FedEx: Sign of Growing Hope For the Economy

FedEx Sees Sign of a Turnaround

Package delivery giant and U.S. economic bellwether FedEx is seeing signs for a potential turnaround in the second half as production seemed to be picking up again, German magazine WirtschaftsWoche reported.

Michael Ducker, in charge of FedEx's international business, told WirtschaftsWoche in an interview to be published on Monday that the downturn was easing and its ternationally transported volumes had not fallen further compared with the previous quarter.

"Production seems to be picking up again worldwide," he was quoted as saying.

He added that FedEx was aiming to save about $1 billion in its current financial year by, for example, taking out high fuel consuming planes, and by cutting working hours and maintenance costs.

FedEx was not planning on cancelling any of its plane orders, Ducker told the magazine.

Like its main rival, United Parcel Services , Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx is considered a bellwether of U.S. economic activity.

CNBC

Service Industry Showing Signs Of Hope

The Service Industry, which comprises of almost 90% of our economy, is coming close to an end in contraction and the beginning of growth.

Service Industries Probably Contracted: U.S. Economy Preview

Leading Indicators Signal Recovery

This is a really cool site at the NYTimes. Go through the slides and you will see that the industrial production almost always follows leading indicators and the leading indicators seem to be close to the recovery phase! Even though the article says the recovery is going to be prolonged, the chart seems to show positive signs.

Turning A Corner?

Carnival of Investing Strategies #15

Welcome to the 15th edition of the Carnival of Investing Strategies. This is a carnival focused on different strategies of investing your money. If your article was included, please be sure to link back to this carnival. If you want to make a submission for the next edition, the form is here. Sorry about the delay, but I hope you enjoy the extra long carnival to make up for it!

Jim presents Comparing Fixed Annuities & Certificates of Deposit posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Wren Caulfield presents Adventures in Cake, Installment One posted at True Adventures in Money Hacking, saying, "Invest in yourself by starting a home-based business and use your talents. Here's how I'm doing it."

Ricky Dee presents Mutual Fund Investing posted at Stock Market College - Investment Advice & Stock Tips.

Rick presents Retirement Investing posted at Stock Market College - Investment Advice & Stock Tips.

The Dough Roller presents Zecco Online Stock Trading for Free posted at The Dough Roller, saying, "See why Zecco is one of the highest rated online discount brokers around, and how you can still get 10 free trades every month, even in an IRA."

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Should You Contribute to a 401k Without an Employer Match? posted at Cash Money Life, saying, "Why you should invest in your 401k even if your company doesn't offer a matching contribution."

Savings Toolbox presents Should You Switch to a Credit Union to Save? posted at Savings Toolbox.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents ETrade Online Brokerage Account: Top Broker Review posted at The Digerati Life.

Nickel presents Pay Off Mortgage Early? Or Invest? posted at fivecentnickel.com.

The Smarter Wallet presents Learn How To Invest: Develop An Investment Plan posted at The Smarter Wallet.

Freddy presents Bullish Stock According To Technical Analysis On May 17, 2009 posted at Protege Analytics.

Britannica Blog presents Recession Over? (Harley-Davidson: +140%; Winnebago: +170%) posted at Britannica Blog, saying, "If the stock prices of companies like Harley-Davidson and Winnebago selling luxury, discretionary items like $35,000 motorcycles and $140,000 RVs are rebounding by +100% over a two-month period, at 4-5 times the increase in the S&P500 Index, does that suggest that the recession must be over?"

Kathryn presents Getting into the Real Estate Market posted at Out of Debt Christian, saying, "The prices are right and the added incentives by the government have many people eyeing the real estate market. It is important to take your time and review your situation completely before getting in too deep."

