Bitcoin, Can The Currency Last?

About one year ago a new online currency, called Bitcoin began to take shape. At the time of launch not many people adopted the idea of yet another worthless fiat currency, similar to the US Dollar, however, the fact that they will eventually limit it's supply ended up slowly attracting more and more interested parties. After all, as the United States continues to print new money to the tune of trillions of dollars, eventually all the Bitcoins will be mined, and the currency will be limited.

Could the founders of Bitcoin be onto something or is it merely a fad that will die out as time passes? Will investors turn to Bitcoin as a means to counter inflation? These are all questions being asked at the various Bitcoin Forums online, with both positive and negative responses.

We'd like to hear your opinions on what you think the future of this brand new currency is. Will it survive from a value standpoint, and will the numerous world governments take actions against it?

30 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

Saving cash is something everyone is looking to do in this terrible economy, so I decided to add another money saving guide to the weekly edition. Here are tips on how to save money while grocery shopping.

- Don’t be afraid of store brands, they are just as good
- Stock up (within reason) when things are on sale
- Get rain checks when sale items are out of stock
- Buy the Sunday paper
- Keep an eye on the weekly store circular
- Clip coupons for name brand items
- Check the store’s website for printable coupons
- Check your cupboards, pantry, and fridge before leaving
- Keep a complete list of items you need on your fridge
- Break your list down by store and plan your outing
- Plan your trip through the store to minimize wandering the aisles
- Don’t forget your list when you head to the store, but…
- Be willing to deviate from your list for great deals
- Be on the lookout for “double coupon” days
- Stack manufacturer and store coupons, both are allowed to be used at once
- Keep a price list/book so you know a deal when you see one
- Learn your store’s sale cycle (sales are often cyclical)
- Visit multiple stores to get the best deals, or…
- Buy in bulk, but…
- Be sure to look at unit pricing
- Bring a calculator (unless you’re a math whiz)
- Be on the lookout for “shrinkage” (e.g., 1.5 quarts vs. half gallon)
- Cook large batches and freeze for later
- Don’t waste leftovers
- Ask your preferred store to match prices form elsewhere
- Avoid non-grocery items that can be bought for less elsewhere
- Joins the store’s affinity program and flash your card
- Buy a chest freezer
- Eat less – seriously, many people eat way more than necessary
- Cook from scratch, avoid processed foods

Remember to spend some time preparing for your shopping expedition, as it could literally save you hundreds of dollars each year.

AAPL, PFE, and Others Report this Week

After quite an eventful week last week, we are in for a bit of a quieter one for economic data. Having said this, we will likely get some excitement from the earnings reports being released this week. Last week saw the market rebound quite well. Intel's results combined with that of Google, and the major banks propelled us back up towards the highs of May. The existing Home sales number coming out on Thursday will be quite important to see if home sales are maybe trending towards a rebound, or at least leveling off.

Jul 20 10:00 AM Leading Indicators Jun
Jul 22 10:30 AM Crude Inventories 07/17
Jul 22 10:35 AM Crude Inventories 07/17
Jul 23 8:30 AM Initial Claims 07/18
Jul 23 10:00 AM Existing Home Sales Jun
Jul 24 9:55 AM Mich Sentiment-Rev Jul


There are way too many stocks reporting this week for me to list, but I'll list a few for each day of the week that I feel could be important market drivers.

Monday:
Halliburton
Texas Instruments

Tuesday:
AMD
Apple
Continental Airlines
The Coca-Cola Company
Yahoo

Wednesday
Altria Group, Inc.
Ebay
Etrade
Eli Lilly
PepsiCo
Pfizer
Piper Jaffray

Thursday
3M
Amazon
AT&T
Baidu
Bristol Myers Squib
Wyeth
Xerox

Friday
Exelon

Could Bing Challenge Google?

There has been a lot of fuss lately about the new Microsoft owned search engine called Bing. The fuss by the tech blogs, and Microsoft haters out there probably stems form the fact that Microsoft has claimed they will be spending upwards of $100 million on advertising the new search engine on television, magazines and the internet.

