Babson Free Press Headlines

03/02/08 Crazy News

Babson Free Press Staff — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:55:00 +0000

CNN.com reported today that a Danish journalist was face-to-face with President Bush's neighbor's gun as he was talking on his cell phone. Reportedly, the journalist was covering a story on the President, and while trying to get good cell phone reception, wandered across the street during his conversation. The woman toting the gun then came out of the house and said, "Get off my property. You're trespassing".

We thought this was an interesting story. What are your thoughts? Does this exhibit the America we live in today, where we stand as unified but defensive individuals who aren't afraid to lift a gun against a fellow American? Or, is this story just one circumstance and doesn't reflect the true America we live in today? Comment using the Comment button below.

Read the rest of the story here: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/02/gun-incident-near-president-bushs-ranch/

BFP News Clips 03/02/08

Babson Free Press Staff — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 06:52:00 +0000

Last night, Babson's AEPI featured a campus pride party at their tower, sponsored by Shawn Golshani. Anyone with comments on this party, please email us at babsonfreepress@gmail.com. We'd love to hear how it went!

babsonTV has been made over, a little bit. It now features a featured video playlist that is updated with babsonTV's top picks. This week, enjoy babsonTV's top political YouTube picks for 2008.

iWrite~iWin has officially started! Sources close to the contests organizers have told the Babson Free Press that the Bear will likely make an appearance on campus sometime this week. No word on which day, or where, but we'll have more once we hear. That's 500 easy points.

There doesn't appear to be much damage from the most recent snow storm. There were a few groups who took the Free Press' advice to go out sledding, though. Excellent!

This year's spring concert headliner Common just released a 2008 version of his classic song "The Light". Check it out at AllHipHop.com here.

MeFlect has gained some attention on Facebook with their new group. Want a mirror with you all the time? Check it out.

We're looking for more games to post up. Email us! Also, if you have a blog you'd like featured under our blogs column, we're compiling a list of those now...so email us! Anything else you'd like the Babson Free Press to look into...email us!!!

Cheers,

Babson Free Press Staff

More Snow??

Babson Free Press Staff — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:59:00 +0000

Babson: More snow is on its way for tonight! According to weather.com, the snow will be starting at 9pm tonight and lasting until around 2pm tomorrow. Reports have varied, but most centering around a total of 6 inches of snowfall. A few quick notes:

Everyone parked in Trim, move your cars to the center spots so Babson's snow-force can plow the snow.
Be sure to wear hats and mittens.
The hill closest to Forest is one of the best hills on campus to sled down. If you don't have a sled, be entrepreneurial and grab a binder or domino's box from last night to sled down.
Be safe.
Raise your windshield wipers so that they don't frieze to your car window.
Go out early tonight to rent a good movie or other activity.
Be sure to order Nick's early so that Nick's team won't have to trudge through the snow.
Snowball fights are encouraged, if the snow is soft.
Stay tuned to www.babson.edu for continuing updates on cancellations, postponements, etc.
GO TO PUB TONIGHT FOR Friday Night Live!
The FME, Macro and MAC tests are over...HAVE FUN IN THE SNOW!!!!

-Babson Free Press Staff

BusinessWeek's 2008 Rankings: How Sweet It Is!!!!

Babson Free Press Staff — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:37:00 +0000

BusinessWeek released their rankings for the best undergraduate business schools, and Babson came home with some excellent ratings. The ratings are in the newest issue of BusinessWeek, and are accessible here: www.businessweek.com/bschools/undergraduate. Here are some notable facts from this year's BusinessWeek rankings:

"The Best Undergraduate Business Schools"

Boston College - #14

Babson College- #28 (UP 5 SPOTS FROM 2007)

Boston University - #42

Northeastern - #34

Bentley - #30

---

Student Survey - #21

Teaching Quality - A+

Facilities & Services - A+

Job Placement - A

Starting Salary of Graduating Class - #26 (UP 16 SPOTS FROM 2007)

Dennis Hanno, Dean of the Undergraduate School, commented on what these rankings mean to the school, and where he sees Babson headed:

