Blogomatic

And we’re back

jamiel — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:35:48 +0000

But the market isn’t.

I’ve taken a long hiatus from blogging, partly due to new uptake at work and now school. I’ve used the time off to organize my thoughts around the purpose of the blog. Herein, I will blog about various subjects but will have three generic themes: Business, Entrepreneurship and Investments. In between all of this I’ll inject in mentionables related to things I have come across personally but that may not fit cleanly into these categories.

BTW, an update on prior entries: Exited AAB-WT @ 7.55 for +$1.32. 2 x 3fam in Far Rockaway is for sale!

Hello world!

jamiel — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 19:49:45 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

RE Update

jamiel — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:28:00 +0000

Here is a pictorial update on the property development in Far Rockaway

Pissy Fans

jamiel — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:53:00 +0000

From a blog reader, italics are not mine:

Dude.. the Fan-Club’s been getting real pissy.. they want their update on the blog.

Definitely feeling the love !!

Oops

jamiel — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 23:03:00 +0000

THB Central bank retracts..

Thai central bank’s new policy on THB

jamiel — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 22:29:00 +0000

Arriving in Bangkok a day ago, I purchased THB/USD @ 35.12 (if I used $100USD notes, the rates are lower if you have smaller denominations) from a local exchange center. Talk about bad timing! Today Thailand’s central bank introduced a 70/30 policy for currency exchanges over $20,000 to curb overvaluation and volatility causing THB/USD to touch nearly 36 THB. The policy requires 30% of inflows to be placed into a local financial institution and allowing only 70% to be exchanged. Short-term inflows went from $300M a week last month to $950M a week this month, raising concerns that harkened memories of 1997 – although then it was devaluation that was the concern. Thailand’s exports are feeling the currency appreciation pinch. However, this policy will do very little to stave off the exchange inflows and we will see the THB continue to appreciate despite this weeks price hiccup.

Portfolio

jamiel — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 03:23:00 +0000

Great Steak with a side of Stolen Laptop

jamiel — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 20:19:00 +0000

BLT Steak has thieves!

Had dinner at BLT Steak at 57th and Park Ave., hosted by a friend (dinner cost him around $700) a few weeks ago. On the way out, I forgot my shoulder bag and returned the next day only to find that the laptop in there is gone! The laptop is $3,500 Sony Vaio (the really thin one) . So I’m going to sue them. More on this story in a few days.

Made in Japan

jamiel — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 00:19:00 +0000

So how many a people do you know that own an offshore hedge fund, FX trading firm, radio station, magazine publication and is in the process of setting up a political think tank in DC with two Japanese ex-PMs? Neither did I, till I had dinner with a benefactor of one of the the tech companies I’m working on strategy with. Toshio Masuda runs several companies and has become somewhat of a celebrity in Japan for his investment advice. Naturally, I had to ask what he thought about the oil and the dollar. His opinion was that the oil would get cheaper and the dollar would strengthen in the short-term. Then, somewhere in Nov/Dec, the dollar would continue to weaken well into next year. Oil would shoot back up early next year. He indicated that the BOJ would offload a bajillion USD and that Japan would look to start to militarize itself in preparation for a 2010 showdown with China and Taiwan.

The lady in the middle is Toshio’s wife Mariko Eriji, who runs several businesses herself including coffee that can only be found at Harrod’s in the UK (She brought me a few boxes of it, good stuff).

As I have been told, Toshio starts every morning in a somewhat ceremonial way, bring his 400 people strong company together where he talks at length about his analysis of the capital markets. Every day, as I understand it.

On a side note, the tie I’m wearing is the same tie I’m wearing in the other pic below, so if you draw the conclusion that I own only one tie you are correct.

Property Development (Update)

jamiel — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 03:31:00 +0000

Some more pics from the 2 x 3 family houses we are building. The project is nearly complete and the houses are on the market (in case you are buying, let me know).

The land as purchased (Early 2006)

The foundation and the initial framing

The front of the two houses. The train station on the right runs the A and C lines, 25 minutes into NYC.

The front is complete structurally (above and below pics), brick layering comes next.