Weekly Economic Update Compliments of C.W. Copeland

C.W. Copeland & Associate presents

Weekly Economic Update for the Week of September 21, 2009

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Quote of the week. "Laughter is inner jogging."

- Norman Cousins

Healthy retail sales numbers. While a 10.6% jump in auto sales spurred the 2.7% August leap in this category, retail sales were up 0.6% for the month with cars and gasoline purchases factored out. Sales were still 5.8% below August 2008 levels.¹

How tame is inflation now? The Consumer Price Index ascended 0.4% in August, according to the Labor Department, after a flat July. But the real story was year-over-year: CPI fell 1.5% from August 2008 to August 2009, influenced by the huge drop in retail gas prices. Core CPI rose 1.4% over that same period, the smallest rise in more than five years.²

Manufacturing may berecovering. The Federal Reserve announced that industrial output increased for the second straight month in August. The 0.8% gain beat the estimate of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who forecast a 0.6% increase. Producer prices climbed an unexpected 1.7% last month (core PPI rose 0.2%) and business inventories shrank by 1.0% in July.^2,3

Housing starts rise 1.5%. The statistic mostly reflects multifamily construction. August apartment starts were up 35.3%; single-family starts fell 3.0%.⁴

Gold & oil advance. While the dollar came back from multi-month lows against the yen and euro last week, gold hit a new 2009 closing high Wednesday ($1,020.20) and settled at $1,010.30 Friday. Oil futures ended the week at $72.04 per barrel.⁵

Stocks climb 2% higher. Last week, the economic data stream added credence to the summer rally. The S&P 500 came in at 1,068.30, gaining 2.45% for the week. The DJIA closed at a new 2009 high on Friday: 9,820.20. The NASDAQ finished at 2,132.86 Friday.⁶

% Change	Y-T-D	1-Yr Avg	5-Yr Avg	10-Yr Avg
DJIA	+11.89	-10.88	-0.90	-0.91
NASDAQ	+35.25	-3.01	+2.33	-2.57
S&P 500	+18.27	-11.46	-1.07	-2.00
Real Yield	9/18	1 Yr Ago	5 Yrs Ago	10 Yrs Ago
10YrTIPS	1.68%	1.94%	1.85%	4.06%

(Source: CNNMoney.com, ustreas.gov, bls.gov, 9/18/09)^7,8,9

Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends.

Riddle of the week. You buy 10 shrubs. How can you plant them in five rows with four in each row?

Contact my office or see next week's Update for the answer.

Last week's riddle:Name three words in everyday English that begin with the letters "dw".

Last week's riddle answer: Any three of these five words will do: dwell, dwelling, dwarf, dweeb and dwindle.

C.W. Copeland

"Your Personal CFO"

404.567.3275 (cell)

www.PhDinMoney.com

Leadership

Take what you feel is useful and remember A bad leader manages, a good leader walks by example, a great leader inspires and sometimes is extraordinary in their ability to not stand out!

Here is a hard question - are you a leader or are you in fact so behind that you think you are ahead?

TO EVERY GUY

To every guy that's said, "Sex CAN wait"
To every guy that's said, "You're beautiful."
To every guy that was never too busy to drive across town to see her.
To every guy that gives her flowers and a card when she is sick or down.
To every guy who has given her flowers just because thats how he rolls.
To every guy that said he would die for her.
To every guy that really would.
To every guy that did what she wanted to do.
To every guy that cried in front of her. ....
To every guy that she cried in front of...
To every guy that holds hands with her.
To every guy that kisses her with meaning.
To every guy that hugs her when she's sad.
To every guy that hugs her for no reason at all.
To every guy who would give their jacket up for her.
To every guy that calls to make sure she got home safe.
To every guy that would sit and wait for her for hours just to see her for ten minutes.....
To every guy that would give his seat up...
To every guy that just wants to cuddle.
To every guy that reassured her that she was beautiful no matter what.
To every guy who told his secrets to her.
To every guy that tried to show how much he cared through every word and every breath.
To every guy that thought maybe this could be the one.
To every guy that believed in her dreams.
To every guy that would have done anything so she could achieve them.
To every guy that never laughed at her when she told him her dreams.
To every guy that walked her to her car and opened the door.
To every guy that gave his heart.
To every guy who prays that she is happy even if you are not with her.


