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Posting on the net March 30, 2009

Posted by James in Daily Thoughts.
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Isn’t it ironic how people indiscriminately post their pictures and information on the net. People never realize the danger in divulging too much information on the net.

Most of us are very sensitive when other people encroach on our private lives. We usually get offended if someone would talk about us behind our back. I for one didn’t realized the danger in posting some pictures during my college days. Most of it were from parties and outings.

It only dawned on me that some of those pictures can be used against me to ruin my reputation once I become a professional. Although that was merely a stage in my life where I had little or no responsibilities.  There is still the possibility of those pictures to ruin the chance of me being hired in a high and respectable position if someone uses it against me.

Although most of the pics would never affect me in the future, my concern is the information I have divulged in the net about my self. A lot of information is available on the net that we only dream of having years ago. The trend in social networking has increased the availability of information about a person to the public.

In the past we used to worry about the threat of the government having too much information about us available at their disposal. We were concerned about the concept of BIG BROTHER that there was even a movies made about it, “Enemy of the State” and “The Net” are a few. What we failed to notice right now is that we are the once who are creating the Big Brother concept. The information we willingly provide on the net is what comprises it.

It is only a matter of time that someone would utilize this, or maybe someone has already utilized this without us even knowing it.

MUTUAL FUND PERFORMANCE IN THE PHILIPPINES March 30, 2009

Posted by James in Mutual fund performance, philippine mutual fund.
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PERFORMANCE OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN THE PHILIPPINES
For the Years Ended 2008 and 2007

Peso Stock Funds 2008 Return 2008 Rank 2007 Return 2007 Rank
United Fund, Inc. (14.28%) 1 8.45% 8
First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund, Inc. (30.7%) 2 12.63% 7
Sun Life Prosperity Phil. Equity Fund, Inc. (37.59%) 3 20.58% 3
Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. (38.13%) 4 19.86% 4
Philequity Fund, Inc. (40.67%) 5 18.32% 5
Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. (40.75%) 6 21.74% 1
ATR KimEng Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. (41.46%) 7 13.87% 6
Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. (48.28%) 8 21.42% 2

Peso Balanced Funds 2008 Return 2008 Rank 2007 Return 2007 Rank
First Galleon Family Fund, Inc. 0.6% 1 0.22% 5
First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. (6.27%) 2 NA NA
Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. (23.75%) 3 17.21% 2
Optima Balanced Fund, Inc. (23.89%) 4 8.31% 4
MFCP Kabuhayan Fund, Inc. (29.2%) 5 10.56% 3
GSIS Mutual Fund, Inc. (31.5%) 6 21.92% 1
Philam Fund, Inc. (32.52%) 7 NA NA

Dollar Balanced Funds 2008 Return 2008 Rank 2007 Return 2007 Rank
Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. (8.68%) 1 3.54% 1

Peso Bond Funds 2008 Return 2008 Rank 2007 Return 2007 Rank
Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. 5.26% 1 5.76% 2
ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. 4.26% 2 5.02% 3
First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund, Inc. 2.33% 3.5 4.35% 4
Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. 2.33% 3.5 NA NA
Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. 1.96% 5 2.26% 8
Philam Bond Fund, Inc. 1.91% 6 4.29% 5
Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. 1.53% 7 2.42% 7
Philam Managed Income Fund 1.52% 8 (0.05%) 9
Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. 0.57% 9 3.83% 6
Prudentialife Fixed Income Fund Inc. (5.0%) 10 7.58% 1

Foreign Currency Bond Funds 2008 Return 2008 Rank 2007 Return 2007 Rank
AIG Global Bond Fund Phils., Inc. 2.37% 1 NA NA
ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. 1.97% 2 5.36% 2
ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. 0.08% 3 1.69% 8
Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. (0.71%) 4 4.88% 3
MAA Privilege Dollar Fixed Income Fund, Inc. (3.21%) 5 4.35% 5
Grepalife Fixed Income Fund Corp. (3.44%) 6 2.60% 7
Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. (7.08%) 7 2.61% 6
Grepalife Dollar Bond Fund Corp. (7.18%) 8 4.65% 4
Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. (7.44%) 9 6.55% 1
MAA Privilege Euro Fixed Income Fund, Inc. (13.87%) 10 (2.33%) 9

