and sanitize your portfolio now. The best action to take is to sell a stick as soon as you notice it was a mistake buying it in the first place. Sell and move the money into more performing stocks and sectors. Take the loss but remember to avoid the mistake that took you into buying the stock in the first place. The money now stands a chance of performing in your new selection, and sometimes wiping away your earlier loss.
It is an emotion thing, having to accept less that you invested as a return, not forgetting time wasted and all other resources not utilised. Nobody likes losing money. Some people also find it difficult to agree they are wrong, hence they try to hang in there, believing things will change at the next market turn. some do brag to friends and family what a guru they are, not until the stocks they picked start making losses as it will once in a while, that they now remember that the market is no respecter of personality, position, status and qualifications.
So such investors try to stick to their early convictions and carry on as if nothing happened. Defending their actions with flimsy excuses. They fail to notice that a mistake not corrected goes on to multiply its consequences, dragging the whole portfolio down with it. A large percentage of the investors portfolio will be dormant for long. Not smart, not smart at all. Even worse is the practice of shifting such unperforming stock to the long term section of their portfolio. Another mistake as the place you keep an ill timed mistake will not change it from what it still is, a mistake.
Wake up and sanitize your portfolio now. The best action to take is to sell a stick as soon as you notice it was a mistake buying it in the first place. Sell and move the money into more performing stocks and sectors. Take the loss but remember to avoid the mistake that took you into buying the stock in the first place. The money now stands a chance of performing in your new selection, and sometimes wiping away your earlier loss.
Sunday, 23 March 2008
POCKET LAUGHS, ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE.
A police corporal, serving at Alausa, impregnated the daughter of his DPO. The DPO summoned him to his office and asked for an explanation "Corporal, why did you commit that irresponsible act"?
Corporal: "Oga na accidental discharge"!
Corporal: "Oga na accidental discharge"!
POCKET LAUGHS, EVIL MEN.
One bad man ( 419, armed robber, pen robber, assassin etc) was watching television in his upstairs sitting room with his young son one day. The first rain of the year was coming with its usual thunder, lightening, heavy winds, snow fall. It got so loud and thunderous that the man became very afraid; it seemed the house will collapse on him he quickly raced outside the house, where he thought the house will not collapse on his head.
He started yelling the name of his son, "Sam, Sam, please run down from that house, the money I used to build this house, I don't trust it at all"
The moral of this story, EVIL NEVER PAYS.
He started yelling the name of his son, "Sam, Sam, please run down from that house, the money I used to build this house, I don't trust it at all"
The moral of this story, EVIL NEVER PAYS.
POCKET LAUGHS, DOUBLE MIRACLE.
A blind man was sitting beside a deaf/mute, begging for alms. A passer by dropped a big bill in the plate of the blind man, as the money was too big to be resisted; quickly the deaf/ mute snapped it up from the blind man's plate.
The blind man shouted 'you think I didn't see your hand'? 'just put that money down before I slap you'!
The deaf/mute asked, 'I thought you are blind'?
The blind man returned 'And I thought you were deaf and dumb'?
The passer by (a pastor) came back and said 'praise the lord, this is a double miracle'!
The blind man shouted 'you think I didn't see your hand'? 'just put that money down before I slap you'!
The deaf/mute asked, 'I thought you are blind'?
The blind man returned 'And I thought you were deaf and dumb'?
The passer by (a pastor) came back and said 'praise the lord, this is a double miracle'!
SHOULD I LEAVE MY DAY JOB NOW?
Yours truly has been in a big turmoil of late, source of worry; my day job is no longer as interesting as it used to. Plus the time I spend in my eight to six job seem to me a waste of valuable time since my job has become mainly repetitive in nature with nothing new to learn.
For sustenance, I am into some other business ventures that are generating cash bigger than my salary every month. My dilemma is thinking of leaving and wondering if anything will go wrong and I will be back doing what I hate.
I am still in my early thirties, married and educated. In fact I am bored to death working for someone else. I would like to spend more time with my family.
For sustenance, I am into some other business ventures that are generating cash bigger than my salary every month. My dilemma is thinking of leaving and wondering if anything will go wrong and I will be back doing what I hate.
I am still in my early thirties, married and educated. In fact I am bored to death working for someone else. I would like to spend more time with my family.
EASTER THOUGHTS FOR YOU.
What is the best thing that happened to you of recent? What is it that God has blessed you with, don’t tell me about your difficulties, and rather tell me of the many blessings he has been pushing your way every second of everyday.
He gives you air to breathe.
He gives you water to drink.
He feeds you, clothes you, and keeps you healthy and sane.
What else cant he give to you since he has given you all these things that money cannot buy? He can give you wealth, wisdom and power.
Always remember that JESUS CHRIST died for you, he has resurrected with enough love to solve all our numerous problems. Believe that all your problems are over for the LORD has come to bear your burden.
Rejoice for CHRIST I risen!
He gives you air to breathe.
He gives you water to drink.
He feeds you, clothes you, and keeps you healthy and sane.
What else cant he give to you since he has given you all these things that money cannot buy? He can give you wealth, wisdom and power.
Always remember that JESUS CHRIST died for you, he has resurrected with enough love to solve all our numerous problems. Believe that all your problems are over for the LORD has come to bear your burden.
Rejoice for CHRIST I risen!
Saturday, 22 March 2008
WILL SOME NIGERIANS RETURN ALIVE? WE PRAY FOR THEM.
I know a lot of Nigerians that traveled abroad for greener pastures a long time ago and have still not returned home after a ten or fifteen year sojourn. This is highly abnormal as the friends and family awaiting their return has either given up hope or resigned their fate to God. Year after year go by and these men and women still haven’t come back home.
The reason is not far fetched, greener pastures as they used to think before they left home has become…not so green after all. But why don’t they come back and resume their roles here in Nigeria? Let me give you some reasons.
Some of our men made so much mouth that they will come back with millions of dollars as if it was a case of packing dollars from the streets. These men may be hanging on, preferring to exist in a foreign land than come back here for friends to laugh at them, “he came back empty handed hahahah”
Some, lets face it stole money from friends and family to run away to foreign lands. This group of people find it difficult to come and face the people they deceived and ran away with their money, maybe they are waiting for years to heal the hurt and embarrassment they caused everyone. There was one guy who emptied the cash in his master’s shop; another sold all the drinks in the truck he was driving as a company salesman, sold the drink cases and escaped with the whole money to Spain, needless to say the police are still waiting for him in Nigeria.