"While these rankings do not change how we prepare and teach our students, they do remain an external measure that prospective students and their parents use to evaluate colleges. It has been a great year for the Undergraduate School in terms of rankings, having earned, for example, the designation of “Hottest for Business” by Newsweek and number 1 for Entrepreneurship (11^th year in a row), number 17 for International Business and number 27 in the overall undergraduate business school category by U.S. News and World Report. The ranking data provide an opportunity to assess how the marketplace evaluates what we do while offering some insights into areas where we can seek improvement. We will continue our efforts of steady improvement and look forward to even higher rankings in the years to come."

The College celebrated the announcement of these rankings, yesterday, with a Domino's Pizza Celebration thrown by Dean Hanno, himself. The midnight party at the new-and-improved Reynolds Campus Center featured hundreds of Undergrads and an amazing 150 pizzas.

From one undergrad who attended the celebration: Mmmmm....These Rankings taste SWEET!

SGA Website in the Works?

Babson Free Press Staff — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Sources close to The Babson Free Press report that the Babson College S.G.A. (Student Government Association) is currently in the process of building a website for the student body, and their organization. The website is believed to encompass the spirit of Beaver Nation, a campaign launched this semester by S.G.A. and the undergraduate administration.

Our team has also received numerous reports of the cost of this site. Numerous sources have quoted the domain name "beavernation.org"'s price to be $800 and the design costs at close to $7,500.

[Please keep in mind: The Babson Free Press has not confirmed either of these numbers. We have, though, received numerous reports with the same quotes.]

Depending on how the project is funded, it may have to pass through the S.G.A. senate before the funds get approved. The S.G.A. senate is composed of students from across campus, many representing their own club or organization.

The website has not yet been released, and many at Babson are eager to see the site if it gets approved for the Spring semester.

More on this story as we get information!

And the Spring Concert Opener Is...

Babson Free Press Staff — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:42:00 +0000

Toots and the Maytals

CAB (Campus Activities Board) announced today that Common's opener for this year's spring concert would be the legendary reggae group Toots and the Maytals. The Babson Free Press will have more on this legendary group in upcoming issues, as well as a YouTube mixtape coming soon!

The Babson Free Press' Tip of the Day

Babson Free Press Staff — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:52:00 +0000

Getting your organization exposure on campus is pretty tough. Babson ugrads are bombarded by emails, see too many flyers around campus to bother reading them, and are constantly bombarded by rocket pitches and sales speeches.

Luckily, the Babson Free Press has your answer. Our R&D team came up with (what we think is) a pretty fun way for your organization to get more promotion.

The answer is our newest promotion: iWrite ~ iWin, sponsored by the Babson Free Press, Teddy Bear Promotions, and SGA. Essentially, iWrite~iWin will reward 5 lucky winners with either an iPod Nano or an iPod Shuffle! For more details, check out our teddy bear tab at the top menu, or click here. The contest runs from March 1 - March 30, and all individuals with a Babson email account are eligbile (minus the Babson Free Press staff)

Registration officially ends March 1, so register now!!!

Good Luck, Babson.

-The Babson Free Press Staff

New Issue Coming Out...Today!

Babson Free Press Staff — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:35:00 +0000

Check out Reynolds today, February 26th for the newest issue of the Babson Free Press.

If you missed last week's issue...don't worry! You can request a copy of it via mailing babsonfreepress@gmail.com or downloading the pdf in our archives section next week!

Gyroball is Frustrating!!!!

Babson Free Press Staff — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:40:00 +0000

The Babson Free Press Staff
Opinion

This isn't a piece of news, but we'd like to ask for help from the Babson Community. Level 4 of Gyroball in our "Games" section is extremely frustrating. We can't get the ball over the second hump and don't know why!!

Please send us an email at babsonfreepress@gmail.com if you can work this thing out!

Cheers,

The Babson Free Press Staff

SNOW BRINGS CANCELLATIONS!!!

