It was a hot day. I should go somewhere to find something cool to drink. While tidying up my living room to find my car key, I found my "Newsweek" - July 2008 edition.

Bill Ackman, a hedge fund manager who runs Pershing Square Capital Management, recently was interviewed by CNBC. He discussed his plan to "save" Fannie Mae and Freedie Mac and disclosed that he had short positions in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's junior debts and equities: 

Ackman on Fannie & Freddie Partt 1: His plan to save Fannie and Freddie.

Ackman on Fannie & Freddie Part 2: His plan to save Fannie and Freddie.

Read more for part 2...click the title of this blog entry.

On July 11, 2008, IndyMac Bank, F.S.B., Pasadena, CA was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Conservator. All non-brokered insured deposit accounts and substantially all of the assets of IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. have been transferred to IndyMac Federal Bank, F.S.B. (IndyMac Federal Bank), Pasadena, CA ("assuming institution") a newly chartered full-service FDIC-insured institution. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.

T. Boone Pickens, the most famous hedge fund manager focusing on energy, has a plan to solve the US dependence on oil. He believes wind energy is the solution. Listen to what he has to say in the original video presentation below by T. Boone Pickens:

Click the title of this blog entry to watch more T. Boone Pickens' videos on energy and share it to your friends.

I just bought BIG 5 shares at 8.00. I think it is a very straight forward business. I hope I can get luck so that I can buy even more at below 7.

Do you wonder how high executive pay is? Here is the top 10 list of executive pay according to New York Times:

1. John A. Thain, Merrill Lynch - Total Pay: $83.79 Millions

2. Lawrence J. Ellison, Oracle - Total Pay: $61.18 Millions

3. Lloyd C. Blankfein, Goldman Sachs Group - Total Pay: $53.97 Millions

4. John J. Mack, Morgan Stanley - Total Pay: $41.4 Millions

5. Ray R. Irani, Occidental Petroleum - Total Pay: $33.62 Millions

6. Daniel R. Hesse, Sprint Nextel - Total Pay: $29.46 Millions

7. Miles D. White, Abbott Laboratories - Total Pay: $28.96 Millions

8. Robert A. Iger, Walt Disney - Total Pay: 27.67 Millions

9. Alan G. Lafley, Procter & Gamble - Total Pay: 26.84 Millions

10. George David, United Technologies - Total Pay: 25.56 Millions

(Source: NYTimes published on 04/05/2008.)

Video - CEOs Pay Higher in '07 Despite Cloudy Economy: (source: AP, June 15, 2008)

Other resources on executive pay: click the title of this blog entry for more video and resources on executive pay...

"The .350 hitter expects, and also deserves, a big payoff for his performance - even if he plays for a cellar-dwelling team. And a .150 hitter should get no reward - even if he plays for a pennant winner."
~ Warren Buffett

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Here is recent Charlie Rose interview on April 10, 2008 where George Soros , the global speculator and hedge fund manager, discusses his latest book The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crash of 2008 and What It Means. Soros talks about the current financial crisis and its impact on America's position in the world, as well as how these problems are the result of a flawed paradigm.

Video of the interview can also be viewed here.

For more great books authored or related to George Soros, click the title of this blog entry.

BREAKING NEWS: FED LEAVES FED FUNDS RATE UNCHANGED AT 2.00%
Fed will act as needed to promote growth, stable prices. Fed holds rates steady, reminder on inflation worry.

U.S. Federal Open Market Committee June 25 Full-Text Statement:

The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to keep its target for the federal funds rate at 2 percent.

Recent information indicates that overall economic activity continues to expand, partly reflecting some firming in household spending. However, labor markets have softened further and financial markets remain under considerable stress. Tight credit conditions, the ongoing housing contraction, and the rise in energy prices are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters.

....read more....click the title of this blog entry for detail.

This is the chance of a lifetime to experience first hand the one-and-only Warren Buffett. As CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Mr. Buffett is the world's greatest investor and the richest person in the world (according to Forbes in March 2008). He is famed for his strikingly successful investment strategies and is as well known for his personal integrity as his business savvy. He is, quite simply, a legend, and he will sit down with you and up to seven of your friends for lunch.

Mr. Buffett will dine with the winning bidder and up to seven friends at Smith and Wollensky in New York, which has been called “the steakhouse to end all arguments” by The New York Times. A mutually agreed upon date and time for the lunch will be selected by Mr. Buffett and the winning bidder.  100% Benefits the Glide Foundation & it's Many Services.

All bidders must pre-qualify. The opening bid is $25,000. This package does not include any items, services, travel or accommodations that are not detailed in the above description.

Click here to go to Warren Buffett Power Lunch auction (the lunch is auctioned on eBay).

Background: Who is Warren Buffett? For more detail, please click the title of this blog entry.

"If you're in the luckiest 1 per cent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 per cent."
~ Warren Buffett

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Here is the Short-Term Energy Outlook of Global Petroleum published on June 10, 2008 by Energy Information Administration (EIA)
(Next Update: July 8, 2008)
Source: EIA

The combination of rising consumption, further downward revisions in the supply outlook for countries outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and low surplus production capacity reinforce the perception that supply is having a difficult time keeping up with demand growth, accounting for much of the upward trend in oil prices.  Consumption in countries outside of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) continues to grow rapidly, offsetting weaker consumption in OECD countries, especially the United States.  Declining production in a number of non-OPEC nations, including Mexico, United Kingdom, and Norway, is largely offsetting increases in other countries.  Slow growth in non-OPEC supply is coinciding with disruptions in supplies from some OPEC countries, such as Nigeria.  Ongoing geopolitical concerns in several producing countries, including Venezuela and Iran, have contributed to oil price volatility.

The market remains concerned that the cushion of surplus production capacity of less than 2 million bbl/d (almost all located in Saudi Arabia) and/or stocks is insufficient to protect against possible changes in supply or consumption, especially as we enter the summer hurricane season.  The absence of a Saudi commitment to add capacity beyond its current goal of 12.5 million bbl/d adds to the uncertainty about the adequacy of future supply capacity growth.

For more detail, click the title of this blog entry...

"If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success."
~ John D. Rockefeller

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