Government Grants for All

Problem Gambling Help Line Response Up Again

Calls requesting professional help with problem gambling have
increased 60 per cent in March when compared with March last
year, thanks to the Office of Health Promotion’s recent radio and
cable TV ads promoting the government’s problem gambling help
line. There were 514 calls in March 2005 compared to 321 calls in
March 2004.
Government of Nova Scotia News Releases – Office of Health Promotion (to May 10, 2005)

Tags: Again, Gambling, Help, Line, problem, Response

Availing Of Grants For New Businesses Signifies You Don’t Ought To Spend Back Again Any Money At All

If ever you’ve got desired to start off your personal company, now would be the time. You can get the money for it by availing of grants for new businesses. Yes certainly, the money is just lying there for the using.

You may well wonder why it is so? The answer is truly quite easy. The American economic climate is determined by the success of businesses. The far far much more businesses that run efficiently, the much much better it really is for the economic climate. If you can start a company and make it operate, it really is better for the economic system and also the authorities is a whole lot a good deal far more than prepared to help you. Whenever you commence a business enterprise, that you are carrying out much considerably far more than just opening a company of your personal; you might be contributing to the growth of the financial system. Also, that you are making a portal wherever other people today can get employed like a outcome of your enterprise venture.

You can apply for a enterprise grant for numerous causes. Some of them could possibly be for instance -
· Operating each day care middle
· Starting a retail company out of your home
You can find so several other motives why you can apply for a grant but obviously you’d ought to fulfill specific standards. The two fundamental standards that you would need to meet are -
· You need to be around 18 decades of age.
· You have to be a US citizen or even a resident.

Plus, you need to submit a thorough business proposal considering that you might have to be able to convince the men and women giving the grant that you possess a sound organization strategy.

All in all grants for new businesses are seriously really worth using given that in contrast to a loan, you tend not to really need to shell out the grant again. Not a single cent!

You can find more information about business grants at http://bankhelpsite.com/grants-for-new-businesses-are-they-for-real/, where you can read about grants for new businesses.

Tags: Again, Availing, Back, Businesses, Don't, Grants, Money, Ought, Signifies, Spend

D

Enlarge Image

During every correction, I encourage investors to avoid the destructive inertia that results from trying to determine: “How low can we go?” and/or “How long will this last?” Investors who add to their portfolios during downturns invariably experience higher values during the next advance. Yes, Virginia, just as certainly as there is a Santa Claus, there is another market advance in our future.

Corrections are part of the normal “shock market” menu, and can be brought about by either bad news or good news. (Yes, that’s what I meant to say.) Investors always over-analyze when prices are weak and lose their common sense when prices are high, thus perpetuating the “buy high, sell low” Wall Street line dance. Waiting for the perfect moment to jump into a falling market is as foolish a strategy as taking losses on investment grade companies and holding cash.

Repetition is good for the brain’s CPU, so forgive me for reinforcing what I’ve said in the face of every correction since 1979… if you don’t love corrections (and deal with them like visiting relatives) you really don’t understand the financial markets. Don’t be insulted, it seems as though very few financial professionals want you to see it this way and, in fact, Institutional Wall Street loves it when individual investors panic in the face of uncertainty. Psstt… uncertainty is the regulation playing field for investors, and hindsight isn’t welcome in the stadium.

A closer examination of the news that’s fit to print (but isn’t printed often enough) should make you more confident about the years ahead, whatever your politics.

The good news is very, very good: 1. Employment, jobs, and unemployment numbers are as good or better than they have been in years. 2. Manufacturing numbers are stronger and trending upward. 3. The “core” inflation rate is historically low. 4. Interest rates are also historically low. 5. Durable goods orders are trending upward. 6. Corporate earnings reports have been strong. 7. Corporate dividend payouts have been increasing. 8. Equities, as an Asset Class, are considered the most fairly valued, when compared with Real Estate, Fixed Income, and Commodities. 9. Income Tax Rates are at low historical levels, particularly with regard to investment income. 10. Gross domestic product is growing.

The bad news isn’t all that bad, pretty much the same ole stuff: 1. Hurricane Damage. We’ve actually had fewer major storms than anticipated. The ones we’ve had were devastating, but the rebuilding/preparation task ahead will be good for the economy. 2. War in Iraq. There’s always been a war of some kind, somewhere. It’s bad, but only the battlefield has changed… and war has also always been good for the economy. 3. Politics. We have an unpopular President who can’t seem to get out of his own way. Who were the last ones that were loved? Didn’t they have wars? 4. Wall Street/Corporate scandals. Hardly new and never economy busters. 5. Energy prices. I still don’t see gas lines, and maybe somebody will push for added refining capacity. 6. Trade deficits. News would be giving foreigners more money so that they could buy more of our products. 7. High consumer debt. New? Not. 8. The terrorism threat. A major serious problem for the past how many years? The federal regulatory agencies probably do more damage to the economy. 9. The Avian Flu pandemic? Maybe, but not yet, and we’ll really need those bad boy drug companies then, won’t we? 10. The Anniston/Pitt break up, and neither the Yankees nor the Bosox in the World Series. Now we’re talking!

Clearly, there are no new (economic) problems to be overly concerned about. And for now, we simply (and I mean simply) have to deal with the opportunities at hand. Low, but increasing, interest rates force fixed income prices down and yields up… Opportunity One! Economic good news encourages higher rates to reduce inflationary pressures causing equity prices to trend downward… Opportunity Two! These forces of good are intersecting with the dark side of calendar year mentality Wall Street, causing premature tax loss selling and portfolio Window Dressing… Opportunities One and Two squared!