Some are in foreign jails for one reason or the other, drug trafficking, 419, armed robbery etc. Some are serving lengthy terms. They will be back as soon as they are done.
Finally and sadly too, some are dead. Some died trying to cross into Spain through Morocco. Some died in the heat and thirst of the North African desert, some shot by the janjaweed, and some shot by security agents or armed robbers. As their remains were never found, their people will still be awaiting their return. Stories abound of many dried up corpses bearing Nigerian passports in the deserts.
Sad, very sad for the giants of Africa.
The reason is not far fetched, greener pastures as they used to think before they left home has become…not so green after all. But why don’t they come back and resume their roles here in Nigeria? Let me give you some reasons.
Some of our men made so much mouth that they will come back with millions of dollars as if it was a case of packing dollars from the streets. These men may be hanging on, preferring to exist in a foreign land than come back here for friends to laugh at them, “he came back empty handed hahahah”
Some, lets face it stole money from friends and family to run away to foreign lands. This group of people find it difficult to come and face the people they deceived and ran away with their money, maybe they are waiting for years to heal the hurt and embarrassment they caused everyone. There was one guy who emptied the cash in his master’s shop; another sold all the drinks in the truck he was driving as a company salesman, sold the drink cases and escaped with the whole money to Spain, needless to say the police are still waiting for him in Nigeria.
Some are in foreign jails for one reason or the other, drug trafficking, 419, armed robbery etc. Some are serving lengthy terms. They will be back as soon as they are done.
Finally and sadly too, some are dead. Some died trying to cross into Spain through Morocco. Some died in the heat and thirst of the North African desert, some shot by the janjaweed, and some shot by security agents or armed robbers. As their remains were never found, their people will still be awaiting their return. Stories abound of many dried up corpses bearing Nigerian passports in the deserts.
Sad, very sad for the giants of Africa.
HOUSE HELPS AS SLAVES?
In Nigeria today the issue of whether or not to get a house help has become a more thorny issue. Let me examine the topic in different perspectives.
For the housewife, they need a helping hand to run some errands in the house, to act as a support for many activities in the running of the home. It has also been noticed that housewives are the people that abuse house helps mostly. Some wives see the maids as a competition in the house, and as such mete out punishment to clip their wings even when it is unnecessary. However most housewives are now wary of hiring female house helps since some irresponsible men sleep with their house helps and in some cases, take them as second wives. This will mean the powers enjoyed previously by the wife will now be shared.
For the social workers, they see the issue of house helps as a rot that has taken root in the society. They see it as a means of exploitation of the young woman used as a maid. They allege child labor, victimization, malnourishment, and overworking of the young woman.
For the man of the house, they see house helps as helpers in the house, to help out the kids with difficult tasks and accompany them to and from school.
So how do you see house helps? Should the practice be encouraged or stopped completely?
For the housewife, they need a helping hand to run some errands in the house, to act as a support for many activities in the running of the home. It has also been noticed that housewives are the people that abuse house helps mostly. Some wives see the maids as a competition in the house, and as such mete out punishment to clip their wings even when it is unnecessary. However most housewives are now wary of hiring female house helps since some irresponsible men sleep with their house helps and in some cases, take them as second wives. This will mean the powers enjoyed previously by the wife will now be shared.
For the social workers, they see the issue of house helps as a rot that has taken root in the society. They see it as a means of exploitation of the young woman used as a maid. They allege child labor, victimization, malnourishment, and overworking of the young woman.
For the man of the house, they see house helps as helpers in the house, to help out the kids with difficult tasks and accompany them to and from school.
So how do you see house helps? Should the practice be encouraged or stopped completely?
chelsea vs. arsenal: this will be war!
All soccer lovers all over the world are salivating already, every lover of the beautiful game are already poised for this cracker of immense proportions. They don’t come any bigger than this, a top of the table clash in a time in the premiership when one slip could mean the difference between winning and losing the premiership trophy.
It all started in the first half of the premiership when Chelsea were beaten 2:0 by Arsenal at the emirates stadium, helping to push Chelsea further down the top of the table, I remember that was not the best of times for a Chelsea team still reeling from the vacuum created by the exit of the controversial Jose Mourinho. On that day at the emirates, Chelsea were clearly outclassed and outplayed by the younger, sharper boys of Arsenal who were much at ease with their game.
Today’s match will be a little different because it seems it is Arsenal that is more at pressure, having suffered a loss of form of late. Their goal scoring prowess has become a doubt of late, all their attackers has become shy in front of the post. An Adebayor that seems to have shaved off his goal scoring skills with his hair will be a delight to watch as tries to recreate his magic in front of one of the strongest defense in the world.
There is also revenge in the air, as Chelsea football club will be trying to pay back Arsenal in their own coins. Don’t also forget that the lure for Chelsea will be to climb atop Arsenal in the league table, which Arsenal will not find funny. Arsenal has been sitting pretty at the top of the league table for most of the season, but having played second fiddle to Manchester united, it will be sad to see them slip to the third spot as the league draws dangerously near to a close.
Another top of the league cracker is the match between Manchester united and Liverpool. Rafael Benitez men are poised to stake a claim to the forth position on the table so as to ensure a champions league spot later in the year. I have already gotten a front row seat for both matches at my local pub, have you?
It all started in the first half of the premiership when Chelsea were beaten 2:0 by Arsenal at the emirates stadium, helping to push Chelsea further down the top of the table, I remember that was not the best of times for a Chelsea team still reeling from the vacuum created by the exit of the controversial Jose Mourinho. On that day at the emirates, Chelsea were clearly outclassed and outplayed by the younger, sharper boys of Arsenal who were much at ease with their game.
Today’s match will be a little different because it seems it is Arsenal that is more at pressure, having suffered a loss of form of late. Their goal scoring prowess has become a doubt of late, all their attackers has become shy in front of the post. An Adebayor that seems to have shaved off his goal scoring skills with his hair will be a delight to watch as tries to recreate his magic in front of one of the strongest defense in the world.
There is also revenge in the air, as Chelsea football club will be trying to pay back Arsenal in their own coins. Don’t also forget that the lure for Chelsea will be to climb atop Arsenal in the league table, which Arsenal will not find funny. Arsenal has been sitting pretty at the top of the league table for most of the season, but having played second fiddle to Manchester united, it will be sad to see them slip to the third spot as the league draws dangerously near to a close.
