Millionaire man's recovery

Lately I have been finding ways to acomplish the objective of one million euros in less than five years and I see a trend in brand Stores all around the world, stores that are doing more than well, sales rising, while those stores aimed at the middle class and lower struggle. Here's what that means to the economy, and investors.

The high-end yachts are doing much better than the small wooden boats to put it this way.

Recent shopping trends show that the wealthy are living it up again -- spending on expensive jewelry, luxury handbags, designer clothing, nice cars and other high-end pleasures. But the recovery has done little to boost the spending of the average wage earners shopping at places such as Target in the US and Alepa in Finland.

The reasons for this dichotomy are quite simple, reflecting overall trends in the economy:

* First, the world is still out of jobs that vanished during the recession. One in six people is out of work, and many who have jobs are worried about losing them. Though job losses have hit every level, the wealthy have bigger cushions to fall back on.

* Second, the stock market has rebounded sharply; it's up about 60% from the lows of a year ago. Driven by this, household net worth advanced significantly at the end of last year. The benefits tilt strongly toward the wealthy, who have proportionally more of their money, and simply more money, invested.

The world's point of sales terminals show the impact of this as well as anything. Wealthier people feel confident enough that they've started shopping again, boosting sales at higher-end retailers such as Tiffany, Nordstrom and louis vuitton to name a few.

Here's something else that helps the wealthy: Though hiring is scarce, executive bonuses are flowing, and they are definitely back on Wall Street after falling sharply in 2008. And sales at Tiffany's flagship store in New York City shot up 20% over the past holiday season and up 15% in louis vuitton store in Helsinki.

Working middle-class families, meanwhile, remain antsy about spending. And sales at the places they generally shop, like Target and Wal-Mart Stores in the US and Dressman and Alepa stores in Finland continue to languish.

Although the recovery was meant to lift the economy as a whole, the effects so far have been felt mostly by the wealthy. The wold is presiding over a Millionaire man's economic rebound.

There's definitely a recovery in the upper end you can see it, the affluent consumer is really more confident that the worst is over. The lower end is really suffering badly, and I don't see any great turnaround there at all unless we get the necesary confidence to continiously start investing.

If you still need convincing that this is a Millionaire man's recovery, take a look deeper into shopping patterns over the past several months. Sales at stores open more than a year are the best measure of shopping trends because this strips out the effect of store openings.

At Nordstrom, where shoppers can drop $2,500 on a variety of Versace New Couture handbags or $1,295 on a Burberry pleated trench coat, sales at stores open more than a year were up 10.3% in February. January was even better: Sales advanced 14%. Fourth-quarter sales increased 6.9% from a year earlier, driving earnings up 152% to 77 cents a share. All of this came despite Nordstrom's heavy exposure to economically hard-hit California.

At Louis Vuitton, where scarfs in a new line named Helsinki changed from €350 to €390 each but the pricier ones cost €500 or more, sales of handbags and accessories advanced 15% in the most recent quarter. This helped Investors buy back more shares, enriching shareholders even more.

In contrast, sales at Target, where handbags start at $8 and rarely run above $30, sales have barely budged, up 0.6% in the most recent quarter. In Alepa sales recovered a bit for a 2.4% gain in February due to a 24 hour open store. Tellingly, sales that month were strongest for food, household essentials and other basics. Spending on discretionary items such as apparel and decorative items for the home were flat or down in February.



At Tiffany, where the wealthy shell out $6,500 apiece for the high-end jewelers' popular "Petals" key pendants, U.S. sales were up 12% in November and December, and worldwide sales were up 8%.Things are going so well that Tiffany upped its dividend to shareholders by 17% in January.

Compared with a year earlier, Polo Ralph Lauren saw its cash levels double in the most recent quarter to $1.3 billion, thanks to a healthy sales increase of 6%. In contrast, at Dressman, where men's shirts go for €10 to €25, sales dropped 4.5% in the most recent quarter.

Take a moment to see the big picture and you see more signs of this dual-level rebound in the economy:

* February sales of luxury items (excluding jewelry) were up 15.2% from a year earlier, according to MasterCard Advisors a division of the credit card company MasterCard that tracks consumer trends. In contrast, overall retail sales were up about 4% last month.

* A February survey by credit card company Discover Financial Services indicated that 36.5% of people earning more than $75,000 a year believed the economy was getting better, compared with 24% of people making less than $40,000.

* The more affluent were making more shopping trips than the less affluent throughout 2009 and early 2010, according to James Russo, the vice president of global consumer insights at Nielsen.

* The wealthy appear to be spending more vigorously on housing, because the prices on high-end homes have held up better than prices at the lower end in the US making this an exclusive exception in the Finnish market in which small apartments are selling more lately.