Babson Free Press Staff — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:03:00 +0000

Bring on the snow!!! Here are the updates as of 11:05am, 2/22/08:

Ugrad Classes beginning at 11:30 or after - CANCELLED
Evening Grad Classes - CANCELLED
Fast Track Classes - STILL ON

Showtime at the Apollo - STILL ON
Friday Night Live - STILL ON

Coaching for Leadership & Teamwork Program Saturday - Still Scheduled, but check www.babson.edu for updates.

Stanford To Give Free Tuition to Many Students - What's in Store for Babson?

Babson Free Press Staff — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:49:00 +0000

David Barner
President - Babson Free Press

This just in from the news room: According to CNN-Money, Stanford will be offering free tuition to to students whose families make less than $100,000 annually. For students' with families making less than $60,000 annually, room and board may also come free of charge. (See: this link)

For Babson students, financial aid and tuition figures will be released next week in the Babson Free Press. While it doesn't appear that as many as 1/3 of our students will get a free ride, it does appear that Babson will give close to $23.5 million on financial aid, according to Babson's Director of Student Financial Services and Associate Dean Melissa Shaak.

We'll have more on this as we get information!

The Dam News Show - Episode I!

Babson Free Press Staff — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:21:00 +0000

This just in: babsonTV has just released its newest creation: The Dam News Show. In this show you'll get an inside scoop on a ton of the week's crazy news, celebrity, and entertainment. Amanda Medin, as executive producer, deems it to be the best thing since YouTube.

Check it out here in our video section.

We Now Have a Facebook Application!

Babson Free Press Staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:28:00 +0000

Thanks to Babson's own Seth Hayward, we now have a Facebook application!

Add it to see our page while cruising Facebook for a new free-gif file to give your "friend"!

Here's the link

Another Welcome...

Babson Free Press Staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:52:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, we welcomed readers from across the Atlantic as the Babson Free Press went global. Well, this week we'd like to welcome readers from:

Singapore
South Africa
Florida, US
Oklahoma, US
Kentucky, US
Louisiana, US

Like we said a few weeks ago, we hope you enjoy the reporting we do. We're only going to make this site more user-friendly, fun, and useful. This is only the beginning.

Babson is, after all, a school with a tradition of entrepreneurship, pride, and innovation. We caught that Babson Beaver Nation bug and DAM! it feels good:

We're not just taking care of business, we're starting them.
Become a part of the Babson Beaver Nation!

Babson Students Cited at 134MPH

Babson Free Press Staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:08:00 +0000

Babson Free Press Staff
News - General

Tomorrow, you’ll see this story on page 6 of the Babson Free Press, but here is the link to the story (from the Boston Globe/AP) in the meantime!

Boston Globe Link

From Super Confusing Delegates--Primary Results Broken Down

Babson Free Press Staff — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:52:00 +0000

Robin Messerli, Co-Editor-In-Chief

Winners for each state up to February 12, 2008:

State Democrat Republican

Alabama Obama Huckabee

Alaska Obama Romney (out)

Arizona Clinton McCain

Arkansas Clinton Huckabee

California Clinton McCain

Colorado Obama Romney (out)

Connecticut Obama McCain

Delaware Obama McCain

Democrats Abroad [Feb 12] Clearly N/A

District of Columbia Obama McCain

Florida Clinton McCain

Georgia Obama Huckabee

Hawaii [Feb 19] [May 16]

Idaho Obama [May 27]

Illinois Obama McCain

Indiana [May 6] [May 6]

Iowa Obama Huckabee

Kansas Obama Huckabee

Kentucky [May 20] [May 20]

Louisiana Obama Huckabee

Maine Obama Romney (out)

Maryland Obama McCain

Massachusetts Clinton Romney (out)

Michigan Clinton Romney (out)

Minnesota Obama Romney (out)

Mississippi [Mar 10] [Mar 10]

Missouri Obama McCain

Montana [June 3] Romney (out)

Nebraska Obama [May 13]

Nevada Clinton Romney (out)