ChristianPF presents IRAs: Roth vs Traditional posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, "Looking at the benefits of the ROTH ira and traditional ira"

Zach Scheidt presents CME Trades Higher on OTC Regulation posted at ZachStocks, saying, "Geithner has proposed new regulation for the OTC derivatives markets. Oversight of these contracts would likely benefit clearing firms like CME Group and IntercontinentalExchange"

Michael Haltman presents Does CNBC Know What A Bid and Ask Are? posted at The Political and Financial Markets Commentator, saying, "This hopefully makes some sense, but the point is that investors need to understand what is happening and the way that markets work, because in many instances the "experts" on television do not and are not."

Michael Cintolo presents How to Find the Hidden Values in Today’s Market posted at The Iconoclast Investor.

Dave presents The Money You Could Have Made posted at Cheapo Groovo.

Steve Patterson presents Goldman Sachs Group (GS) - Increased Profit Estimates posted at FastSwings, saying, "Buying Goldman now and holding until their earnings announcement looks like a winning strategy."

Kristjan presents A New Bull Market for Uranium posted at Personal Development for Awesome People.

Dan at Everydayfinance presents Sucker's Rally: For 34% since March, Call Me a Sucker! posted at Everyday Finance, saying, "With esteemed economists referring to current investors as 'suckers' in a Sucker's Rally the question is - for 34% since March, are you willing to be called sucker?"

Vahid Chaychi presents How to Use MACD or Moving Average Convergence / Divergence in Forex and Stock Trading posted at SirForex.com, saying, "MACD is one of the most important and reliable indicators in forex and stock trading. MACD helps the traders to take a position on time and to stay with the trend and maximize their profit. It also prevents them from going against the trend."

Kristjan presents Investment Opportunities in the Uranium Mining Sector posted at Personal Development for Awesome People.

One Family presents eBay (EBAY) – Stock Analysis posted at One Family's Blog.

Bank Savings Review presents More Restrictions to Repaying the TARP posted at Bank Savings Review, saying, "The government have spoken. No one will be able to repay TARP until we say so!"

ABC presents Investment Time Horizons for Retirees posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, "A short and concise analysis of retirement asset allocation possibilities."

Jim presents Who Can Invest at Lending Club? posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

MoneyNing presents Let Businesses Deal with Sales Tax - Government Improvement Series posted at Money Ning, saying, "Government really needs to improve on somethings and I say to let businesses deal with sales taxes!"

Barry presents Bull-Bear Royal Rumble: Bear To Assert Presence Soon posted at Jeflin's Investment Blog.

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents How to compare online brokers posted at Cash Money Life, saying, "Tips on how to find the best online brokerage for your needs."

Patrick @ Military Money presents Roth Option for TSP Close to Reality posted at Military Finance Network, saying, "A new investing option for military members and government employees is about to become a reality."

The Smarter Wallet presents Stock Market Index Analysis: Predicting An S & P Reversal posted at The Smarter Wallet.

Nickel presents SIPC Insurance Coverage: What Happens if Your Broker Fails? posted at fivecentnickel.com.

The Dough Roller presents Best Discount Brokers for Online Stock Trades and Option Trading posted at The Dough Roller, saying, "A review of the top online discount brokers"

Zach Scheidt presents Capella Education (CPLA) | ZachStocks posted at ZachStocks, saying, "Credit Card reform may benefit some consumers, but could restrain business. Look for opportunities to short card processors as the business will be under pressure."

Diego Cervantes presents The Amero Currency: Myths, Facts and 25 Great Resources for Further Research posted at Bankling.

Verna Morris presents How to Build Your Own Ivy Endowment Portfolio Using ETFs posted at ETFdb.

Freddy presents High Dividend Yield Stock For Income Investors (May 27, 2009) posted at Protege Analytics.

Wealth-Ed presents Can American Banks Bounce Back posted at Wealth Education - Investment Ideas Personal Financial Advice.

Jared presents General Growth Continues Restructuring Efforts posted at Wealth Education - Investment Ideas Personal Financial Advice.

Heather presents The Ultimate Guide to the BRIC ETFs | ETF Trends posted at ETF Trends, saying, "Many investors might know about the BRIC countries, but do they know how to invest in them? There are dozens of options when it comes to exchange traded funds (ETFs)."

