The Online Investing AI Blog

PBA World Championship

Last Christmas, Tom Smallwood found himself in a position that millions of Americans are now facing.

After years of loyalty and hard work, he was laid off from the General Motors plant. That was bad enough, but the layoffs timing–right before Christmas–was just salt in the wound. He quickly applied for conventional jobs, but never heard back from the companies.

Tom, his wife, and his young daughter faced an uncertain future.

But Tom had a  secret weapon: bowling.

Tom believed he was a good bowler; he even won a few local tournaments. With his wife’s blessing, he tried out for the Pro Bowler’s tour. And made it!

Then he won a major tournament. Tom pocketed $50,000 during a championship match–making more in a single event than he ever earned in a year working at a conventional job.

So, if you’re laid-off, or worried that you will be laid-off, just remember: you can always bowl. At least in the allegorical sense. Maybe you can’t bowl, but, like Tom, you have talents and knowledge that can generate new careers and new sources of income.

You can even follow Tom’s method:

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Dreams Come True, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy bowling, dreams, financial freedom, hobbies, job, jobless, part-time, unemployment

Amazing photo by Zara @ Flickr

Despite the prodding of Tim Ferriss and Jonathan Fields, some folks don’t feel comfortable about quitting their day jobs, starting their own businesses, and traveling to Thailand to learn Thai stick fighting techniques.

We even talk about escaping the cubicle life.

That’s cool.

But the one thing that is true in the Wealth Singularity and the thing that drives us to create advanced Automated Trading technology is that lifestyle design is lifestyle design. You don’t have to shed your job. You don’t have to travel to exotic locales. You don’t have to become an Internet marketer.

You approach life on your terms and no one else’s.

If you’re ready to move toward lifestyle design, but aren’t prepared to dive in head-first, here’s a way to test your lifestyle design skills without a lot of risk.

I call it the 10 percent self-employment solution. Here’s how it works:

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Accelerating Technology, Online Investing AI employment, financial, Investing, job, jobless, Money, personal freedom, saving, unemployment, wealth singularity

Frozen Economy by lrargerich @ Flickr

The Fed’s Beige Book business survey, which reported that the economy is improving “modestly” the last few weeks. (You can read a report on the Beige Book at Forbes.)

The survey looks at economic condition in 12 markets. A total of eight of those markets are starting to show signs of increased economic activity.

That’s a little silver lining. The report also indicates that hiring remains weak and may not reach past levels in six to eight years.

That’s right: six to eight YEARS.

“But wait,” I hear you say, “I thought you said there was a silver lining. People losing their jobs and struggling to find work isn’t good news.”

You’re right. It’s not good news. At all. But, bear with me, because there is positive news in this trend.

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Business Strategy, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy beige book, economy, fed, job, jobs, reserve, unemployment, work

AndYaDontStop @ Flickr

There are more than 6 million people looking for work. The rest are looking at work and seeking signs that their job is safe.

The truth is that no job is safe. Jobs will become less safe because the confidence in the economy has crumbled and business leaders have become business leaners, hanging back and trying to predict the next move instead of driving that move.

That attitude is a  business disaster-in-the-making as the winds of creative destruction begin to turn into a hurricane-force gale, tossing non-performing companies into the dustbin of economic history.

Your job leaders will never tell you that they’re worried about the future and warn you to begin looking at other employment options. But you can tell it’s going to happen.

It’s called organizational panic. In the individual, you can see signs of panic. Sweat. Fingernail chewing. Shaking. Screaming. An organization is different. You have to look for other signs.

Here are some signs that panic has set in at your place of work.

Read more…

Business Strategy, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy economy, employment, job, occupation, organizational panic, panic, unemployment, work, workplace

sneakerdog @ Flickr

I’m not a big fan of spinach.

It doesn’t looks good. It doesn’t taste good. It rarely smells good.

But I can’t deny the healthy boost it gives you.  (And I’m not even referring to the power it gives under-sized Popeye the power to take on over-sized bullies.) It has lots of protein and vitamins. No denying it.

Sometimes it’s necessary to put up with short-term pain to create long-term strength. Same thing goes for your financial health.

In the world of personal finance, there’s no more willing taskmaster than a recession. A recession is painful and stressful. But it might also be the impetus that leads to our long-term financial freedom and well-being.

Here’s how.

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Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy bad economy, business, economy, finance, personal finance, recession, strong, unemployment

R. S. @Flickr

The official unemployment rate bounded above 10 percent recently.

But, that’s the official rate. Some economists say that rate is deliberately doctored to make it sound better for politicians who earn their keep by promising us prosperity and endless economic opportunities. These economists say the rate is closer to 17 percent.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re one of the 10 percent, or one of the 17 percent, if you were cut from your job, you’re going through some financial and emotional upheaval. This sense of chaos and loss can lead to depression.

But, like any challenge, it can be the trigger for positive change that can create stunning success. Here are some tips to beat the unemployment blues and make this a situation that leads to real, honest change for the better.

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Dreams Come True, Great Books, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy blues, depression, happy, inspiration, job, job loss, unemployment

The last 12 months has been filled with economic uncertainty. We have had government spending and bailouts at unheard of levels. People have even said the government is taking over the banking industry. Unemployment is at a multi-decade high. Real estate prices have fallen 50% or more in many areas. Not long ago, some people were even predicting a great global depression.Now that those fears have been alleviated and the economy appears to be on the road to recovery, the pressure to shop is at an all time high. The internet is an outstanding source of information, and sales and shopping information is no exception.  Sites like DealNews have been a boon to shoppers everywhere. As Black Friday approaches, the scent of good deals has already thrown many into a buying frenzy.

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Money, Success, US Economy bailout, consumption, dealnews, economy, government, shopping, unemployment

The unemployment rate is considered a lagging indicator. In other words, once the economy revs up, it takes awhile for the unemployment rate to change.

Since the process of determining company employment levels, reviewing applications, interviewing, and hiring people can take weeks, if not months, the unemployment rate lags the rest of the economic indicators.

In our current economic climate, we’re seeing economic indicators that  indicate a recovery is on the way. The market has adjusted. Earnings are improving. When this happened in other economic periods, the unemployment rate slowly dropped.

But this economy isn’t like other ones.

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Business Strategy, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy debt, employment, jobs, Money, regulations, tax, unemployment

Recently, as the stock market soars, there has been a large amount of news about how well the economy is doing. They say that the housing market has hit bottom, and that the economy is recovering. However, this article by the Associated Press is about how unemployment is rising.

Regardless of what the newspapers say, it is important to look at the fundamentals that drive the economy. The government has created massive band-aids to prevent a depression, and they seem to have worked. But it is important to understand the difference between a recovery and a temporary band-aid.

What effect will the band-aid have?

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Money, US Economy bailout, CNN, debt, deficit, dollar, economy, foreclosure, housing, media, Money, Obama, spending, unemployment, USA Today

Y @ Flickr

In order to free yourself from the domination of arbitrary standards and discover the true standards by which you should behave, you need to find the courage to do what you must without regard to what others may think.
–Chin-Ning Chu

Can you imagine an animal gets caught in a trap, frees itself, and then steps right back in the trap again?

It happens every morning.

People are hypnotized to believe that holding a job means they are secure and that this job is source of wealth and freedom.

Sadly, as many people are finding out, it is neither.

Read more…

Automated Trading, Business Strategy, Investing, Online Investing AI employment, financial, Investing, job, jobless, Money, personal freedom, saving, unemployment