New Hampshire Clinton McCain

New Jersey Clinton McCain

New Mexico Clinton [June 3]

New York Clinton McCain

North Carolina [May 6] [May 6]

North Dakota Obama Romney (out)

Ohio [Mar 4] [Mar 4]

Oklahoma Clinton McCain

Oregon [May 20] [May 20]

Pennsylvania [Apr 22] [Apr 22]

Puerto Rico [June 7] [Feb 24]

Rhode Island [Mar 4] [Mar 4]

South Carolina Obama McCain

South Dakota [June 3] [June 3]

Tennessee Clinton Huckabee

Texas [Mar 4] [Mar 4]

Utah Obama Romney (out)

Vermont [Mar 4] [Mar 4]

Virginia Obama McCain

Washington Obama McCain

West Virginia [May 13] Huckabee

Wisconsin [Feb 19] [Feb 19]

Wyoming [Mar 8] Romney (out)

Babson College To Install Campus Wind Turbine

Babson Free Press Staff — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:48:00 +0000

Babson College Press Release

Babson Will Be First College In The Greater Boston Area To Generate and Utilize Wind Power

Babson College plans to install a wind turbine on the school’s campus as a demonstration project, becoming the first college in the greater Boston area to utilize wind power through an on-campus installation. Babson joins the growing number of US colleges and universities that have chosen to develop their commitment to sustainable business practices through the use of renewable energy technologies.
Babson will install a residential-scale turbine, the Skystream 3.7 (1.8 kW), manufactured by Southwest Windpower. It is expected to be operational before the close of the spring 2008 semester. Based on production estimates and Babson’s wind resource, the turbine will produce enough energy to supply roughly 60% of the annual energy needs at the school’s entrepreneurship gallery after planned lighting renovations are completed within the space.

More inside the February 19th issue releasing tomorrow!

When Will Your Favorite Shows Return?

Babson Free Press Staff — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:36:00 +0000

[Babson Free Press Print Story]
Source: Amanda Medin
Filed Under: Story - Entertainment
Useful Link: TV Guide Coverage of Returning Shows

So, the writer's strike is almost over. While we'd love to post up a video of our babsonTV team celebrating, we thought it would be more useful to post this link where you can find out when all of your favorite shows are returning.

Check out our print edition coming out later today
for more coverage on the aftermath of the writer's strike!

Buy Candygrams; Support Darfur!

Babson Free Press Staff — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:34:00 +0000

[Babson Free Press Print Story]

Source: S.T.A.N.D.
Filed Under: Announcement - S.T.A.N.D.
Useful Link: Stand Now.Org

Hello, World!

Babson Free Press Staff — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:30:00 +0000

The Babson Free Press would like to send a quick hello to our friends reading from overseas. We hope you enjoy our coverage of what's happening at the #1 Business School for Entrepreneurship, and hope you can join us in making Babson the greatest school it can be, period.

My Top 10 'Common' YouTube Mixtape

Babson Free Press Staff — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:24:00 +0000

[Babson Free Press Story]

Source: Dave Barner - Babson Free Press
Filed Under: Story - Music
Useful Link: YouTube.com, Making All of This Possible

After hearing Common was coming to Babson late last week, I asked a few people around campus how they felt about the artist selection. There were a ton of different responses, ranging from "COMMON'S COMING!!!" to "Uhhh...I'm just happy Third Eye Blind came". Since I've listened to Common for a long time now, I figured it was my duty to make a mixtape for those who haven't heard of Common...for some crazy reason. If you have a video of Common you want to post on our site, let me know. dbarner@gmail.com. Also, check out our issue coming out this Tuesday with a complete review on Common. And, by the way, in case you wondered...I voted "COMMON'S COMING TO BABSON?!" on the Babson Free Press poll!

