Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Swine flu in milwaukee
Yes!!! swine flu has hit my hometown of Milwaukee. I can't tell you how pumped I am! You see im in the pizza delivery business, and there is a good chance my sales could go through the roof because of this thing. The panic this little virus has caused could very well drive people to not leave their homes, making them need to order in. I suppose there is a flipside to this if they think one of my workers would have swine flu, but I am hear to tell you we are all mega healthy. So call your local Topper Pizza, and get some breadsticks already!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
What does the swine flu and the stock market have in common? Heck of a question.... Lets find out here.
Swine Flu - Should I really be worried?
The hot topic of the last 10 days or so has been the doom of the human race due the outbreak of the swine flu virus. "They" say the outbreak started in Mexico and has spread to the other parts of the world, including our beloved U.S., threatining to become a pandemic. My question is: should we really be THIS worried about this illness?
In my unexpert opinion, I have to say no. You have to look at it on the grand scale that is the entire world, and the amount of reported cases of swine flu is a tiny, tiny fraction of the global population. Also take into account the mortality rate of this thing. There have been minimum deaths in regards to this virus outside of Mexico (0?), where the virus was first discovered. Precautionary steps have also been taken by governments worldwide, which is part of the reason everyone is freaking out in the first place.
One of the main reasons this has become such an issue is due to the world we live in now. We have never had so much information readily available at our fingertips. The 24/7 news cycle we experience can "fuel the flame" in many aspects of our life, and this is one of those times.
However, aside from the panic, this is one of those situations where endless information is beneficial. We know how to take steps to reduce exposure to catching this thing, and I have also learned that production on a vaccine to the virus is being worked on. There are medications for swine flu you can take once you catch the virus that have proven effective too.
Moral of the story, I think we are overreacting a bit. We have things in place to counter it, and are doing so. I think its time we moved on with our lives. Oink oink. I mean, have a nice day.
In my unexpert opinion, I have to say no. You have to look at it on the grand scale that is the entire world, and the amount of reported cases of swine flu is a tiny, tiny fraction of the global population. Also take into account the mortality rate of this thing. There have been minimum deaths in regards to this virus outside of Mexico (0?), where the virus was first discovered. Precautionary steps have also been taken by governments worldwide, which is part of the reason everyone is freaking out in the first place.
One of the main reasons this has become such an issue is due to the world we live in now. We have never had so much information readily available at our fingertips. The 24/7 news cycle we experience can "fuel the flame" in many aspects of our life, and this is one of those times.
However, aside from the panic, this is one of those situations where endless information is beneficial. We know how to take steps to reduce exposure to catching this thing, and I have also learned that production on a vaccine to the virus is being worked on. There are medications for swine flu you can take once you catch the virus that have proven effective too.
Moral of the story, I think we are overreacting a bit. We have things in place to counter it, and are doing so. I think its time we moved on with our lives. Oink oink. I mean, have a nice day.
Should I be in the stock market?
One of the most talked about issues in our current economic environment is the utter collapse of the stock market, taking along with it the retirement funds of millions of Americans. Being a 27 year old, a relatively new player to the market, I have to ask the question: Should I be putting my money into the stock market still? Im going with a resounding HELL YES.
Unfortunately I have to start off with a history lesson. There have been multiple times in US history where we have had recessions, and consequently the stock market has taken a dump. One thing holds constant however: the market ALWAYS recovers. It has to, otherwise we have bigger problems to worry about than money. You might be saying, well this time could be different. That is what people say EVERY TIME there is a recession. Granted this one is proving to be more than your garden variety recession, but its still nowhere near great depression level, and guess what: the market recovered then too!
This is the best time (i will reiterate best time) to get into the market, while you can buy everything at a discount. The market tanked so far and so fast because everyone panicked the market is way undervalued. Its the opposite effect of how we drove the prices way up to begin with. We just need to find the middle ground somewhere and build from there. You can already see signs that people are beginning to feel the same way, due to the surge of financial stocks in March. People realized these stocks were worth well more than what they were listed at, and that caused a surge in their prices. I got in right before the surge, and have done relatively well for the small amounts ive been able to get in.
You have to look at it from a common sense standpoint. How are all of these stocks, in every different area, down well over half of their highest values? Did we just not make any money as a country over the last 25 years? I say this because current market levels are telling us that we have lost generations worth of investment gains. That makes zero sense. The world is bigger and better than it was back then.
It all comes back to fear. We are taught in finance class (which I attended every once in awhile in college) not to freak out and sell everything when there is a downturn in the market. It is a common occurance in the business cycle. Its turning out that that is just what many uninformed Americans have done, causing prices in the market to plummet. Its going to be those few "brave" (I put brave in quotes because those brave people are just using common sense) investors who end up being the winners in the market when it does turn around. Is it going to be you?
Maybe the swine flu will get you and you wont have to worry about it!
Unfortunately I have to start off with a history lesson. There have been multiple times in US history where we have had recessions, and consequently the stock market has taken a dump. One thing holds constant however: the market ALWAYS recovers. It has to, otherwise we have bigger problems to worry about than money. You might be saying, well this time could be different. That is what people say EVERY TIME there is a recession. Granted this one is proving to be more than your garden variety recession, but its still nowhere near great depression level, and guess what: the market recovered then too!
This is the best time (i will reiterate best time) to get into the market, while you can buy everything at a discount. The market tanked so far and so fast because everyone panicked the market is way undervalued. Its the opposite effect of how we drove the prices way up to begin with. We just need to find the middle ground somewhere and build from there. You can already see signs that people are beginning to feel the same way, due to the surge of financial stocks in March. People realized these stocks were worth well more than what they were listed at, and that caused a surge in their prices. I got in right before the surge, and have done relatively well for the small amounts ive been able to get in.
You have to look at it from a common sense standpoint. How are all of these stocks, in every different area, down well over half of their highest values? Did we just not make any money as a country over the last 25 years? I say this because current market levels are telling us that we have lost generations worth of investment gains. That makes zero sense. The world is bigger and better than it was back then.
It all comes back to fear. We are taught in finance class (which I attended every once in awhile in college) not to freak out and sell everything when there is a downturn in the market. It is a common occurance in the business cycle. Its turning out that that is just what many uninformed Americans have done, causing prices in the market to plummet. Its going to be those few "brave" (I put brave in quotes because those brave people are just using common sense) investors who end up being the winners in the market when it does turn around. Is it going to be you?
Maybe the swine flu will get you and you wont have to worry about it!
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