There is an Investment Mindset Solution for the problems that most people have dealing with corrections, and rallies too, for that matter. I’ve never understood why “yard sale prices” here are so scary. What if you cut off a finger each time you get a splinter? Wounds heal, and so do the prices of high quality securities.

In recent years, Wall Street and the media have turned the process of investing into a competitive event of Olympic proportions and stature. What was once a long term (a year is not long term), goal directed activity, has become a series of monthly and quarterly sprints. The direction of the market isn’t nearly as important as the actions we take in anticipation of the next change in direction. Performance evaluation needs to be rethunk (sic) in terms of cycles!

The problems, and the solutions, boil down to focus, understanding, and retraining. It would be impossible to cover each of these issues here, but here are a few teasers. You need to focus on the purposes of the securities in the portfolio. You need to understand and accept the normal behavior of your securities in the face of different environmental conditions. You need to overcome your obsession with calendar period Market Value analysis, and switch to a more manageable asset allocation approach that centers on your portfolio’s Working Capital.

But for now, relax and enjoy this correction. It’s your invitation to the fun and games of the next rally.

Steve Selengut
sanserve@aol.com
800-245-0494
http://www.sancoservices.com
Professional Portfolio Management since 1979
Author of: “The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street Does Not Want YOU to Read”, and “A Millionaire’s Secret Investment Strategy”

Tags: Again, D, Over

It’s Been an Intense Initiation, But People Are Listening to Labour Again

He’s endured trial by fire and trial by water, and he’s still standing. Today marks four weeks in the job for Gordon Brown, an initiation more intense than anyone could have anticipated. The attempted terror attacks on London and Glasgow came within his first 72 hours inside No 10; now he contends with the worst floods in modern British history. One cabinet colleague concedes that had Brown “dropped the ball” in handling either crisis – and, remember, the flood menace has not yet receded – it might already be over for him. If Brown had faltered or panicked, voters would have formed an early, fatal impression.

Even before those twin disasters struck, the stakes were always going to be high for this July. Brown won’t even have the luxury of FDR’s 100 days to prove himself. He can’t do anything in August, a political non-month. He knew when he took office on June 27 that the public view of him would congeal in these first four weeks, a time when people are already disengaging, preparing to go on holiday or watching the sport on TV. There was little room for error.

How has he done? There have been some stumbles. He was shaky in his first prime minister’s questions and he patently has none of his predecessor’s gifts for conveying the apparently spontaneous, empathetic remark. He could find no such language to convey what he had seen in submerged Gloucestershire on Monday, for instance. And some of the non-politician “talents” he has brought into his government have strayed badly off-message.

But set aside those relatively minor glitches and Brown’s first month looks like a striking success. Last week, Labour won two byelections – despite being in mid-term in its 11th year in office. The national polls record a predictable Brown bounce, but also a warm personal reception. Today’s Guardian survey shows not only a six-point Labour lead but also nearly a quarter of Tory voters conceding that their opinion of Brown has risen since he became prime minister. You pick up the same impression anecdotally, as those who do not follow politics obsessively describe the new prime minister as solid, reliable and grown-up. The word “gravitas” comes up a lot.

All of which forms an unhappy contrast for David Cameron. It is he, not Brown, who is having the sticky July, fending off anonymous sniping from his backbenches as well as a call from a high-level but “disillusioned” Tory donor for a rethink. Third place in both Ealing and Sedgefield, and the bad timing that left him beached in Rwanda while his own Oxfordshire constituency drowns, add up to a grim summer for the Tory leader.

In conversations this week with several senior cabinet ministers, it’s clear that the Brown command view all this with pleasure but not much surprise. They had, after all, planned meticulously for this period and knew what they had to do. First, they wanted to sear into the public mind the notion that there had been a change of government. They knew the voters were tired of them and that the Tories’ best shot was “time for a change” – so change, they resolved, is what the voters would get.

That meant Brown repeating the word nearly a dozen times outside No 10 on his first day, but also signaling that everything – or at least those things the public did not like – would be different from now on. So the presidential style of Tony Blair has been replaced by the much-heralded return of cabinet government, with two-hour discussions on constitutional reform, for instance, which – brace yourself – actually alter government policy.

Brown sent the collegial message even more directly by dispatching Jacqui Smith to speak first on the attempted London terror attacks, and by having Hilary Benn at his side when briefing on the floods. Privately, Brown says there are two approaches to his job. One is to walk into the room and say, “Right, I’ll do everything” and make yourself the focus of activity. (I can’t imagine who he has in mind.) And the other is to delegate and then make sure everybody else is doing their job properly.

But there’s been more than a change in political process. The new prime minister has rapidly chucked overboard those items of Blair baggage the public disliked. The ditching of the super-casino, the likely reclassification of cannabis and a retreat on 24-hour drinking have won expected plaudits from the social conservatives of the Daily Mail, but not only from them. The super casino had become the symbol of an aspect of the Blair era – the materialism, the worship of bling – which clearly made many Britons uncomfortable. Downing Street has been struck by how few people have mourned the roulette wheel’s passing. In this context, Brown’s dourness, his repeated references to his upbringing in the manse, reinforce the point. Eventually, people may tire of it, even feeling vaguely judged by the puritan in No 10. But for now, and given what’s gone before, the roundhead Brown fits the moment.