Track One

Common – Be

Track Two

Common – Start the Show

Track Three

Common – Driving Me Wild

Track Four

Common (ft Erykah Badu) – The Light

Track Five

Common (ft Kanye West) – Southside

Track Six

Common – Take it EZ

Track Seven

Common – The Game

Track Eight

Hi-Tek (ft J-Dilla, Nas, Common, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Marsha Ambrosius) – Music for Life

Track Nine

Common – G.O.D. (Gaining One’s Definition)

Track Ten

Common – Forever Begins

Register Now to Compete in the 2008 Northeastern U.S. Premier Renewable Energy Business Plan Competition!

Babson Free Press Staff — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:24:00 +0000

[Press Release]
Source: Babson Energy & Environment Club
Filed Under: Story - Competition Announcement
Useful Link: ignitecleanenergy.com

What is the Ignite Clean Energy Competition?

Sponsored by the MIT Enterprise Forum Energy Special Interest Group, the Ignite Clean Energy (ICE) Competition began in 2004 as the first organization to stimulate the growing clean energy industry in New England. It provides start-up clean energy companies and entrepreneurs with the opportunities and resources to develop business skills, network with industry professionals and the chance to attract potential investors. The winners will be awarded a total of $250,000 in cash and services.
The competition runs from January-May and competitors receive hands-on support from industry mentors who provide the knowledge and skills needed to attract investors and to build a sustainable company. Students and professionals can sign up to participate in the competition.

Why Should You Sign Up?

The winning teams will be awarded approximately $250,000 in cash and services from participating sponsors. Services range from office space to legal services to public relations services. In addition, teams have received national and local publicity in key publications including BusinessWeek, NECN, and Mass High Tech.
New in 2008, the MIT $100K Business Plan Competition and the Ignite Clean Energy competition have joined forces to provide the MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize. The Grand prize winner of ICE will move on to compete for the MIT CEEPa $200,000 Grand Prize awarded on May 14, 2008. Three secondary prizes of at least $20,000 cash each will also be awarded.

For More Information, visit www.ignitecleanenergy.com

Guess The Celebrity; Win a Fridge!

Babson Free Press Staff — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:21:00 +0000

[Babson Free Press Contest Release]
Source: Babson Free Press Staff
Filed Under: Story - Contest
Useful Link: A picture of a cartoon fridge

photo: notmytribe.com; edit by Babson Free Press
Contest ends April 30, 2008!

Email us with your answer at babsonfreepress@gmail.com
We're giving away a free mini fridge for one lucky winner!

An Environmental Friendly Cartoon!

Babson Free Press Staff — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:20:00 +0000

[Babson Free Press Release]
Source: Babson Free Press Staff
Filed Under: Story - Opinion
Useful Link: Hybrid Cars Wiki

The Perfect Storm for GOLD & the Recession of 2008

Babson Free Press Staff — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:18:00 +0000

Once the facts are laid out on the table, the conclusion is clear.

We are heading for a perfect storm for gold.

Take a glance at the economy today and youll find that all our historically accurate indicators and measures all are saying the same thing: the U.S. economy is transitioning from a growth period into a downward spiral known as a recession. Dont take it from me, ask any economist, politician, or member of the federal reserve and youll see that no one is disagreeing with the fact that we are heading for a recession. The president of the Federal Reserve said himself that we are heading into an economic slump. Further evidence is in the fact that the Fed has lowered their projections for growth for 2008 from 2.5-2.7% to a new projection of 1.8-2.5%

But what does this all have to do with GOLD?

My research on oil, inflation, the dollar, interest rates, and social security all show that these seemingly unrelated economic measures are all important variables in the price of gold. In other words, in order to see where is gold going we must know where the economy is going. One undeniable fact is that gold shoots up when oil prices jump. For the last 30 years (Since gold was put on the free market in the 1970s) the price of gold has had remarkably consistent relationship with oil.

The first and most significant indicator for GOLD: Oil.

Just take a look at the chart for oil prices and put it on top of the chart for gold prices and you will find a remarkably close correlation. We see that the price of gold ALWAYS WITHOUT EXCEPTION follows the price of oil. But why? What is the relationship between Gold and Oil?

The relationship between GOLD and OIL.

