CLS and the EMS Industry

A good friend of mine called me this morning and asked me what I thought of Celestica. I looked into it, and saw enough to decide that it does not ring of value to me. At least not yet. (My friend went ahead and bought 400 shares anyhow so I hope for his sake I am wrong). That whole sector just looks too much like the red sea to me. (Well, maybe not the real red sea, which isn't really red, but you know, like the red sea would look if it was red).

The one exception to that is Jabil, which I will have to look at further when I have some time. For now though, I'm focused on Oshkosh, which reports on Friday. Hopefully I can cash out with a nice gain.

Investing in Canada - The contrarian view

As much as I'd like to invest in Canada, I find it so difficult to justify it. I don't understand the mining industry for one, Environmental concerns limit my desire to leave much money in the Cdn oilpatch for another, and finally, I think that financials are generally overvalued. What else is there? RIM? Who has time to keep track of that soap opera?

The contrarian / cynic in me argues that the whole retiring boomer thing is going to turn the market upside down. After all, these people will need some safe blue chips to stick the equity based portion of their money into, right? Time will tell how true that is.

Anyhow most of my money (and my wife's, kids, & in laws) sits right next door. The worlds biggest and most liquid market. Yes that's right, the US. I get better insights into US securities due to the preponderance of free news & research, I get better liquidity, and I get a heck of a lot more choice. Screw exchange rate concerns. As long as I'm getting a decent rate of return and keep my eye on the returns relative to the dollar, I'm a happy camper. Yes, I pay a bit more in commission and fx spread, but forking over that little extra up front has helped me to achieve stellar rates of return. So I'll keep doing what I'm doing until it no longer works for me. (We won't include my latest foray into Options in that mix). Personally, I like managing my own money. At least as long as it stays in the black!

Onstar vs. CAA

Well, now that the initial euphoria of relief has set in, and I've had a chance to compare what you get for a $200 subscription with Onstar vs a $63 subscription with CAA, things look pretty different.

Price $63.60
Towing 10 km* ($98.58 plan gets you 200km)
Extrication Service 1 truck ($98.58 plan gets you 2 trucks)
Emergency Gasoline Free delivery of gas ($98.58 plan gets you free gas)
Trip Travel Insurance $100,000
Trip Accident Assistance** $300
Lockout Service $50 ($98.58 plan gets you $100)
Specialized Towing Equipment No charge if required
Alternate Service Reimbursement Specific limits

The Onstar plan gets you some neat things like notification if the airbag deploys (which is handy if you crash (God forbid) in a remote area), remote unlock (which I have to say is a great feature when you need it), stolen car location, & remote horn & lights in case you're that absent minded and lazy that you lose your vehicle and can't wander the parking lot to find it.

For what you get though, my money is on CAA & my cellphone (which I've already accepted as a sunk cost).

GM Onstar

Well, I became a GM believer today. My wife mistakenly locked our 2 year old in the car this morning, and since I was already at work and I have the spare keys on my keyring (lack of foresight on my part), and work 70 minutes away from home, going home to unlock it was not the best alternative.

So after dealing with my initial panic, I went to the Onstar site, got their toll free number, and gave them a call. They verificed my id, then unlocked the car remotely. The whole thing took about 7 minutes, and my daughter wasn't even stuck long enough to know something had gone wrong. So apart from some early morning stress, and some missed "circle time" at her preschool, all is well.

All of a sudden, stuff like a CAA membership (or the Onstar equivalent of same) is starting to seem a lot more relevant. I'll do a cost comparison / cost/benefit of CAA to Onstar (assuming the roadside assistance and all that stuff is offered by both) vs alternatives a bit later.

Financial Goals

Well, I'm off to a pretty poor start with this blog, as its now been 13 days since my last (and first) post. I blame it on life taking control of me rather than the other way around. Mr. Miyagi says "there is no try, only do, or do not" - so what I will do is post more frequently (or suffer the wrath of Mr. Miyagi, may he RIP).

So I was at a World Financial Group seminar about 6 weeks ago. Not my proudest admission, but anyhow. The company seems to operate in some type of a network / pyramid manner, and while it is not an organization I'd get involved with, there are some people (mostly visible minorities) who seem to have leveraged its structure pretty effectively, and are making more $ at it than they'd ever make elsewhere. In any case, it doesn't seem like any more of an extortionist racket than your average brokerage or bank.

Anyhow, while I didn't think much of the company, I was struck by the simplicity of the financial strategy that they set out as guiding principles, and have decided to adopt them as guidelines for myself, at least until I find anything better.

They are -
Increase Cash Flow: Diversify sources of income
Manage Debt: (Pay down your debt, manage interest rate on debts)
Create Emergency Fund: (just in case)
Ensure Proper Protection: (Appropriate level of insurance
Build Long-Term Assets: (Pay yourself first, 10% wealthy barber rule)
Preserve Estate: (Prepare a will, estate planning)

Any other suggested approaches to categorizing money management? Let me know!

My First Post

This is the first post. My plan is to make this blog a place to muse. About anything really, but mostly business ideas, what I'm doing on the market, and since I'm all over the map, some off tangent type stuff. So here goes!