He’s also used July to signal that his priorities will be domestic. The word Brown picked up on his pre-prime ministerial tour of Britain was that voters wanted the government to “come back home”. They’d had enough of the strutting on the global stage, and wanted ministers to return to British bread and butter. Brown has acted on that, ensuring his lightning visits to Paris and Berlin were so quick they were barely noticed. He’ll go to Washington next week, but you detect little of his predecessor’s enthusiasm for that aspect of the job.

He had one last objective for July. Assembling the New Labour coalition in 1997 was easy: all you had to do was unite everyone who opposed the Tories. It’s binding purpose was essentially negative. Brown’s task in 2007 is harder, to supply positive reasons for people still to support Labour. That’s why he’s so proud of his recruitment of a former head of the navy, Lord West, or a business chieftain like Digby Jones: they suggest that Labour offers a positive project people want to join.

One astute shadow cabinet member suggests that if Brown is presenting himself as the candidate of change, he’ll have to go for an election soon: he won’t look much like change when he’s been in power for 18 months. The polls must make that tempting. A cabinet colleague adds that Brown’s driving goal is to win his own mandate, that everything we see now is preparation for that.

And yet Brown’s caution will surely prevail. He might cite the historical precedents for a change of prime minister without an election, and insist that it would look like careerist opportunism to trigger an early poll, but it is surely fear of failure that will hold him back. He doesn’t want to be remembered as the shortest-serving prime minister in history.

Besides, his offer to the electorate will not be “change” anyway. Marking a break from the Blair past was just a necessary first step – like “meeting a hygiene standard”, according to one ally – in order to get the public to listen to Labour again. Once they are, there will be more to say. And that work will begin in September.

Tags: Again, Been, Initiation, Intense, It's, Labour, Listening, People

D

Enlarge Image

During every correction, I encourage investors to avoid the destructive inertia that results from trying to determine: “How low can we go?” and/or “How long will this last?” Investors who add to their portfolios during downturns invariably experience higher values during the next advance. Yes, Virginia, just as certainly as there is a Santa Claus, there is another market advance in our future.

Corrections are part of the normal “shock market” menu, and can be brought about by either bad news or good news. (Yes, that’s what I meant to say.) Investors always over-analyze when prices are weak and lose their common sense when prices are high, thus perpetuating the “buy high, sell low” Wall Street line dance. Waiting for the perfect moment to jump into a falling market is as foolish a strategy as taking losses on investment grade companies and holding cash.

Repetition is good for the brain’s CPU, so forgive me for reinforcing what I’ve said in the face of every correction since 1979… if you don’t love corrections (and deal with them like visiting relatives) you really don’t understand the financial markets. Don’t be insulted, it seems as though very few financial professionals want you to see it this way and, in fact, Institutional Wall Street loves it when individual investors panic in the face of uncertainty. Psstt… uncertainty is the regulation playing field for investors, and hindsight isn’t welcome in the stadium.

A closer examination of the news that’s fit to print (but isn’t printed often enough) should make you more confident about the years ahead, whatever your politics.

The good news is very, very good: 1. Employment, jobs, and unemployment numbers are as good or better than they have been in years. 2. Manufacturing numbers are stronger and trending upward. 3. The “core” inflation rate is historically low. 4. Interest rates are also historically low. 5. Durable goods orders are trending upward. 6. Corporate earnings reports have been strong. 7. Corporate dividend payouts have been increasing. 8. Equities, as an Asset Class, are considered the most fairly valued, when compared with Real Estate, Fixed Income, and Commodities. 9. Income Tax Rates are at low historical levels, particularly with regard to investment income. 10. Gross domestic product is growing.

The bad news isn’t all that bad, pretty much the same ole stuff: 1. Hurricane Damage. We’ve actually had fewer major storms than anticipated. The ones we’ve had were devastating, but the rebuilding/preparation task ahead will be good for the economy. 2. War in Iraq. There’s always been a war of some kind, somewhere. It’s bad, but only the battlefield has changed… and war has also always been good for the economy. 3. Politics. We have an unpopular President who can’t seem to get out of his own way. Who were the last ones that were loved? Didn’t they have wars? 4. Wall Street/Corporate scandals. Hardly new and never economy busters. 5. Energy prices. I still don’t see gas lines, and maybe somebody will push for added refining capacity. 6. Trade deficits. News would be giving foreigners more money so that they could buy more of our products. 7. High consumer debt. New? Not. 8. The terrorism threat. A major serious problem for the past how many years? The federal regulatory agencies probably do more damage to the economy. 9. The Avian Flu pandemic? Maybe, but not yet, and we’ll really need those bad boy drug companies then, won’t we? 10. The Anniston/Pitt break up, and neither the Yankees nor the Bosox in the World Series. Now we’re talking!

Clearly, there are no new (economic) problems to be overly concerned about. And for now, we simply (and I mean simply) have to deal with the opportunities at hand. Low, but increasing, interest rates force fixed income prices down and yields up… Opportunity One! Economic good news encourages higher rates to reduce inflationary pressures causing equity prices to trend downward… Opportunity Two! These forces of good are intersecting with the dark side of calendar year mentality Wall Street, causing premature tax loss selling and portfolio Window Dressing… Opportunities One and Two squared!

There is an Investment Mindset Solution for the problems that most people have dealing with corrections, and rallies too, for that matter. I’ve never understood why “yard sale prices” here are so scary. What if you cut off a finger each time you get a splinter? Wounds heal, and so do the prices of high quality securities.

In recent years, Wall Street and the media have turned the process of investing into a competitive event of Olympic proportions and stature. What was once a long term (a year is not long term), goal directed activity, has become a series of monthly and quarterly sprints. The direction of the market isn’t nearly as important as the actions we take in anticipation of the next change in direction. Performance evaluation needs to be rethunk (sic) in terms of cycles!

