Economic Growth - GDP 2.2% - Is It Real?

The final numbers are in for the third quarter and the numbers show a 2.2% growth in the Gross Domestic Product, also referred to as GDP. Now this figure can be good or bad news depending on who you talk to.

If you ask me any positive growth is great news. I mean things have seemed so bad that the notion that economic activity is on the rise is extremely appealing.

On the other hand the expectations were set for about 3% so many investors were spooked when they saw a figure that was about 30% or so lower then they were thinking. Though other figures that came out along side these numbers helped ease the pain. For instance existing home sales, as well as home prices were both very positive.

I for one am just glad to see things going the right direction. But I can no help but to feel a bit skeptical of the numbers.

When I am out and about in the real world things just don't match the financial head lines. For instance, I noticed that the trick or treat tradition no longer exists in any comparative form to just 10 years ago. Though this is an observation of a local area and hardly a sophisticated indicator, it does tell me that if there is growth it the lack of trick or treaters must be accounted for some where. But where? I also noticed that there were no xmass tree dealers in town this year. They use to pack each and every parking lot.

I have seen little reason to believe that there has been any sort of growth. All I have witnessed for my self is less.

A little less of everything.

Any Thoughts?

Brian T. Moynihan - A New Year and A New CEO for Bank of America

Come December 31st when Ken Lewis steps down as the Chief Executive officer of Bank of America Brian T. Moynihan will take over as CEO and will have a seat on the Board of Directors.

Who is Brian T. Moynihan?

He is and has held positions as a major decision maker and leader with Bank of America. As of now he is the the president of consumer and small business banking.

He is a 50 year old male.

He started with Fleet Boston Financial in the early 1990's and by 2004 when Bank of America acquired Fleet Boston Financial he had risen to the top of their senior management team.

He was the selected candidate of a extremely large and far reaching search that considered both internal and external candidates for the CEO position.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead this important company,” said Moynihan.

Ken Lewis the one who took a tiny bank in North Carolina and made it into a financial institution that continues to be the first of its kind in both size and scope says that he has full confidence in Brian's ability and work ethic.

I can't imagine anyone who is up for that task besides Lewis but then again what the hell do I know... well, besides the notion that I would not touch that position with a 100 foot pole.

This tells me that Big Man Brian does have one obvious qualification...

Balls, and obviously big ones.

Best wishes Brian!

Mortgage Modification - No Easy Task

Obtaining a loan modification is hard. The lenders are overwhelmed with calls and mortgage defaults. It seems as if the only tactic they have to deal with the overwhelming volume of calls is the run-around and what a run it is. Homeowners, loan modification service reps, attorneys, nonprofit advocates, and even politicians have no luck with the dreaded call centers of the typical mortgage lender.

Don't take my word for it....




If she can't get these things through then who else is going to be able to obtain a loan modification?

Fonar Corporation (FONR) - A Play On MRI's and Sitting Down

Young Finance Guy's Speculative Picks - 

• Fonar Corp; Ticker Symbol FONR

Fonar is a medical company in both the Physcian management and servicing industry as well as (and more so) the medical equipment industry. More specifically Fonar creates, develops, and sells MRI equipment. Not just any MRI equipment but cutting edge, innovative, and better performing MRI scanners such as their patented Upright MRI.

First of all so we are all on the same level an; MRI is Magnetic Resonence Imagery. Typically when one thinks of an MRI one thinks about that big machine that the patient while laying down on a mechanical stretcher is slowy consumed by a room wide monster of a machine which looks more like an alien regeneration machine that clones beings of many sorts. It's scary looking, and the fact that all the doctors and technitians take cover behind some sort of bullet proof glass in a seperate room for viewing the patient from a safe distance does not help the situation.

Fonar has a new and innovative product and solution they call it the Upright MRI.

What is the Upright MRI?

Well in a nut shell it is a MRI that allows the patient to set down comfortably and in the company of people while getting an MRI. The patient can even watch TV! Though these are the aspects that really stood out to me the real value is apparently in the results and quality of results that the Upright MRI produces compared to the traditional MRI Machine.

Stock Specs and Qoute


price per share $2.35

Share Statistics Average Volume (3 month)3: 96,921.2 Average Volume (10 day)3: 15,387.5 Shares Outstanding5: 5.29M Float: 5.16M % Held by Insiders1: 2.51% % Held by Institutions1: 7.20% Shares Short (as of 27-Oct-09)3: 66.05K Short Ratio (as of 27-Oct-09)3: 1.2 Short % of Float (as of 27-Oct-09)3: 1.30% Shares Short (prior month)3: 66.03K

Dividends & Splits Dividend Rate4: N/A Ex-Dividend Date4: 18-Mar-99 Last Split Factor (new per old)2: 1:25 Last Split Date3: 17-Apr-07

Why I Say Buy


I am not a financial advisor nor an expert of anything medical. I am however a share holder (though rather small).