* while companies cut back on bonuses last year, the reduction hasn't been that great. Based on a look at 232 publicly traded companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales, bonus pay dropped 12.6%, on average, to $812,799 from $930,133 in 2008, according to Equilar, an executive-pay research firm. Bonuses grew sharply at financial companies -- to an average of $576,294 in 2009 from zero the year before.

"At this time last year, high-end consumers were in panic mode, and they really pulled back on spending," says an economist. I think they have exhaled. The stock market is up 60% to 70%, and the housing market has stabilized, so they feel much more comfortable and are starting to spend more.

In contrast, middle- and lower-income households are earning less, saving more and worrying about their jobs.

As an investor, the key is to remember that this economic picture may soon change.
there could be much more upside for stocks overall despite the yearlong rally. Many investors still expect a "new normal" ahead an extended period of moderate consumer spending and subpar growth. If the next months we will see broader growth, that'll finally lift all boats.

You could find a lot of life left in the stocks of high-end retailers such as Tiffany, Loui Vuitton, Polo, Ralph Lauren, even though their stocks have all doubled or more in the past year. They now trade near their average price-to-earnings ratios over the past five years. That suggests they are not great deals now. However, that will change if the wealthy keep spending more, driving up nice cars and accelerating revenue and earnings and here comes a final idea How the Millionaire man's got there in the first place?

The answer might be simple but is not I might say they got there by Compounding, the return from an investment that includes the effect of dividends or interest added to the original sum. Thus the compound rate of interest on a savings account assumes that periodically interest earned is added to the original principal and future interest is earned on both principal and interest earned. In most investment calculations, compounding periods are a year but compounding periods can be for any lenght of time. The compound rate of return and here is the trick... is the geometric mean.

"Compound interest-the greatest invention of all time"-Albert Einstein.

To conclude this post I have to mention that I found a hobbie that could make me reach my objective sooner than later appart from Investing lately I have been learning some tricks at the wildest pocker tables(therefore see the next video of Patrik Antonius a finnish pocker player)...the objective is here and will become my reality...in my next post I will Introduce a resemblance of a Mexican friend living in Helsinki giving a diverse opinion on how to Become Millionaire meanwhile Post your comments..questions...suggestions but among all ENJOY!!!

The Millions in the European Union

My purpose is stronger than ever one Million Euros in less than 5 years, now I see this objective more than interesting due to the fact that during the week in which I moved my positions to a safer place, and just when I was ready to leave the coldness of Helsinki for a month in Mexico, and more than ready to enjoy the sun and the sand in the beach, I was surprised of the events during the last week in the European stock market's downfall, few colleagues and Pasive Investors followed my advise of cashing out temporarily (just in time) and come back to the Bullish market during March, I was surprised to find out that Greece has come under pressure to implement austerity measures after the European Union announced plans to monitor the country's efforts to cut its budget deficit

Pressure on Greece to get its public finances into shape increased during this weeks as the European Union announced unusually strict measures against the country. The European Commission, the EU's executive body, is to put Greece under closer monitoring than any euro-zone country has ever been subjected to and also criticized Athens for faulty reporting of statistics.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, European Economy Commissioner Joaquin Almunia welcomed Greece's new plan to reduce its enormous budget deficit. On Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced a package of austerity measures that includes a freeze on salaries in the public sector, a possible increase in the retirement age and a hike in fuel prices.

Almunia said that the Commission was endorsing the program, which he described as "ambitious" but "achievable." "We know that the implementation of the program will not be easy," he told reporters. "It's extremely challenging, but absolutely necessary and urgent."

However, the EU wants Greece to do even more and is urging it to adopt a "comprehensive structural reform package" that would include cuts in pension spending and reform of the health-care system. The Commission also wants Greece to increase the competitiveness of its economy by making its labor market more flexible, among other demands.

At 12.7 percent of GDP, Greece's budget deficit is more than four times higher than the maximum of 3 percent allowed under euro-zone rules. The European Commission's recommendations are aimed at bringing the country's deficit under 3 percent of GDP by 2012. I really want to believe that is possible but some experts will have to take control.Greece's progress and the new plans would be rigorously monitored through so-called "economic surveillance." Athens will be required to submit a first report in mid-March and will then need to submit quarterly progress reports beginning in mid-May.

It is the first time that the Commission is using such a strict monitoring system, but Almunia insisted the program "is needed given the circumstances." Greece must be prepared to adopt additional measures if the country was not on track to reduce its budget deficit by the agreed deadlines. The country is under massive pressure from financial markets and other EU members to get its finances under control. The budgetary crisis has caused the euro to fall against the dollar in recent weeks and increased the cost of borrowing for the Greek government amid fears it could default.