Can Bing's Advertising Help Them Overtake Google?
I can attest to the huge ad budget they have. For some Adwords ads (Googles ad platform), Bing comes up first even if the term has nothing remotely related to computers or search. I also noticed other ad platforms like Kontera, which sells in-text ads, also show Bing for a large array of key words. Google on the other hand has a huge fan base, who in effect advertise them for free. The moment Google announces a new feature to search, there are literally thousands of popular blogs which pick up the news story and announce it to the internet world. Remember, like Microsoft, Google has billions of dollars in cash. So although $100 million is a drop in the bucket for a large corporation like Microsoft, Google can still be using their $100 million to improve an already amazing search product.

Bings Search Results
So, are Bings search results better then that of Google? There have been arguments on both sides for this. In my opinion, after analyzing key results for key terms, it seems as though Bings database of sites it indexes is much smaller than that of Googles. For some searches, Bing may show better results, but for the majority of searches, Google is still far and away the best.

Is Bing Better then Live Search?
The answer to this quest is, absolutely. Even though I feel that Bing is still leaps and bounds from catching Google both search quality wise, and in the number of everyday users. Bing by far outperforms Live search. Bing basically is a copy of Google. They took many of Googles best features and made them their own. They not have sections for health, traffic, weather, travel videos, and even their own "Google Trends."

What will it Take for Bing to Catch Google.
In order for Bing to even come close to Google in their number of everyday users, it will take lot and lots of time, as well as money, but most importantly, something innovative and unique. Bing has modeled themselves after Google, and has many similarities to it. The problem is, Why would people who use Google everyday change their searching habits and just move to another "Google"? The answer is, they won't. Bing needs to be the first mover and come up with something uniques that Google does not already incorporate. If they can do this, and have a nice span of time before Google Copies their unique idea, I think we could start seeing Googlers becoming Bing'ers.

Save Money on Homeowners Insurance

As you know I have a series of blog posts related to saving money in various industries. Today I will look at a few ways to save money on your Homeowners insurance policy. If you own a home, than Homeowners insurance is a must, however, it can often drive someone crazy trying to figure out what types of coverage they need and want. Below are 4 tips to save some money on your Homeowners insurance policy:

#1 Shop Around
There are so many different insurance companies out there, and so many different types of insurance available. Do your homework before simply signing on to a policy. Check out the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website at: naic.org to get a list of insurers in your area as well as complaints and praises about each.

#2 If Possible, Buy Your House and Automobile Insurance From the Same Company
Today, more and more insurance companies offer all types of insurance, from flood, to homeowners, to auto, to life. If you can buy a couple policies from one company, you will likely save anywhere from 5-10% off your premium. Like I said though, make sure you do your homework first.

#3 Raise Your Deductible
Homeowners insurance should be in place in case of a disaster. If you are paying an insurance company to cover the minor problems you may face with home damage, you are likely losing money. Remember, an Insurance company is making a profit. This means they are charging you more than the average person needs to spend to fix their damaged home. By raising your deductible, you will save a ton of money on your premiums, and still be covered for those major problems you may face with damage to your home. Raising your deductible from $500 to $1000, can save as much as 25% on your premiums.

#4 Stay with the same Insurer.
Unless you find an amazing deal with another company, it is usually best to stay with the same company. Not only are you familiar with the policy terms, but many insurers will decrease your rates by 5-10% after 3-5 years with them.

Could A National Strike in Iran Spike Oil Prices?

The situation in Iran, which I wrote about briefly last week appears to be getting worse as each day goes by. The Defeated candidate, Mousavi, is rumored now to be ready to announce a National strike in Iran which would start with the Oil industry. The question has to be asked... How much will a national strike on the part of Iran affect the international price of oil?

Oil Prices Already Rising
With Summer beginning Yesterday here in the US, Gas prices are already averaging around $2.70 a gallon. Oil Prices have doubled since their lows only a few months ago. If Mousavi does in fact called for a national strike, how high could that make prices go? Technically, the other nations should make up for any production stoppages in Iran, but just the mental impact of the Iran mess could very well send prices back to $90 - $100 by August in my opinion. As you can see Below in the world map of the largest Oil Producing Nations, although tiny geographically, Iran has the third largest oil reserves and currently is responsible for about 8% of all Oil production in the world, with 3.7 million barrels of production per day.