Another top of the league cracker is the match between Manchester united and Liverpool. Rafael Benitez men are poised to stake a claim to the forth position on the table so as to ensure a champions league spot later in the year. I have already gotten a front row seat for both matches at my local pub, have you?
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
Recent happenings in the Nigerian stock exchange have defied all known explanations. These happening are mainly like a new trend, where companies that declare good quarterly of audited results will start to lose value in their stock prices. The opposite happens when companies declare terrible results; lo and behold the stock prices will head north!
I used to think, until recently that it was supposed to be the other way round, let us use a recent example. Dangote sugar refineries made some good profit at year end and therefore declared a bonus and dividend for its shareholders. The bonus issue will be in the ratio of 1:5, yet investors started dumping those shares.
This result was made public at the tail end of last week and since then, for two trading days the stock has lost the maximum allowed 10% while oasis insurance that declared a 0.02 kobo dividend has been enjoying price appreciation on the floors of the exchange. Lets see how this all plays out as trading starts tomorrow.
I used to think, until recently that it was supposed to be the other way round, let us use a recent example. Dangote sugar refineries made some good profit at year end and therefore declared a bonus and dividend for its shareholders. The bonus issue will be in the ratio of 1:5, yet investors started dumping those shares.
This result was made public at the tail end of last week and since then, for two trading days the stock has lost the maximum allowed 10% while oasis insurance that declared a 0.02 kobo dividend has been enjoying price appreciation on the floors of the exchange. Lets see how this all plays out as trading starts tomorrow.
Sunday, 9 March 2008
Monitoring your stock investments
It is always important to know how your investments are performing from time to time; you will likely want to know how your different investments in various Companies are performing. This will be with a view to finding out how your decisions have helped you make or lose money. Some people will want to sell a stock that has made a 25 percent profit for then, after all commissions and taxes have been removed.
An effective monitoring program should provide you with sufficient information to evaluate the investments strengths and weaknesses, and help you find out on time if your investment objectives are likely to be met or not. Monitoring should include some analysis of not only what happened, but why.
There are two types of stock performance measurements:
1. Performance measurement
2. Performance evaluation
Performance measurement is a technical accounting function that computes the return of your whole stock portfolio.
Performance evaluation on the other hand is a function that uses the information generated by performance measurement to determine what contributed to, or detracted from the portfolios return.
Nigerian securities site has some good portfolio management tools.
An effective monitoring program should provide you with sufficient information to evaluate the investments strengths and weaknesses, and help you find out on time if your investment objectives are likely to be met or not. Monitoring should include some analysis of not only what happened, but why.
There are two types of stock performance measurements:
1. Performance measurement
2. Performance evaluation
Performance measurement is a technical accounting function that computes the return of your whole stock portfolio.
Performance evaluation on the other hand is a function that uses the information generated by performance measurement to determine what contributed to, or detracted from the portfolios return.
Nigerian securities site has some good portfolio management tools.
NEPA as the nations albatross - extreme measures!
The noise is deafening out here! As I am typing this, there are over five generating sets of all shapes and sizes, not to mention brands or quality are humming noisily everywhere around me. Welcome to Nigeria! A country where the powers that be, have failed woefully to fix a problem bedeviling our economy for two decades. We cannot start to talk of the health risks associated with the fumes thrown out by these inferior generating sets.
The fact is that the nation’s power providers have failed us. Whether you call them NEPA or PHCN, they are just acronyms we have come to associate with great failures. Go around the country and you will see that these so called power providers are daily setting records on inefficiency! Nobody can surpass this level of disservice to paying customers anywhere in the world. NEPA has set a record in bad service delivery which will be difficult to erase.
Passing blames to NEPA officials, staff and even the previous administrations will be a waste of time. Some has even gone ahead to blame the general public for abuses like wrongful connection of light, illegal connections and failure to pay light bills while enjoying light. All those shifting blames will be wrong at this stage as many young men and women are unemployed because they cannot unleash their potentials. A young welder that has a workshop will be idle as soon as lights go off, so also a young woman fashion designer or hairdresser.
If I were to rule this nation for one year, there will be light in this country as much as we want. I will do the unthinkable, break some barriers and ruffle a lot of feathers. I will step on some big toes and when things improve, will say sorry. Here is what I will do.
I will go on air one day and announce a state of emergency in the power sector. I will request that the nation understand the situation and make some sacrifice to enable us clear this shame. I will announce that henceforth, all lights in this country should be switched off at once. All NEPA or PHCN staff are to stand down, all ‘removed’ from their positions. Note that I said all staff, senior or junior. All power installations are to be sold for scrap.
Stage two; new offer will be made to independent power providers to come in and bid to handle power generation, distribution and maintenance. I will like them to be handling local government after local government or states. Just like the telecoms sector, government will only play a part in monitoring and regulating all activities in the power sector.
I know what I just suggested are extreme measures, but we have suffered extreme punishment and embarrassment as a nation.
The fact is that the nation’s power providers have failed us. Whether you call them NEPA or PHCN, they are just acronyms we have come to associate with great failures. Go around the country and you will see that these so called power providers are daily setting records on inefficiency! Nobody can surpass this level of disservice to paying customers anywhere in the world. NEPA has set a record in bad service delivery which will be difficult to erase.
Passing blames to NEPA officials, staff and even the previous administrations will be a waste of time. Some has even gone ahead to blame the general public for abuses like wrongful connection of light, illegal connections and failure to pay light bills while enjoying light. All those shifting blames will be wrong at this stage as many young men and women are unemployed because they cannot unleash their potentials. A young welder that has a workshop will be idle as soon as lights go off, so also a young woman fashion designer or hairdresser.
If I were to rule this nation for one year, there will be light in this country as much as we want. I will do the unthinkable, break some barriers and ruffle a lot of feathers. I will step on some big toes and when things improve, will say sorry. Here is what I will do.
I will go on air one day and announce a state of emergency in the power sector. I will request that the nation understand the situation and make some sacrifice to enable us clear this shame. I will announce that henceforth, all lights in this country should be switched off at once. All NEPA or PHCN staff are to stand down, all ‘removed’ from their positions. Note that I said all staff, senior or junior. All power installations are to be sold for scrap.
Stage two; new offer will be made to independent power providers to come in and bid to handle power generation, distribution and maintenance. I will like them to be handling local government after local government or states. Just like the telecoms sector, government will only play a part in monitoring and regulating all activities in the power sector.