There is speculation that Greece may have to be bailed out by other EU members -- something the country insists will not be necessary -- and something I believe is not going to happen! and there are also concerns that the country's woes could have a knock-on effect on other euro-zone members with high deficits, such as Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain.

This should warn us Investors not to go too far yet, we have to remember certain meassures in this difficult moments, this is not as difficult as it seems we have to remember that the European Union has 27 member and every member state must fulfil the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhaguen criteria. These basically require that a candidate Member State must enjoy a secular, democratic system of government, together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect the rule of law.

It is not only Greece with high deficits but also Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain. I guess is just about time to learn some austerity from the Nordic countries and the Nordic Model. The Nordic Model refers to the economic and social model of Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway. This particular adaptation of the mixed market economy is characterized by more generous welfare states (relative to other developed countries), which are aimed specifically at enhancing individual autonomy, ensuring the universal provision of basic human rights and stabilizing the economy. It is distinguished from other welfare states with similar goals by its emphasis on maximizing labour force participation, promoting gender equality and extensive benefit levels, large magnitude of redistribution, and liberal use of expansionary fiscal policy. The Nordic Model however is not a single model with specific components or rules; each of the Nordic countries has their own economic and social models, sometimes with large differences from the neighbours.

To conclude this post and get to undestand what has been called as a crisis in Europe a term that is exagerated at the moment, see the next video, and now that we are talking about Nordic countries a good example of a Nordic model can be provided by Finland and The Foreign Minister of Finland Alexander Stubb.

Keep writing to me it keeps me alive and the objective is there make it happen! the sand, sun and family are waiting here I come... Enjoy the video:

Whatever you want you can Achieve!!!

Last week after organising few interesting ideas for this project I had a lot of insights, I started to focus mainly in those activities that are going to make some practical wisdom into actions including some easy to imlement action steps that will significantly free up your time, damatically improve your bank account and solidly enrich your most important relationships.

To start I want to share some of the first three ideas:
1-Focus on your strengths and eliminate everything that is holding you back.
2-Change bad habits into habits that will make you debt free and wealthy.
3- Create and excellent balance between work and family life.

"I NEVER COULD HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THE HABITS OF PUNCTUALITY, ORDER AND DILIGENCE... THE DETERMINATION TO CONCENTRATE MYSELF ON ONE SUBJECT AT A TIME." -Charles Dickens.

The idea is to focus and understand that you must invest most of your time everyday doing what you do best, and let others do what they do best.
Therefore I will aslo try to implement new positive habits into my life, it is known that 90 percent of our normal behavior is based on habits, mainly routines, I'm starting to believe that quality is not an act is a habit. Once a new habit is well developed, it becomes your new normal behavior.

So is good to remember that If other people can make significant changes, why not you? Rememebr, nothing will change until you do. Embrace change as a positive catalyst, one that will give you more freedom and peace of mind, because if you keep on doing what you've always done you will keep on getting what you always got change is a very important factor use it...

A last idea tht I want to note tonight is that as I was talking to a colleague and friend at work while explaining him the idea of becoming Millionaire he told me:

-Don't you see...I will show you that you are Millionaire already .

After sharing a link that I will share with you right know I realized one of the most important things to continue my journey, and that is that he was right I'M A MILLIONAIRE RIGHT NOW!!! So here it is for you to realize if you are already Millionaire:
http://www.miniature-earth.com/ find it top right of this blog

Here is also some intersting new that I found last week:

Wall Street Journal: Nokia and Facebook to discuss possible cooperation

According to a newspaper article, the social networking website Facebook is planning cooperation with the world’s largest mobile handset manufacturer Nokia.
On Thursday the Wall Street Journal wrote that the two companies are discussing a possible service, in which contact and calendar information stored in Facebook could be transferred directly to a mobile phone.
The Wall Street Journal says it has received the information from “people familiar with the matter”. “Talks between the companies have been going on for months”, the paper writes.

Facebook has confirmed that it is looking for possible cooperation partners from the mobile phone sector.
A Facebook user interface already exists on Apple’s iPhones.
Negotiations are also being carried out with the American handset and PDA makers Motorola and Palm.
Hope to hear from your ideas and comments Best regards JC.

How to Become Millionaire?

The Main idea of this blog is to have a glimpse and share some interesting ideas on how to make the best options to become extremely rich in a short period of time, personally after seking the peace inside my inner spirit I discovered that I also need to fulfill my material goals in life. This is the first part on the subject and I want to make clear the main idea of this post is to become Millionaire in a period of less that five years from today of course the sooner the better, and help others to make it I believe that sharing the various secreets to this task could be a great start(books, systems,investment strategies,models, secrets).

I will try to publish an article and some basic ideas on how to make money every week at least. I know the task is quite hard and I also know that it will require a lot of work.

But I want also to be the first example that it is absolutelly possible.

So welcome and let's make it hapen.