The problems, and the solutions, boil down to focus, understanding, and retraining. It would be impossible to cover each of these issues here, but here are a few teasers. You need to focus on the purposes of the securities in the portfolio. You need to understand and accept the normal behavior of your securities in the face of different environmental conditions. You need to overcome your obsession with calendar period Market Value analysis, and switch to a more manageable asset allocation approach that centers on your portfolio’s Working Capital.

But for now, relax and enjoy this correction. It’s your invitation to the fun and games of the next rally.

Steve Selengut
sanserve@aol.com
800-245-0494
http://www.sancoservices.com
Professional Portfolio Management since 1979
Author of: “The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street Does Not Want YOU to Read”, and “A Millionaire’s Secret Investment Strategy”

Tags: Again, D, Over

America’s Tv Genius Strikes Gold Again

Something strange is happening on America’s TV screens. In a medium often derided as Hollywood’s less talented little brother, mainstream US TV has suddenly been swamped by an unprecedented wave of critically acclaimed dramas.

TV is now attracting Hollywood stars and directors to produce edgy and sophisticated programmes that used to be the preserve of the movie studios, to the extent that the Emmys may soon start to rival the Oscars as the visual medium’s greatest prize.

The networks are busy unveiling their autumn line-ups of new shows and the dominant themes are unmistakable: complex plots, intense characterisation and sophisticated dialogue. The developments have left critics both delighted and stunned. ‘How did the wasteland get so beautiful?’ asked Jonathan Storm of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

One reason is New York-born Aaron Sorkin, the man behind the influential political drama The West Wing and whose new programme, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, is many critics’ top pick of the flood of new shows. Studio 60, which will hit British screens next year, has drawn rave reviews, with its intense portrayal of life behind the scenes of a top TV comedy show.

‘It is the best new show of the season,’ said John Rash, communications professor at the University of Minnesota and author of the influential Rash Report survey of new American TV. ‘By excoriating its own media form, it actually shows how great it can be’.

Studio 60 stars former Friends star Matthew Perry and Hollywood actress Amanda Peet, which gives it the same sort of A-list cast as The West Wing. It is also a clear sibling of Sorkin’s previous hit, starring Bradley Whitford, who played Josh in The West Wing.

Sorkin’s writing in the new show – so far – has been top-notch and is clearly intended to do for the TV industry what The West Wing did for politics: open up a strange world for all the viewers to explore. ‘I think Studio 60 is a classic example of that kind of show,’ said Donny Deutsch, host of The Big Idea talkshow on CNBC.

Studio 60 seems likely to cement Sorkin’s already massive reputation as a major player in the increasingly powerful world of TV. The huge success of The West Wing, which won a record nine Emmys in its first season, has made him a powerful voice in American culture and one of the leading forces behind the recent torrent of quality programming. ‘All great shows flow from the pen of a writer. Sorkin’s creative vision is what makes this great,’ said Rash.

Predictably, perhaps, Sorkin is now taking on some of the artistic airs and graces normally found only in big shot Hollywood producers and directors. He has almost complete creative control over the show: something that was denied to him on The West Wing. And the funding behind Studio 60 is large – the show is estimated to cost about $3.1m an episode.

The main characters in Studio 60 are clearly based on Sorkin himself. One even has a cocaine problem, mirroring Sorkin’s own real life struggles with drug abuse which once saw him arrested at an LA airport with drugs in his luggage.

In places he uses the show as a vehicle for criticising the TV industry, much as The West Wing would often mirror real-life politics in America. ‘This is a struggle between art and commerce, and art is getting its arse kicked,’ one character laments in the opening episode.

But that analysis might be a little presumptive. Studio 60 is one of many dramatic series just starting that seem to be defending art’s corner quite easily. Some critics are hailing a new ‘golden age’ of challenging US TV, similar to that which hit the movie scene in the 1970s. America’s five networks are bringing out 25 new shows for autumn, of which a staggering 16 are new dramas. And most are dramas emphasising multi-layered plots, moral ambiguity and deep characters. Among them is the new series The Nine, which follows the story of a hostage-taking during a bank robbery through a baffling series of flashbacks. And then there is Six Degrees, which links the lives of six seemingly unconnected Manhattanites. Both shows build on the successful mystery formula of the hit show Lost, as does Jericho, which focuses on the travails of a small Kansas town after a nuclear disaster cuts it off from the rest of America. ‘The enormous success of the dense and literate Lost has stimulated networks to develop more shows of a similar complex nature,’ said Professor Robert Thompson of Syracuse University.

Others take familiar scenarios and give them a new twist. Heroes features a group of teens gradually discovering they have superpowers, but rather than being a comic book drama, it portrays them in a serious way as they struggle with the experience. The crime show Smith follows a gang of criminals, exploring the same morally ambiguous territory as The Sopranos. Nor is Studio 60 the only drama to attract Hollywood names. Smith is a vehicle for Ray Liotta, a new legal caper Shark stars James Woods and, of course, Kiefer Sutherland led the way by lending his talents to the hugely successful and ground-breaking 24.

The factors behind the outbreak of quality are numerous. Ever since Hill Street Blues in the 1980s, American TV has frequently produced intelligent, high quality shows. But rarely have so many come at once.

One of these factors is the success of cable channel HBO, which brought The Sopranos, Sex and the City and Deadwood to niche American audiences, and made millions doing so.