I know what I just suggested are extreme measures, but we have suffered extreme punishment and embarrassment as a nation.
Saturday, 8 March 2008
Mass exodus of young Nigerians abroad, blessing or curse?
A lot of rosy pictures have been painted in the minds of every young adult in this part of the world about foreign lands. We heard that it’s a place filled with milk and honey, a place where every body can only get rich, a place where everything works with utmost precision towards perfection. A place where you can escape to and instantly get so rich that when you come back here; people will bow down and worship you and your gleaming fleet of cars, your shining houses and elegant robes. We had all been made to believe that there is no comparison between people over there and people down here, in fact that “your life will never remain the same again” quoting from a popular man of God.
Stories abound of men that spent only one or two years after traveling to a foreign land only to come back here to start up their mansions and move around with police escort. (For fear of being robbed) yet these were men that were begging food a few years ago. They can now wine and dine with kings and princes and even speak out against the wills and decision of men much aged than their parents.
They are now free to go on an insult our sense of decency and redefine our sense of value. (Note that a few of them are very humble) but most are not. They go around bragging about their exploits in foreign lands to all who may care to listen. They boast about their achievements like the upstairs they are, and you need to see how women fall for them like a pack of cards.
Don’t get me wrong! I will not be telling you the truth if I say there is not a lot of opportunity for money making in a lot of foreign lands. But most the time the opportunity is overstated, the facts are bloated and displaced. A lot of our young men here have sold everything they own, from their houses to their shops and cars just to take the plunge and risk their money on an uncertain future. Some come out unscathed and yet some come out poorer in the end.
There is wealth making opportunities in every country, Nigeria inclusive. Our people need to assess their dynamism and intelligence to solve all our problems. Everything we need is here, only waiting for us to discover them. In the midst of my business travels, I have come across some honest Nigerians who had never stepped out of the shores of this country and yet are so rich that they can lend this country some money. These are multi billionaire business moguls that made al their money here. They are still here and they are still making money.
Stories abound of men that spent only one or two years after traveling to a foreign land only to come back here to start up their mansions and move around with police escort. (For fear of being robbed) yet these were men that were begging food a few years ago. They can now wine and dine with kings and princes and even speak out against the wills and decision of men much aged than their parents.
They are now free to go on an insult our sense of decency and redefine our sense of value. (Note that a few of them are very humble) but most are not. They go around bragging about their exploits in foreign lands to all who may care to listen. They boast about their achievements like the upstairs they are, and you need to see how women fall for them like a pack of cards.
Don’t get me wrong! I will not be telling you the truth if I say there is not a lot of opportunity for money making in a lot of foreign lands. But most the time the opportunity is overstated, the facts are bloated and displaced. A lot of our young men here have sold everything they own, from their houses to their shops and cars just to take the plunge and risk their money on an uncertain future. Some come out unscathed and yet some come out poorer in the end.
There is wealth making opportunities in every country, Nigeria inclusive. Our people need to assess their dynamism and intelligence to solve all our problems. Everything we need is here, only waiting for us to discover them. In the midst of my business travels, I have come across some honest Nigerians who had never stepped out of the shores of this country and yet are so rich that they can lend this country some money. These are multi billionaire business moguls that made al their money here. They are still here and they are still making money.
The Ibo people of Nigeria.
THE IBO PEOPLE OF NIGERIA.
It had often been argued, that the south eastern part of Nigeria is predominantly populated with men and women whose principal occupation is trading. The same argument also holds that the south west practices the most of economic related activities like public service, private sector manufacturing and investing. The northern part of the country seems to be mostly interested in agriculture; this involves cattle rearing and also crops cultivation. A large number of them are also in the armed forces.
Trading in tangible goods as preferred by the Ibos of the eastern part of this country, seemed to be a good choice since the average Ibo man is very creative in turning a little space into a goods supermarket. Some people had disagreed with this notion; they insist the Ibos love for commerce stems from their love for money, hence their preference for businesses that will always make them touch cash on a regular basis. A visit to any part of this country will show that the prime shops and trading places are managed by people of eastern origin, especially the Ibos. No market worth its salt can be opened in any part of the country without the popular eastern young men, taking up almost ninety percent of the shops on offer. Examples abound where these young men created full fledged markets out of open spaces, yes they are markets, even when the grounds they are trading on are illegally obtained as was the case in Abuja, federal capital territory.
For the westerners, early education seems to be their priority. On graduation from any higher institution of learning, they gain employment into the public service, either in the numerous manufacturing or service companies that abound in the south west especially Lagos. They do very little trading in tangible goods. Instead they like working and investing their money in several investment vehicles like the stock market, money market etc.
The westerners are fully abreast with information about economic changes and opportunities, quite unlike their eastern brothers who pay little or no attention to happenings on the news media. Little wonder all news papers, magazines; radio and television companies all have their head offices in Lagos state. In this country, only in the west can you find people that know how to enjoy their money long after they have retired from public service. They amass shares of listed an even non listed companies. This is a sure way of perpetrating themselves in the public service as the directorial and management positions they acquire allow them to influence company decisions in terms of employment of fresh workers in the industries. They had often been accused of employment and protection of the rights of their brothers, fellow westerners.
The outbreak of the Nigerian civil war in the late sixties didn’t help the cause of the easterners one bit. They fled their abode in Lagos thereby abandoning their positions in the public service. Those who were lucky to enough to return with their lives from the battlefields of guerrilla war soon found out that their positions had been filled. The east lost out in the scheme of things as a generation of intelligent and experienced men and women found it difficult assuming their former positions, hence the generation gap opened in the early and mid seventies. These positions were taken over by the available westerners and northerners. Some business premises and landed properties of some rich easterners were confiscated by the powers that be.
On its own part, the northerners seem not to understand the real importance of the education and investment bug that has bitten the western part of this country. They are not also commercial crazy like the easterners. Majority of my northern friends seem content with selling suya, chewing gum, sweets and biscuits or polishing peoples shoes rather than engage themselves in viable business opportunities. They never seem to be interested about the whole thing. For the girl child of northern origin, education is a pipe dream. Her parents will never acknowledge her need for education or self improvement. She is traded off in a marriage arrangement even before she could learn how to wash her under wears.