With the economy seemingly getting better, we could be in for another oil price jump. I do not see it getting to $150 a barrel like last year though. Investors will be too hesitant to carry prices over the $100 mark in my opinion for fear of another collapse like we had int he last 12 months.

Whats the Better Investment Now - Stocks or Bonds?

With the stock market up nearly 30% from it's lows only 3 months ago, many investors are speculating that it may now be time to consider investing in Bonds, which could pay off better then stocks int he long run. That's at least what some experts are saying. Me, on the other hand, disagree.


Bonds:
Bonds are still yielding extremely low rates of return compared to the past. The 10 year Treasury is paying just about 3.6%. That's not terrible, but you have to consider that inflation could easily reach 3.6% within the next year, and likely will go a bit higher than that. If inflation strikes like many experts think, we could see 10 year Treasuries paying over 6% easily, meaning those lowly 3.6% bonds you purchase today will be worth about 60% then. I, in fact, do like some of the more risky corporate bonds, where you can get a return as high as 10% on companies which really are not in that bad shape.

Stocks
Right Now, even though the market is up 30% from it's lows, I am still a stock guy. Although I do own some bonds, I believe that the stockmarket is the place to be. Why in the world would you buy a 3.6% Treasury bond that is locked in for 10 years, when you can buy a stock like Verizon (VZ) which has a 6.25% dividend, you can sell whenever you like, and will likely increase it's share price over the long run with or without inflation. If you are looking for the stable return of bonds, then buy some of the blue chip dividend stocks like Intel, BP, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Altria, etc. You will get a pretty reliable stable return higher than 3.6% plus have the stock price gain to look forward to as well.

Conclusion:
Stocks are still an excellent buy. With the economy picking up finally, most dividend stocks which have yet to cut their dividends will likely be safe from here on out.

Next Weeks Market News Makers - Unemployment to 9.2%

It's Friday again, so that means we look at what one can expect from the markets next week. This week has been pretty good overall. We saw today that the first quarter GDP decline was only 5.7% instead of the initially thought 6.1% decline. Experts also predict a much flatter decline for the 2nd quarter and finally an increase in GDP for Quarter 3. By the forth quarter, experts predict a 1.8% increase in GDP. So what on tap for next week? Here is the economic Calendar for the first week in June, 2009:

- Jun 1 8:30 AM Personal Income
- Jun 1 8:30 AM Personal Spending
- Jun 1 10:00 AM Construction Spending
- Jun 1 10:00 AM ISM Index
- Jun 2 10:00 AM Pending Home Sales
- Jun 2 2:00 PM Auto Sales
- Jun 2 2:00 PM Truck Sales
- Jun 3 8:15 AM ADP Employment Change
- Jun 3 10:00 AM Factory Orders
- Jun 3 10:00 AM ISM Services
- Jun 3 10:30 AM Crude Inventories
- Jun 3 10:35 AM Crude Inventories
- Jun 4 8:30 AM Initial Claims 05/30
- Jun 4 8:30 AM Productivity-Rev. Q1
- Jun 4 8:30 AM Unit Labor Costs Q1
- Jun 5 8:30 AM Average Workweek
- Jun 5 8:30 AM Hourly Earnings
- Jun 5 8:30 AM Nonfarm Payrolls
- Jun 5 8:30 AM Unemployment Rate
- Jun 5 2:00 PM Consumer Credit

The data that I will be looking at that I think could move the markets quite a bit are, the construction spending data, which could signal a turnaround in the housing market, as well as the Unemployment data. The Unemployment rate was at 8.9% at the end of April, and will likely increase to about 9.2% for the end of May. Consumer credit is also another big piece of info we will get by Friday, and should let us know in a bit more detail, just how backed up the credit markets are. Another thing to note are the forex markets in which the dollar has continued to fall this week, leading Gold and other commodities to have a nice run.

North Koreas Effect on the Economy

North Korea has been in the news quite a bit over this extended Holiday weekend here in the United States. Not only did they conduct an underground nuclear test over the weekend, but last evening they test fired 3 short range missiles, after the strong condemnation of the nuclear test by the world governments. So, What kind of economic impact will this have if any if things do continue to spin out of control, which probably won't happen?