These guys have a product that is very expensive. These guys have a product that is better performing and much more patient friendly. These guys have a product that sells but on a very limited basis due to price and market demand. If this product catches on and becomes half a standard then this stock will let you retire with even a modest invetment. It will explode!

This is why I say buy. There is little downside when compared to the upside. Also the head hancho and inventor of the MRI and the Upright MRI are all one and the same. Thats right a gentlemen named Raymond V Damadian who as recently as 2007 was awarded the Inventor Of The Year Award, Raymond is the guy behind this and from what I have seen thus far he is absloutely dedicaited and on a mission to make this thing work and to do so under the Fonar name.

Earlier in the year he turned down a 5 dollar per share offer and this came at a time when the stock was half or so of what it is today.

I am sold.

S&P Efforts to Predict Mortgage Bonds Potential Losses

Earlier in the week Standard & Poors announced that they wil be analyzing and reporting on the potential losses to come on existing mortgage backed bonds and securities. You may not be surprised to hear that the Bond Raiting industry and the firms it is composed of have cuaght some serious heat for doing more then just being inaccurate. S&P as well as all other major bond rating industries have been accused by many to have some faulty buisness and compensation models.

The problem is pretty straight foreward. These firms are paid by issuers of securties to rate securties issued by these same issuers. It does not take rocket science to deduce the potential pittfalls of this model. These speculative potential problems are no longer speculative. This has been the catalyst for some... do-overs announced by all the major rating agencies.

Standard & Poors will post the reports free to all on their website and will sell more in depth analysis for a fee. It will be interesting to see the aggreate results and the influence it will have on the markets. I think an interesting and perhaps an ironic outcome of the rating industry mess is that these up coming forecasts will arguebly be biased on the conservative side of things. This of course is only my own speculation but it makes great sense. Just imagine the mess they would be in if they over estimate!

Big Money Put Up by Ad-Networks and Tech Firms

For the most part tech firms and the tech industry as a collective whole are used to seeing rising tides of cash and spending from businesses large and small. This has held true over the short history of the existence of the mainstream tech industries and tech firms. Of course we all remember the tech bubble but that and the recent economic turmoil that we have all suffered through on planet Earth has been the only down side.

Yahoo is spending big bucks to capture the attention of marketers and advertisers. From what I can gather from such sources as IDC, Method Inc., and the Wall Street Journal, it looks as if Yahoo will be committing 100 million or so dollars in aid to their efforts. I wonder if the notion that they will not have to spend on  search engine research and development has some motive behind this since they are still "use to" the financial burden.

I personally think that they should focus on a publishers network separate from search. Yahoo is, but suspiciously slowly if you ask me.

Others spending include... well almost everyone such as Microsoft's 300 million, Google is in on the action and I have even noticed a sharp increase in their own ads on their own ad network.

The motive to rush out and expedite the ad dollars is the tech industry's assumption that the spending is coming back and everyone wants to be front and center as it comes time for these penny pinching firms to unleash the cash that has been sitting on the sidelines.

Debt Solutions

We Need Them

The Economy is in a bad place. This is the result of careless and irresponsible lending and borrowing.

The major banks and financial institutions are gasping for cash as if they were a smoker gasping for air running the final mile of a marathon. Except this marathon of financial ruin may only be half way through.

On the other side borrowers both businesses and consumers, are being bled to death through fees and hiked interest rates and at the same time there borrowing limits and lines of credit are being strangled and terminated left and right.

The economy, the consumer, the banking system, the small, large, new, and old businesses as well as almost every industry are all in desperate need of debt solution.

What are Debt Solutions?

Debt Solutions are as the term implies a solution or "fix" to a "broken" or problematic debt scenario, agreement, or situation. For instance say a credit card consumer has lost a job and thus financed three months of living expenses on that shiny old master card and now this poor consumer who still has no job and now no credit left, has no money to make credit card payments. This consumer has just developed a debt problem via Credit Card Debt for both himself as well as the lender. Also created here is a need for debt solution. The Consumer may seek out a debt settlement service or some similar form of debt help as a means to obtaining a favorable debt solution. At the same time Master Card or the bank lending the money may seek out the services of a debt collector.

Debt Solutions will play a big part in the economic recovery effort.

Basic Forms of Debt Solution

• Debt Settlement
• Debt Relief
• Bankruptcy
• Debt Collection
• Debt Mitigation
• Debt Resolution
• Loss Mitigation