Peso Money Market Funds 2008 Return 2008 Rank 2007 Return 2007 Rank
Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. 2.05% 1 2.03% 2
ATR KimEng Money Market Fund, Inc. (5.12%) 2 (4.72%) 3
Philequity Money Market Fund, Inc. NA NA 5.65% 1

Source: Investment Company Association of the Philippines

I can start blogging again March 29, 2009

Posted by James in Daily Thoughts.
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It’s been quite a while since I’ve written in my personal blog. Things have been really busy for me in the past few months. Since I’ve started blogging I’ve grown to appreciate the value of blogging. As for me this has been a perfect outlet for all the things I want to share to other.

It has been a great instrument for me to communicate my thoughts, problems or ideas. I must admit that I have become addicted to blogging.

Asides from this personal blog I have been trying to maintain these other blogs:

Its a good thing that I have more time now, things are a bit lax right now and this has provided me with ample time to start writing again.

Unprofessionalism March 28, 2009

Posted by James in Daily Thoughts.
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The past few weeks has been very draining for me and my brother.  We were commissioned by a client to design and renovate a house. At the beginning of the project everything was proceeding as agreed with the client. We began renovating the house last november and we encountered a lot of problems with the existing structure.

On December the client had some changes in the scope of the project and we had to accomodate the request which increased the already existing problems in that project. Although we had a verbal agreement about his request to increase the scope of the proejct. On january after we submitted our second bill, the client told us that we never had any agreement with regards to the design and construction of his house.

After solving most of the major problems in his house he decided to remove us from the project and he decided to finish it his self. This wouldn’t have been a problem for the both of us if he approached us in the proper manner.

What disgusted me was the manner he opted to pre terminate our services. Despite of a lot of people who witnessed him agreeing in commssioning us to renovate his house, he said that we never had any agreement that we would design and do the renovation of his house.

If he wanted to save money in his project because of financial difficulties he could have approached us properly. In that way he wouldn’t have ruined any proffessional relationship between us. After this incident I completely lost my respect towards him and any word he utters has completely lost credibility.

I have always believed that a man who doesn’t honor his word is no better than a conman. In any transaction or business, trust and credibility is the most important factor in keeping a long term relationship.

As a person and professional, I always made sure that I would be honest to any person I deal with and that I would always keep any commitments I made to any person I give my word to. Its just disappointing to encounter other people who don’t value trust, commitment and professionalism, but that’s just how the world works. It’s an experience I’ve learned and never want to happen again.

