Greg Saunders

Okay AR...can we talk for a moment? It's official! After the meeting of the G20 all of the World's Governments are now focused on "fixing" the problems at all costs. Hmmmmm...so when did government get bigger than the market? Don't know. Back to the G20 in uno momento.

First...what you may or may not know is that recently the Financial Accounting standards Board (FASB) suspended its rule #157-e...the Fair Value Rule. Basically this rule requires banks to value their assets using a "mark-to-market" method. Not sure what mark-to-market valuation is all about...go back and check out an earlier post of mine. Anyway, the FASB reports that the new measure purports to guide asset holders who mark their holdings to market through a two-step process to help them decide "whether a market for a financial asset that historically was active is not active and whether a transaction is not distressed."

Okay so hurdling all the legal mumbo jumbo this basically means that banks now have greater flexibility and can use their own valuation methods. This could lead to reduced bank write-downs and boosts to their net income. However, what scenario have we created by allowing these institutions to mark up prices on assets? Are we not attempting to expose all these toxic assets and further create incentives for investors to buy them up? Is this more lying to investors and taxpayers to shore up the financial markets bottom lines so they can report higher earnings? On the other hand, if the new changes caused some growth on bank balance sheets..does it not make sense that they should be in a better position to lend? Regardless of either way is Valuation not the real problem here? Did the lie on wall street stem from utilizing the face value of assets? Got you scratching your head now, right?

While you're checking your scalp, back to the G20. President Barrack Obama stated at the G20 meeting last week in London that, ".....he came to listen and not to lecture" Yes...listen we all should, and watch very closely. Talk of US economic supremacy is now being replaced with collaboration, diplomacy, and cooperation. Yeah you saw the picture of President Obama with Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, China's president Hu Jintao, and the President of Italy, Georgio Napolitano looking like a reunion of old frat buddies. But did you get past the smoke and mirrors to see some of the things that were really going on...How about talks of a New World Reserve Currency!

Oh but the Oligarchs are at it again! Just to bring you up to date an economic alliance has been formed between Brazil, Russia, India, and China back in 2008. The B.R.I.C. nations represent the 4 largest oil production countries in the world lead by Russia. (You probably didn't know that Rusia produces even more oil that the Middle East) Essentially, what is happening is that with the US national debt soaring at over $11 trillion and expected to grow another $10 trillion over the next 10 years, some countries are worried. China hold $2 trillion in foreign reserves with two-thirds of that in US assets. Then came the announcement that the central bank was to buy $1.1 trillion in securities. Xie Xuren, China's Finance Minister, and Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of China's central bank are becoming increasingly vocal as one of the world's emerging and evolving economies focused on reshaping the global economic landscape.

Of course with this type of bulging debt, a concern UN panel has publicly stated that the world should replace the dollar. Not only that, China, Russia and its partners have all called for the establishment of a New International Reserve Currency. Oh no folks, this consortium won't be be looking for something based on the gold standard but more so on something that would allow oil to be reflected independently. Remember, under the OPEC agreement oil has been traded in US dollars since 1971. Opps..of course there are always pundits. Remember, Iraq switch to trading oil in euros. Iran has been asking customers to pay in non-dollar currencies and have converted all its oil export payment to non-dollar currencies. Hugo Chavez has little love for the dollar and Venezuela has been bartering with oil.

Could the rise of the Euro be partially the reason for the Iraq attack? Check back to 2002. Saddam Hussein may have seal his doom when he announced in 2000 that Iraq was no longer going to accept dollars for oil and decided to switch to the euro. Even stranger, this change somehow missed being reported by the big media conglomerates. By the way, the dollar was reinstated again about mid 2003. However, what has been revealed is that there was active Pentagon planning for operations against Iranian suspected nuclear facilities. Okay, Okay we all know the publicly stated reasons and consequences for Iran housing "weapons of mass destruction." What you did not know was that Iran had the ultimate nuclear weapon aimed at the financial system of America.... The Iranian Oil Bourse. Just think about it, Iran was about to commit the mother of all sins....creating its own exchange to compete with the US NYMEX and London's IPE when it came to trading oil.

