Scrubs & Beyond supports Breast Cancer Awareness

I used to work with the Department of Health, although I am not in the medical profession per see, however, I, most of the time deal with Doctors and Nurses, and other personnel in hospitals. Most of them wear scrubs. So? Well, if you are among those friends in the medical profession that I am talking about, then you know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and there is good news for you guys and gals. Scrubs & Beyond in recognition and support of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month are donating a portion of their sales to this awareness campaign. If you purchase peaches scrubs, barco metro scrubs and dickies scrubs from Scrubs & Beyond that has pink ribbon, the symbol of cancer survivor then part of the sales would be donated by Scrubs & Beyond to the National Breast Cancer Awareness campaign.

So, if you are planning to shop for new scrubs, visit their site now. You can get as much as 30% discount and free shipping for purchases of over 150$.

Whats in it for the Philippines?

This blog is on speculation. We have been at it for years. We speculate on forex, gold, oil, the Peso. We talked about politics, and economy most of the time.

Alright. The news today, all over the wires is of FEAR. Consider this headlines:

Dow Loses 777 Points After Vote

For Stocks, Worst Single-Day Drop in Two Decades

Argentine stock market tumbles nearly 10 percent

Crude oil futures fell $9.13 to $97.76 a barrel. They have lost more than $20 since last Monday.

Palin’s Words Raise Red Flags (What if she become President months after they won?)

The governments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg announced late Sunday a partial nationalization of the Belgian-Dutch financial conglomerate Fortis.

British Treasury confirmed Monday that it had seized the lender Bradford & Bingley - the third British bank to tumble this year - after no private buyers emerged.

In Germany, Hypo Real Estate shares slid 71.1 percent.

Shares of Dexia, a Brussels-based lender, tumbled 29.6 percent.

Icelandic government said that it had taken control of Glitnir, one of the largest lenders in the country, after it encountered liquidity difficulties.

More to come when the Asian Market open in around 5 hours. Expect the worst.

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But whats in it for the Philippines?


- Crisis overseas is crisis for OFWs, I guess not those based in the Middle East?
- This could translates to high unemployment in the west, resulting in turn back of many OFWs overseas.
- This means lower remittances, our country is floating only because of the remittances, can we cope with a 1 billion a month reduced, to say 200M?
- far less investment because financing is going to be very expensive.
- companies are not going to invest
- we can expect a reduced demand for our exports, which means reduced inflow of money
- etc. etc. etc.

IMO, we can expect the worst.

So what can we do? I mean as tiny businessman, what will I do?

- You're guess about the Peso's direction is as good as mine - all bets are off for now, what range? I do not know - play safe.

- I'll bet on Gold. I'll hold on to my cash, and stay near a money changer, hahaha. I am serious.

- I' ll pay minimum to my outstanding loans, for now, and worry about the interests later.

- I am postponing my real state ventures, until the dusts settled. I will apply for a loan today while the market is still receptive.

- Pray. And make the best bets that you could on this turbulent times.

Good luck.

Centering device

If you have been searching for a centering device, then maybe this post is what you are looking for. We know that centering clay on the wheel is one of the basic yet the most important steps in throwing pottery because if your clay is not centered when you begin to pull up the piece, it will be off balance, and you will fight the clay the whole time. This would make having fun while creating unique handmade pots or vessels, among others, difficult. You’re creativity would be hampered. So?

How to center clay easily? Get the latest clay centering device that is on the market. The QuickCenter has revolutionary system that makes finding the center, the greatest challenge for successful manipulation of clay, easy. The clay is centered before the wheel start to spin. Visit their website now for more information, and to find out how you can benefit from their new and revolutionary clay centering device. With QuickCenter, you will have more fun expressing your art. Have fun and enjoy.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) Saved?

I think so. Pressure is off with them. I guess it is time to get in, while they are still cheap, IMO.

On the news from Yahoo via Reuters:

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) will invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), in a major boost for the Wall Street bank from perhaps the world's best-known investor.

"It's a vote of confidence which is gold plated," said Michael Holland, a money manager at Holland & Co in New York. "You don't get better than this."

Shares of Goldman rose 6.5 percent following the announcement, while Standard & Poor's 500 futures gained 16 points.

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On the other side of the fence:

Refusing to be pushed, Republicans and Democrats alike rebuffed dire warnings Tuesday from the government's top economic officials of recession, layoffs and foreclosed homes if Congress doesn't quickly approve the administration's emergency $700 billion financial bailout plan.

IMO, I am not sure if this is good or bad. Out right bailout is not good, the public has to got something in return. Besides, many companies out there can and will pick up the pieces of these companies. It is right that they be obliterated because of their mistakes.