Just as you learned in your geometry class that IF A=B and B=C THEN A=C that is the relationship between GOLD and Oil. To understand the relationship you must know that GOLD is an inflationary hedge. This means that gold rises with inflation. This is a historically accurate fact that no economist will disagree with. One thing you will hear is that gold has a time lag behind inflation but nevertheless gold rises as inflation rises. Next, the reader must know that increases in oil prices ALWAYS spur inflation. The reason behind this direct relationship is that energy is the lifeblood of the economy. And because the globe is so unimaginably dependent on oil this means that for at least the next ten years oil is the lifeblood or energy of the economy. Thus, an increase in oil prices takes a cut out of EVERYONEs profits which leads to price hikes to compensate. Now, IF increases in OIL create an increase in inflation AND GOLD keeps up with inflation this means that an increase in oil prices also increases GOLD prices.

So then our discussion turns to oil.

Todays global oil production is at 85 million barrels a day and very close to maximum capacity. Chiefs of the Oil cartel OPEC have admitted themselves that they can not meet the 100 million barrel a day forecast for demand by the end of the decade. Lets not forget that the GLOBAL economy is BOOMING. China, India, Brazil, and the EU are all flourishing which means their irreversible thirst for oil is rising. But it not always was like this. The last time we had a spike in oil prices, America was the only major consumer. Here is the part in my argument that some people stop me to say that alternative energy will come to the rescue and I simply reply that alternative energy as a SHORT-term solution is a myth.

Lets jump into the hypothetical and say that IF ALL the most powerful world leaders today decide that they all want to implement alternative energy instead of oil, that implementation would take ATLEAST 10 years. Leaders in the industry realistically think it will take 30 years. By having these facts about oil on the table we then see that its clear: the demand for oil is surpassing supply. Anyone in economics 101 can tell you that high demand and low supply means feverishly high oil prices. Now if your still not convinced that oil prices will keep going up, you should know that todays oil is not even at an all time high (when adjusted for inflation). The inflation adjusted record for oil is $102 a barrel and we are still not there. If you think that this is new news your wrong because you can read the reports of our past presidents who predicted oil would be $100 a barrel for 2008 or look at the book the Oil Factor by Stephen Leeb PH.D which states that oil will be at a minimum of $100 a barrel by the end of the decade. In conclusion, we see that the strongest indicator for GOLD is oil and oil will be posting high prices for a while.

By some estimates, there will be an average of two-percent annual growth in global oil demand over the years ahead, along with, conservatively, a three-percent natural decline in production from existing reserves. That means by 2010 we will need n additional 50 million barrels per day. Vice-President of the United States Cheney

The second indicator for GOLD: crisis and poor economic health.

Gold is more than a commodity people invest in for it has a psychological value to it to. Gold is seen as a safe place to put your money because you can touch it, its shiny, and has glamorous connotations to it unlike a stock which the investor simply gets a piece of paper. GOLD has always done well when other investments have underperformed, a crisis situation like a war is present, and when the general health of the economy is bad. If the rising prices in oil are not enough to convince you that gold is going up, up, and away, lets diagnose the health of the economy.

Indicators that the Economy is going through a downward trend.

The weak dollar is only getting weaker. Just listen to the reports of the high level executives in our government. They will all tell you the same thing: that the long term strength of the dollar is a priority not the short term strength. The Fed has many different, conflicting objectives to meet which means in order for them to get the economy back on track they are forced to lower interest rates to ease the economic slump we are heading for. Any economist will tell you that lowering the interest rates weakens the dollar and spurs inflation. Interest rates have dropped a whopping .75 points in three months which is huge relatively speaking. So we see that the dollar is weak which is another factor that hurts the economy and helps the price of gold and the economy is experiencing inflation but not only from oil but low interest rates too.

The kicker: Negative Interest Rates.

