Stock Market: All Wheels On Fire

The stock market finished this quarter with a gain of almost 6%. This was the best first quarter since 1998 reported Bloomberg. While the media focused on the bad news, especially on Japan and Libya, the Wall Street and other stock markets rallied.

The reason for the rising stock prices is the continuing upswing in the world economy - despite disaster and crises: The profits of the companies are rising swift, the job market is recovering, the consumers are spending more money and the CEOs of the companies are showing more confidence and invest more in mergers & acquisitions.

The stock market rally in Q1 proves again, that disasters don`t have a lasting impact on the world economy. The nature, and the humans and their economy are just a part of it, is always recovering swift.  Any forest will quickly recapture the space, which it lost in a fire, and grass will reclaim ground, even when covered by concrete.

The humankind survived a lot of plagues, catastrophes and world wars and got even stronger. The wealth of the western world (Europe and later the Americas) is rising since the 15th century, with an accelerating speed.

The rising global wealth is reflected in the stock prices, which rose in the last 100 years on average with a 10% gain annually. There is no reason that this positive long run trend comes soon to an end. Since we are now recovering from a severe recession the pace of the stock market gains could be even higher in the next months. Good perspectives for investors.

New Orleans: Hot Days, Hot Nights

 

 (Drivebycuriosity) - New Orleans is a magnet for tourists, especially in spring time. And every touristy place also has a lush nightlife. The very young like to party on Bourbon Street, a long line of bars, pubs & restaurants in the French Quarter. There you can see many juveniles drinking on the streets, some of them seem to have had a lot of booze.

The more ambitious find their pleasure on Decatur Street (also in the French Quarter), especially at the east end of the touristy road. Many clubs offer bands playing Jazz, Blues & Rock`n` Roll. If you go further east you come to Frenchman Street. The beginning reminds me of Manhattan`s Bowery, a center of local punk and goth subculture. There you will find an agglomeration of pubs with nightly gigs. People who like to gamble will also find a casino (Harrah`s) in the center of the city (Girrod Street).

Movies: Kill The Irishman

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - The Irish are nice people. They like to party and you become fast friend with them. But don`t mess with the Irish! The history of the IRA, one of the deadliest terrorist organizations of the world, proves that they can fight adamantly if they see their rights threatened.

You will find both sides of the Irish soul in the movie "Kill The Irishman". The flick is based on a real story about the career of Danny Greene, an Irish-American longshoreman who rose to become a 1970s crime boss in Cleveland.

Greene (Ray Stevenson) is both, nice, literate & friendly, but he is also violent & brutal, when he wants to defend himself and his plans. The flick displays his tough fights against the Mafia, with a lot of explosions, but it takes also time to describe the complex character of its hero.

I had also much fun watching the rest of the cast, talented actors like Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio and especially Christopher Walken. 

In sum: An entertaining and intelligent gangster movie.

New Orleans: Southern Belle

 

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Tired of the long cold winter? Many people are fleeing to the south. Some days ago I followed them and visited New Orleans. I was greeted by plenty of sunshine and almost summery temperatures (78 F, 26 C).

The Big Easy is the nickname of the city, and it is a real beauty, a southern belle. It`s a city full of light with a beautiful architecture and good food. The center reminds me a bit of Venice. Just like the aged Italian city, the streets and places are dominated by tourists, and you will see a lot of them. The inhabitants there are a minority, mostly working in restaurants and hotels.

There is plenty to see, with a lot of motivation for photographers. The center of New Orleans looks like a big outdoor museum.  The place is famous for her antebellum architecture, houses constructed in the pre-civil war aera.

Wikipedia writes, "New Orleans is world famous for its plethora of unique architectural styles, from Creole cottages to the grand mansions on St. Charles, from the balconies of the French Quarter to an Egyptian Revival Customs House and a rare example of a Moorish revival church. The city boasts fine examples of almost every architectural style, from the Baroque Cabildo to the modernist skyscrapers of the Central Business District". 

Anyway. There are many old houses to see in the (like Anne Rice describes, the author of "Interview With The Vampire" and "The Witching Hour") built in the "Greek revival style" which was popular in many colonial areas. Very funny also are the almost prehistoric streetcars. There is no subway.

Restaurants: Jin, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) -  The eyes of the world are now on the disaster in Japan. But the crises will find an end and the fascinating culture of this far east nation will persist. The nightmare news don´t abate my admiration and ambition for Japanese food, therefore I continue going to Japanese restaurants. Anyway, these places still need there customers in dark times.

One of my favorite Japanese restaurants is Jin in Manhattan. This cozy place is located between Chinatown and the trendy Lower East Side (252 Broome Street, New York). I like the atmosphere of this tiny place which is a bit familial. One big advantage: They serve delicious food for very reasonable prices and they are therefore also interesting for budget conscious customers. But, be prepared to wait, in the evening the place fills up very fast!

My favorite dish there is the Sashimi Regular, which contains 18 pieces of delicate raw fish, a feast for the palate. The different kind of fishes are soft & tasty. For a few dollars more you will get Sashimi Super Deluxe (21 pieces). You can find also a lot of other traditional Japanese dishes like Teriyaki (marinated & grilled meat or fish).

Movies: Interview With The Vampire - Revisited

 

(Drivebycuriosity) -  Coming back from a short visit to beautiful New Orleans I revisited the movie: "Interview With The Vampire" on DVD. Many parts of the basic book ("Interview With The Vampire" by Anne Rice) are occurring in this charming southern city and therefore a lot of the scenes were shot there.

Watching the DVD gave me the opportunity to enjoy again the beautiful houses and streets of the southern belle. Big Easy, the nickname for New Orleans, has a charming atmosphere which is reflected in the settings of the movie.

The story is about immortality: You never grow old, you never die. But it is also about boredom. You don´t change, you don´t develop, you have to stay what you are over many centuries.

The flick isn`t boring. Even if you are not interested in a vampire story you might enjoy viewing the decadent life of the rich in the early 19.th century in New Orleans and Paris and the gaudy scenery's Neil Jordan, the director, created.

The flick has one of my favorite film openings: "Terpsichore and Harp Concerto in B Flat" by Georg Friedrich Händel before the nightly skyline of modern San Francisco. The blend of a solemn baroque music and the lights of a metropolis of the presence creates a lot of anticipation. And the finish, with a very different kind of music, is worth waiting for.

Stock Market: Cheerful Consumers, Hesitant Investors

The stock markets are hovering in the red again. As usual the media - and many investors - are focusing on the bad news: Japan, violence in Middle & North Africa, bad debts of the Eurozone. But the economic situation is getting better and the consumers are way more cheerful.

The proof: consumer focused companies, which concentrate on upscale markets, reported strong numbers this week . Today Inditex posted a 32% jump in profits (revenue plus 13%). This Spanish holding company owns the retail chain Zara, which sells upscale fashion worldwide. Especially in emerging markets such as China & India, the growth rates are very high.

On Monday Tiffany & Co. reported, that profit climbed in the last quarter 29%! They expect that their worldwide sales will rise this year 12% to 14%.

The consumer is the motor of the world economy. It seems that the weak stock market doesn`t reflect the strength of the economy. Maybe they point to a chance for clear-sighted investors.