Mid-Week Miscellany:

We had a backyard BBQ at our house this past weekend. There were eight adults and fourteen children under the age of thirteen. There was one bloody nose, one bloody knee, countless bug bites, one nose run-over by a wagon (yes--a different nose), more than a few meltdowns (mostly by my eldest), and one Jedi council. It was hot. Really hot. We enjoyed it and thank all who came.


I make a habit of watching Gardening in Georgia on PBS whenever I can. A few weeks ago the host, Walter Reeve, was talking with one of the many experts from UGA that he has on the show. The expert, I forget his name, remarked that gardening is a hobby of hope; people who garden have hope and continually look forward to the future. They plant now for the beauty they will see next year or even years hence. I like that.


For the tags of my last Miscellany, I whimsically added Orlando Bloom. I have received at least five hits so far from that tag.


When I first taught economics in 2001, I created an in-class stock market simulation to introduce students to the stock market. Students were assigned roles as clerks, brokers, mutual fund managers, or investors. In two or three days of class time, we simulated about three months of stock activity using random events and trends calculated on rather complex charts. I no longer use the simulation now that I use Virtual Stock Exchange, but I came across my fictional company descriptions and cannot pass up the opportunity to record them for posterity here:

Stock Market Research
Corporations

Bates Motel (BaM):
Bates Motel is a Detroit, Michigan based low cost motel chain. Founded in 1956 by Albert Hitchcock, the chain now has 243 motels in 47 states. Their motto, “Bates Motel: Where we don’t murder your budget,” was adopted by their controversial new CEO Alice “Mother” Bates. “Mother” Bates took control of the chain from her son in 1997 in a hostile inner-family feud. Since then, the company has focused on cutting costs and slashing overhead to cut the red ink on company statements. Seventeen struggling motels were closed in 1997 with another twelve getting the ax in 1998. In 1999, Bates reported their first profit in seven years though customer service complaints have risen dramatically. About half of the Bates chain is owned by franchisees, the other half controlled by the company directly. In January 2001, “Mother” Bates announced plans to expand into the Central and South American market, where, she said, “We can make a killing”. Negotiations are under way for expansion into Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, Panama, and Peru. Analysts are generally divided on future earnings potential because of the risky nature of overseas expansion.

Bevrolet Motor Company (Bev):
Bev McGee founded Bevrolet Motor Company in 1923 as manufacturer of drive trains. Bevrolet was later acquired as a subsidiary parts supplier for Chevrolet in 1956. The company broke from Chevrolet in 1972 and continued to market parts to a wide variety of companies including Honda, Subaru, Ford, Chevrolet, and Mitsubishi. In 1994 the company began automobile production with their line of Bamaros. In 1997 the company launched, with much fanfare, the Urban line of Sports Utility Vehicles. While the Bamaro line remains strong, the Urban line has failed to live up to expectations. The directors of the company continue to play up the new line of 2002 Urbans which, they say, will rewrite the book on SUVs. The company has failed to make a profit since 1993 because of the massive investment in the Barmaro line and Urban line. The parts division of the company also appears to be in trouble as many auto manufacturers do not like to buy from competitors. Mitsubishi cancelled their contract last year and Honda, Subaru, Ford and Chevrolet are considering the same measures. Analysts generally advise against buying this stock. The stock reached an all time low of $7.50 last week.

Croaka-Cola (CrC):
Invented in 1943 by California Entrepreneur Michael McGee, Croaka-Cola has slowly improved regional market share in the competitive soda industry. Dominant in the Southwest during the 1950’s, Croaka-Cola almost went under due to pressure from Pepsi. The removal of asbestos from the secret recipe of Croaka-Cola in 1963 led to its rejuvenation. Since then Michael McGee has established an unprecedented 15% share of the soda market in the South West. In 1990 the Croaka-Cola Casino opened in Las Vegas. A theme park like atmosphere and family oriented gambling have made the Casino the crown jewel of McGee’s empire. Though rumors of the company being bought out by one of the big players continued through the 90’s, the still spry at 89, McGee maintains a firm grip on the company. The company’s goals for the new millennium include nationwide expansion and national distribution of the casino’s microbrew Croaka-Beer and Croaka-Stout.