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From Bloomberg:

Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest securities firm, rose in Tokyo trading after agreeing to buy Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s Asian-Pacific unit and investment banking and equities businesses in Europe.

Nomura gained 5.3 percent to 1,506 yen at 9:11 a.m. local time as it seized on Wall Street's crisis to speed up a push to become a global investment bank. Markets were closed in Japan yesterday for a public holiday.

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Surely dozens companies out there are interested with the assets AIG have.

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So?

The sky is not falling.

Chef Uniforms From A Restaurant Apparel Website

Whenever I enter a restaurant, the first thing I notice, apart from the menu, of course, is its ambiance. Another is the uniform of the restaurant personnel. Clean, neat, and good looking waiters, for example, improve the clients’ appetite and trust on the restaurant. Look matters a lot.

So...it might be time for you, if you are a chef or a restaurant operator to dress up your crew with the highest standard of quality of chef uniforms in the industry. If you visit the website of culinaryclassics.com, then you can order Chef uniform design, premium made-to-order chef coats, aprons, shoes, and pants that far surpass other chef uniform companies. Your chef apparel won't be coming from a uniform warehouse because you can choose the product, fabric, and include other options you have in mind. You can have made to order chef uniforms - to shirts to - aprons - to pants according to your specifications. Get the uniforms you need now, and make your crew look great and professional.

Walk the Talk

Years ago, before the Asian Financial Crisis. I thought the Philippines was in its best of times economically under the steward of FVR. We have not had the same atmosphere of positive economic outlook, momentum, and activities since then.

Though I complained on a daily basis the traffic created by the MRT construction at that time, I also though that the construction of the Mindanao train system would push through. And it was refreshing seeing Congressman de Guzman, Jalosjos et al. going to jail, a few Governors, and Mayors for corruption, actor Robin Padilla, etc.

Gone are those days of rule of law and economic momentum.

Anyway, during the Asian crisis that halted Philippine's economic momentum:

US and IMF among other's preached: Let market forces play. Do not bail out this, do not bail out that company. Let the ax fall to whoever made mistakes. Thousands of companies, including banks folded. Only Malaysia opposed the call.

The billion of dollars extended to Thailand, South Korea and others were made on condition that they allow ailing banks and other companies to collapse. No bail out allowed.

Recovery was fast and quick. Only the trusted, healthy, and strong survived.

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However, when the US got its share of economic downturn, here's what they did and say: We are taking over Fannie, we are taking AIG, hehehehe. Got yah! They are too big to fail. Let others walk what we talk. We are an exception to the rule.

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AIG is now a patient given a dose of Aspirin - hope the cold would go away.

Do you believe the cold will be gone? is he healthy now with 85B$ aspirin dose? Will you upgrade the credit rating now? are investors ready to jump in now? or jump out.

In the back of my head, the question is, is it cold or cancer? hehehe.

Trusted Internet I

Internet has changed how people deal with everything. From communication, shopping, music, movies, news, games, education, among many other things that we do on a daily basis is now dependent on the internet. Also, it is common knowledge that there are snoops, hackers, bad guys out there that would take advantage with personal information we put into the World Wide Web. This is, in so many cases, scary. People got to trust the internet to make business dealing s and other things we do on the web flourish.

Good news is, there is Comodo's Trusted Internet. They have committed their hearts, minds and resources to the vision of a Trusted Internet. So, in every digital interaction, every online interaction, Comodo includes a new layer of security and trust enabled by an entire infrastructure designed to help create mutual and real time trust. This way we can find what we want online without wasting our time with untrustworthy merchants and we can shop far more efficiently. They can help us verify the site’s credibility and business practices immediately. This way, people would trust the internet, more than anytime before.

For more information about trusted internet, visit Melih Abdulhayoglu's blog.

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LoudLaunch - Compensating bloggers for their unbiased opinions, reviews, and analysis.

Lehman Fell, Merrill Lynch Sold, AIG Failing, whose next?

In my post last July 16, Philippines will weather the economic storm! I said:

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac are currently in trouble. IndyMac collapsed (5th this year). A hundred more banks are expected to follow IndyMac's demise in a few weeks or months!

There goes, Lehman, Merrill Lynch, and AIG. These are institutions nobody expected to collapse.

More will follow.

A few institutions in Europe, Japan, and Asia (China, HK, and Singapore) will follow a few months from now, particularly those that have huge exposure to the subprime problem in the US.

We, of course, will weather the storm with difficulty.

So?

You should have shorted these companies months back, hehehe. If you had not, then go long on Gold again, and wait until the mess is over.