Financial Planning FAQ March 28, 2009

Posted by James in Financial Planning, Investing, Pre-Need, Saving money, banking, stock market.
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BY MALAYA LARAYA
I recently conducted a half-day seminar on financial planning for some professionals and it was a rather enlightening experience on the mindsets of people when it comes to financial planning. As always there was an open forum at the end and quite a number of questions were asked – some were the usual and some were rather unusual. So for those of you who may have had some of these questions in mind but didn’t know who or what to ask; here is a small FAQ on financial planning.
What is the best investment? This is definitely the most common question that has been asked and the short answer is this : There is none. More specifically, there is simply no investment tool that is the best for all people all of the time. There are instead, instruments that are best suited to each individual’s particular needs, plans and current financial condition. Simply put, what is good for your friend, spouse, relative, lover, workmate, neighbour or child may not necessarily be good for you due to the undeniable fact that you and your friend, spouse, relative, lover, workmate, neighbor or child are two different individuals. Consequently, the two of you will have different sets of wants and needs at different times and will therefore need different solutions. Therefore, be very wary of anyone who tries to sell you a panacea for all of your investment needs as it simply does not yet exist.
Where can I get information about (x)? Despite the fact that we are very much in the online age, very many people still do not know where to get even the most basic information about financial products. From equities to managed funds to pre-need plans; people seem to be at a loss as to where to go. Here are some websites that you can visit as well as what you can expect to read.For Equities :1. www.pse.com.ph : This is the Philippine Stock Exchange’s official site. Lots of content from latest market news to an online trading simulation. Best site for IPO news as well as corporate changes such as cash and stock dividends. The bad side is that the site is sometimes abysmally slow and their market ticker has been known to display faulty data.
For UITF’s :1. www.uitf.com.ph : This is a site run by the Trust Officer’s Association of the Philippines or TOAP. Site contains basic information about UITF’s as well as links and info about the participating companies’ UITF’s. Not a very nice site as quite a number of links are broken and there doesn’t seem to be a way to compare fund performance between different banks. All in all, about 17 banks are participating so this is still quite a good source of preliminary info.
For Mutual Funds :1. www.icap.com.ph : Maintained by the Investment Company’s Association of the Philippines, this site lists a pretty large number of funds dividend by their primary investment type – (Equity, Balanced, Bond, etc.). Has a pretty good primer but the heart of the site is the page detailing the returns of each fund. This site allows you to directly compare and contrast different funds so it is easy to see which funds in each class have been performing the best over the short, medium and long-term.Are investment returns guaranteed or risk-free? The short answer here is no. In the interest of public safety though, here is a breakdown of common investment products and the answers for them.
EQUITIES: No broker, agent or salesman is legally allowed to guarantee the performance of any stock.MANAGED FUNDS: Regardless of whether the fund is a Mutual fund, a UITF or some other managed fund; managers are not legally allowed to make any guarantees about a fund’s performance.BANK PRODUCTS: Savings accounts, time deposits and other bank deposit products are allowed to make guarantees. To be certain, check the fine print.PRE-NEED PLANS: It depends. Certain pre-need plans promise a fixed return after a specified period and that is ok. Other plans promise a return based on the performance of a pre-determined standard and a guarantee for those products is not ok. As a rule of thumb, check to see if the words “Past performance is no guarantee of future returns” or something similar appear on the materials given to you by the salesperson or agent, then they are not allowed to guarantee any return.Where can I get (x)? Quite often, after you have decided to get a certain product, finding someone who actually sells that product is quite a chore. Here are some ideas on where to get certain products.
BANK PRODUCTS: Not surprisingly, you get bank products from banks. However, aside from savings, checking and time deposit products, many banks also offer other, more sophisticated stuff. To start, go to your bank’s branch and ask if they have any retail investment products available. Most often, they will offer you their UITF though the really big banks will probably offer you a lot more options.MANAGED FUNDS: UITF’s are sold by banks so if you are interested in them, go to the nearest universal bank. Mutual funds are sold by investment companies and they are slightly harder to get hold of. You can begin by asking within your social circle as it always helps if the agent is someone you see regularly. Failing that, you can go directly to the investment company’s head office and open an account there.PRE-NEED PLANS: If you live or work in the Philippines for a significant amount of time, it is almost 100 percent sure that you will know someone who sells a pre-need plan of one kind or another. Just send an email or text to everyone in your address book and there will be someone there who either deals in these products directly or knows someone who does.STOCKS: You can either sign-up at one of the online brokerages or you can troop over to one of the two trading floors (Ortigas or Ayala). Should you choose the latter, you can ask the guards at the ground floor to point you to one of the brokerage houses in the building. To open an account, you will basically just need your tax identification number and two government identification cards. Some brokerages will also require a minimum investment account though not all do so.
That’s about it for now, if anyone has any further questions, post it here and I’ll try to answer it in a future FAQ. Safe investing everyone.

Source: http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/02/28/guest-post-financial-planning-faq/

10 Must-Click Websites March 28, 2009

Posted by James in business tip websites.
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By Mark Henricks | Entrepreneur Magazine – April 2009

Surfing the web for top-notch research and advice to help your business grow? Save some time with these information-rich websites.

