Life as an elementary school hero
As a young child, I always seemed to have a relatively active imagination. Over the years, I’ve come to understand that this was either the product of too many Gilligan’s Island reruns, or a pathetically limited experience of school field trips during my formative years. And while the often harrowing, always hilarious adventures following the demise of the S.S. Minnow were certainly entertaining and oddly educational, I’m thinking it was the fourth-grade field trips to the sewage treatment facility that made for such an active imagination.
Halibut opener could bring high prices during storm
Blustery winds and high seas put a damper on Alaska’s March 6 halibut opener, with prices expected to be artificially high for skimpy landings of the season’s first fresh fish.
“That’s the question of the day,” said one Kodiak halibut buyer.
“It’s hard to say how it will shake out,” agreed Matt Moir, manager at Alaska Pacific Seafoods, one of Kodiak’s largest processing plants. “The weather forecast is not good and frozen inventory is low, but the market won’t sustain goofy prices. If it gets too high, the market will shut down.”
What Does Low Inflation Mean for Bond Owners?
If you’re like many people, you may pay a lot of attention to the day-to-day price movements of your investments. But to create and maintain an effective investment strategy, you also need to look at the “big picture” — specifically, the economic and market forces that can affect your investments’ performance. And one of those factors is inflation.
Fighting for a club of my very own
I have this thing about long sleeves. I really just don’t like them. I guess you could call it a personal preference — that is, if your “personal preference” is to spend your day straight-jacketed into an arm-clinging, static-laden, sweat-inducing sleeve of itchy, prickling synthetic wool.
Own Bonds? Be Prepared for Rate Hikes
If you own bonds, keep this in mind: Bond prices typically drop when interest rates rise. If rates were to escalate, then, and you own a sizable amount of bonds, particularly long-term bonds, the value of your portfolio could show a noticeable decline. Should you be worried?
It’s useless to fight ‘carma’
I find it hard to believe that I have actually driven a car more than 200,000 miles without wrecking it.
That being said, watch out for me on the road for the next few weeks, as I have no doubt I will soon suffer the ill effects of bragging about my remarkably stellar driving record. You just can’t tempt fate.
Salmon forecast decreased
By Laine Welch
Alaska’s 2010 salmon season will produce 15 percent fewer fish, if predictions by state fishery managers hold true.
The statewide, all-species harvest is pegged at 138 million salmon, compared to last year’s catch of 162.5 million salmon. It is the 12th largest take since 1960.
According to the “2010 Run Forecasts and Harvest Projections [...]
Time to Take Retirement Plan Distributions?
You may not have the pictures, suntan or souvenirs to show for it, but if you’re at least 70-1/2, you’ve just finished a “vacation.” And that means you’ll have to do some work — on determining how much to take out of your retirement plans this year.
Snow fallings of winters past
I am endlessly amazed by what people in Alaska come up with to keep themselves entertained in the wintertime. (O.K. So we’re not talkin’ jaw-dropping, head-spinning, awestruck amazed. I mean, it’s not like I see people out creating three-story ice castles or taming herds of wild moose.)
When Evaluating Investments, Look at Value – Not Just Price
Most investors pay a great deal of attention to the price of their investments — yesterday’s price, today’s price, tomorrow’s price, next year’s price and so on. And that’s understandable, because we always want the prices of our investments to rise. Yet, if you focus too much on prices, you could end up making some costly mistakes.
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