Some have decried F1 as too political, a haven for spoiled rich kids, and an empire run by a billionaire tyrant who is eccentric at best. But the race in Monte Carlo is grand in the best sense of the word: Fast**, colorful, loud, dangerous, interesting and spectated by some of the wealthiest people on earth.*** 

When I was there last week I saw the single largest conglomerate of 6-foot tall women with impeccable skin and hair worth thousands in upkeep I’ve ever seen. They flocked to pop-up clubs like Amber Lounge and Billionaire’s Club, followed closely by solitary or two-by-two 40-something men in collared shirts and blazers.

It cost 800 Euros per person to get into the Amber Lounge and 300 Euros per person plus a two-bottle minimum to get into the famous Jimmyz club. One close friend told me he personally saw a man spend $200,000 in one night at the Billionaire’s Club. (This year it was located at the bottom of the Fairmont Hotel. The Amber Lounge was in Le Méridien.)

…..read & view it all HERE

Why prestige is the enemy of passion, or how to master the balance of setting boundaries and making friends.

“Find something more important than you are,” philosopher Dan Dennett once said in discussing the secret of happiness,“and dedicate your life to it.” But how, exactly, do we find that? Surely, it isn’t by luck. I myself am a firm believer in the power of curiosity and choice as the engine of fulfillment, but precisely how you arrive at your true calling is an intricate and highly individual dance of discovery. Still, there are certain factors — certain choices — that make it easier. Gathered here are insights from seven thinkers who have contemplated the art-science of making your life’s calling a living.

What you should not do, I think, is worry about the opinion of anyone beyond your friends. You shouldn’t worry about prestige. Prestige is the opinion of the rest of the world.

[…]

Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. It causes you to work not on what you like, but what you’d like to like.

[…]

Prestige is just fossilized inspiration. If you do anything well enough, you’ll make it prestigious. Plenty of things we now consider prestigious were anything but at first. Jazz comes to mind—though almost any established art form would do. So just do what you like, and let prestige take care of itself.

Prestige is especially dangerous to the ambitious. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, the way to do it is to bait the hook with prestige. That’s the recipe for getting people to give talks, write forewords, serve on committees, be department heads, and so on. It might be a good rule simply to avoid any prestigious task. If it didn’t suck, they wouldn’t have had to make it prestigious.”

More of Graham’s wisdom on how to find meaning and make wealth can be found in Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age

……read thinker’s 2-7 and all the links HERE

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22 May 2013 – Market Warning

Just a brief note to let you know that the US markets registered several key reversals today, which raises the probability of a correction.   As usual this is not a guarantee of what’s coming next but these signals have proven to be reliable a significant percentage of the time.  Several excellent technical analysts will confirm this in the next day or two…..

15 May 2013 – Market Rise – Fact or Fiction

I’m not sure what I can add to what Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of PIMCO, the world’s largest bond fund said recently, “This is the choice all investors must make: Do you leave some capital on the table as markets rise or suffer large capital losses later. The choice is critical.”…..

02 May 2013 – The Dis-connect Continues

This is the latest tweet from Bill Gross, the biggest bond fund manager in the world. “World awash in money. Fed buys 85 billion per month. Bank Of Japan 75 billion. European Central Bank hints at negative interest rates. Don’t buy – sell risk assets.”….

23 Apr 2013 – The Great Dis-connect

During the credit crisis in 2008 I wrote that financial considerations were driving the markets not economics.  Obviously they are closely related but the economic problems of the last five years have been a by-product of credit related financial factors…..

16 Apr 2013 – What’s Next for Gold?

Is this the buying opportunity of the next decade or the end of the 12 year bull market in gold? There will be no shortage of analysts lining up on both sides of the debate – So what’s next and what should you do….

12 Apr 2013 – Gold Has Broken Down to a New Range

The market has sent a clear message on gold with the series of trading range breakdowns. It has provided yet another very powerful reminder that your job as an investor is to take action based on what the market IS doing – not what you think it should be doing…..

08 Apr 2013 – Gold Update

Traders will buy the dip but will be ready to exit positions on any move below the recent low of $1538 and be long gone if it breaks $1520. As you’d expect long term gold bulls are still convinced that the central bank’s debasement of paper currencies and the diminishing confidence in government will fuel the bull market. I agree but I think they are early….

03 Apr 2013 – Gold Disappoints

I could have written that headline on a regular basis since the first week in October when I exited gold. It’s had every excuse to rally but hasn’t. The key question is whether the recent weakness is a buying opportunity or a warning….

17 Mar 2013 – Cyprus Bailout Just One More Warning

Arugably the key quesiton in the markets today is – what event could surpirse the markets and change the “risk on” mentality that is pushing the stock markets higher on the back of central bank’s creation of money….

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