  • BizStats.com
    Free statistics and financial ratios for businesses by industry; find out what the average firm in your industry spends and earns.
  • Business.gov
    The central source for federal, state and local government information for businesses; learn about employment laws, where to apply for government grants and loans, and more.
  • BusinessFinance.com
    This lender-matching service offers a range of useful information on various ways to finance a business.
  • Entrepreneurship.org
    The Kauffman Foundation runs this site, which features hundreds of how-to articles for entrepreneurs, and data for policymakers.
  • Nielsen
    Snapshots of consumer trends in different markets, from groceries to movies, by one of the oldest and biggest market-research firms
  • Ladies Who Launch
    Blogs, success stories, how-tos and more, all targeting women entrepreneurs
  • Access eCommerce Guide
    Even internet-illiterate entrepreneurs can learn almost everything they need to start an e-commerce business here.
  • Small Business Advancement National Center
    The nation’s entrepreneurship researchers contribute to this trove of scholarly articles on small-business issues.
  • Small Business School
    View online videos and read transcripts of presentations on financing, hiring, exits and more.
  • Statistical Abstract of the U.S.
    The U.S. Census Bureau’s comprehensive and authoritative rundown of statistics on America’s economy and society

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com

What is Google Adsense’s “interest-based advertising”? March 26, 2009

Posted by James in Adsense, Google.
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By James | PinoyMoneyTalk.com on interest based ads

A week ago, Google Adsense sent publishers an email informing them of the upcoming launch of interest-based advertising and what changes must be implemented in the site’s Privacy Policy.

What is “interest-based advertising”?

It is basically a way for Google advertisers to reach more targeted users by showing ads based on the interests of a site visitor. If a user, for example, watches a lot of music videos on YouTube and visits primarily entertainment sites, Adsense will show more entertainment-related ads to that user, regardless of the site that user is in.

Huh? What does that mean?

Let’s say Joey is a regular visitor of our site, PinoyMoneyTalk.com, and he clicks on one of Adsense’s finance-related ads. Google will drop a cookie on Joey’s browser which monitors the sites he visits and even the videos he watches on YouTube. If Google discovers that Joey visits sports websites too and watches a lot of sports videos on YouTube, next time he visits PinoyMoneyTalk.com, Google Adsense will show sports ads to Joey even though “sports” is not contextual to the PinoyMoneyTalk.com site.

Is this the same as “behavioral targeting”?

Quite like it. Because Google’s cookie tracks the online behavior of site users to be able to show “interest-based” ads, it is basically serving ads based on the “online behavior” of a user.

Isn’t that invasion of privacy?

You could say that, but Google supposedly assures all users that any information collected will not be used to identify users personally and will not be used to show ads based on personal information. According to Google, “we will not show ads based on sensitive information or interest categories, such as those based on race, religion, sexual orientation, health, or sensitive financial categories, without a user’s opt-in consent.”

As a Google Adsense publisher, would I earn more from this?

According to Google, yes. Because more relevant ads will be shown to your visitors although the ads are not “in context” with the actual topic of your site, there will supposedly be more ad clicks from the user.

Do I need to update anything?

Yes. Google requires that Adsense publishers update their Privacy Policy statements by April 8, 2009. The Privacy Policy must contain at least three things:

  1. that Goole uses cookies to serve ads on the site;
  2. that the cookie serve ads to users based on their visit to sites on the internet; and
  3. that the user may opt out of the use of Google’s cookie by visiting Google’s ad and content network privacy policy.

This is confusing. Is there a sample Privacy Policy I can use?

Google does not suggest any particular language for the Privacy Policy but you can check out our sample Privacy Policies which abide by Google’s new changes.

Is this going to be good or bad for us Adsense publishers?

No one knows. After Adsense launches this in April, we’ll know whether this would benefit or hurt publishers.

What do you think? Will “interest-based advertising” be good or bad for you?

Source: http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com


Sexy Baboy March 22, 2009

Posted by James in Bicol Express, Filipino Restaurants, Pork Belly, Sexy Baboy, Sizzling Boneless Bangus.
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If your ever in the mood for grilled filipino food at a very affordable pirce, Sexy Baboy is the perfect place to be. Their food is delicious and has the perfect filipino flavor. Their dishes are mostly filipino dishes and their rates are incredible affordable

The ambiance of the restaurant is also good since they have an outdoor dining area with some accoustic music and an indoor area which can also be used as a function room. The service is also good and the place is also very spacious.

They have ample parking space and a large dining area. Sexy Baboy is definitely a good place to spend time with your friends and family.

Pork Belly


Bicol Express

Sizzling Boneless Bangus

- just an update this place has been converted into a ktv bar and no longer serves the dishes mentioned above.