A lot of effort has been made to connect our northern brethren to the national grid, not of NEPA or is it PHCN, no I am talking about the national education grid. Free education has been dangled in front of them, all to no avail. Straight admission into the varsities for those daring enough to attempt JAMB, but how many of them even bother to complete primary education. Or have we forgotten the efforts made for nomadic education, where some people were paid to chase others around in the bush to teach them, and sometimes their cattle a few tricks about writing their names. The situation is bad enough and calls for serious reflections if we all are to have equal opportunities in the scheme of things.
And if you think that it’s only the north that suffers from lack of complete education, you better think again. In the east, boys that are barely able to know their left hand from their right are plucked out of primary schools and sent straight to the markets to learn one trade or the other, all in an attempt to catch up on money making. Whether they succeed in money making or not is a matter for another days discussion as what we want to concern ourselves with is the ability or otherwise of the easterners to effectively and efficiently manage the numerous economic opportunities around them.
It would have been easy enough to assume that the easterners mastery of commercial activities will make them good economic managers, but events has since proved that economic activities doesn’t in fact start and end with buying and selling of tangible goods and materials. It is quite larger than that. Investigations have shown that less than five percent of large manufacturing and service companies in this great country has its chief executive officer as an easterner. Why should this be so? Upon enquiry a few people tried to explain to me that this is a direct result of our limited educational pursuits as compared to the west. But another school of thought believes that in fact the easterners are bad financial administrators, if a spade is to be called its proper name. These people had argued that when a firm is not directly owned by these easterners, there tend to be mismanagement of resources.
This same school of thought was trying hard to convince me that the easterners always have this disturbing get-rich-quick syndrome in them. They were even insisting that the advance free fraud (419) has so messed up our public image that trust becomes a scarce commodity among the easterners. Stories have been told of men who had become millionaires with the proceeds of donations entrusted to them to execute one project or the other in their own village. These men come back few years later in gleaming jeeps to be crowned chiefs by the same people they swindled. And yet the project still remains undone, pity the poor.
Until quite recently, the easterners were allowed to take up only some types of ministerial appointments. Maybe it was because of the fear others had of their financial and economic management. Not until the advent of the Soludos, the Okonjo-Iwealas, the Akunyilis and others that have stood up to be counted, carting away several laurels from both the local and international agencies. This is the first time we are being taken seriously by others. These dynamic men and women have made us proud again. They have come out to assure us that all hope is not lost. That the bone can still rise again, that the rejected stone can still be the corner stone of a mighty mansion. We now have seen that we should not only handle the information ministries, but be allowed to contribute our quota in turning this country around for the better. On a final note I wish to state here that the easterners can break the strangle hold which the west had maintained over all the public companies in the country. We can wrest the dominance of economic management from them, if only we could try. Then only can we prove to be the most dynamic part of this great country.
It had often been argued, that the south eastern part of Nigeria is predominantly populated with men and women whose principal occupation is trading. The same argument also holds that the south west practices the most of economic related activities like public service, private sector manufacturing and investing. The northern part of the country seems to be mostly interested in agriculture; this involves cattle rearing and also crops cultivation. A large number of them are also in the armed forces.
Trading in tangible goods as preferred by the Ibos of the eastern part of this country, seemed to be a good choice since the average Ibo man is very creative in turning a little space into a goods supermarket. Some people had disagreed with this notion; they insist the Ibos love for commerce stems from their love for money, hence their preference for businesses that will always make them touch cash on a regular basis. A visit to any part of this country will show that the prime shops and trading places are managed by people of eastern origin, especially the Ibos. No market worth its salt can be opened in any part of the country without the popular eastern young men, taking up almost ninety percent of the shops on offer. Examples abound where these young men created full fledged markets out of open spaces, yes they are markets, even when the grounds they are trading on are illegally obtained as was the case in Abuja, federal capital territory.
For the westerners, early education seems to be their priority. On graduation from any higher institution of learning, they gain employment into the public service, either in the numerous manufacturing or service companies that abound in the south west especially Lagos. They do very little trading in tangible goods. Instead they like working and investing their money in several investment vehicles like the stock market, money market etc.
The westerners are fully abreast with information about economic changes and opportunities, quite unlike their eastern brothers who pay little or no attention to happenings on the news media. Little wonder all news papers, magazines; radio and television companies all have their head offices in Lagos state. In this country, only in the west can you find people that know how to enjoy their money long after they have retired from public service. They amass shares of listed an even non listed companies. This is a sure way of perpetrating themselves in the public service as the directorial and management positions they acquire allow them to influence company decisions in terms of employment of fresh workers in the industries. They had often been accused of employment and protection of the rights of their brothers, fellow westerners.
The outbreak of the Nigerian civil war in the late sixties didn’t help the cause of the easterners one bit. They fled their abode in Lagos thereby abandoning their positions in the public service. Those who were lucky to enough to return with their lives from the battlefields of guerrilla war soon found out that their positions had been filled. The east lost out in the scheme of things as a generation of intelligent and experienced men and women found it difficult assuming their former positions, hence the generation gap opened in the early and mid seventies. These positions were taken over by the available westerners and northerners. Some business premises and landed properties of some rich easterners were confiscated by the powers that be.
On its own part, the northerners seem not to understand the real importance of the education and investment bug that has bitten the western part of this country. They are not also commercial crazy like the easterners. Majority of my northern friends seem content with selling suya, chewing gum, sweets and biscuits or polishing peoples shoes rather than engage themselves in viable business opportunities. They never seem to be interested about the whole thing. For the girl child of northern origin, education is a pipe dream. Her parents will never acknowledge her need for education or self improvement. She is traded off in a marriage arrangement even before she could learn how to wash her under wears.
A lot of effort has been made to connect our northern brethren to the national grid, not of NEPA or is it PHCN, no I am talking about the national education grid. Free education has been dangled in front of them, all to no avail. Straight admission into the varsities for those daring enough to attempt JAMB, but how many of them even bother to complete primary education. Or have we forgotten the efforts made for nomadic education, where some people were paid to chase others around in the bush to teach them, and sometimes their cattle a few tricks about writing their names. The situation is bad enough and calls for serious reflections if we all are to have equal opportunities in the scheme of things.
And if you think that it’s only the north that suffers from lack of complete education, you better think again. In the east, boys that are barely able to know their left hand from their right are plucked out of primary schools and sent straight to the markets to learn one trade or the other, all in an attempt to catch up on money making. Whether they succeed in money making or not is a matter for another days discussion as what we want to concern ourselves with is the ability or otherwise of the easterners to effectively and efficiently manage the numerous economic opportunities around them.