Not many girls appreciate nice guys anymore...
And because of this, there are not many left out there...

I guarantee 90% of the men on your page will not repost this cuz they care more about their image

If you are a nice guy repost this with:
"This is how every girl should be treated."

If you are a girl that thinks every guy should treat a girl this way
repost this with: "To Every Guy

Social Media – how to grow your following and friends!

Social Media – how to grow your following/friends!

I have gotten many questions especially on twitter about how do you build a big following. The answer is simple – know why you are using the form of social media. While this material is applicable to most any form of social media this particular post focuses on twitter.

People often get frustrated because they start out and do not have hundred of people following them and as a result some quit, some get frustrated and others become negative and yet the answer is sort of simple – looking are your material – would you follow yourself?

So you want a big following – here is the first thing you here?

Is it

• To learn about different people and cultures around the world?
• To promote your business or personal brand?
• To share what is going on in your life with your friends?
• To problem solve with your peers?
• To keep track of the news and politics?
• Other?

Once that question is answered you can build a simple strategy around it
Lets assume you are here to build your business brand.

• What is your business?
• Who is talking about the things of interest to you?
• Are you tweeting them?
• Are you following them?
• When they share something profound are you retweeting them?
• Do you share new and current events that you find interesting and that impact your business?
• What would other people gain by following you?
• Are you communicating well?

A dynamic to consider is twitter is global and fully democratic – people can opt to or not to follow you based on if they personally feel you bring them value. This value is determined by the follower be it your style, conversation or information you share. Next combine that with the fact that you have 100s of countries and thus different cultures and languages. While Tweetdeck and others programs allow you to translate you should still have a working understanding of that language and as well as the culture to ensure you what you communicate is received as intended.

So, here is a simple step by step

1. sign up for the social networking site – like twitter
2. search for people who have similar interests and engage them
3. Follow or connect with those people
4. Retweet or share information that they provide that you find interesting because others may also
5. Respond to those who make a direct quest of you
6. Use tools to like truetwit.com or what ever works for you to cut down on robots and spam followers
7. Listen and pay attention to what the people communicating with you are saying
8. Conduct yourself in a manner to respect those you interact with
9. Repeat steps 2-8

Granted they are people who simply say follow or indicate these people but the question is why would anyone want to. On twitter I would tell anyone feel free to follow 99% of my followers because each has something unique to offer ranging from business insights, cultural insights, food, motivation, wellness and health, community development, poetry, spoken word – it all depends on what you are looking for.

Here are some tools that will help you along with some background on my stream to help you along
http://search.twitter.com/ - Twitter search
http://seesmic.com/ - Seemeic
http://tweetdeck.com/beta/ - Tweet Deck
http://crackberry.com/twitter-roundup - blackberry twitter clients
http://theappleblog.com/2008/12/03/12-twitter-apps-for-the-iphone/ - iPhone twitter clients

Here are some sample search results
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=social+media – Social Media
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=health - Health
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=relationships - Relationships
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=marketing - Marketing
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=business – Business
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=poetry – Poetry
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=movies - Movies

As for what I base this post on or if I am even qualified to offer suggestions – simply review my stats and decide for yourself these suggestion have merit
http://twittercounter.com/lspearmanii
http://twitter.grader.com/lspearmanii
http://twitteranalyzer.com/ms.aspx?userId=lspearmanii
http://mrtweet.com/lspearmanii?me=

Here is a link to various tools to help - http://mashable.com/2008/05/24/14-more-twitter-tools/ - Twittermania: 140+ More Twitter Tools!

On Dec 20, 2008 I had 149 followers and I think I can safely say I consistently have more than 1000 now. Each followed me for different reasons – reasons as unique as they are and I respect each one of then. Also I learn a little something everyday from each of them so it is not

Granted could have posted trick and other strategies to build a large following but that is not a secure one – you want people who have a genuine interest in you. In summary – you have to answer why you are doing what you are doing and then set a plan in motion and your following will grow.