Ezzon Oil (Ez):
One of the great American oil producers, Ezzon was formed when Standard Oil Company was broken up early in the twentieth century. The company today has holding worth over $250 Billion on all seven continents. Though the company experienced severe public relation troubles following the wreck of the Ezzon tanker Baldez in 1988 and the ensuing clean up, the company has emerged with a sterling image as eco-friendly. The company continues its efforts at overseas exploration for new oil resources. Recently the company, in partnership with a Russian firm, has spent large amounts of money in the exploration of Siberia. The company continues to report big profits and most fund managers include this stock in their holdings.

MacroSoft (Ma):
This software giant, founded by nerdy genius N.O. Dates, has gained near worldwide monopoly status with the dominance of its operating system “Doors”. Dates, the richest man in the United States, has been criticized for unfair business practices and the company is presently under investigation for the violation of federal anti-trust laws. Dates continues to fight the investigation and is confident that nothing will come of it. However, US President Bill Cantax has made it his personal goal to break up the software giant. Stock prices have dropped dramatically over the past year as details of the investigation have been made public. Pre-sales of the new Doors 2-ought-2 operating system to be released in two-months have been strong.

Melta Airlines (Me):
This Atlanta based airline giant continues to find ways to make a profit while other airlines have gone bankrupt. Many point to the companies’ positive relationship with its employees and its well-timed acquisition of smaller, nearly bankrupt airlines, as the key to its success. The company is the second largest airline in the world. The present CEO Roberta Burns has been credited with the company’s success and its outstanding relationship with labor.

Nile Books and More (Nil):
This Internet book superstore has yet to show a profit though it still remains strong on Wall Street. Stock prices have consistently risen since its IPO in 1996. Analysts predict that its present dominance of Internet book sales will lead to future profits. Niles plans include expansion of their CD, DVD, Video, and Game catalog as well as potential ventures into computer sales. Some analysts warn that the stock may be overvalued and that unless the company begins showing a profit soon the stock could fail dramatically.

Pacific Steel Corp (Pac):
This storied company has somehow managed to stay afloat through the lean years of the steel market in the United States while most steel company have folded. Recently the company has been hurt by imports of cheap Korea and Russian steel. Pacific’s complaints to the government concerning the unfair business practices of the Korean and Russian steel makers have gone unanswered. Despite this Pacific remains the world’s leader in the high-grade and high-tech steels that the company has begun to focus on in recent years. PSC continues to make huge investments in Research and Development has recently announced several breakthrough methods of high-carbon steel and stainless steel production. Though still in the red the company is on solid financial ground and has recently signed contracts for several high-tech steel projects. While some analysts see the low cost of the stock as a bargain others see it as too great of risk.

Pepe Inc (Pep):
The Pepe corporation includes the Sugar High Candies division, the Big Blots chain of discount stores and the AutoMax chain of used car dealerships. The company’s diversity has proven to be both a strength and a weakness. While the company as a whole has been able to weather the bad times of one of its divisions some think that the company would be better off focusing on one thing. Recently the AutoMax chain has experienced difficulties achieving sales goals and several unprofitable locations have been liquidated. Big Blots continues its expansion and is considered the keystone of the company. Sugar High Candies, the original holding of the company continues to maintain 5% market share of candy sales nationwide.

Old Army (OA):
This peppy upstart came out of nowhere in the 90’s and quickly carved a large chunk out of teenagers’ wallets. With its mix of low overhead, low costs and stylish clothing the company has experienced unprecedented success. Profits remain strong and a new initiative of loss-prevention aims to cut losses to theft. Old Army plans on opening 53 new stores in the coming year.

Shoehorn.com (SHC):
This recent IPO has recently dropped significantly in price. The internet shoe store has experienced difficultly marketing to shoppers used to being able to try shoes on for look and fit. Return rates have been high and have bit into the small profit that Shoehorn was able to post last year. The company is presently looking for investors to shore up the shaky finances.

SuperMegaWorld Corporation International (SMW):
This massive world wide corporation presently consists of: Zabisco, a snack food maker, Tall Tower Records, Galaxy Pictures, Media Two stores, and the Dizzy World entertainment complex. The company was originally the brainchild of Walt Dizzy and the antics of his frisky rat “Ricky”. The Ricky Rat name soon became a household name after World War II and was the star of a number of animated short films. Dizzy World opened in Orlando, Alabama in 1963 and has since become the entertainment capital of the world. Since then the company has acquired its other holdings and solidified into an entertainment super giant. Success of its films and store locations have boosted profits in recent years. Rumors swirl around the filming of the massively over budget and past due “Titanic II: The Revenge”. Many fear that the first film to cost over $1 Billion could very well sink Galaxy pictures.

