Bought some stock in Pengrowth Energy Trust[PGH] today. Its a Canadian stock that pays out a strong 11.60% annual dividend on a monthly basis. The ex-dividend date is August 29th so I thought I’d get in before the cut-off date.

Since I think the US dollar is headed down in the long run, this is a good hedge against it while also getting a great dividend. There are a lot of canadian stocks that give out a good dividend. They’re kind of like REITS in the US. If they promise to pay out most of their profits as dividends, they aren’t subject to double taxation. They sometimes have the words “income fund” or “income trust” in their name.

Now, if I only had a million bucks, I’d be able to live off the dividends!

Here’s an excellent video showing George Bush as a great debater 10 years ago and how he’s gone senile. Its pretty good.
Bush is senile.

Bush and Blair’s Love Duet.

Andy Dick’s Spoof on Bush

And Paris Hilton’s Music Video Stars Are Blind, is actually a lot better than I expected. She can actually sing!

Finally, after lots of bogus reports about a soft landing and their being no real estate bubble, several builders have acknowledged [or should I say confessed] that their may be a stronger than expected decline in housing demand.

“It would be difficult to characterize the position of home builders as other than in a hard landing,” says Robert Toll, chief executive of luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc., which reported yesterday that net income fell 19% in the third quarter ended July 31. “I’ve never seen a downturn in housing without a downturn in employment or… some macroeconomic nasty condition that took housing down along with other elements of the economy,” he says. “This time, you’ve got low unemployment, you’ve got job creation, you’ve got a stable stock market and relatively low interest rates.”

Last year, Toll Brothers reported that its quarterly profit had doubled, Mr. Toll boasted: “We’ve got the supply, and the market has got the demand. So it’s a match made in heaven.” Since then, Toll has cuts its guidance four times on the number of homes it expects to close on, and its share price has fallen by nearly 50%.

Even DR Horton is now bearish. The CEO, Donald Tomnitz said “Every time we’ve gone into a downturn in the home-building industry, they’ve always been longer and deeper than we’ve all imagined. So we’re preparing for the worst, and we think this one will be longer and deeper than just the last six months.”

I should’ve shorted these stock last year, just like I was thinking, but I never got around to it! But I did buy puts for WCI last week with expirations in January 07 and March 07. WCI is a Florida based builder that specializes in luxury high-rise condominium towers. Hopefully with all the negative sentiment we won’t see a short-term spike in their stock prices.

Business 2.0 had an article about how profitable blogging has become.

There was another article about 6 months ago about how some bloggers were making around $75,000 to $150,000 per year. But now the stakes are significantly higher. They pulling in $750,000 to $1.5 million per year!!!!

When I finally do quit my job, I now know which money-making avenue I’ll be pursuing. 😉

Its pretty simple. You buy whatever stock they’re buying when they’re buying it!

Billionaires aren’t usually in the habit of broadcasting what they buy and sell but they usually do buy in large noticeable quantities. The SEC has some stringent guidelines on disclosure of purchases and sales.

According to SuperCash: The New Hedge Fund Capitalism

If there’s a billionaire you are interested in following, you can use various services to keep track of their filings, such as www.sec.gov and www.edgar-online.com. Specifically, you want to look for these types of filings:

* Form 4: This details if they are making a significant change to their holdings. If they own more than 5 percent of a company and they sell shares, they must file a Form 4 within 10 days.

* SC-13D: A 13D schedule needs to be filed whenever they hold more than 5 percent of a company or if they go from owning more than 5 percent to less than 5 percent. This form has to be filed within 10 days of the “acquisition event” that took the filer above the 5 percent ownership level in a company.

* 13F-HR: This is filed to list all of the holdings of an institution that needs to file within 45 days of the close of a quarter. For instance, Michael Dell is not an institution but he funnels all of his money through a family office called MSD Capital, which does have to file the 13F-HR filing.

Let’s take a look at some of the investors I like to follow.

MARK CUBAN

Even successful dot-com cowboys diversify. Perhaps they know better than anyone the need to explore unpopular investment options. Cuban, perhaps most famous for his impeccable timing in selling his company, Broadcast.com, to Yahoo! and then selling his Yahoo! shares at the very peak when they were worth upwards of $3 billion, recently posted his stock positions, both long and short, on his blog, www.blogmaverick.com.

His long positions include Lion’s Gate Entertainment (his comment: “The only indie film library available, willing to leverage new media for revenue”), Rentrak (“Only independent source advertisers can use for tracking Video on Demand and Online Video on Demand”), and domain name registrar Tucows (“Good management, low PE, sells to growing market segment”). His shorts include Imergent, which makes software to help people build e-commerce sites (“I don’t like companies that sell products that consumers shouldn’t buy. It catches up at some point”) and Interoil, an oil and gas company (“Appears to have cash issues”).