Bank Savings Review presents FDIC is Running Out of Money but You are Safe posted at Bank Savings Review, saying, "FDIC is running out of money for sure but your money is probably still safe even if your bank goes under."

Silver Investor presents How To Buy Gold Through Your Brokerage Account posted at Gold Investing Info, saying, "Many want to buy gold but do not want to own the physical bullion."

Jack Schmidt presents Diversity Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, "Personal Finance - Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you're on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It's for you!"

Dividends4Life presents Is Now The Right Time To Start Investing? posted at Dividends Value, saying, "Over the last six to eight months, there have been several prognosticators saying the market has finally hit bottom. In most cases they were quickly proven wrong as stocks continued to decline. What’s an investor to do? When is the right time to start investing?"

Darwin presents The Riskiest ETFs on Earth - 3X Sector ETF Short/Long posted at Darwin's Finance, saying, "With investors are enamored by weekly returns in excess of 20%, this article demonstrates the destructive and volatile nature over time of the Riskiest ETFs on Earth - 3X sector ETFs."

Caterina Christakos presents Making Money in the Stock Market posted at Forex and Currencies Explained.

Praveen presents Three Stock Picking Ideas From Forbes Magazine posted at My Simple Trading System.

ChristianPF presents 3 keys to safe investing posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, "Three things every investor should be doing if they are trying to maintain safe investments"

Jim presents Basics of Retirement Investing posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Glowing Face Man presents Short Term Assets vs. Long Term Assets posted at Glowing Face Man: Awaken the Badass Within, saying, "Longterm investment and passive income are all the rage these days, and for good reason. But it's also possible to go too far. Sometimes, short term beats long term."

The Dough Roller presents Morningstar User Guide posted at The Dough Roller, saying, "A comprehensive guide to making the most of Morningstar's tools and resources."

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents ShareBuilder Review posted at Cash Money Life, saying, "A full review of ShareBuilder, one of the most popular online brokerages for long term investors."

Patrick @ Military Money presents CD Ladders Are a Good Choice for Short Term Investments posted at Military Finance Network, saying, "If you need the money within the next few years, you don’t want to take much investment risk. CD ladders and savings accounts are a great choice."

Brian McKay presents CD Rates: Your Actual Rate of Return on a CD Investment These Days posted at MonitorBankRates.com, saying, "CD Rates: Finding decent CD rates is challenging these days, when you factor in the rate of inflation the return isn’t as bad as it seems"

Britannica Blog presents How an Inflation Threat Could Make the 1970s Look Like Happy Days posted at Britannica Blog, saying, "When the U.S. financial system seemed on the brink of collapse last fall, Washington undertook the largest monetary rescue in history. The $750 billion allocated to shore up failing banks and AIG was only the beginning. The Federal Reserve has made available hundreds of billions more in assorted “lending facilities.” Many details, including the exact cost, have been kept secret. Some educated guesses put the number at $2 trillion."

The Writer presents Diversification is NOT Dead posted at WeSeed, saying, "Some people think diversification is dead...but is it just another scare tactic to sell us something we don't really need?"

Manshu presents List of Gold ETFs posted at OneMint.

Barry presents Is This Stock Market Rally For Real? | Jeflin's Investment Blog posted at Jeflin's Investment Blog.

ABC presents Stock Prices Do Not Represent Stock Value (or Company Value) posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, "A lower priced stock isn't "cheap"."

Four Pillars presents Is Dave Ramsey A “Financial Expert” posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, "A discussion of Dave Ramsey and his methods."

KCLau presents Why Robert T. Kiyosaki is a best-selling author? posted at KCLau's Money Tips, saying, "Robert T. Kiyosaki is the best personal finance author I follow. I started reading his books back in 1999. Although some reviews you found written by readers on Amazon say that he keeps repeating most of the points, I still find them interesting every time. It works as a revision whenever he repeats."

Darwin presents 2009 Stock Market Returns by Country YTD posted at Darwin's Finance, saying, "This article highlights where the hottest market returns stand YTD (many 50-80%), which ETFs to use and what's next in emerging markets."

