Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Helen Clark's words ring hollow

Dear old Sir Ed was buried on Tuesday and it is now time to get out the knives and stick them firmly where they belong, in Helen Clark's back.

Sure, the Prime Minister had a job to do in the State Funeral for Sir Ed and she executed her part in an adequate manner.

What wasn't appropriate though was her use of the occasion to make political capital for the sake of polishing her highly tarnished image.

In her eulogy, she mentioned Sir Ed's individualism, his tenacity in the face of adversity, and his ability to take risk, and responsibility for that risk.

Was I listening to a new Helen Clark, one who has turned over a new leaf in the holidays and one who has done a complete 180 degree turn and become a rational, free thinking, truthful, moral, aspirational individual?

I don't think a mangy leopard can change its spots, let alone a collective freedom basher like our dear Prime Minister.

Can you?

Sir Edmund Hillary stood and his achievements still stand for excellence and he achieved his goals in a society that embraced risk, and rewarded those who took those risks.

Clark and her merry band of Socialists punish those who would put their heads above the masses and try to reach their goals, while mediocrity is rewarded to stop feelings being hurt.

One could be forgiven for a slip of the memory by Clark during her eulogy yesterday but it must be remembered that Sir Ed stood for truthfulness, a moral compass that led him in the right direction and a firm handshakes that meant an agreement was adhered to.

Clark's hypocrisy in the face of her empty words filled my bones with a cancerous bile thick with her lies, broken promises and moral free conscience.

Perhaps the largest legacy that Sir Ed leaves behind is his spirit of freedom, the ability to do and say what he wanted, within the bounds of being a gentleman, without the repercussions of the State apparatus coming down on him to put a stop to it.

Helen Clark and the sisterhood put everything in the way of freedom that they possibly can, the epitome of their stomp on the head of freedom being the passing of the fascist Electoral Finance Act, rushed through without multi party consultation at the end of 2007.

I would go as far to say that if Sir Ed was educated in today's education system and our politically correct straight jacketed ways, it would have damped his spirit to such an extent that the individualism and freedom that he was famous for would have been stomped out before he turned 10 years old.

I mourn the loss of a great man, and the passing of all the great things that he stood for.

A collective such as Helen Clark, even though she was a friend of his, is an enemy of all Sir Ed will be remembered for.


Related Political Animal Articles

Electoral Finance Bill: The purpose is clear
Labour's State control out of control
Labour's Socialist peril
Pointing fingers in the playground


C Political Animal 2008

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Market Meltdown: I can smell the fear from here

An irrational smell is permeating global sharemarkets at present and it is the bitter smell of fear.

http://z.about.com/d/beginnersinvest/1/0/A/G/buffett1.jpg
The "Sage of Omaha" Warren Buffett, is a popular
Google search in times of volatile markets, from people
seeking his advice.



Hits today(like they always do on days like these)on the Share Investor Blog are at an all time record and they are mostly from America and they are googling such things like "what would Warren Buffett do?" and lots of related Buffett searches, "market crash", "market meltdown" and "market volatility".

People are seeking reassurance as to what they should do with their stock holdings.

As much as I like to get new readers I'm a bit concerned that this frenzy is gaining a momentum that the current state of global economic growth doesn't deserve.

Now I'm not the right individual to ask when the "bottom" is going to be reached, because I simply don't know but what I do know is people are selling irrationally and they are going to regret it months and years from now.

Allot of the current sell offs are being triggered by margin calls and by traders shorting stocks, that is, betting that share prices will fall, and it has had a momentous snowball effect so far and will probably continue until the buyers come out of the woodwork for some bargain stocks.

Few of the New Zealand companies beaten down so far are in danger of serious real business difficulties and so too global companies, so the disconnect between reality, and the psychological schizophrenia that mums and dads are facing by selling their company holdings at a serious discount is a big one, and only getting bigger as stocks tumble like dominoes.

Don't take this as an endorsement to go out and start buying but I have $NZ50000.00 ready to spend on top ups to my portfolio and I'm feeling like my wife when she goes to the Thanksgiving day dress sales in Dallas Texas, very excited!

So lock up the razor blades, tip the sleeping pills down the drain and use that rope to tie up the bear outside, 'cause its goin' to get turbulent.


Related Share Investor reading

Warren Buffett's The Intelligent Investor
Global Market's dropping and your portfolio
Global Market Meltdown: What is Warren Buffett doing?
A sensible approach to global market volatility

Shareinvestorforum.com - Discuss this topic


Related Amazon reading

The Origin of Financial Crises: Central Banks, Credit Bubbles, and the Efficient Market Fallacy (Vintage)

The Origin of Financial Crises: Central Banks, Credit Bubbles, and the Efficient Market Fallacy (Vintage) by George Cooper
Buy new: $10.36 / Used from: $7.46
Usually ships in 24 hours


c Share Investor 2008

Monday, January 21, 2008

Google as a research tool

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/07/top_brands/image/google.jpg
The power of search engines used for "research" can be
overrated without proper, old fashioned hands-on research
to back it up.




