ELECTION

I will not be voting this year.  I recently turned 18 and have the opportunity to vote however the election does not interest me.  I will admit that when i turned 18 i did think about voting but not in an election that was running the following month.  I will most likely be voting next year when i have more knowledge in politics and therefore i will put my opinion out there.  By next election i will be more aware of who is running as well as the issues affecting my town. 

Billionaire Hedge Fund CEO to Donate Most of His Fortune

It is said that billionaire hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman told CNBS he will donate most of his fortune to charity.  Cooperman, who is estimated around $1.5 billion, wants to donate to kids in poverty so that they get a chance in life to be successful.  Being born in South Bronx he knows how hard it is for kids with no money.  Not approving of higher taxes, he wants to be able to give his money to the poor instead of the government.  Cooperman earned an MBA and worked for Goldman Sachs.  He views his life as an American Dream and wants other to share that as well.  He plans on giving away every dollar he makes from now on because he has put aside already what he is leaving for his kids.

Extremely generous person.  Cooperman is a prime example of what a person in this country should be.  Giving money to charity is a very honorable thing to do.  If i were in his position making millions a year, i would also donate to charity.  My dream is to become wealthy enough to end world hunger. 

Citi CEO getting a raise from $1

Citigroup announces that it will begin paying its chief executive more money next year.  CEO Vikram Pandit did not want to get paid more than $1 for his 2009 and 2010 salary.  However, the banks chairman says it will begin to pay Pandit to compensate his duties as CEO.  Vikram Pandit has been a great leader for Citi, bringing them out of the crisis it was in.  He restructured the company once it was brought down to its knees two years ago. 

I believe that it is really respectable for what Vikram Pandit has done for the company.  He took Citi Bank and revived it.  Giving up his salary as well is a really admirable thing to do.  Though he does not lack stock options he is still giving off the image that he is a corteous man.  Vikram is a strong representative of a man that knows his limits.  He knows that he still wealthy with his stock options.  Therefore, he sees that his salary will be better used if he kept it in the company.  Allowing his millions of dollars that he would receive as CEO for Citi to get back up top is understandable.  He has done many positive things for the company and this shows his devotion to getting the American economy back on board.

Business, Stock Market, Automnal Equinox

The Automnal Equinox is known as the first day of Fall in the year.  It is when both day and night are equally long, 12 hours each.  It marks the beginning of a the new season as well as a change.  It is the day when the market usually sees a drastic change and it affect business at an international level.

It is a day feared by many and others have learned from its past.  Many people believe that during this time the market seems to drift in a negative way.  They believe that the market seems to see profit from november to April and not during this time of year.  In theory the cycle of the Automnal Equinox has businessmen on a scare because they can only expect negative feedback.

From the year 1950 to 2004 the market consistently saw profit during November to April instead of the Automnal season.  There are three times in which this was the case and there is record of it. 
The compounded return from Nov-April of 1955 was 7.62%.  The compounded return from 1900 to 2004 was 86% in the stock market coming from the Nov-April cycle averaging out to 4.27%.  The average compounded return from 200-2004 during the equinox was 5.5% from the 2000-20004 cycle, making it 5% more than the average compounded return of .5% in the Jan-Dec cycle. Howevee, the way the economy is right now we can conclude that the Automnal Equinox will give everyone a hard time in the market.

Journal Entry (Summary and Response) to Article

Cuba to lay off 500,000 in 6 months, allow private jobs
Cuban government says that it will lay off 500,000 state workers and allow more jobs to be created as part of the private secktor of its economy.  The Socialist economy is having difficulties keeeping these people with jobs, due to the lack of job availability.  President Raul Castro believes the solution would be to expand  self-employment and to use this as an alternative for the workers that have no jobs.  Cuban citizens are afraid that the jobs they long taken for granted under the communist nation, will no longer be available.  However, others believe that in the long run, the new economic changes will increase the capita a  person  makes which is $20 a month at the moment.

This article is about the economic struggles that Cuba is facing.  It is ironic to say that the whole world seems to be suffering from these economic drawbacks.  The worldwide economy has been in such turmoil that the two main system of economies dont seem to be working.  Both capitalist economy and socialist economy are having drawbacks to the extent that its citizens are the ones suffering.  It is crazy to believe that the one perfect economy, that Cuba believed they had is enduring such problems as a capitalist nation like the United States.