Then there is the fact that Hollywood’s output has been hit by a declining audience and a focus on young people as older movie-goers prefer to stay at home. That has opened up a quality market for TV while movie studios focus on derivative sequels aimed at a teens and twenties market.

At the same time innovations in production techniques have allowed TV series to produce the same sort of visual effects that used to be the sole preserve of Hollywood movies. As more and more American homes install widescreen TVs and state-of-the-art sound systems, TV is becoming a medium that easily rivals the movies for entertainment. ‘Big-shot film directors are now waiting for the call from HBO, unlike the old days, when TV was simply a means to break into the movies,’ said Thompson.

The vibrancy of American TV is also throwing the situation in Britain into sharp relief. Once hailed as a repository of quality TV, British output now looks poor compared with its American equivalent. Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, the British creative force behind The Office, caused headlines recently when they said that British TV dramas were way behind when compared with American ones. One of the biggest successes of American TV over the past year has been the US version of The Office, which was reshot with an American cast and storylines and is now firmly established as a classic comedy in its own right.

However, there is still plenty to complain about when it comes to American TV. With hundreds of cable channels catering for every possible audience, there are a lot of terrible programmes out there as well.

Another recent trend has been the adaption of the ‘telenovella’ style of drama from Latin America. These soap operas are best known for their hysterical overacting, terrible scripts and outlandish plotlines. They are likely to find success, too, in America’s diverse market of 300 million potential viewers. ‘There’s a lot more everything. There is a lot more great TV. There’s a lot more worse TV,’ said Rash.

Tags: Again, America's, Genius, Gold, Strikes

America’s Tv Genius Strikes Gold Again

Something strange is happening on America’s TV screens. In a medium often derided as Hollywood’s less talented little brother, mainstream US TV has suddenly been swamped by an unprecedented wave of critically acclaimed dramas.

TV is now attracting Hollywood stars and directors to produce edgy and sophisticated programmes that used to be the preserve of the movie studios, to the extent that the Emmys may soon start to rival the Oscars as the visual medium’s greatest prize.

The networks are busy unveiling their autumn line-ups of new shows and the dominant themes are unmistakable: complex plots, intense characterisation and sophisticated dialogue. The developments have left critics both delighted and stunned. ‘How did the wasteland get so beautiful?’ asked Jonathan Storm of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

One reason is New York-born Aaron Sorkin, the man behind the influential political drama The West Wing and whose new programme, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, is many critics’ top pick of the flood of new shows. Studio 60, which will hit British screens next year, has drawn rave reviews, with its intense portrayal of life behind the scenes of a top TV comedy show.

‘It is the best new show of the season,’ said John Rash, communications professor at the University of Minnesota and author of the influential Rash Report survey of new American TV. ‘By excoriating its own media form, it actually shows how great it can be’.

Studio 60 stars former Friends star Matthew Perry and Hollywood actress Amanda Peet, which gives it the same sort of A-list cast as The West Wing. It is also a clear sibling of Sorkin’s previous hit, starring Bradley Whitford, who played Josh in The West Wing.

Sorkin’s writing in the new show – so far – has been top-notch and is clearly intended to do for the TV industry what The West Wing did for politics: open up a strange world for all the viewers to explore. ‘I think Studio 60 is a classic example of that kind of show,’ said Donny Deutsch, host of The Big Idea talkshow on CNBC.

Studio 60 seems likely to cement Sorkin’s already massive reputation as a major player in the increasingly powerful world of TV. The huge success of The West Wing, which won a record nine Emmys in its first season, has made him a powerful voice in American culture and one of the leading forces behind the recent torrent of quality programming. ‘All great shows flow from the pen of a writer. Sorkin’s creative vision is what makes this great,’ said Rash.

Predictably, perhaps, Sorkin is now taking on some of the artistic airs and graces normally found only in big shot Hollywood producers and directors. He has almost complete creative control over the show: something that was denied to him on The West Wing. And the funding behind Studio 60 is large – the show is estimated to cost about $3.1m an episode.

The main characters in Studio 60 are clearly based on Sorkin himself. One even has a cocaine problem, mirroring Sorkin’s own real life struggles with drug abuse which once saw him arrested at an LA airport with drugs in his luggage.

In places he uses the show as a vehicle for criticising the TV industry, much as The West Wing would often mirror real-life politics in America. ‘This is a struggle between art and commerce, and art is getting its arse kicked,’ one character laments in the opening episode.

But that analysis might be a little presumptive. Studio 60 is one of many dramatic series just starting that seem to be defending art’s corner quite easily. Some critics are hailing a new ‘golden age’ of challenging US TV, similar to that which hit the movie scene in the 1970s. America’s five networks are bringing out 25 new shows for autumn, of which a staggering 16 are new dramas. And most are dramas emphasising multi-layered plots, moral ambiguity and deep characters. Among them is the new series The Nine, which follows the story of a hostage-taking during a bank robbery through a baffling series of flashbacks. And then there is Six Degrees, which links the lives of six seemingly unconnected Manhattanites. Both shows build on the successful mystery formula of the hit show Lost, as does Jericho, which focuses on the travails of a small Kansas town after a nuclear disaster cuts it off from the rest of America. ‘The enormous success of the dense and literate Lost has stimulated networks to develop more shows of a similar complex nature,’ said Professor Robert Thompson of Syracuse University.