Just a throwaway post for what it is worth, but have you ever been so bored or curious that you Googled your own name?

On the Share Investor Blog almost everyone who has had a piece written about them has checked out that piece and their competition has also done similar.

The public relations departments of companies clearly have people who do this, should I be worried?!

I'm not about to tell you here who is Googling themselves(sorry about that, and it gives me an investing advantage) because these shy folk want to keep their anonymity, and that is fair enough, but there are also a number of brokers and serious heavyweight financial institutions who get their info from Google and that has got me wondering about the credibility of the information and expertise that they in turn pass on to their clients.

I would like to think that financial institutions or brokers making decisions with their clients money might like to actually visit the institutions they have been Googling from time to time to get the full picture, and I'm sure that most do but there is a tendency with human nature when a search engine is at your fingertips, to get lazy. I'm guilty of that as I'm sure some of my readers are.

So, you know important companies are listening and reading what we all say about them online so give them a chance to hear what you have to say and it might just make a difference somewhere along the line.

You can do that on the Share Investor Blog by either using the social network sites like Digg and Stumble Upon and spreading links from this site and others. Links for most of these sites are located at the bottom of each article or make a comment on this site itself where it says "comment", again at the bottom of each article. Its really easy.

For those of you who have commented, thanks, and for those of you who would like to, I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions, positive or negative.


Related reading from Share Investor

Google: Has it lived up to the hype?


C Share Investor 2008

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Michael Hill Jeweller has a defined growth strategy

[MHI]  Michael Hill International Ltd the Queensland based jeweller, with around 200 stores at present is a growth company and has been doing so since Hill himself opened the first store in Whangerei, New Zealand, in 1979.



Michael Hill Jeweller Ltd share price, like most NZX listed
stocks, has taken a beating so far in 2008 but opportunities
are there to grab the stock when it is down.



It listed in 1987 when it had ten stores and also expanded into Queensland with one store in that year.


The expansion has been expertly crafted under Hill's steady lead and is aspirations to become a "global jeweller" with 1000 stores in the next 20 years, look to be well on track.


A small foothold in Canada has slowly improved since the companies entry there and there have been rumours of a push into the USA and the United Kingdom.


The focus on steady growth is the key to success here.


Michael Hill hasn't expanded in Starbuck style but growth has been targeted, measured researched and focused.


The jewellers brand has been a key to its success, most people who know about the company associate it with certain traits; good friendly service, frequent sales and advertising and catering to the middle of the road customer with a mass manufactured quality product.


Its brand has been changing over the years though and has moved from being a mass discounter to making more expensive rocks cheaper for the average customer.


Whether it be Michael Hill's customers becoming more sophisticated and or the company itself promoting higher priced and larger diamonds to them, the move towards higher margin more expensive product is only going to be good for the bottom line.


Like any company in expansion mode though there are obvious risks involved.


The company face competition from the huge James Pascoe Ltd in Australasia, with a range of branded stores and North American Jewellers will no doubt respond with intense competition when they see the presence of an upstart in their own market.


Recent gold price spikes also wont be good for margins short to medium term.


The company know their markets though.


Extensive research is done into local buying habits and these can vary from state to state and city to city and even unique tastes abound suburb to suburb.


With a long relationship with Westfield in New Zealand and Australia, coveted good positions in Westfield's USA malls maybe easier to get than without that relationship and location of a retailers store can often be a make or break situation.


Michael Hill has got where it has today by careful planning and the ability to use that planning to sell product to consumers that they want. As long as that careful planning continues the company's push to become a truly global jewellery player looks to be an attainable goal.




Disc: I own MHI shares in the Share Investor Portfolio



Michael Hill International @ Share Investor 


Share Investor's Total Returns: Michael Hill International Ltd

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Hill Family makes Claytons Takeover bid for Michael Hill International
Michael Hill International Ltd: 2010 Full Year Profit Analysis
Long Term View: Michael Hill International Ltd
Michael Hill International: 2010 half year profit commentary
Michael Hill Makeover kicks off
Michael Hill International: 2009 full year profit commentary
Toughen Up: What I have learned from the hard times
Stock of the Week: Michael Hill International
Michael Hill TV3 60 Minutes Interview
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Michael Hill's profit shines
Michael Hill takes on the windy city
Why did you buy that stock? [Michael Hill International]
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MHI profit sparkles

Discuss MHI @ Share Investor Forum

Download MHI Company Reports





Share Investor 2008