It would have been easy enough to assume that the easterners mastery of commercial activities will make them good economic managers, but events has since proved that economic activities doesn’t in fact start and end with buying and selling of tangible goods and materials. It is quite larger than that. Investigations have shown that less than five percent of large manufacturing and service companies in this great country has its chief executive officer as an easterner. Why should this be so? Upon enquiry a few people tried to explain to me that this is a direct result of our limited educational pursuits as compared to the west. But another school of thought believes that in fact the easterners are bad financial administrators, if a spade is to be called its proper name. These people had argued that when a firm is not directly owned by these easterners, there tend to be mismanagement of resources.
This same school of thought was trying hard to convince me that the easterners always have this disturbing get-rich-quick syndrome in them. They were even insisting that the advance free fraud (419) has so messed up our public image that trust becomes a scarce commodity among the easterners. Stories have been told of men who had become millionaires with the proceeds of donations entrusted to them to execute one project or the other in their own village. These men come back few years later in gleaming jeeps to be crowned chiefs by the same people they swindled. And yet the project still remains undone, pity the poor.
Until quite recently, the easterners were allowed to take up only some types of ministerial appointments. Maybe it was because of the fear others had of their financial and economic management. Not until the advent of the Soludos, the Okonjo-Iwealas, the Akunyilis and others that have stood up to be counted, carting away several laurels from both the local and international agencies. This is the first time we are being taken seriously by others. These dynamic men and women have made us proud again. They have come out to assure us that all hope is not lost. That the bone can still rise again, that the rejected stone can still be the corner stone of a mighty mansion. We now have seen that we should not only handle the information ministries, but be allowed to contribute our quota in turning this country around for the better. On a final note I wish to state here that the easterners can break the strangle hold which the west had maintained over all the public companies in the country. We can wrest the dominance of economic management from them, if only we could try. Then only can we prove to be the most dynamic part of this great country.
Stock market risks, need we be afraid?
Just like any other thing in life, the stock market comes with its own fair share of risks, but firstly let’s talks of risks as it affects life and businesses. There is no business venture that will not carry its own type of risks. Some businesses are more risky than others. For instance, getting up in the morning and leaving your house to attend to your school or to report to your office will carry some risks, accidents, robberies, fights or other forms of dangers which we all are exposed to on a daily basis.
The seller of commodities in the market will be afraid of losing some goods to thieves. The landlord that owns houses will be afraid of fire outbreaks that can raze down his building, handlers of cash will always be afraid of armed robbers and so on. Somebody once told me that even staying inside your house, sleeping in your bedroom is also risky; in fact the ceiling can collapse on a sleeping man and hurt him seriously, while in the comfort of his own room. Stories have also been told that a man, while easing himself inside the bush, was killed by a vehicle that lost its brake and lost control, ran deep inside the bush to kill an innocent man answering the call of nature, deep inside the bush!
Back to the stock market, a lot of people say the business is more risky than other businesses, and there is a fact to that statement. Investing is all about converting your risk free money into risky assets. The risk involved is that the company you bought their shares can start to perform badly, making losses instead of profits. The share price can start to fall even lower that the amount you bought it for. This will mean that you are making some losses in your investment, at least, in the short term. This could also change very easily, the company may correct their acts and start to make profits, and the share price will start to rise, pulling you into profits.
To make many readers understand more of what stock market risks look like, I will like to compare investing in the stock market as against patting your money in the bank. Let as compare investing in shares with fixing your money in a time deposit account.
Time deposits are a way of making money in the bank, you can bring in some capital and tell the bank to hold it for you for a year and you will discuss with the bank on how much money they will pay you for keeping your money and using it to do bank business for one year. A percentage will be agreed on and you will come back one year later and collect your capital along with the interest the bank agreed to pay you for using your money for a year. Note that this is sure money. Under normal circumstances the bank must pay you your money even if they did not make any profit from using your money to do business. You can see the risk is minimal because the agreed percentage must be paid and there is little chance of you losing your money.
On the other hand an investment in the stock market, most times, will not come with any agreed percentage of how much money you will make from your investments, there are no guarantees that you will receive any dividend or bonus or that your initial investments will grow more that the amount you used in buying the stock. Everything in the stock market is not fixed. That is why a lot of people think it is risky, but for those that know the business, this is the best thing that was ever invented in this world.
The stock market will come with no guarantees but it has beaten most other ways of making money in every way. It has returned so much profit to investors that it has come to stay as a way of life for those that are ready to understand its dynamics. A great American author, Robert Kiyosaki once said that the riskier a business is the more returns it can generate for its owners. Safe money carries no risk, you can dig a hole and hide your money, and it will remain exactly as you left it, many years after you hid it. But if you invest it, it will grow beyond your expectation and continue to grow even after you are old, continue to feed your children and grand children.
The seller of commodities in the market will be afraid of losing some goods to thieves. The landlord that owns houses will be afraid of fire outbreaks that can raze down his building, handlers of cash will always be afraid of armed robbers and so on. Somebody once told me that even staying inside your house, sleeping in your bedroom is also risky; in fact the ceiling can collapse on a sleeping man and hurt him seriously, while in the comfort of his own room. Stories have also been told that a man, while easing himself inside the bush, was killed by a vehicle that lost its brake and lost control, ran deep inside the bush to kill an innocent man answering the call of nature, deep inside the bush!
Back to the stock market, a lot of people say the business is more risky than other businesses, and there is a fact to that statement. Investing is all about converting your risk free money into risky assets. The risk involved is that the company you bought their shares can start to perform badly, making losses instead of profits. The share price can start to fall even lower that the amount you bought it for. This will mean that you are making some losses in your investment, at least, in the short term. This could also change very easily, the company may correct their acts and start to make profits, and the share price will start to rise, pulling you into profits.
To make many readers understand more of what stock market risks look like, I will like to compare investing in the stock market as against patting your money in the bank. Let as compare investing in shares with fixing your money in a time deposit account.
Time deposits are a way of making money in the bank, you can bring in some capital and tell the bank to hold it for you for a year and you will discuss with the bank on how much money they will pay you for keeping your money and using it to do bank business for one year. A percentage will be agreed on and you will come back one year later and collect your capital along with the interest the bank agreed to pay you for using your money for a year. Note that this is sure money. Under normal circumstances the bank must pay you your money even if they did not make any profit from using your money to do business. You can see the risk is minimal because the agreed percentage must be paid and there is little chance of you losing your money.