Others take familiar scenarios and give them a new twist. Heroes features a group of teens gradually discovering they have superpowers, but rather than being a comic book drama, it portrays them in a serious way as they struggle with the experience. The crime show Smith follows a gang of criminals, exploring the same morally ambiguous territory as The Sopranos. Nor is Studio 60 the only drama to attract Hollywood names. Smith is a vehicle for Ray Liotta, a new legal caper Shark stars James Woods and, of course, Kiefer Sutherland led the way by lending his talents to the hugely successful and ground-breaking 24.

The factors behind the outbreak of quality are numerous. Ever since Hill Street Blues in the 1980s, American TV has frequently produced intelligent, high quality shows. But rarely have so many come at once.

One of these factors is the success of cable channel HBO, which brought The Sopranos, Sex and the City and Deadwood to niche American audiences, and made millions doing so.

Then there is the fact that Hollywood’s output has been hit by a declining audience and a focus on young people as older movie-goers prefer to stay at home. That has opened up a quality market for TV while movie studios focus on derivative sequels aimed at a teens and twenties market.

At the same time innovations in production techniques have allowed TV series to produce the same sort of visual effects that used to be the sole preserve of Hollywood movies. As more and more American homes install widescreen TVs and state-of-the-art sound systems, TV is becoming a medium that easily rivals the movies for entertainment. ‘Big-shot film directors are now waiting for the call from HBO, unlike the old days, when TV was simply a means to break into the movies,’ said Thompson.

The vibrancy of American TV is also throwing the situation in Britain into sharp relief. Once hailed as a repository of quality TV, British output now looks poor compared with its American equivalent. Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, the British creative force behind The Office, caused headlines recently when they said that British TV dramas were way behind when compared with American ones. One of the biggest successes of American TV over the past year has been the US version of The Office, which was reshot with an American cast and storylines and is now firmly established as a classic comedy in its own right.

However, there is still plenty to complain about when it comes to American TV. With hundreds of cable channels catering for every possible audience, there are a lot of terrible programmes out there as well.

Another recent trend has been the adaption of the ‘telenovella’ style of drama from Latin America. These soap operas are best known for their hysterical overacting, terrible scripts and outlandish plotlines. They are likely to find success, too, in America’s diverse market of 300 million potential viewers. ‘There’s a lot more everything. There is a lot more great TV. There’s a lot more worse TV,’ said Rash.

Tags: Again, America's, Genius, Gold, Strikes

America’s Tv Genius Strikes Gold Again

Something strange is happening on America’s TV screens. In a medium often derided as Hollywood’s less talented little brother, mainstream US TV has suddenly been swamped by an unprecedented wave of critically acclaimed dramas.

TV is now attracting Hollywood stars and directors to produce edgy and sophisticated programmes that used to be the preserve of the movie studios, to the extent that the Emmys may soon start to rival the Oscars as the visual medium’s greatest prize.

The networks are busy unveiling their autumn line-ups of new shows and the dominant themes are unmistakable: complex plots, intense characterisation and sophisticated dialogue. The developments have left critics both delighted and stunned. ‘How did the wasteland get so beautiful?’ asked Jonathan Storm of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

One reason is New York-born Aaron Sorkin, the man behind the influential political drama The West Wing and whose new programme, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, is many critics’ top pick of the flood of new shows. Studio 60, which will hit British screens next year, has drawn rave reviews, with its intense portrayal of life behind the scenes of a top TV comedy show.

‘It is the best new show of the season,’ said John Rash, communications professor at the University of Minnesota and author of the influential Rash Report survey of new American TV. ‘By excoriating its own media form, it actually shows how great it can be’.

Studio 60 stars former Friends star Matthew Perry and Hollywood actress Amanda Peet, which gives it the same sort of A-list cast as The West Wing. It is also a clear sibling of Sorkin’s previous hit, starring Bradley Whitford, who played Josh in The West Wing.

Sorkin’s writing in the new show – so far – has been top-notch and is clearly intended to do for the TV industry what The West Wing did for politics: open up a strange world for all the viewers to explore. ‘I think Studio 60 is a classic example of that kind of show,’ said Donny Deutsch, host of The Big Idea talkshow on CNBC.

Studio 60 seems likely to cement Sorkin’s already massive reputation as a major player in the increasingly powerful world of TV. The huge success of The West Wing, which won a record nine Emmys in its first season, has made him a powerful voice in American culture and one of the leading forces behind the recent torrent of quality programming. ‘All great shows flow from the pen of a writer. Sorkin’s creative vision is what makes this great,’ said Rash.

Predictably, perhaps, Sorkin is now taking on some of the artistic airs and graces normally found only in big shot Hollywood producers and directors. He has almost complete creative control over the show: something that was denied to him on The West Wing. And the funding behind Studio 60 is large – the show is estimated to cost about $3.1m an episode.

The main characters in Studio 60 are clearly based on Sorkin himself. One even has a cocaine problem, mirroring Sorkin’s own real life struggles with drug abuse which once saw him arrested at an LA airport with drugs in his luggage.

In places he uses the show as a vehicle for criticising the TV industry, much as The West Wing would often mirror real-life politics in America. ‘This is a struggle between art and commerce, and art is getting its arse kicked,’ one character laments in the opening episode.

But that analysis might be a little presumptive. Studio 60 is one of many dramatic series just starting that seem to be defending art’s corner quite easily. Some critics are hailing a new ‘golden age’ of challenging US TV, similar to that which hit the movie scene in the 1970s. America’s five networks are bringing out 25 new shows for autumn, of which a staggering 16 are new dramas. And most are dramas emphasising multi-layered plots, moral ambiguity and deep characters. Among them is the new series The Nine, which follows the story of a hostage-taking during a bank robbery through a baffling series of flashbacks. And then there is Six Degrees, which links the lives of six seemingly unconnected Manhattanites. Both shows build on the successful mystery formula of the hit show Lost, as does Jericho, which focuses on the travails of a small Kansas town after a nuclear disaster cuts it off from the rest of America. ‘The enormous success of the dense and literate Lost has stimulated networks to develop more shows of a similar complex nature,’ said Professor Robert Thompson of Syracuse University.