As for my followers - I recommend 99% of them - they discuss topics ranging from community development, poety, technology, business, politics, law, ethics, motivation, spoken word and a myrid of other interesting topis.

If you have any questions or need further detail feel free to contact me directly

Guy Kawasaki: What Makes Innovation?

At Cisco Live in San Francisco, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, author of "Reality Check," talks about the four qualities of innovation that he believes all successful products need. They are: deep, intelligent, complete, and elegant.

There are some powerful thoughts in this video

Business for Sale

My friend Dewey Yeargin is considering retirement and is looking to sell his manufacturing business.

This is the Realastic side of Dewey’s business. It is a prosthetic manufacturing facility www.healthrelatedproducts.com with national and international clients and sales. Among others, we have clients in Germany, Finland, India, Canada, Australia and South & Central American countries

This may be a huge deal for someone with energy and new ideas.

Dewey has been ready for retirement for quite some time. $500,000 is the asking price, but it is negotiable and getting more so every day.

They plan to keep the medical distribution business. The tremendous mold inventory alone is valuable enough and the customized breast prosthetic is a marvelous with huge franchise-worthy potential…for someone with fresh energy. if you want more information contact Despina Yeargin and she will send more information.

Strategic Planning

Cost Effective Problem Solving

Some may consider this common sense and yet so few give it thought - remember insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results!

Effective Goal Setting

This is simple but powerful and as such is something people so often miss - it is the difference between focus or hit and miss

A brief thought

Thinking about business on 12seconds.tv

why do you do what you do?

Key Traits of Social Entrepreneurs

This is a powerful message and something to consider. Remember this single thought - most people who were successful were looked on as strange outsiders at some point.

This is an interview with John Elkington, Founder and Chief Entrepreneur, SustainAbility. Social entrepreneurs are generating impressive results -- and capturing the imaginations of business people and public policy makers.

Surviving a Downturn

Somethings to consider in today's economy - enjoy this food for thought

Weekly Economic Update Compliments of C.W. Copeland

C.W. Copeland & Associates presents

Weekly Economic Update for the Week of September 14, 2009

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Quote of the week. "The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel Boorstin

Consumer mood brightens. The preliminary September Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey came in at 70.2 Friday, above the 68.0 expected by economists and much improved from the August reading of 65.7. The measure of current conditions (i.e., consumer feeling about personal financial situations) went up to 71.8 from 66.6 in August. The consumer expectations reading (will things be better or worse six months from now?) rose to 69.2 from 65.0.¹

Beige Book shows improvement. The Federal Reserve's roundup of nationwide economic conditions showed 11 of 12 Fed regions enjoying either growth or stability (the St. Louis region was the exception). The Beige Book noted that businesses in most Fed regions were taking a "cautiously positive" view of the economy.²

Inventories continue to shrink. Wholesalers reduced them by 1.4% in July to the lowest level in three years. July 2009 was the best month for wholesale sales since June 2008: they rose by 0.5%.³

Gold's record close: $1,006.40. Gold futures closed at a new all-time high on the NYMEX Friday. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index touched a 2009 low on Friday and lost roughly 2% last week as interest picked up for riskier assets. As for oil, crude futures fell down to $69.29 per barrel at Friday's close (a 3.68% week-ending drop) on concerns over reduced demand and worries about inventory buildup.^4,5

The rally resumes. Slight Friday losses didn't erase much of last week's Monday-Thursday gains. The S&P 500 advanced 2.59% for the week to 1,042.73.The Dow finished at 9,605.41 Friday. The NASDAQ wrapped up the week at 2,080.90.⁶

% Change	Y-T-D	1-Yr Avg	5-Yr Avg	10-Yr Avg
DJIA	+9.45	-15.99	-1.37	-1.29
NASDAQ	+31.95	-7.85	+1.97	-2.79
S&P 500	+15.44	-16.52	-1.44	-2.29
10YrTIPS Yd	-30.57	-4.79	-2.62	-5.17

(Source: CNNMoney.com, ustreas.gov, bls.gov, 9/11/09)^7,8,9

Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends.

