Peace Love Profits

Dorothy was right.

I just returned from ten days in Europe and I can declare there truly is no place like home. Especially when your home is America.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Europe. I love everything about it. The history, beauty, culture, and the people (and of course, the gelato).  I can’t wait to go back. And believe me, I am thankful. I know how lucky I am to be able to travel, have these experiences, and share them with my family.  

I also know how lucky I am to come home, and to call America my home.

Yep, Dorothy was right when she tapped her heels three times and chanted There’s no place like home.  Oh, and about those ruby red slippers: they’re definitely Made in Italy, I’m sure I saw them there:)

Expect more posts this week about my trip!

Peace Love Profits,

Blake

Move over Angry Birds, there’s a new number one app in town. It’s called Amazing Alex, a puzzle game involving physics. And it didn’t take long to grab the top spot, becoming number one just eight hours after it was released.

This is the first time in two years that a non-Angry Bird game is the number one app. But, birds of a feather do flock together… both best selling apps are made by the same company, Rovio Entertainment. 

More gaming news…

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 continues to win its own popularity contest. The company sold 257,000 Xbox 360 consoles in June. That’s the 18th straight month that Xbox 360 was the biggest seller in the United States, with a 47% market share. However, U.S. sales of  Xbox consoles are down from 507,000 units in June 2011.

Go ahead, get your game on.

Peace Love Profits,

Blake

If you’re really having a great summer don’t go to Staples. I did and got completely freaked out. Back to school stuff was everywhere. Notepads, pencils, pens, even protractors, all piled up to the ceiling. It was a big in my face that summer doesn’t last forever.  I like school, but I love summer a whole more. Doesn’t everybody?

Apparently not. There is a huge group of back-to-school supporters. They’re known as the nation’s retailers. And the back-to-school shopping season is one of their favorite times of year because it’s the second biggest selling season right behind the holidays.  

But this year, retailers may need to pull a few tricks out of their bag if they want to have a successful season.  Recent reports show that consumers are not ready to spend. Retail sales declined for a third straight month in June, and chain stores posted their smallest June retail sales gain in three years.

We’ll wait and see if retailers will make the grade this year. Stores are just now gearing up for the selling season with more merchandise and promotions coming in the next few weeks. Here’s a huge list of the nation’s biggest retailers.

I’m trying to forget what I saw at Staples. That pen and paper is going to have to wait for me until September. 

Peace Love Profits,

Blake

Fender Guitars is getting all amped up for its IPO.

The world’s largest maker of guitars plans to sell 10.7 million shares priced between $13 and $15, raising about $160.5 million.

Fender was founded in the 1940s by Leo Fender, an electronics technician. Fast forward and Fender guitars and amplifiers are sold in 85 countries. The company sees growth ahead in emerging countries like China and India where there’s an increase in demand for guitars. 

Yes, that’s me with my beautiful Fender. It’s pearl with a lava pick board. So, as you can see, it’s not only serious rock stars who play Fenders, but people who have dreams of becoming serious rock stars:)

The highest price ever paid for a guitar was $2.7 million for a Fender Stratocaster signed by a group of rock legends at a charity auction in 2005. Here’s the list of the 10 most expensive guitars ever, you need to read it, it’s pretty cool.

Fender will list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FNDR. How about the ticker symbol PICK (as in guitar pick)? 

And, to think it all started with an entrepreneur, an idea, and a lot of determination. That’s music to my ears. Rock on everyone.

Peace Love Profits,

Blake

Strap yourself in, Wall Street could be in for a wild ride this week. The second-quarter earnings season kicks off today, and everybody is going to be watching this one very closely.

Companies will report how much money they made, or lost, in the April through June period. Investors wants to do the number crunching but they also want to hear what CEOs say about the rest of the year, and are hoping for a positive outlook.

Wall Street hasn’t had much to cheer about recently. Reports show the U.S. job market is still weak, there’s no end in sight for the European crisis, and even China is showing signs of a slowdown.

Here’s the earnings calendar, find your favorites, and hold on tight.

Peace Love Profits,

Blake

P.S. This is The Hulk roller coaster at Universal in Orlando, I went on it with my dad. I loved it but it took him days to recover:)

This year’s amber waves of grain are gonna be a lot smaller and way more expensive.

It’s the intense heatwave that’s taking a toll n farmlands in the Midwest. Crops including corn, soybeans and wheat are all in question with harvest season right around the corner.

Farmers and traders weren’t expecting this at all. In fact, they were counting on a bumper crop, but that was when the weather was cooperating. Farmers were able to plant more corn this year than they had in 75 years because of warm weather during planting season.

The U.S. is the world’s top exporter of corn, soybeans and wheat. A grain shortage in the U.S. quickly becomes a global problem leading to rising food rising around the world. Grain is used globally for the food industry and also to feed livestock.

Prices for soybeans are at their highest level since 2007 and the price of corn is up 30% in just the past two weeks. 

Grains aren’t the only commodities impacted by current weather. Chocolate lovers beware. The price for cocoa is trading at an 8-week high due to dry hot weather in West Africa, where 60% of the world’s cocoa comes from. Cocoa is the key ingredient in chocolate.

Peace Love Profits,

Blake

I know the healthcare issue is huge, but who knew it was a BFD?

I do now, thanks to a tweet Mr. President put out for all to read and wear last week.

After the Supreme Court upheld ObamaCare, the President’s healthcare plan, the President tweeted “Still a BFD” and included a link to a $30 BFD T-shirt his campaign is selling. BFD refers to the comment Vice President BIden was seen mouthing (Big F****** Deal) when the President signed the healthcare legislation in 2010. 

Here’s the deal. I’m twelve and I know that’s just really bad. Totally inappropriate as my mom likes to say. He’s the President of the United States of America, a role model for the entire world, and he’s using bad words that we’ve all been taught not to use. I’d be sent to the principal and punished for sure. 

By the way, I can think of a lot of other things that are really big deals. Like the Constitution. Like the Declaration of Independence that our forefathers signed 236 years ago this week. I never heard them declare it was a BFD. I guess if the President said it, I can too, just this once:)

Don’t buy the printed T-shirt. Save your $30.  You’re gonna need it to spend on the healtcare tax. 

Peace Love Profits,

Blake

For the first time ever, ice cream has left a bad taste in my mouth.

To be perfectly honest, it’s not really the ice cream but rather the ice cream’s inventors Ben & Jerry. 

I was just about to dive into a double scoop of my current favorite, Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie (with sprinkles of course) when my dad gave a grunt and muttered something about Occupy Wall Street. He went on to explain that Ben & Jerry’s is a big supporter of the group  and recently gave a million dollars to the movement. I investigated further, checked out their mission statement “leading with progressive values across our business” and was surprised at what I read.

My conflict here is this. Founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are entrepreneurs who made it big. They’ve made a pretty penny off their pints and it’s safe to say they are millionaires a few times over. Their stock was once a Wall Street darling, and in 2000 they sold their company to a huge multinational corporation called Unilever. 

But now it appears, after making their millions, both Ben and Jerry have turned their back on corporate America and Wall Street. Call it a classic case of biting the hand that feeds you, complete with a cherry on top.

I’m not sure how I’m going to work through this conflict of mine, maybe a few late nights with some ice cream could help. But this time, it’s gonna be Haagen-Dazs.

Peace Love Profits,

Blake