Olympians Recover in Jamaica's Finest Resorts

Many of my friends would usually go to various travel agencies, and they often get stuck with a holiday package that was initially not their intended destination. Worse, some would not enjoy their vacation as they expected because of a grueling trip, a lost baggage, a not so good destination, among other problems.

So, if you are going on a vacation, or a honeymoon then you should seek for the best to make it memorable and special. You should try visiting the site of www.superclubs.com as they offer the world’s only super exclusive resorts. With them you would be able to relax and enjoy all inclusive resorts and specialty hotels. Also, their website offers numerous unique holiday destinations, honeymoon all inclusive resort, destination weddings and discount vacation packages that will surely leave you feeling satisfied, happy and refreshed.

Now if you are an Olympian and you just want to have time for yourself, and celebrate your victories, then Jamaica's Finest Resorts maybe is what you need. Bring your wife or fiancée, and sleep early or stay up late, have a relaxing drink, dine in shorts, well…. just pamper yourself, and enjoy. You deserve it.

Smart Way to Buy Diamonds

Most women I know, upon engagement, expect a diamond ring. It is common all over the world, even the Philippine show business is not an exception; actors and actresses, time and again, would be in the headline because of the size of diamond given to her by that and this actor or businessman boyfriend. Diamonds are considered prime choices for Engagement Rings. This is because most people cannot resist the charm and beauty of Diamonds. It is known to be woman’s best friend, and besides it makes their day and their world go around. It is known to be the hardest of carbons, and thus signify the purity, true affection and hope for a lasting relationship.

Diamonds are very valuable, elegant and expensive Jewelry. Its' authenticity in some cases can make or break relationships and friendships. Diamonds are perfect as family heirlooms, and good investments. Therefore in buying diamonds, you have to be very careful, it is best if you only buy GIA and AGSL certified diamonds. If you are planning to buy diamond online, you should only go for an online retailer with a reputation and a retailer that will provide you the guidance and education to help you choose the perfect one. Try visiting the site of www.bluenile.com. They are the largest online retailer of certified diamonds and engagement rings, and you can choose from around 60,000 certified diamonds and cut. Also, prices are 20-40% below competition, and they provide free delivery through FedEx for every order.

Forecasts update on Peso, Gold and Oil

Last year, I said Gold could reach 1000$ an ounce, it did.

Last June 9,2008 I said Peso could reach 47.00, it is now there. I am revising it now, it could reach 48 to 49 by end of October, but will start strengthening by November until around 1st week of January 2009.

After Gold reach 1000$, I then said in May 11, 2008 to get out from Gold and Oil as they are going to fall soon. Now Gold is hundreds down (760$ right now), and Oil is around 100$ (down by 45). So? Oil is going down if damage in Texas is not as much as expected, could reach 90 or even 85. Gold? Let's wait EU data.

I am not always right. I am a tiny trader wanna be. Consult a professional before you trade. Trade at your own risk.

Large Hadron Collider : Is it safe?

This thing could reduce earth into a Golf ball, as some people say. Really?

On the news today:

The world's largest particle collider passed its first major test by firing a beam of protons around a 17-mile (27-kilometer) underground ring Wednesday in what scientists hope is the next great step to understanding the makeup of the universe.

Some fears about this project are:

1. “Honey, I shrunk the earth!“

2. In order for Earth to be in danger from micro black holes, the following would need to be true:

# Micro black hole creation — Unknown, predicted by some physicists.
# Hawking Radiation failure — Unknown, challenged by some studies and polls.
# Rapid growth of Micro black holes — Unknown, predicted by some theories.

Cosmic ray impacts do not prove safety because results of cosmic rays pass through Earth and into space at nearly the speed of light. If colliders can create micro black holes from head-on collisions, some percentage will travel too slowly to escape Earth’s gravity.

3. Just like the managers that recommended Launching the Shuttle Challenger did not believe that it would explode. They knew there might be a reasonable risk because their engineers told them there might be a reasonable risk. But the managers said (paraphrase) “there is no proof of reasonable risk… launch!”

4. Besides many theories and Nobel Prizes relies on running the Large Hadron Collider!

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A comment I got from www.symmetrymagazine.org.

negligible?!?!?!? seriously? we could all die for godsake. I think this is dumb and there’s no point in it. maybe the LHC should leave the world alone, and not try to kill it off for once? I mean, this is the whole world for love of god! not a town, not a city, not a state, not a country, THE WHOLE WORLD!! that’s like 4.5 billion people. think with the practical part of your brain instead of the nerdy must-prove-we’re-smart part.