BILL GATES

Even billionaires occasionally need to diversify their portfolios, and Bill Gates’ massive $40 billion investment in Microsoft is a case in point. Through his investment vehicle, Cascade Investments, Bill Gates buys the stocks of traditional brick and mortar companies. For instance, he owns 2.4 million shares of manufacturing, plastics, electric, health-care company Otter Tail. While the stock hasn’t gone up much in recent years, it is currently paying a very steady 4.5 percent dividend and is trading at a low double-digit P/E, providing a decent cushion for Gates and his heirs.

Other stocks Gates owns include 5.1 million shares of Pan American Silver, one of the largest public silver mines; 441,000 shares of Four Seasons Hotels; and 18 million shares of trash collector Republic Services. The rest of Gates’ holdings can be found in the SEC filings for Cascade Investments.

I just read The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor–and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car! by Tim Harford.

Its an incredibly good book that explains every economics [like whether coffee shops make a profit and how grocery stores gouge you]. However the author sticks to the basic micro-economic trends and tries to explain how some of them affect the global economy.

It doesn’t have any graphs or equations and you don’t need any math to understand it. Pretty well explained. But it is a little dry and isn’t as entertaining as Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. But from an investment or financial understanding perspective its a lot more useful.

I strongly recommend it for anyone interested in how a free-market economy should work.

The Miami Herald reports that

Washington has embraced an alternative to $3-a-gallon gasoline — $4-a-gallon ethanol.

That’s the cost of this federally mandated fuel additive, when you take everything into account. Ethanol, produced mostly from Midwestern corn, currently wholesales for more than $3 a gallon.

And that’s the Midwest price — ethanol costs even more on the coasts because it can’t be sent through pipelines and thus is costlier to ship than gasoline. At these prices, adding even small amounts of ethanol to gas can boost pump prices by 20 cents per gallon or more.

In addition, the Department of Energy reports, ”ethanol has only about two-thirds the energy content of an equivalent volume of gasoline,” so it substantially reduces fuel economy. In effect, using it is like switching to a larger vehicle. In many big cities, ethanol cannot be added to ordinary gas without the resulting mixture violating federal air-quality regulations. It has to be added to a costly base blend that compensates for ethanol’s environmental shortcomings.

When you add up all the direct and indirect costs of using ethanol, it’s the equivalent of $4-a-gallon gasoline — and closer to $5 if you consider its lousy fuel economy.

Give the feds credit. It isn’t easy to find something worse for consumers than $3 gas, but they managed to do it.

Of course, ethanol isn’t really designed to help America’s hard-pressed drivers, but to help special interests — namely, Midwestern corn farmers and ethanol producers such as Archer Daniels Midland. For years, the domestic ethanol industry, aided by its supporters in Congress, has enjoyed massive tax breaks as well as protectionist tariffs that block cheaper imports. And now, thanks to last year’s big energy bill, Americans are required by law to add four billion gallons of ethanol to the fuel supply this year. That number will rise to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012.

Substituting ethanol for gas is a terrible idea. It will just raise the price of corn and cause a food shortage in the long run.

I think a good short term play is buying options for next summers corn futures. Prices are bound to jump in the next 6-8 months.

Speaking of investing, one company I recently invested in Anglo-American [AAUK] is up nearly 10% in the 10 days I’ve owned it! Its made up for the losses I incurred in RNE. AAUK owns a large part of De Beers, the Diamond company. That should keep my wife happy. She gives me the evil eye everytime they play those anniversary ring ads plays on TV.

AAUK is a good hedge against the dollar and raising commodity prices. [or basically a hedge against inflation!]

Here’s a neat idea to make money from your vacation homes or even your personal property. Have it star in a movie!

All you need to do is take about 36 pictures and send them to the local film commision. They maintain a database for location scouts. Of course they’ll take a large chunk of the money you make as a commission but with rates going as high as $2,500/day its probably worth it.

The San Diego Film Commission has the following tips:

Movie magic has been the source of fantasy and dreams for nearly 100 years.Most people are fascinated with the process and will cooperate if they understand what is going on.The film experience can be fun.Here ‘s what you need to know to make your property a “star”:

One: You must own or manage the property and be able to legally grant permission for filming to occur.

Two: Production companies carry insurance that covers damage or accidents that may occur during location shooting.Request that you and your property be added as “additional insured ” on their policy and get a copy before filming begins.

