Lots of topics on my mind. I am finding it more difficult to take the time to blog as much as I have in the past. But here are some topics that have been swirling around in my head: Prudent Bear Fund Mailer
The Prudent Bear fund is a mutual fund that invests with the conviction that stocks are overpriced and going to fall in value. It uses shorting strategies to take advantage of falling stock markets. This fund did very well from 2000-2002 when the markets performed poorly. But from 2003- 2006 lost a lot of money.
I remember receiving a mailer in late 2002 promoting the fund and thinking, "This is probably the beginning of a bull market." In hindsight, this was correct. Well, I received another mailer from the Prudent Bear fund in February of this year. Is this a market bottom?
You can do pretty well as an investor if you avoid buying funds that are being advertised heavily at the moment.
Student Debt
This was a disturbing set of statistics that was posted on a Baylor University sports board that I frequent. The average student indebtedness at graduation of some large Texas universities:
Baylor: $33k
TCU: $24k
A&M: $19k
SMU: $17k
Rice: $16k
UT: $14k
Since only 1/2 of the students that graduate have debt, you can pretty much double these figures to get a better picture of what some students are facing after graduation. I was stressed because I had $8k in debt after graduating from Baylor. But I was able to wipe that out my first year of work after college. $60k would be a much tougher task.
Eliot Spitzer
Spitzer- the governor of NY- and one of the most unpopular men on Wall Street was caught paying for sexual services in a prostitution ring. I have not been a fan of Spitzer for two reasons:
1. He always seemed like a publicity hound. He did things to further his political career and did so behind the guise of rooting out corruption.
2. His "desires" to help the small investor have actually hurt the small investor. Wall Street firms have been forced to turn away clients with less money because it is unprofitable business. More rules and regulations has a tendency to make things more confusing. And this is not a good thing for anyone except attorneys.
I have great compassion for what Spitzer and his family are going through. Spitzer has three daughters 13-18. To see your dad's picture all over the news in a negative light has got to be extremely hurtful to them for years to come. It is a great reminder to me that we should live our lives with such a healthy fear of God that our actions would not bring shame to God or our families.
I am thankful that many sinful things I have done in the past were never "news". God is graceful. This grace should lead us on a path of increasing holiness and decreasing sinfulness.
Oprah's the New Age Cult Leader
No one does more to promote the new age worldview than Oprah Winfrey. Oprah is one of the most influential figures in our society. When she recommends a book, it sells millions. Most of the books she recommends follow the same New Age transcript: Jesus is good. Buddha is good. Muhammad is good. The Universe is good. Secularism is good. We just need to take what works for us and discard the rest.
What is so troubling for the Christian is the number of professing Christians that buy into this nonsense. We lack a good foundation of why we believe what we believe in Christianity. So when someone comes along peddling New Age nonsense, Christians become susceptible.
From Gary Zukav to the Secret to Oprah's latest fad- Eckhart Tolle (author of New Earth), the pick and choose your religious beliefs is a thriving business.
Baylor Basketball
It appears the Baylor men's basketball team is headed for their first NCAA tournament since 1988- my freshman year at Baylor. Scott Drew- the coach at Baylor- has done an amazing job. He took over a program coming off the worst scandal in college basketball- a player murdered (Dennehy) by another player (Dotson) and a coach (Bliss) who tried to cover up a lot of things.
If ever a program seemed like it had a bleak future it was Baylor men's basketball. But Drew- a positive, energetic guy worked recruiting hard and convinced some good players to come to Baylor. Five years later, Drew and his assistant coaches have built a very strong program.
It is what I love about Spring- the reminder of resurrection. What appears dead- trees, grass, Baylor basketball- comes to life again. Just like our bodies will be raised from the dead when Christ establishes His kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
For His Glory,
Ashley Hodge
