The Online Investing AI Blog

Last night I was watching the news (a terrible habit I need to get rid of!) and there was another story about how bad the economy is and how hard it is to find a job. I always have the same reaction when people say they are looking for a job. It makes me wonder, “Who wants a job?”

Having a job for decades and retiring on a pension was a system that ended in the 1980’s. Since then, the economy has changed so rapidly that working in the same job for 20 years is nearly impossible. Besides that, the financial mismanagement of companies and the government has made pensions and social security unreliable.

So what’s the solution?

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Accelerating Technology, Dreams Come True, Great Books, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy economy, Investing, jobs, Money, pensions, social security, Success, technology, the wealth singularity, tv

This post over at Yahoo Finance is pretty typical of articles that tell us how to save a little money. Personally, I don’t know how great these morsels of advice really are, but they sure are popular. The most famous tidbit is

Forgo that Starbucks latte and retire a millionaire in 50 years.

I haven’t met anyone who got rich by skipping Starbucks, but maybe I will in 50 years. So, here’s some ideas that can help us save big money.

Read more…

Money, Success Amazon, credit, debt, eBay, Money, retirement, saving, Starbucks, tv

It has been theorized that the TV, computer, DVR and internet will converge into one unit. The question is, how will it all work out? This fascinating analysis about Hulu online video service shows how popular the service has become.

I guess that’s part of the interaction between capitalism and technology. Each company does its best to exploit technology, gain market share, develop new and revolutionary products, and ultimately maximize profit. It may not be a perfect system, but it is the best we have, and seems to work pretty well.

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Accelerating Technology, Business Strategy, Dreams Come True, Internet, Money accelerating capitalism, business, credit cards, DVR, hulu, Internet, markets, Money, tv

After reading this great post from Bible Money Matters, it got me thinking. The author of the post is crazy about electronics, and finally decided he isn’t going to spend a ton of money on them any more. But he is inundated with info about electronics all day long. How can he manage his desire?

His solution is to remove all the info. Changing his homepage from the electronics gizmo deal site. Removing the electronics blogs from his blog reader. Etc.

So, that made me think about how he is setting himself up for financial success. Instead of just consuming all the information and then trying to avoid buying, he is eliminating the desire in the first place.

What can we do to set ourselves up for financial success?

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Dreams Come True, Money, Success blogs, electronics, finances, Money, set up to win, spending, Success, tv

Can Automated Trading really create happiness? Can money make us happy?

Sorry to say it, but I think the answer to both is no. Yes, Automated Trading can help us do better in life, and make it possible to achieve financial freedom sooner. And, I don’t know if more money will really make anyone happier.

Blasphemy? Definitely for the gambling industry. And maybe even for the investing industry, it seems. But it’s true. More money will not make people happier. Most lottery winners are poorer 5 years after they get their big win. And more miserable as well. Don’t believe me? Read about the lottery and the guy who won the biggest jackpot in history.

Because more money will not make us anything different than what we are now. If we are not happy now, more money will not make us more happy. It only makes us more of what we already are. If we are dissatisfied with our life, more money will make us more dissatisfied. If we are drinking too much now, more money will only help us drink more.

So how will Automated Trading help us?

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Automated Trading, Investing, Money, Success Automated Trading, doritos, drink, financial freedom, happiness, Success, tv

If anyone caught The Daily Show, Jon Stewart recently nailed the CNBC talking heads about their missed calls.

He’s absolutely right and he got props from a lot of folks in the investment community. Our friends at Pimp Your Finances wrote a piece about Stewart’s comments.

It also got a mention here.

I think Stewart, in his satirical way, made the case that human traders are wrong more often than they’re right. Or as he put it:

If I’d only followed CNBC’s advice, I’d have a million dollars today – provided that I started with one hundred million.

Right on, Jon!

But Jon missed the other half of the punchline. I’m wondering if Stewart ever made fun of this commentator’s quote:

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not facing any kind of financial crisis. The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”

Of course, both Fannie and Freddie failed. In a big way.

Here’s another little bit that would have made a great skit on the Stewart show about the reason why, despite several warnings from the Bush administration, Fannie and Freddie Mac never got fixed:

“Through nearly a dozen hearings where, frankly, we were trying to fix something that wasn’t broke…”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wasn’t broke, but they went broke.

These comments were made by Democrats Barney Frank and Maxine Waters, respectively.

The government’s talking heads are no better in predicting the economy’s moves than financial show talking heads.

Stewart may have been unwilling to tell this side of the story for political reasons. He has moved his show from a satire that nails all idiots, no matter what side of the aisle, to an increasingly divisive partisan attack instrument, kind of a left-wing Rush Limbaugh.

Unfortunately, we are moving into territory where all of our information has an agenda and is skewed (and skewered) with bias.

I think Stewart is funny, but I’d be just as careful taking advice from a comedian about politics and economic issues as I am taking advice from CNBC broadcasters about my portfolio.

Author’s note: I didn’t watch every Stewart show, so I’m not sure if he didn’t do a send-up of Waters and Frank for their bad predictions. I’m still looking for clips of those Stewart Show clips. I’ll let you know if I find anything.

Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy jon stewart, satire, stewart, television, tv

There are many dangerous and destructive forces in our society. Many people think that violence, gangs, drugs, and poverty are the source of society’s ills. But I would suggest that there is one force that is even more dangerous: Television.

Most people take television for granted, and think that it is normal for everyone to watch it for hours each day. In fact, the average American watches television for eight hours per day! Many people spend more time watching television than doing anything else, even sleeping.

What’s the big deal with the TV? The problem with television is that it destroys our future. It is so easy to lie down on the couch, get something (unhealthy) to eat, and zone out. Our eyes relax, our body relaxes, and we can have a sensory and emotional shower of sensations that requires no effort whatsoever. This process of zoning out is nothing more than a hypnotic state. A hypnotic state where we are more able to accept the suggestions that we are bombarded with: mostly marketing messages designed to make us buy something.

Here’s the problem. Anyone who has the resources to watch TV can create anything that they want to. They can make real any dream that they envision. But all dreams are built upon the solid foundation of action. And television is a powerful sedative, and prevents just about every action we think about taking. It even prevents thinking, creating a relaxed vegetative state in the viewer.

It seems almost a crime, to have a machine destroy people’s futures. Especially in this day and age. The internet has provided the most powerful tool in the history of the universe to create businesses, technological revolutions, financial success, and any other dream we can imagine. It seems a cruel stroke of fate to have these dreams so easily stolen.

Dreams Come True dreams, hypnosis, Success, television, tv