Bob Brooks presents A Better Way to Invest Than Buy and Hold Investing posted at Bob Brooks - Prudent Money Blog, saying, "If there was an investment strategy that always worked, then all of this would be easy. That is just not the case. Buy and hold doesn’t always work."

Praveen presents Sometimes You Bend Your Trading Rules... posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, "Taking an early profit to ease your comfort in a volatile market."

Jim presents A Typical Day in Life as an Independent Trader posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents What is investing? posted at Cash Money Life, saying, "The difference between investing, saving, and trading"

The Dough Roller presents How to Avoid a Mutual Fund’s Minimum Investment posted at The Dough Roller, saying, "Here's an easy and inexpensive alternative to a mutual fund's minimum investment requirement."

Tushar Mathur presents Long Term Investing posted at Everything Finance, saying, "Investing has its own language and understanding it can make it easier to be a confident investor. Two common terms you hear when people talk about investing are "bid" and "ask." here's an explanation of what they mean."

Britannica Blog presents NY Times: "Buy American" Is a Terrible Idea posted at Britannica Blog, saying, "“It’s not surprising that Democrats in Congress could not resist adding a “Buy American” provision to the fiscal stimulus bill earlier this year. It might seem sensible (or at least politically useful) to ensure that taxpayer dollars would be used exclusively to support American jobs."

Stephen Todd presents Trading Stocks With A System posted at Buy Stocks.

Investing School presents A Great Inflation Indicator posted at Investing School, saying, "Here's a seldom talked about but great inflation indicator. Check out the video."

Stock Trading Brokers presents Zecco Zirens | Educational Trading Videos posted at Stock Trading Brokers, saying, "Zecco Zirens consists of attractive ladies teaching investing basics. Check them out here."

Tyler Tervooren presents My Journey to Become a Green Investor - Part 4: The Final Decision posted at Frugally Green, saying, "This is the final installment of my journey to become a green investor. After copious research, I have finally selected the best fit for me, explain my decision making process and reflect on the month of research done to allow myself the peace of mind in selecting an investment that I won't need to fret about."

ABC presents Safe withdrawal rate for retirement funds - 4% rule posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, "How much can you withdraw from your portfolio in retirement? The 4% safe withdrawal rule explained."

Jim presents Smart Money 2009 Best Online Brokers posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Patrick @ Military Money presents Tax Advantages of 529 Plans posted at Military Finance Network, saying, "Tax advantages for the 529 College Savings plan."

The Dough Roller presents How to Profit from a Stock Market Crash posted at The Dough Roller, saying, "How to profit when the stock market goes down. HINT: It's really easy."

MoneyNing presents Turbocharge Your Savings with Certificate of Deposits (CDs) posted at Money Ning, saying, "Certificate of Deposits are boring but it's a guaranteed way of capital preservation!"

Mike presents Beware of the Double Dip posted at Great Depression Version 2: Bear Market and Economic Depression, saying, "The stock market may be up, but that does not mean the end of the recession is necessarily near."

Tony presents How A Certificate Of Deposit Works posted at Understanding Certificate of Deposits, saying, "Ever wonder how a bank CD actually works?"

Michael Cohen presents Don't Bet On A Soft Landing Into The New Normal posted at Debt, Economics, Boom and Bust, saying, "There are those predicting a new normal of 1-2% economic growth. We will likely not ease our way into that sort of situation."

Chris McClelland presents Stocks to Retire On posted at Lucrative Investing.

Investing School presents The Rule of 72 posted at Investing School, saying, "A neat mathematical trick to calculate when your investment will double!"

Tom Escent presents Introduction to Nerds on Wall Street posted at Quantitative Finance, saying, "Think of this book as sort of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to Wired Markets. There are no robots parking cars for six million years, but there are robots trading millions of shares in six milliseconds, so maybe that’s close enough."