Source and for more readings:

http://www.lhcfacts.org/
www.symmetrymagazine.org

Free Shipping On all TV Stands

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Standsonline.com is the best and the ideal place if you are planning to buy a TV Stand, Audio Video Racks and Towers, Speaker Stands, Plasma/LCD Wall Mounts and Speaker mounts. They offer more, so try checking out their BDI products. Worried about the shipping cost? Don’t because these TV Stands can be ordered right from your home and they will reach you as soon as it can without any shipping cost (only on domestic orders). Check them out now.

RP professionals can practice in ASEAN now

Licensed Filipino accountants, architects, surveyors, engineers, nurses, dentists and doctors may work in other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), officials said Tuesday.

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On the news today from PDI:

Southeast Asian economic ministers have signed agreements allowing these professionals to work in each other’s countries.

ASEAN ministers on Monday signed the mutual recognition arrangements, a statement from the Singapore hosts said.

Under the pacts, ASEAN states will mutually recognize qualifications and standards covering these professionals so they can practice in any ASEAN country.

Facilitate movement

The accords will also ensure that professional standards in an ASEAN state are maintained, monitored and regulated.

The measures to facilitate movement of professionals within the region are part of ASEAN’s efforts toward economic integration, which include easing the flow of goods and services as well as investments.

ASEAN groups 10 countries with different levels of economic development, ranging from impoverished Laos to high-tech Singapore and the world’s most populous Muslim country Indonesia.

Its other members are military-ruled Burma (Myanmar), oil-rich Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

The group aims to achieve a single market and manufacturing base by 2015 to raise ASEAN’s profile in the face of competition from China and India.

Source: AFP and Margaux C. Ortiz

What happend to my US Dollar - Peso forecast?

In my July 4, 2008 post I said:

Pesos - Dollars forecast will cover July to September, 2008. The bold forecast is : the Peso will continue to weaken, and probably would breach 50 to 51 to the dollar.

This forecast was based on three factors:

1. Inflation data, June was bad. July will be worst.

This is now tamed somehow. Rice prices are back to normal, that is, May 2008 levels.

2. High oil prices.

This one have gone down to below 110 dollars per barrel today.

3. Political noise, and more protest in the coming weeks.

No protests were made. I thought people would fill the streets because of high inflation, and because of attempts to do Chacha again, and because of the BJE deal in Mindanao.

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So? Shall we revise the forecast now?

No, I will still short the Peso until October 30.

On the news today from PDI:

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the country’s central bank was selling dollars in the currency market to try to support the weakening peso, traders said Tuesday.

A trader in Manila said he suspected the central bank stepped into the market at P46.50 per dollar and continued to sell dollars at P46.60.

"Probably the next level to be tested is P46.65," said a second trader.

APFinancial

You know very well that we have been posting over the past three years about currencies, forex trading, earning money from the internet, and various ways to earn money through brick and mortar businesses. This is because it had been my goal to have financial freedom, and I am sharing my ideas and goals with everyone that cares to read my blog because I believe that somehow my posts would inspire and help you have financial freedom as well. I believe that every one of us needs to have a brighter future.

I have always said that the first thing you should do to reach your financial goal is to save, and save e.g. spend less than what you earn. Next step is to invest whatever you got so that it will grow e.g. make the money work for you and help you reach your financial goals.

If you have the money right now then you can start investing it. Go for investments that have low risks and something that will yield a bigger gain after a couple of years compared to bank interest rates. This way your money will help you beat inflation.

You can try visiting the website of APFinancial. At APFinancial you can invest in their different investment vehicles such as mutual fund and Tradional IRA. If you want, or if you want to diversify your investments you can also invest in their retirement plans and many types of insurance. APFinancial can be found in many states capital. They have 2,500 members and growing. If you have not invested in anything yet, maybe it is time to think about. Investing early and while we are young is the best time because money will grow through compounding over the years. So, start investing now.

Are you looking for medical scrubs and nursing uniforms?

If you are then, visit and browse the site of http://scrubsandbeyond.com. The scrubs online of Scrubs & Beyond is the appropriate and the right place if you are looking for brand name discounted scrubs pants for women such as tall scrub pants, petite scrub pants, floral print scrub top, dickies scrubs, nurses scrub jackets, cherokee medical scrubs, cherokee medical scrubs and flare scrub pants among others. Most of these come with brand name product line that includes the likes of Barco, Dickies and Cherokee scrubs.

Also, they have now a sale of scrubs for men products such as scrub tops, scrub pants and warm-up scrub jackets and lab coats from the popular brand Landau.

So, you can imagine that the medical uniforms and hospital scrubs sold on Scrubs & Beyond are colorful that comes in a variety styles and design that definitely suit the needs of nurses and other medical practioners.

What is great is that if you order more than $125 worth of scrubs, then they will provide you with free shipping. So, visit Scrubs & Beyond now and shop.