On the other hand an investment in the stock market, most times, will not come with any agreed percentage of how much money you will make from your investments, there are no guarantees that you will receive any dividend or bonus or that your initial investments will grow more that the amount you used in buying the stock. Everything in the stock market is not fixed. That is why a lot of people think it is risky, but for those that know the business, this is the best thing that was ever invented in this world.
The stock market will come with no guarantees but it has beaten most other ways of making money in every way. It has returned so much profit to investors that it has come to stay as a way of life for those that are ready to understand its dynamics. A great American author, Robert Kiyosaki once said that the riskier a business is the more returns it can generate for its owners. Safe money carries no risk, you can dig a hole and hide your money, and it will remain exactly as you left it, many years after you hid it. But if you invest it, it will grow beyond your expectation and continue to grow even after you are old, continue to feed your children and grand children.
A lovely three year old girl and her dolls.
Who teaches little children what names to give their dolls? Or better still, where do little three year olds dig up some non existent names to give to their dolls or other toys? Gods creations are simply marvelous, especially the human species. The story I am about to tell you about a little girl surprised and amazed me. I was filled with awe as I left my friends house that day. Maybe I should go off and find myself a good woman to marry, have a little blessing that will fill my house with the kind of joy being distributed effortlessly by little children.
I have this male colleague that I always visit when I get lonely staying in my own apartment. This guy is married and has two little daughters. The first is three while the second is only six months old. This family is an epitome of peace and order. Nothing ever seems out of place in their countenance.
It is a very normal sight to see this three year old girl running round the sitting room, arranging and rearranging little toys, household items etc. She always seems to be everywhere at the same time, laughing, shrieking, singing and starring at everything at the same time. She never seems to get tired. As she was playing with a toy I quickly called out to her and enquired the name of her toy.
Her dad and mum immediately started laughing at my question, but why were they laughing at me? I just asked a harmless question. Then my friend and colleague told me this story to explain why they were laughing. He told me that he went out with the girl when she was just less that two years old and as they were shopping, he bought the little girl a doll. The girl smiled and told him the name of the doll was ‘Joy’.
Well, that was not very surprising as they started to think the girl just mentioned any name that came to her little mind. Not until the man took a business trip to a far location, when he was about to return, he went out shopping and saw this neat doll, different color from the earlier one. He bought the doll for his daughter.
When he got home and gave this little girl the toy, the child smiled broadly and called it Terry. Her mother wanted to know why Terry, but no explanation was offered by this little one. At her third birthday, one of the gifts she got was a big teddy from an uncle. When she unwrapped the package, she just burst out laughing. Her parents wanted to know why she was laughing about the doll; she laughed the more and in a little innocent voice, told them that the teddy was a ‘Bushkaduck’. Since then, she always carries Bushkaduck around the house, sitting it on chairs, dinning chairs and even combing its hair.
So what is a Bushkaduck? Both parents still don’t know what it means or even how their daughter coined that word. I am still looking forward to an explanation for this amazing ability to form and use strange words, more so when it comes from a three year old.
If you know what this word means, explain it to me so I can free my friend from worry.
I have this male colleague that I always visit when I get lonely staying in my own apartment. This guy is married and has two little daughters. The first is three while the second is only six months old. This family is an epitome of peace and order. Nothing ever seems out of place in their countenance.
It is a very normal sight to see this three year old girl running round the sitting room, arranging and rearranging little toys, household items etc. She always seems to be everywhere at the same time, laughing, shrieking, singing and starring at everything at the same time. She never seems to get tired. As she was playing with a toy I quickly called out to her and enquired the name of her toy.
Her dad and mum immediately started laughing at my question, but why were they laughing at me? I just asked a harmless question. Then my friend and colleague told me this story to explain why they were laughing. He told me that he went out with the girl when she was just less that two years old and as they were shopping, he bought the little girl a doll. The girl smiled and told him the name of the doll was ‘Joy’.
Well, that was not very surprising as they started to think the girl just mentioned any name that came to her little mind. Not until the man took a business trip to a far location, when he was about to return, he went out shopping and saw this neat doll, different color from the earlier one. He bought the doll for his daughter.
When he got home and gave this little girl the toy, the child smiled broadly and called it Terry. Her mother wanted to know why Terry, but no explanation was offered by this little one. At her third birthday, one of the gifts she got was a big teddy from an uncle. When she unwrapped the package, she just burst out laughing. Her parents wanted to know why she was laughing about the doll; she laughed the more and in a little innocent voice, told them that the teddy was a ‘Bushkaduck’. Since then, she always carries Bushkaduck around the house, sitting it on chairs, dinning chairs and even combing its hair.
So what is a Bushkaduck? Both parents still don’t know what it means or even how their daughter coined that word. I am still looking forward to an explanation for this amazing ability to form and use strange words, more so when it comes from a three year old.
If you know what this word means, explain it to me so I can free my friend from worry.
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Who makes more money, stock traders or long term investors?
This has been a very serious topic that has drawn a lot of comments and criticism from professional stock traders, fund managers, and the individual investor. Some stock traders has over the years, perfected many stock trading techniques to beat the market. Also of note here is the various computerized programs, all designed to extract quick profits from the stock market.
Online stock trading is now so popular that it may even replace the conventional investment approach. At the root of this determined attempt to beat the market is the firm belief by traders, that opportunities for heavy profit lies in the daily gyrations of stock prices on the trading floor. Traders all want to take advantage of this gyrations to 'time' the market, enter at a low price and sell at a high price. Or what we call 'buy low, sell high' approach.
On the other side of the field are the long term stock investors. These investors as their name suggests, buy stocks and other investment assets only for the long term. They buy stocks and leave them to appreciate in value, and accumulate dividends, bonuses and any other benefits that accrue to owners of such stocks.
I do not wish to waste your time here by defining the nitty gritty of this two methods, rather I am more interested in finding out just who makes the most money. Is it the long term investor or the expert stock trader? Some investors believe it will all depend on the sophistication of the investors concerned. Their level of expertise will go a long way to determine their stock picking ability. It is also well known that the quality of stocks you pick is what will determine your returns, both in the short or long run.
Personally, I will want to believe that long term investors do make more money if these things I will suggest is put into action.