Others take familiar scenarios and give them a new twist. Heroes features a group of teens gradually discovering they have superpowers, but rather than being a comic book drama, it portrays them in a serious way as they struggle with the experience. The crime show Smith follows a gang of criminals, exploring the same morally ambiguous territory as The Sopranos. Nor is Studio 60 the only drama to attract Hollywood names. Smith is a vehicle for Ray Liotta, a new legal caper Shark stars James Woods and, of course, Kiefer Sutherland led the way by lending his talents to the hugely successful and ground-breaking 24.

The factors behind the outbreak of quality are numerous. Ever since Hill Street Blues in the 1980s, American TV has frequently produced intelligent, high quality shows. But rarely have so many come at once.

One of these factors is the success of cable channel HBO, which brought The Sopranos, Sex and the City and Deadwood to niche American audiences, and made millions doing so.

Then there is the fact that Hollywood’s output has been hit by a declining audience and a focus on young people as older movie-goers prefer to stay at home. That has opened up a quality market for TV while movie studios focus on derivative sequels aimed at a teens and twenties market.

At the same time innovations in production techniques have allowed TV series to produce the same sort of visual effects that used to be the sole preserve of Hollywood movies. As more and more American homes install widescreen TVs and state-of-the-art sound systems, TV is becoming a medium that easily rivals the movies for entertainment. ‘Big-shot film directors are now waiting for the call from HBO, unlike the old days, when TV was simply a means to break into the movies,’ said Thompson.

The vibrancy of American TV is also throwing the situation in Britain into sharp relief. Once hailed as a repository of quality TV, British output now looks poor compared with its American equivalent. Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, the British creative force behind The Office, caused headlines recently when they said that British TV dramas were way behind when compared with American ones. One of the biggest successes of American TV over the past year has been the US version of The Office, which was reshot with an American cast and storylines and is now firmly established as a classic comedy in its own right.

However, there is still plenty to complain about when it comes to American TV. With hundreds of cable channels catering for every possible audience, there are a lot of terrible programmes out there as well.

Another recent trend has been the adaption of the ‘telenovella’ style of drama from Latin America. These soap operas are best known for their hysterical overacting, terrible scripts and outlandish plotlines. They are likely to find success, too, in America’s diverse market of 300 million potential viewers. ‘There’s a lot more everything. There is a lot more great TV. There’s a lot more worse TV,’ said Rash.

Tags: Again, America's, Genius, Gold, Strikes

Concrete Jungle to Community: How We Stopped Complaining and Became a Neighborhood Again

The neighborhood improvement phenomenon has taken hold in our little concrete borough. It was time to stop asking when things will get better, and start working toward that end ourselves.

It wasn’t easy. It started with one man, who painted his store front a beautiful red with green and white vines crawling up the façade. The art and colorful paint colors brought people out of their homes and everyday people started to congregate and shop there. Only a week and a half later, an abandoned building four doors down was being painted by a group of local teens, and the spark was lit. It’s amazing what a little paint and good intentions can do to an otherwise lost community.

Our community has been hit hard by the economic hardships of the last decade. People have lost their jobs, homes and identities through this very difficult hardship and it shows. Houses have been abandoned, empty lots have become garbage dumping grounds, and people have a general ‘I give up’ attitude towards the area. Concrete has become the playground for our children, teens are bored and getting into trouble, and our elderly stay in their hot, sticky homes due to fear.

Because of that man who painted his storefront, we the community finally had a place to meet and talk. It was amazingly inspirational to discover that everyone from the young to the old wanted the same things from and for their neighborhood, so we set out to create a plan. We held a community gathering in one of those vacant concrete lots. We had hot dogs and ice cream for the kids, and iced tea and live jazz music for the adults (we didn’t know we had so much artistic talent hidden in our midst). We hoped that people would come out of the safety of their homes to meet their neighbors and discuss what to do about the failings of our neighborhood. To our surprise, it was a great success.

We had heard of different organizations and corporations such as Home Depot which had grants available for areas like ours to get a new start. Unfortunately these avenues involved a long process which was not part of our immediate timeline. We did however apply for four different federal and privatized grants for our long-term goals. For the immediate time though, we decided that we had enough supplies and eager workers to start getting things done on our own.

Our first objective was to get a consensus on the priority of needs for the community. In our case the top three priorities were-

- A safe, clean area for the children to play
- Clean up of garbage and drug paraphernalia from our streets and vacant lots
- Safety for all ages

We started a neighborhood clean up weekend where every one came out with their own brooms, garbage bags, and wheel barrows. People working together to the same end was exactly what we needed to be a community again. Neighbors met each other, and you could hear laughter and chatter again. One centrally located empty lot was designated to be a play area for the kids. We cut down the overgrown shrubs which gave us a better view of the area; we removed all of the garbage, broken concrete slabs, old metal and swept out all of the used condoms and needles from every nook and cranny of that unsightly area. A local lumber yard donated wood chips, paint and plants, and people worked together and created something really fantastic. The area is now filled with children’s play and laughter, the older neighbors painted chess squares on benches and it’s now a neighborhood hub. We even started to dig out some concrete and are creating a community garden there too. Not all of the concrete was removed; we filled the many concrete cracks and painted a basketball court complete with hoops and nets donated from a neighbor’s storage basement.