Getting back to B.R.I.C...in a surprise move at the G20 meeting, China suggested the world move towards greater use of the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights, created by the IMF in 1969 as an international reserve asset. The expansion would include the rouble, the yuan, oil,and gold.

Now I'm sure we can all make a point about what will come to past and maybe even predict what is about to come. Perhaps we will all be partially right. But the truth be told, the Chinese and Russians are taking the first steps to plant the seeds at the G20 that the US is jeopardizing the dollars as the world currency by printing massive amounts of money. So while thousands of blokes in London gathered to protest at what some feel is the epicenter of financial hijinks, I can't help but to ponder on the fact that the financial structure of the US is truly broken and what will be the repercussions to the average guy like me; or why the lack of oversight and greed that was allowed to fester and permeate for such a long time.

How can we trust anyone? The security and investment community contributed $146 million in campaign
contributions and the banking industry added another $34 million. How do we stop the Bernie Madoffs, Mark Dreiers, and AIGs of the world who use fixed financial reporting, payoffs, corrupt elected officials and fear to perpetrate their criminality. All for the love of money. But alas..these folks and opportunities would not exist if not be for greed disguised as the American Dream that allows the average person to become the next rape victim and the rising professional to become a criminal.

Come on already....it's April you've been blogging consistently but you say you still aren't feeling any love on Active Rain? Don't worry, Keep Blogging!

I have to admit it...I felt the same way until just recently. Yeah, I've been diligently blogging for awhile now just like you. However, this last month, I really pushed myself and wrote 8 posts. Not only did I write 8 post but I wrote 8 very good posts. I have to tell you what happened as a result in the last few days is truly a testament to the fact that organically if you continue to add good content your blogging will pay off.

Let's see..on March 30th I decided to write my blog about the threat of the "April Fools Virus." Of course, this virus posed such a threat that there was a mass outpouring of news and information on the virus and how to protect your computer. Just the day before I watch the 60 Minute segment which gave a different slant on the virus and the hacks that are responsible for the development of these viruses. Wala! That was my inspiration and I began to do more research. I posted my piece on the 30th and immediately it began to get hits like crazy. To be exact, I received over 200 hits to my blog in just 2 days!

Stay with me now...As a result of all the activity to my blog, when I went to Yahoo Search (April 1st) and
plug in "Conficter Virus"my post was not only on the first page but in the first position! On Google I was amazingly on page 2 in the 4th position! Not only that but two other post entitled "AIG..Next Big Box Office Hit" (posted 3/23/09) and "Grammy-nomics: The Impact of Music on the US and Our Economy" (posted 2/9/09) also started getting a good deal of traffic. Now what you should know is that even with this high volume of traffic none of these post received more than 4 comments from the AR community. I've also never had one of my blogs featured...at least not yet!

Now I do have to give credit to Active Rainer Lisa Udy from Logan, Utah that introduced me to a way to find out who was reading my blogs; where they lived; what search engine was used; IP addresses; their actions, ect. Now I'm sure you have heard of google analytics and may have some idea of how it works. Well Lisa introduced me to Get Clicky (www.getclicky.com) and to boot it was absolutely free! Thank you again Lisa! To make a long story short I attached it to my AR blog and now I've become totally addicted to it. But for the first time, I feel in control and I can work on improving the performance of my blog.

So where am I going with this story? Right back to the basics. The difference between a good blog and a great one is...content! However, I take my blogging one step further through injecting humor, metaphors, music, television, and cinema similarities to help present material and situations in a way that people can comprehend, relate, consider, and hopefully perform further research to come to their own conclusions. Yes...sometime the material may be esoteric but I try and make my post informative because there is so much happening all around us that we don't understand. My style, although unique to most, has transcended my stint in Corporate America where I used the same tools to teach, mentor and prepare other for leadership and management roles. More than likely your style will be the product of your frame of reference. Don't worry newbies like wine.....it gets better with time.

