September 2011

Are we making a difference? With billions of people around the world still living in poverty there is a lot of work to be done towards achieving our mission; one must not be discouraged. There is a lot of very positive and effective work being done that is and has been improving conditions for millions of people around the world. This month I want to point out just a few accomplishments from our partner Plan International:

 

 

 

Introducing new farming technologies, including; drought-resistant crops, improved farming techniques, helping to design and implement micro-finance schemes for agricultural workers, production of grain banks increase the lifespan of crops through the hungry season

Development of schools and school meal programs

Better access to water and deeper, better water holes

Fighting against disease (eleven countries have succeeded in reducing malaria cases and deaths by over 50% in the past 10 years

 

Plan’s program operates via child sponsorships, however their work does more than benefit the children alone.

Contributions are used to improve the conditions of the children’s’ families and communities, and hence the overall lives and opportunities of each child. Some of the boys and girls that Work For All has helped this month include: Alewiya Abadefa 13 from Ethiopia, Umesh Gayan 16 from Sri Lanka, Antonio Perez 14 from El Salvador, Mitu 12 Bangledesh, Luz Rodriguez 11 from Columbia, Winnie Agolla 17 from Uganda, Marcy Martinez 13 from Nicaradua, Elube Mafukeni 17 from Malawi, Dayer Velasque 15 from Peru, aid Hassan 14 from Sudan, Aid Hassan Ahmed 14 from Sudan, Yapeno Sissou 13 from Benin, Paul Sawer 18 from Ghana, Nejat Abateman 13 from Ethiopia, Martine Sawadogo 13 from Burkina Faso, Faruk Abagojam 11 from Ethiopia, and Rosalie Sawadogo 11 from Burkina Faso Although we have a ways to go before completely achieving our mission to end systemic poverty in the world great work is being accomplished towards our mission. Even if all of our work together helped just a few families, I think it would be worth it; and the facts are that we are already helping a lot more than just a few.

 

Investologist Prognostication

 

Jeremy Leonard

 

 

Dear Reader: In August I built a paper portfolio of stocks and trusts that are paying dividends and have skilled management teams. As August turned into September, I have watched these great stocks drop in value. Wow – I am glad I did not pull the trigger and lose 5% of my capital! But the companies I chose are making tons of money. Clients must be buying their wares, or where is the money coming from? The media reminds us every day to be worried about unemployment, public debt, and higher taxes. I recognize these problems, but believe that they are really out in the open, lagging, not leading indicators, and therefore factored into current pricing. It has worked out for me to drag my feet right through September, but I think the bottom/buying opportunity is just around the corner. Counterpoint – Gordon Pape is preaching caution: “Although we are not officially there yet, it appears we are headed into our third bear market in this century. As of the close of trading on Friday, Sept. 23, the S&P/TSX Composite Index was at 11,462.87, down 19.7 per cent from its peak for the year of 14,270.53, reached on April 5…how deep can it go? If recent history is any guide, we could see the TSX fall to the 7,000 to 7,500 range before the bear goes back into hibernation. Using the interactive charts on the Yahoo! Finance website, I found that during the high-tech crash that opened this century, the TSX fell from 11,388.82 at the end of the week of Aug. 28, 2000 to 5,935.33 for the week of Sept. 30, 2002. That was a drop of 47.9 per cent. In the 2008-09 credit crisis, the Composite fell from 14,984.20 in the week of May 12, 2008 to 7,591.47 in the week of March 2, 2009, a loss of 49.3 per cent.” Gordon Pape, Monday, September 26, 2011. I travelled today from Kona to Edmonton, and we arrived to beautiful fall colors; reds, yellows, and greens with plenty of leaves still in the trees and no snow in site yet.