Other Methods to Earn Some Extra Income March 20, 2009

Posted by James in Business sector, Extra income, Freelance, Monetizing blogs, Professional Practice.
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Everyday I look at the news I see the effect of the economic recession in the world and locally. People are losing their jobs by the thousands. Companies are doing drastic measures to cut down their operation cost and a lot of people are being laid off in the process. The growing number of unemployment around the world has alarmed me a lot. I could not help but wonder what my chances are of becoming another one of those who lost their job due to the recession.

Although the company I’m working for has a steady stream of projects coming in, I always believe that it is better to be prepared for the worst. If ever I were to encounter this scenario I’ve already planned a lot of things to be productive while searching for another source of income. Here are the following things I’ve planned so far:

  • Concentrate on marketing my Profession as an Architect. Although I have a couple of projects coming in right now. Its still too early too rely on my profession as the main source of my income. I’ve just recently started in practicing my profession and I’m optimistic that someday this would become on of my main source of income.
  • Do some freelance work as a 3D artist. Although I enjoy exploring new things in the 3D I never entertained the thought of venturing into other aspects on 3d asides from 3d architecture. I think its about time I go out of my comfort zone and start exploring on other potential services in 3d. One good site for freelancers is Odesk.
  • Monetize and market my blogs. I started blogging as a means to communicate my thoughts and relieve my self of the pressure of my work and problems. This has been a hobby of mine for the past few months and I always take pleasure in writing the things that have always caught my attention. Most of the things I write and read on the net are useful to me and would be probably useful to other people.
  • Start a small business. Their are a lot of franchise business available with minimal starting capitals. Although venturing into this type of business will really eat up your time in the start. The rewards later on will also be great.
  • Research on online businesses, I’ve always believe that the internet is a gold mine just waiting to be explored. The only dilemma live any other gold mine is locating the right spot to mine. Sorting through all the opportunities and scams on the net has already become a hobby of mine. The only major investment you’ll make in this is time.

Although I have already began doing some of the things I’ve mentioned above. I still haven’t got enough time to really harness the full potential of these other sources of income.

10 Sectors Poised for Growth March 17, 2009

Posted by James in Business sector, growth.
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As the overall economy loafs in the doldrums, a few sectors are actually growing–some at impressive paces. Here are 10, ranging from nationwide to niche, that offer more opportunity than most.

  • Services: This sector, which makes up more than half the total U.S. economy, is on the rise, as indicated by the increase in the ISM Nonmanufacturing Index from November’s all-time low of 37.6 percent to December’s 40.3 percent.
  • Discount stores: Low prices are leading to higher sales for the nation’s discounters. Shares in the likes of Family Dollar and Wal-Mart have risen about as fast as the rest of the stock market has fallen over the past year, reflecting increased earnings and better-than-average prospects.
  • Fast food: Quick-service restaurants such as McDonald’s–where monthly sales rose nearly 8 percent in November–are looking better and better to cash-strapped consumers choosing them over pricier casual eateries.
  • Secondhand goods: Pre-owned is fine to consumers looking for a deal, as shown by a 19 percent earnings increase for Winmark Corp. in last year’s otherwise dreary third quarter for retailers.
  • Medical office buildings: A growing market in real estate? You bet, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, which sees an aging population’s health-care needs fueling demand for medical office buildings, especially out West.
  • Netbooks: Ten million of these tiny notebook computers, priced between $300 and $500, were sold last year, up from hundreds of thousands in 2007. New models that boot faster and run longer on batteries could boost sales further.

  • 1,500 U.S. theater screens are equipped to show 3-D movies–a burgeoning market.

    Education and health services: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that employment in these sectors will grow more than any other, adding nearly 5.5 million jobs from 2006 to 2016.

  • Social networking: Just four months after enrolling its 100 millionth user, Facebook reached 150 million users in January. At that rate, it could top 200 million as you read this.
  • 3-D: Once derided as a goofy gimmick, 3-D pictures are technologically much improved, and content is expanding rapidly. This year’s BCS Championship football game was broadcast in 3-D–a first.
  • Savings: U.S. personal savings as a percent of disposable income rose from 0 percent in early 2008 to 2.8 percent by year-end. Sales of related goods, from home safes to piggy banks, are also up.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/