Folks, there is no doubt that we have seen stark changes in the economy. In retrospect, the real estate industry is changing and evolving due to all the financial shifting and technological innovations. It almost seems like a changing of the guards. Further, probably what work yesterday, may not work the same today or even at all! Gone are the day of Realtors being just order-taking waiting for the phone to ring. Realtors who refuse to change and stick to their old business models will soon find out that the only thing certain is...CHANGE!

So, as you plan to write that next blog....choose your content carefully, do your own research, and be
sure to keep abreast of changes happening all around...especially in your market! Heck, you got quite
a few thousand resources right here at AR. Also, don't be ashamed to be you. The more you blog, the
better you'll get at it! Remember persistence pays $$$$$!!!!

So don't worry be happy folks....But most of all keep blogging!

Hey Peachtree City and AR friends, as you know April Fool's day is normally full of playful pranks, and plenty of tomfoolery but the prank on this April 1 is a real threat to millions of computers. Well, you may not have heard about it until recently on the news or 60 Minutes but a virus call Conficker C, threatens come out of dormancy and take over your computer on April Fools Day. The virus is said to be able to disabe all your security programs and then proceeding to steal all your personal information. In fact, CBS reported that it had a recent fight with this virus which took them 10 days to find and isolate. Does Conficker C pose a viable threat? All I can say is that everyone needs to at least be prepared.

How can this be you say? Well from what I heard the "worm" may be already on your system laying dormant in a Window file in an important system folder. It was reported that the "worm" spreads through malicious websites, unreliable downloads and infected USB drives. Once triggered, the virus will take over making it impossible for you to start you system even in safe mode or go to websites to get anti-virus software. What is even scarier is that now that your computer is vulnerable, it can now be controlled by the entity that created the virus.

CNN reported that this virus has infected between 5 to 10 million pc's!! Microsoft has a bounty of $250,000 out for anyone that can tackle the virus and located the creator. Don't take this warning lightly. It is believed that the first strand of Conficter was created out of a free function for security programs by MIT Computer Science professor, Dr. Ronald Rivest and has been around since 2008.

The biggest shock that I heard yesterday on 60 Minutes was that a huge number of "viruses" were created by gangs of hackers in...Russia. Not only that....the hackers were kids. The only thing that was even more astonishing than a 14 year-old kid resorting to this type of malicious behavior was that these hackers actually advertised their viruses openly on the web!

The last piece of information I want to send out to everyone is that although this virus may pose a very viable threat, there will be all kinds of vendors out there soliciting their anti- virus software that is probably bogus. That's right folks, hackers have found all kinds of ways not to make money. So check with Microsoft or an experienced software expert for more advice and information. The best of the best have been working on protecting us...Let's hope its in time!

Boulignini Shoes and Accessories located in Peachtree City, Georgia is a virtual artist studio featuring conversation-starting accessories. The boutique exudes a stylish sense of surprise offering shoes, boots, handbags, belts, jewelry, and unique one of a kind accessories created by local and international designers and artisans.

Shoe connoisseurs will find styles by Donald J Pliner (their #1 seller!), Vaneli, Frye, Oh, Matosse. Deer,
Dr. Scholls, Deer, Uggs, and Carlos Santana. By the way, shoes have gone green too! While you are there, check out the stylish J41s, a shoe made by Jeep featuring partially recycled rubber! Boulignini also has it in the bag with a sumptuous array of handbags by Donald J Pliner, Hobo, and Sandra Roberts to name a few.

One of most unique jewelry collection at Boulignini I found was part of the Leakey Collection called "Zulugrass Jewelry."This luminous jewelry collection is actually natural grass beads dyed in over 200 rich color combinations mixed with sparkling Czech glass beads. Multiple colors of the handcrafted 27″ single strands are combined and worn in a wide variety of styles as necklaces, chokers, anklets, bracelets, belts, and home accessories. This jewelry is lightweight, water resistant and durable. Did I also mention that the elastic used was created to suspend Tobey Maguire in Spiderman!

The wonderful story of Zulugrass takes us to the Great Rift Valley of Kenya and Tanzania which is home to the Maasai people. Tall, proud and graceful people adorned in colorful clothing and ornaments, the Maasai have kept their traditions intact such as herding cattle and living off the land as the modernized world continue to develop around them. A terrible drought lasting several years, ended in 2001 devastating their pasturelands and their livelihoods. The men were forced to herd their cattle hundreds of miles away leaving the women to feed, clothe and educate their children.