Three: Ask questions first:

* Is the San Diego Film Commission involved?(Your assurance that all local governmental and agency permits, requirements and concerns are being handled.)
* What is the name of the production company and the project name?
* What kind of project is it? TV, feature film, commercial, print ad? Is it an interior or exterior shot?
* What is the action? Walk and talk? Fight scene? Chase?
* How many crew members and talent will be on the property?
* Where will they park? Will it impact my business? The neighbors?
* Will the company inform the neighbors and provide a neighborhood letter?
* How long will they use the location?
* If the filming takes longer than planned, what happens then?
* How and when will the company restore the property to its original condition?

Four: You will be working primarily with the location manager. Ask the manager to tape off areas of your property that won ‘t be used to prevent crew and talent from “roaming ” from the scene.

Five: Make a written agreement as to what you do and do not permit on your property, for example: eating, drinking, smoking.

Six: The location manager will offer you a fee for the use of your property. Ask how and when you will be paid. When considering whether the amount is a fair offer, first think of a reasonable rate if you were to lease your property to a typical user for one month, then divide that amount by thirty to determine a daily rate. If it is a business property, consider what you would make in revenue on a typical day. Other considerations are the level of inconvenience, the time and number of people involved and whether or not you would enjoy the experience. Interior filming is more disruptive than exterior filming. A print shoot, with a tripod and a crew of 3 to 5 people, is not as disruptive as a 35-member commercial shoot with camera and sound equipment. Remember, the production company must restore everything to its original state.

Seven: Recognize that any time you have people in your home there will be disruption. Cables will be laid, furniture moved, things bumped, etc. The crew will lay cardboard on your floors to prevent damage and will clean or paint any walls they damage. Negotiate up front for other protective measures your property and belongings may require.

Eight: You may want to remove any personal items that you consider to be valuable or irreplaceable before shooting begins, such as antiques, photographs or family memorabilia.

Nine: If there is a celebrity on your property you will be tempted to photograph them or talk to them. Make certain that you have permission to do either. The actor may be concentrating on the part and not appreciate the interruption. The location manager will know the best approach, and may prefer to introduce you themselves. Please don ‘t invite friends and family to view the filming. The production company is performing work that needs a quiet environment to succeed.

Ten: The production company supplies its own electricity via portable generator, as well as their own bathrooms, unless otherwise specified.

Eleven: The production company should ask your permission before cutting any shrubs, trimming trees or any other activity that alters your property.

Twelve: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If the production company can ‘t answer your questions to your satisfaction please call the San Diego Film Commission at (619)234-FILM.

Taz Trader Blog has a great article on how to lose money trading.

#10 – Put all of your efforts into finding the perfect technical indicator. Once you find this magical indicator, it will be like turning on a water faucet. Go all in. The money will just flow into your account!

#9 – When your technical indicator says that the stock is oversold, BUY IT RIGHT THEN. Always do what your technical indicator says to do. It takes precedence over price action.

#8 – Make sure to visit a lot of stock trading forums and ask them for hot stock tips. Also, ask all your friends and family for stock tips. They are usually right, and acting on these tips can make you very rich.

#7 – Watch what other traders do and be sure to follow the crowd. After all, they have been trading a lot longer than you so naturally they are smarter.

#6 – Pay very close attention to the fundamentals of a company. You MUST know the P/E ratio, book value, profit margins, etc. Once you find a “good company”, consider going on margin to pay for shares in their stock.

#5 – Forget about developing a trading plan. If you see a good stock just buy it. Don’t worry about when your going to sell. No need to get caught up in the details. Besides, you’ll probably get rich the first year of trading anyway.

#4 – Buy expensive computers and trading software. While your at it, buy a couple more TV’s so that you can watch CNBC on multiple screens! You NEED all of these gadgets in order to trade stocks successfully. Then watch the money roll in!

#3 – Always follow your emotions. They are there for a reason. If you feel nervous, sell the stock! If you are excited, buy more shares. This is the best way to trade stocks and fatten up your trading account.

#2 – Don’t worry about using stop loss orders. When the time comes, you will be able to sell your shares and take a loss. Your emotions won’t even come into play. Besides, stop loss orders are for sissies!

#1 – Absolutely, without a doubt, FORGET about managing your money. Don’t worry about how much you can lose on a trade. Only think about how much loot your gonna make. Then start planning that trip to Fiji!

I recently bought a book for a friend’s birthday at Barnes and Nobles Book Store. Since my friend is an investor in one of my private placement funds, I considered this a business expense[and the book was below $25 as allowed by the IRS for Business gifts].

When I forked over my business credit card to pay for Guns, Germs & Steel I was informed that I would get a corporate discount of 15%!!!

So not only was the gift tax deductible, but I also got a discount on it!!! I love having my own corporate entity!