United Business Machines (UBM):
One of the pioneer computer manufacturers and once the bluest of the blue chips, UBM has experienced difficulty converting from a hardware manufacturer to a software developer and service oriented firm. After a massive restructuring in the 1990’s and massive layoffs in the 1980’s the company, smaller and smarter, appears poised to make big gains playing on its well-respected name. Profits, though small, have returned to the company and the stock is making a rebound.


Peace
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Monday Miscellany: Profit and Loss

In February my Economics students began a stock simulation provided free of charge by the good people at Virtual Stock Exchange. Students are given virtual dollars (I gave them all $100,000) and then invest it in real stocks that follow the prices, rules, and trends of the real stock market. I announced a series of prizes including bonus points on the final exam for first, second, and third places.

The real problem with the simulation is that the limited time scale encourages short-term trading as opposed to long-term investing. While the simulation is limited (or maybe because of its limitations), students have been instantly and almost universally engaged. They have popped into the media center between classes to check stock prices, they constantly beg me to check the stocks on the class computer, and a few have developed Dow Syndrome (a sudden illness, usually brought on by the surreptitious checking of stocks on cell phones) and have had to rush to the bathroom in an emergency only to find themselves feverishly sell Google in the computer lab. Many of my students haven't talked this much to their fathers since they were in elementary school. A couple of students bought Playboy and Anheuser-Busch shares on the first day. I had to make them sell the shares and add new rules to the game, but the incident led to a good discussion of ethical investing (the consensus of the students: if it makes money, it's ethical).

True, some of those that fell behind early abandoned the game. Even so, most of the students continue to make at least an occasional transaction. To encourage those who seem to have quit, I told them that whoever places in the 31st position will win a cookie (the 31st position is the first position on the second page of rankings--what we call President of the 2nd Page Club). Fighting has become fierce for third place (first and second seem locked up) and for the cookie position. The game will conclude in eight days. Here are the top players as of the closing bell today:
1. Hayden
+195.21%

2. iwantcandy07
+175.79%

3. sasquash
+107.16%

4. MoneyLoseingMackinleymehhhhh
+94.92%

5. The Woobie
+31.17%

Your eyes do not deceive you. One of my students has made almost 200% since February! I guess I am just that good of a teacher. I should say that I am that good of an Economics teacher since they clearly can't spell.

Anything could happen at this point. Up until last week, we all thought sasquash or MoneyLoseing... would win but Hayden and iwantcandy07 both went way out on margin and bought a bunch of a pharmaceutical stock at $1.07 that went to over $4.00 in one day. MoneyLoseing... made most of his money by typing in funny words or IM messages into the symbol finder. He put in "HA" and bought $200,000 of Hawaiian Airlines. He made about $30,000 on that deal. Sasquash wants a cookie instead of the bonus points.

All-in-all, I have never seen so many second semester seniors so excited about something at school.



When I first started my blog, I promised myself that I would never apologize to my readers if I went too long between postings. I had read too many other bloggers who seemed to start off every post with "Sorry it has been so long, but life has been so busy" or something to that effect. The blogs usually died soon after. The last posts of many a blog in the blograveyard begin, "Sorry, but." I vowed to never let that happen. I thought it would be far too easy to let my writing go for a while and then pull out the "life's been busy" excuse every time I needed it. It would encourage my lazy side too much.

Last month was the first month for which I will not have an archive because I did not post. I do not offer an apology, but I do feel that I owe an explanation: I have been looking for a new job since February and have either focused my energies or seen my energies drained by that effort. In addition, March is research paper season at my current school, and it takes an intensive effort by the teachers to make it a successful project. The good news is that I have found a new teaching job and the research papers are done so I shall be posting more regularly in the near future. Instead of an apology, I offer my thanks for continuing to drop by during my drought.


Speaking of droughts, I took my son camping for his first time over Spring Break. The Georgia DNR knows that in times of extreme drought, all they have to do is call the Chintzibobs family and ask them to go camping and the state will be assured of a copious, all-day, all-night rainfall. The DNR rarely makes this call because they know that invariably, with that rainfall comes severe weather, possible tornados, and disaster proclamations by the governor. This trip was no exception. I see that this Miscellany has become much too long so I will save the full story for another day.


Peace

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