Short Term the Dollar Will Rise, Gold will Rise in relation to other Currencies - The dollar is a safe haven when there are times of uncertainty in the rest of the world. Gold also is a great place to keep your money in uncertain political times, but the rise of the dollar may make Gold's rise a little less significant for us Americans.

Long Term The Dollar will Fall - If this thing gets drug out to where military action on our part was required, this means that there would be even more massive government spending, leading to even more national debt. Debt causes the dollar's power to decline in the long run

Stock Market
In my opinion this whole mess may give us all more time to invest at low prices. I highly doubt this will turn into an all out war, but even if it does, government spending is usually a plus for stock prices. If it doesn't progress much further, then stock prices remain depressed for a few extra weeks, and then shoot back up to where they would have been without a North Korea problem on our hands.

Conclusion:
Overall, I'd recommend not changing your investing strategy at all if you are investing in US securities. If you are an Japanese, or South Korean investing in their local markets, however, an investment strategy shift may be in order.

5 Ways to Build Back Your Wealth

So your 401k plans are at levels unimaginable, your home value is probably between 50-80% of what it was just a couple years ago, and you may have either lost your job, or are on shaky ground at work. Don't fret, I'm hear to provide you a few tips on how to rebuild some of your wealth so that next time the economy crashes, you are in a much better situation. Things seem bad now, but they will get better, and in the end you will have learned a great deal about your finances. Here are 5 ways to build your wealth back up.

1. Build your Credit Score - In times of crisis it's always good to have a nice credit line with a low interest rate in case of an unforeseen emergency. Build your credit score, by lowering your debt to credit ratio. This means you need to pay off the debt you owe, while also trying to get a credit line increase. The more credit you have available, that you do not use, the higher your score will usually be in the long run.
   
   
2. Don't watch so much TV - Did you know that for every 1 hour of television you watch per week, your expenditures increase by $200 for the year? The reason for this is that we are influenced by trends on tv. If our favorite athlete or movie star is wearing a certain piece of clothing, driving a certain car in a sitcom, we are more likely to want that object.
   
   
3. Reevaluate your Portfolio - This is a great time to re-adjust our investment holdings. If you are in the age range where you should have a 50% stock holding and 50% bond holding, it is likely that after the recent crash, things are not 50/50 any longer. This probably means you should buy more stocks. In the long run it will even out and you will likely recover your losses
   
   
4. Reevaluate your Car and Homeowners Insurance Policies - Did you know that you could save about $400 a year if you raise your deductible for homeowners insurance from $500 to $5000? That may seem like a big step, but in actuality, how often have you had to put a claim in? Insurance should be there to protect from catastrophy, not the minor problems.
   
   
5. Refinance - This is probably one of the most overlooked ways to save a bundle of money. Did you knwo that if you were to refinance your $300,000 mortgage from a 6% rate to 5% rate, you'd save over $40,000 during the life of the loan? You'd also cut your monthly payment by abotu $350 as well. $350 a month is a nice amoutn fo money you could be saving isn;t it?
   

Brian Krassenstein Blog

Well, guys I have been getting a lot of emails as of late from people wanting me to blog in my free time about the various online stuff I'm involved in. I don't have a ton of time but I will try my best to come here from time to time to give updates.

As Many of you may know I used to own, and still do manage parts of Talkgold. I've been through more then enough headaches with that site, but learned a lot dealing with quite a few insane people on that forum. There were a lot of smart and sincere people as well, many of which are now moderating and adminstrating the forum now.

For the Time Being you can follow some articles that I write for commission for sites like Aptera 2e Car Forum.

Brian Krassenstein's Ezine Articles
Brian Krassensteins GoArticles

Also there is a bio one of my clients created for me at: Wikidot - Krassenstein Bio

I'll try and leave a few messages here each month to update you all on some new things I'm invovled in. Right now I'm working on a 3rd e-book, as well as consulting in domain name monetization and advertising sales for various investors and webmasters alike.

Sincerely
Brian Krassenstein