Riddle of the week. Name three words in everyday English that begin with the letters "dw".

Contact my office or see next week's Update for the answer.

Last week's riddle:Can you name two perennial vegetables? (That is, vegetables that don't need to be replanted and that can live on to produce in a future growing season?)

Last week's riddle answer: Rhubarb and asparagus.

Regards,

C.W. Copeland

"Your Personal CFO"

Atlanta Planning Group

Lifestyle Management Division

3715 Northside Parkway

Building 200; Suite 490

Atlanta, GA 30327

404.816.1153 ext.540

404.601.9534 (fax)

www.PhDinMoney.com

In Memory of Alvin Tabor

Nicole Rocher Wright

Hello Friends & Family of Alvin Tabor.

Over the past few weeks, Ma Tabor has mentioned to me that she is not on Facebook and would love to be able to preserve the many wonderful comments and sentiments about Alvin.

Facebook is a wonderful way to connect, but it does not preserve, and in a situation like this I would like to request that you take a moment and go to the link below to cut and paste all of your Facebook comments and upload all of your photos so Kelli, Ma Tabor and their family can save them to read when they are able to take all of this in.

Please send this to anyone you know who knows Alvin.

http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=4466897596471

... Read More

Godspeed

Nicole Rocher Wright

Weekly Economic Update for the Week of August 31, 2009

C.W. Copeland & Associates presents

Weekly Economic Update for the Week of August 31, 2009

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Quote of the week. "In a society of super-sophisticated communication, we often suffer from a shortage of listeners." - Erma Bombeck

Wages flat, but spending up. So says the latest data from the Commerce Department. Consumer spending rose 0.2% in July (the third straight monthly gain, in line with economists' forecasts). Personal incomes were flat for July and 2.4% below levels of one year ago.¹

New home sales way up. They increased 9.6% for July, the fourth straight monthly gain. According to the Commerce Department, the sales pace hasn't been this strong since September. Inventory is shrinking: roughly 271,000 new homes were on sale at the end of July, a low not seen since March 1993.²

More demand for hard goods. July was a great month for durable goods orders. They rose by 4.9%, a third straight monthly gain powered by an 18.4% jump in transportation orders. Inventories fell by 0.8%.³

Taking the consumer's temperature. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rebounded from a quite dismal 47.4 in July to 54.1 this month. The final August Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was 65.7, hardly changed from July's 66.0 mark.⁴

Good days for oil & gold. A decline in the dollar certainly aids the commodities markets. Gold finished the week at $958.80 per ounce on the NYMEX; gold futures gained $11.50 Friday, and silver, copper and platinum also advanced. As for oil, prices crested above $75 a barrel last week, with futures settling at $72.74 Friday in slight retreat from that 2009 peak.⁵

Low volume, languid week. With so many traders on vacation, the last full week of August was quiet on Wall Street. Make that quietly positive: the S&P 500 advanced 0.27% last week to 1,028.93, the NASDAQ gained 0.39% to reach 2,028.77, and the Dow gained 0.40% in five days to close at 9,544.20 Friday.⁶

% Change	Y-T-D	1-Yr Avg	5-Yr Avg	10-Yr Avg
DJIA	+8.75	-18.53	-1.28	-1.39
NASDAQ	+28.64	-15.88	+1.79	-2.65
S&P 500	+13.91	-20.89	-1.42	-2.37
10YrTIPS Yd	-23.14	+10.13	-1.08	-5.04

(Source: CNNMoney.com, ustreas.gov, bls.gov, 8/28/09)^7,8,9

Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends.

Riddle of the week. Name a sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the winner until the match ends.

Contact my office or see next week's Update for the answer.

Last week's riddle of the week. Name a vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked or in any other form except fresh.

Last week's riddle answer: Lettuce.

Regards,

C.W. Copeland

"Your Personal CFO"

www.PhDinMoney.com