1. Start investing as early as possible.
2. Invest consistently, like month ends.
3. Invest in growth stocks and turn- around situations.
4. Mix your portfolio with 'penny' stocks.
5. Buy great companies, not just its stocks.
As the years roll by, the power of compounding will start to work on your investments and it will grow like a Chinese bamboo tree. Also remember that most investors that accumulated wealth in the stock market all did that by investing for the long term, Warren Buffet is a solid example.
Online stock trading is now so popular that it may even replace the conventional investment approach. At the root of this determined attempt to beat the market is the firm belief by traders, that opportunities for heavy profit lies in the daily gyrations of stock prices on the trading floor. Traders all want to take advantage of this gyrations to 'time' the market, enter at a low price and sell at a high price. Or what we call 'buy low, sell high' approach.
On the other side of the field are the long term stock investors. These investors as their name suggests, buy stocks and other investment assets only for the long term. They buy stocks and leave them to appreciate in value, and accumulate dividends, bonuses and any other benefits that accrue to owners of such stocks.
I do not wish to waste your time here by defining the nitty gritty of this two methods, rather I am more interested in finding out just who makes the most money. Is it the long term investor or the expert stock trader? Some investors believe it will all depend on the sophistication of the investors concerned. Their level of expertise will go a long way to determine their stock picking ability. It is also well known that the quality of stocks you pick is what will determine your returns, both in the short or long run.
Personally, I will want to believe that long term investors do make more money if these things I will suggest is put into action.
1. Start investing as early as possible.
2. Invest consistently, like month ends.
3. Invest in growth stocks and turn- around situations.
4. Mix your portfolio with 'penny' stocks.
5. Buy great companies, not just its stocks.
As the years roll by, the power of compounding will start to work on your investments and it will grow like a Chinese bamboo tree. Also remember that most investors that accumulated wealth in the stock market all did that by investing for the long term, Warren Buffet is a solid example.
Business in Nigeria.
Now I know where your mind just flashed to, I know all the bad news and negative publicity that has trailed this country for as long as we can remember. Turn on the CNN, BBC, and all other major news service providers and the story is the same. Corruption, violence, oil region kidnappings, strikes, disease, extreme poverty, and advanced free fraud aka '419'. This is where Nigerians are well remembered.
Honestly,I do not know if these news hounds are all waiting and praying for something bad to happen here so they will rush off and announce immediately. Its not as if I totally blame them, the country itself, sometimes acts in ways that seem to suggest serious policy somersault, political recklessness and acute shortsightedness. What I had argued about is balance. Yes, there should be some form of balance in the way news about this country is reported.
There are a lot of good things happening in Nigeria which seems to be swept under the carpet most times. It started mildly when the military lost power to civilians in 1999. The then president, Olusegun Obasanjo who took over from General Sanni Abacha (late), initiated and implemented a lot of changes in the political and social life of the people. Some notable sons and daughters of Nigeria were begged to come back and take up positions in the economic sector.
Notable among these, are great names like Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, and a host of others who came back here, stood their grounds and implemented a lot of changes in the economy. It is no longer news the successes recorded in the banking consolidation initiated and implemented by Prof. Soludo from 1994 to 1996. He has since gone on to win several national, regional and international awards from all corners of the world. This and many other govt. policies has started to yield the desired goals as the economy is starting to stir, after a long, deep slumber.
Some light could now be seen at the end of the dark tunnel. Things are now starting to look up, and companies that closed down many years ago are now opening their doors for business. With more money in their coffers from the re consolidation exercise, banks could now lend money to both new and existing businesses. The insurance sector of the economy is also witnessing some injection of life as more life is being breathed into their operations through good policies meant to straighten them.
The country's stock market is racing up, breaking all known records, and offering a very good alternative to keeping money in the banks. All market indices are setting new records daily. The Nigerian stock exchange returned almost above 80% to investors in 2007; good times are here again! Investment culture is growing here. There is an emergence of a new middle class. As wealth begins to circulate, we expect to see increased consumer spending, which will provide the much needed boost for manufacturers of goods and services.
Cost of doing business is another aspect the government is looking into. There is this attempt to build and maintain quality infrastructure as a support to businesses. Roads, bridges, power, and security is starting to receive attention. The public power supply is very erratic at best. The police is now being retrained for crime fighting.
Come and invest in Nigeria, the country welcomes you.
Honestly,I do not know if these news hounds are all waiting and praying for something bad to happen here so they will rush off and announce immediately. Its not as if I totally blame them, the country itself, sometimes acts in ways that seem to suggest serious policy somersault, political recklessness and acute shortsightedness. What I had argued about is balance. Yes, there should be some form of balance in the way news about this country is reported.
There are a lot of good things happening in Nigeria which seems to be swept under the carpet most times. It started mildly when the military lost power to civilians in 1999. The then president, Olusegun Obasanjo who took over from General Sanni Abacha (late), initiated and implemented a lot of changes in the political and social life of the people. Some notable sons and daughters of Nigeria were begged to come back and take up positions in the economic sector.
Notable among these, are great names like Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, and a host of others who came back here, stood their grounds and implemented a lot of changes in the economy. It is no longer news the successes recorded in the banking consolidation initiated and implemented by Prof. Soludo from 1994 to 1996. He has since gone on to win several national, regional and international awards from all corners of the world. This and many other govt. policies has started to yield the desired goals as the economy is starting to stir, after a long, deep slumber.
Some light could now be seen at the end of the dark tunnel. Things are now starting to look up, and companies that closed down many years ago are now opening their doors for business. With more money in their coffers from the re consolidation exercise, banks could now lend money to both new and existing businesses. The insurance sector of the economy is also witnessing some injection of life as more life is being breathed into their operations through good policies meant to straighten them.
The country's stock market is racing up, breaking all known records, and offering a very good alternative to keeping money in the banks. All market indices are setting new records daily. The Nigerian stock exchange returned almost above 80% to investors in 2007; good times are here again! Investment culture is growing here. There is an emergence of a new middle class. As wealth begins to circulate, we expect to see increased consumer spending, which will provide the much needed boost for manufacturers of goods and services.
Cost of doing business is another aspect the government is looking into. There is this attempt to build and maintain quality infrastructure as a support to businesses. Roads, bridges, power, and security is starting to receive attention. The public power supply is very erratic at best. The police is now being retrained for crime fighting.
Come and invest in Nigeria, the country welcomes you.
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