Now when gold really starts to zoom ahead is when the economy is experiencing what is called negative interest rates. This is a fancy term that just means that interest rates are lower than the rate of inflation. The reason why this formula is devilishly powerful for gold is that because gold keeps up with inflation all you have to do is buy gold and it will out perform the other interest rates in other investments. Essentially, an investor can borrow money to buy gold and the gold will cover the financing costs in addition to making the investor a profit. As interest rates get lower, we get closer to negative interest rates which makes the value of gold go up. And because the economy is going into a recession (as supported by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake) we can expect low interest rates as a tool for damage control just like we saw with September 11th when interest rates dropped to 1% to help the economy back on track.

A real estate market gone south, growing demand for social security, and a stock market that is going downward does not helping the economy either BUT they do help GOLD.

Let me give you a tried and true economic indicator that is very powerful for the STOCK MARKET. Remember we stated above that oil is the lifeblood of the economy and high oil prices means a cut in corporate profits which means increases in price also known as INFLATION. A formula has been come up with that says if oil has over an 80% year to date increase in price that this hike is to much too fast for the economy and the stock market will go down for the next year. But if the year to date price in oil is less than 20% this figure is sustainable by businesses and the the stock market will not go down. Remarkably, this formula has been applied time after time in the last 30 years and has always been true. Because there has been an upward spike in oil we will see the stock market go down for 2008. In fact it has already begun its downward trend with companies like FedEx lowering their projections because fuel prices are simply unsustainable.

But the stock market is not the only soar spot for our economy. In January 2008 there will be 78 million Americans filing for social security. Now wait a second how many Americans are there in total? That Figure is 300 million. That means that over one quarter of American is filling for social security. Where is all this money going to come from?

When the subject of real estate comes up it is the easiest one to understand. The 6 year boom in real estate due to cheap interest rates that were due to a recession in 2001 with September 11 have created an over build of supply. There is so much supply on the hands of America that if consumers buy properties at the rate they are buying today, there is enough homes to last 2 years. Now dont forget about the broken consumer confidence in the real estate market due to sub-prime loans which cost Bear Sterns trillions of dollars and caused for the CEO of Merrill Lynch to be booted. If you search the news for a piece of good information on real estate you wont find it.

War as an economic indicator.

Lets not forget our country is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the war in Iraq. All this spending does not help our economic situation and it hurts an already damaged consumer confidence. Iran is not making the situation better with its nuclear program and its tensions with the U.S. Both of these factors are not going away for a while and both factors help raise the price of gold because they hurt both the economy and consumer confidence.

Lets Talk about GOLDs history

Now you might look at the price of gold right now ($800 an oz)and think that its expensive and that it cant possibly get more expensive. In fact Gold recently hit its 28 year high. But dont forget that the last time gold was valued at $800 an oz was in the 1980s. This means that $800 was worth a lot less than it is today. So when we adjust for inflation Gold is historically NOT cheap compared to its adjusted high of $1,800/oz.

It is important to know a historical fact about gold and that it has a lot of inertia. By this we mean that when it is going up it gallops ahead for years and when it goes down is sinks for years. This means that if gold begins to turn downward we will all know about it. You will never wake up in the morning to see that the value of gold has cut in half. In Conclusion we see that todays economic environment is in fact the perfect storm for GOLD. We should invest in gold.

How to Buy Gold

There are a number of ways to buy gold. I recommend to buy something that is new the market that facilitates commodities trading. See the problem with buying gold in the past has been that you have to worry about storing it. But now you can buy stocks that track the price of gold. These stocks are known as ETFs which stands for exchange traded funds. Search for the ticker symbol GLD or IAU and you will find a stock that perfectly tracks the price of gold. Right now GLD is selling for about $80 a share and gold is about $800. Also, we see that when gold was $600 this ETF was trading for $60.

No one will deny it.

No one will disagree.

You wont even find any information that contradicts the above because they are the facts from sources like The Wall Street Journal, Economics books, and different sources of news.

Thus, we are forced to label a situation like this as a PERFECT STORM for GOLD.

Article from 2005 on Supply and Demand problem of oil
CNN Money Article

Morningstar.com Article

The day after this was posted CNN Money came out with the article below: Here Comes the Recession

CNN Money Article