Susan Saverton presents 9- Efficiency of Personal Investing Strategies posted at Pasadena Financial Planner, saying, "When pursuing optimal financial planning and investing strategies and controlling your costs and capital gains taxes, you also need to establish a time-efficient system to monitor, adjust, and adhere to your financial plan. You need to control and limit the time that you spend on your financial planning, and you need to focus your planning efforts on the most effective activities."

Noload Bonds presents Bond Mutual Fund Fees posted at Bond Market Index Funds, saying, "Simply put, if you pay higher bond mutual fund fees, then these bond management expenses tend just to be a deadweight loss to you. The best bond fund buying strategy is to pick only very low-cost no load bond funds."

Top 10 Index Funds presents Top 10 S and P 500 Index Funds posted at NO LOAD INDEX FUND, saying, "Buy these top 10 very low cost no load S&P 500 index mutual funds directly. You do not have to pay the heavy added expenses of buying through a stock broker, financial adviser, investment adviser, or investment counselor."

JJ presents Understanding Risk and Investments posted at Investing and your Future, saying, "Risk with investments is less cut and dry than you may think."

ChristianPF presents How to save more money to invest posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, "Tips to help you find and save money to invest...."

Ben presents Day Trading VS Long Term Trading posted at Money Smart Life.

The Dough Roller presents How is the Dow Calculated? posted at The Dough Roller, saying, "See how the components of the Dow are selected and how the storied index is calculated."

Greggdavey@verizon.net presents Ten Important Lessons From the History of Mergers & Acquisitions posted at M&A Blog.

Manshu presents iShares Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index: IDV posted at OneMint, saying, "iShares Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index (IDV) is a relatively smaller ETF with just $47.26 million of assets under management. As the name suggests it tracks an index that is based on high dividend yield stocks. It is invested in stocks that are outside US and are primarily present in Australia, UK and Hong - Kong."

Barry presents Buy Gold To Keep Up With Inflation posted at Jeflin's Investment Blog.

Stephen todd presents Investing - day trading systems posted at Currency Trading.

Praveen presents Two Recommended Stocks: ATVI and WOOF posted at My Simple Trading system.

ABC presents Should I Invest In Dividend Stocks (and what are they?) posted at ABCs of investing, saying, "An explanation of dividend stocks and why you might want to invest in them."

Investing School presents Passive Investing Convert posted at Investing School, saying, "Passive investing is really wearing on me!"

Tushar Mathur presents Can't Control the Markets? Try controlling the Costs posted at Everything Finance, saying, "As 2008 proved, the financial markets are prone to unpredictable periods of turbulence. That can make investing feel a bit like a roller-coaster ride. The disappointing results that many mutual funds posted in 2008 and at the outset of 2009 may have left you feeling concerned over your financial future. You're not alone."

ChristianPF presents Should you convert your IRA to a Roth in 2010? posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, "This article discusses the advantages of a Roth conversion in 2009 and in 2010..."

Nickel presents Index Mutual Funds vs. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Stephen todd presents Stock Market Trading - Investment Portfolio And Trading Strategy posted at Buy Stocks.

ABC presents Some Index Funds and ETFs Are Not Diversified posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, "Some ETFs and index funds are too specific and risky for a passive investor."

Jim presents Best Options Broker Review posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

ChristianPF presents Using a Roth IRA as an emergency fund? posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, "Is it a good idea to use your Roth IRA as an emergency fund? The answer may surprise you..."

AIG Explained

This is a really good article at Vanity Fair explaining what exactly happened at AIG that caused it to crash.

The Man Who Crashed The World

Market Correction?

A lot has happened since I took a break from blogging... actually not really. The market has pretty much moved no where. At that is precisely the point. All these market analysts, who may I remind you made mistake after mistake in 2008, losing tons of money for their firms, are saying that we are due for a huge correction. Well, I don't believe that. My view may be slightly biased because I am an inherent optimist, but what can I do about that? I take negative view points about the U.S economy into consideration, but even then I still see a bright future. Here is why I don't think we will have any major correction.