Our neighborhood is a community again; people of all ages are out of their homes and socializing together. There is a renewed sense of community, where people are looking out for each others best interests. No one dares to ‘tag’ or ruin what has been created through our efforts, and it’s leading to bigger projects.

I write this to inspire others to start a project in their neglected areas and neighborhoods. With us, it took one wonderful man painting his store front, maybe you can be the spark in your neighborhood. All it takes is the combined good intentions of the community. Concrete jungles can become communities again.

Tags: Again, Became, Community, Complaining, Concrete, Jungle, Neighborhood, Stopped

D

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During every correction, I encourage investors to avoid the destructive inertia that results from trying to determine: “How low can we go?” and/or “How long will this last?” Investors who add to their portfolios during downturns invariably experience higher values during the next advance. Yes, Virginia, just as certainly as there is a Santa Claus, there is another market advance in our future.

Corrections are part of the normal “shock market” menu, and can be brought about by either bad news or good news. (Yes, that’s what I meant to say.) Investors always over-analyze when prices are weak and lose their common sense when prices are high, thus perpetuating the “buy high, sell low” Wall Street line dance. Waiting for the perfect moment to jump into a falling market is as foolish a strategy as taking losses on investment grade companies and holding cash.

Repetition is good for the brain’s CPU, so forgive me for reinforcing what I’ve said in the face of every correction since 1979… if you don’t love corrections (and deal with them like visiting relatives) you really don’t understand the financial markets. Don’t be insulted, it seems as though very few financial professionals want you to see it this way and, in fact, Institutional Wall Street loves it when individual investors panic in the face of uncertainty. Psstt… uncertainty is the regulation playing field for investors, and hindsight isn’t welcome in the stadium.

A closer examination of the news that’s fit to print (but isn’t printed often enough) should make you more confident about the years ahead, whatever your politics.

The good news is very, very good: 1. Employment, jobs, and unemployment numbers are as good or better than they have been in years. 2. Manufacturing numbers are stronger and trending upward. 3. The “core” inflation rate is historically low. 4. Interest rates are also historically low. 5. Durable goods orders are trending upward. 6. Corporate earnings reports have been strong. 7. Corporate dividend payouts have been increasing. 8. Equities, as an Asset Class, are considered the most fairly valued, when compared with Real Estate, Fixed Income, and Commodities. 9. Income Tax Rates are at low historical levels, particularly with regard to investment income. 10. Gross domestic product is growing.

The bad news isn’t all that bad, pretty much the same ole stuff: 1. Hurricane Damage. We’ve actually had fewer major storms than anticipated. The ones we’ve had were devastating, but the rebuilding/preparation task ahead will be good for the economy. 2. War in Iraq. There’s always been a war of some kind, somewhere. It’s bad, but only the battlefield has changed… and war has also always been good for the economy. 3. Politics. We have an unpopular President who can’t seem to get out of his own way. Who were the last ones that were loved? Didn’t they have wars? 4. Wall Street/Corporate scandals. Hardly new and never economy busters. 5. Energy prices. I still don’t see gas lines, and maybe somebody will push for added refining capacity. 6. Trade deficits. News would be giving foreigners more money so that they could buy more of our products. 7. High consumer debt. New? Not. 8. The terrorism threat. A major serious problem for the past how many years? The federal regulatory agencies probably do more damage to the economy. 9. The Avian Flu pandemic? Maybe, but not yet, and we’ll really need those bad boy drug companies then, won’t we? 10. The Anniston/Pitt break up, and neither the Yankees nor the Bosox in the World Series. Now we’re talking!

Clearly, there are no new (economic) problems to be overly concerned about. And for now, we simply (and I mean simply) have to deal with the opportunities at hand. Low, but increasing, interest rates force fixed income prices down and yields up… Opportunity One! Economic good news encourages higher rates to reduce inflationary pressures causing equity prices to trend downward… Opportunity Two! These forces of good are intersecting with the dark side of calendar year mentality Wall Street, causing premature tax loss selling and portfolio Window Dressing… Opportunities One and Two squared!

There is an Investment Mindset Solution for the problems that most people have dealing with corrections, and rallies too, for that matter. I’ve never understood why “yard sale prices” here are so scary. What if you cut off a finger each time you get a splinter? Wounds heal, and so do the prices of high quality securities.

In recent years, Wall Street and the media have turned the process of investing into a competitive event of Olympic proportions and stature. What was once a long term (a year is not long term), goal directed activity, has become a series of monthly and quarterly sprints. The direction of the market isn’t nearly as important as the actions we take in anticipation of the next change in direction. Performance evaluation needs to be rethunk (sic) in terms of cycles!

The problems, and the solutions, boil down to focus, understanding, and retraining. It would be impossible to cover each of these issues here, but here are a few teasers. You need to focus on the purposes of the securities in the portfolio. You need to understand and accept the normal behavior of your securities in the face of different environmental conditions. You need to overcome your obsession with calendar period Market Value analysis, and switch to a more manageable asset allocation approach that centers on your portfolio’s Working Capital.

But for now, relax and enjoy this correction. It’s your invitation to the fun and games of the next rally.

Steve Selengut
sanserve@aol.com
800-245-0494
http://www.sancoservices.com
Professional Portfolio Management since 1979
Author of: “The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street Does Not Want YOU to Read”, and “A Millionaire’s Secret Investment Strategy”

Tags: Again, D, Over