Enter Phillip & Katy Leakey who had been living among the Maasai in the Kenyan bush. They came up with an imaginative idea that would utilize the excellent beading abilities of the Maasai women, and it used grass, an available sustainable resource, as the primary element. Soon the women were harvesting grass, one blade at a time. The long grass was dried and cut into bead-size pieces and dyed lovely hues - blues, greens, reds, yellows, pinks, purples, earth and natural tones - which were then strung into necklaces and bracelets. The Leakeys added brilliant Czech glass beads to their designs, mixing them wit the soft luster of the grass beads and giving sparkle and a contemporary flair to the jewelry. Zulugrass was born.

Philip and Katy Leakey's inspiration gave birth to Zulugrass - the beautiful jewelry handcrafted by experts, the Maasai women of Kenya. Zulugrass continues to provide much needed and desired opportunity for these wonderful women and their families. Over 1,000 women handcraft Zulugrass jewelry, for the opportunity to have their own income to better their lives. Local artist have gone a step further by providing beautiul assessories to compliment this beautiful jewelry. This is a must see collection! But don't wait too long Zulugrass is a popular item at Boulignini's.

The Couture's connoisseur and Entrefashionista is Marie Egan. Marie, a former tennis instructor and founder of the Ball Tennis Club in Peachtree City, has owned the store since 2002 and since the move to their new location several months back she has doubled the amount of floor space to accommodate their growing business! Stop in Boulignini's and you will be greeting by any of the 8 amazingly helpful consultants; Jeny Carroll, Kim Clayton, Denise Martin, Kit Gregg, Debbie Gregory, Sylvia Quijano, Katie Craggs, or Mindy Belote.

Guys, if you see your wife's closet filled with shiny black shoe boxes you know she is a Plinerholic and more than likely a Boulignini client. That reminds me it's time to check my wife's closet again!

For more information contact:

Boulignini -Shoes & Accessories
312 City Circle
Peachtree City, Georgia 30269
770-632-1085

Looking for a great place to shop but tired of the same ole shopping mall experience? How about checking out The Avenues in Peachtree City, Georgia?

The Avenues At Peachtree City offers shopper a different experience with a more open-air feel to its upscale shopping experience. Come enjoy the small town feel of this community with its unique architectural appointments such as sprawling green landscaping and ornamental arrangements, park benches and ornamental lamp posts, bronze sculptures, and those sparkling fountains giving the Avenues a modern feel and a fresh urban flavor.

As you take a stroll on the beautiful promenades you will find a host of beautifully decorated storefronts reflective of the swank and sophisticated styling of local and national merchants. However, the developers and architects, Cousins Properties took pain-staking measures to evoke parameter and the diversity of the stores and shops contributed to the overall design intentions of this magnificent shopping mecca.

Getting hungry? Well the selection of speciality restaurants is awe-inspiring. In fact, some even offer bistro and outdoor seating. The environment of The Avenues At Peachtree City reflects the convenience you seek, and the ambiance of the upscale malls coupled with beautiful landscaping, spacious promenades and ample parking.

I'm sure while you're enjoying shopping or dining at one of the restaurants more than likely you are bound to meet friends or family since The center has fast become a popular meeting spot as it is not only convenient but offers the convergence of shopping and recreation.

Come experience the The Avenues difference with shops offering unique gift ideas food, fun and the latest trends from Ann Taylor Loft, Jos. A. Bank Clothier, The Bombay Company, Kirkland's, Talbot's, Williams-Sonoma Boulignini Shoes & accessories, Victoria's Secret, Banana Republic, Children's Place, Claire's Boutique, Atlanta Bread Company, Ritz Camera, Yankee Candle, Starbucks Coffee, Ted's, Thai Spice and more!

For more information contact:

The Avenues At Peachtree City
200 City Circle
Peachtree City, GA 30269-3120
(770) 486-6587