The stock market can create and destroy wealth like no other. People can make more money in the stock market in one month, than the amount they would have made in years of working. Minor day to day movements in the stock market create and destroy billions, if not trillions, of dollars of wealth in the world everyday. Where else would you ever see that being done? Just as the stock market can create money for us to live off of for retirement, pay for a new house, college tuition for our kids, or a vacation, the market can also destroy that money. And that is what has happened this past year. In fact, the market has destroyed so much money, that only the market can bring it back. It would take this generation of people years and years to rebuild that wealth by just working in jobs alone. And it is for that reason alone, that more than ever in history, we are so desperate for a rally. So we can create billions of dollars a day, instead of losing the billions of dollars a day we have become accustom to as of late. We got a rally, a historic one, but the problem was, it came from no where and not enough people were in the market at the time to take advantage of it. Yes, it is true that in history, after such a huge market rally, we typically see a correction. But I want to remind people, that there is no law that says history has to repeat itself. Just because the correction happened before, does not mean it is going to happen again. More importantly, this rally has something that no rally has had before. It was a rally that people desperately needed, in order to retire and to witness their dreams again. But it is a rally that most people missed. Now, people are fearful of missing the next leg up, and there will be one. This economy has show signs of significant improvement and the market has not priced it all in yet. And the only way we will get back to our living standards before this recession will be through the stock market creating wealth again.

The analysts on wall street are forgetting the enormous power that fear has in controlling the market. Fear of the financial collapse drove this market to the ground. But now the fear in the market is a different fear. It is a fear that you will miss the next rally, and you will not be able to attain back the wealth you had prior to this recession in your life time. And it is that fear that will prevent any correction from happening. At any sign of a small downturn, buyers will swoop in, seeing this as their opportunity to get back into the market for the next leg up. In my opinion, this is the strongest factor that will prevent a significant correction. It is a fear that we have not witnessed before, fear of missing out on market gains, not of the market going lower.

Another thing that is annoying me is that every analyst I hear says they think that the market is going to have a correction, but then go up again. In case they were sleeping during their economics 101 class, I think they forgot that is not how prices work. You cannot believe that prices will fall a little tomorrow, and then the day after they will go up a lot. If that is the case, that prices today will automatically adjust to the farthest outcome, in this case the day after tomorrow's market gain. You can't say that the market is going to correct itself in July, but then go up again in August. Prices will just adjust automatically to the expected gain in August right away, bypassing any July correction. And that is what most analyst have been saying, correction before we go higher again. That does not make economic sense. At all. If it is KNOWN to go up in August, why would it bother going down in July... If you think a significant correction is going to happen, you can't think the next day there is going to be a sudden upward trend.

Unemployment hit 9.5% today, better than the expected 9.6%. I don't know why everyone suddenly panicked about it, it is priced in and assumed by all that the unemployment rate is going to go north of 10%... so why is 9.5% such a surprise. Most CEOs have said that business has bottomed out, and as their business bottoms out, they will slow down layoffs. For the 90% of people who still have their job, they are living in fear of getting laid off. Because of that fear they are not spending any money and really clamping down the economy. But as that fear goes away, as the unemployment rate growth begins to slow down, that fear will go away and spending will bring this economy back. We used to have the unemployment rate jump by .5 percent, but now its only .1. Obviously, it can be argued that the labor market is in more peril that a simple .1% gain in unemployment. But the important thing is that a .1% gain doesn't seem as scary as some of those other gains we have had. And that matters a lot because the 90% of employed people need to stop being fearful and need to get out and spend because odds are, your job is safe. And once that spending goes up we will see the recovery we all want.

The market has had a month to correct itself and its only gone down 5%. Given that we don't get any fundamental change, the market is not going get down much lower. We had a huge downturn today and I heard some analyst on CNBC bragging about how he called the downturn for a month. Well I am glad after a month of saying it, he finally got his downturn. That is like telling someone for a 100 years that one day they are going to die... eventually you will be correct but that doesn't make it a good prediction.

Hello Again

After a month long hiatus, the Penny Daily is back!