Saturday, December 15, 2012

Europe expects Italy to speak only German


Italy’s government crisis
 
International media are widely covering the Italian crisis. The picture that comes out is a glowing image of political, financial and social uncertainty.
 
The scenario portrayed in the newspapers is not the best one. The banks are still reluctant to lend money. Businesses going bankrupt. Protests are planned across the country. Nobody knows when the elections will be held.
 
Being Italian I think we are in very troubled moment.
 
Luckily there is a “but”.
 
I would like to convince you to think in a different way. This blog’s mission isn’t that of supporting a certain political party, neither to back Italy to the detriment of other countries. My objective is You, my reader who by reading these words, You want to boost your income more and more, and I am here to help You in the creation of your wealth.
 
So the “but” is very simple.
 
 
The revealed scheme
 
In my precedent posts I have revealed some big investor’s trick. With their left arm they ditched Italy while with their right arm they had bought Italian TBonds. In less than 6 months these people made a 25% profit.
 
Now you have to consider how big is the Italian public debt...so you consider what kind of sky-high revenues they were able to make. 
 
The scheme is very simple. Through the help of the media I ditch a product (Italy) and in the meanwhile I buy at knockdown prices. Once I bought enough assets I stop my discrediting campaign and I wait for the market to normalize. Then I sell my assets. 
 
This scheme is totally risk-free because Italy wasn’t at risk before the crisis nor it was at risk after the crisis.  
 
A friend of mine who is a banker, used to say “knowledge is power”. He was right.
 
This is the time to invest in Italy. This is the best time to invest in Italy.
 
Why? Because Italy is strong.  
 
However now I would like to stimulate your brain with a question. Did you ever think to the reason why some publicly discredit Italy? 


Italy is a strong country that annoys some world big players
 
However Italy has also some faults that limit its economy a lot. These are Italy’s weak points that are usually criticized:

- Unstable system;

- Italian culture of kickbacks and stealing peanuts;
 
- Thinking small, parochialism. Everywhere there are opposite factions carrying atavic hate that is spread all over the country (think to the Palio di Siena’s contradas);

- Italy’s government is always in crisis;

- Government waste a filthy amount of money and newspapers publish detailed expense notes of public officials (champagne, caviar, lotteries, video-games, beauty salon...);

- Great private investments stuck by Bureaucracy;

- Private companies left at the mercy of themselves without an international economic policy aimed at supporting them worldwide;

- Lack of Tourism infrastructures;

- Corruption;

- Tax Brackets at 85%.

All these problems are widely covered by the media. All these problems make appear Italy like a Banana Republic.

However Italy has also some records:

- It’s the 5th country in the world for cultural tourism, just think to Rome, Venice, Florence, Romeo & Juliet’s Verona, Pompei, Sicily’s valley of temples;

- The food industry is incomparable, with the Pasta, the Pizza, the espresso ( did you know that the Starbucks concept was born during a trip to Milano?), The Chianti, the Sassicaia, The Ruffino wines, the Spumante, the Parmigiano Reggiano, the prosciutto, the best oils in the world are Italians. Italy is also a prime producer of Caviar with Agroittica Lombarda;

- Tourism industry is on a roll in terms of tourist presence in locations like Forte dei Marmi, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Porto Cervo, Portofino, Capri, Jesolo;

- The Italian heritage is the most important in the world: Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello Sanzio, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Garofalo, Coreggio, Tiepolo, the XX century De Chirico, Pellizza da Volpedo, Fontana, Rotella, Paladino and the contemporary art scene where the Venice Biennale is a world appointment, while among contemporary art Italy is in a leading position with artists like Francesco Vezzoli, Maurizio Cattelan, and many others;
 
- Religious tourism is also a very rich industry with the Vatican, San Giovanni Rotondo, the Loreto Sanctuary , San Francesco d’Assisi and many others;
 
- The motor industry has some excellences which speak for themselves: Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Pagani, Ducati, Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta bikes and Agusta helicopters;
 
- The nautical industry has the best shipyards: Benetti, Perini Navi, Riva, Baglietto, Cantieri di Pisa, Mochi, Crn Ancona, and many others;
 
- Design: Giugiaro and Pininfarina;
 
- Then the Theater and the Opera: Teatro alla Scala, Arena di Verona, Torre del Lago, La Fenice di Venezia, il Nuovo di Milano, Teatro Verdi di Firenze; to mention some names in the music field: Verdi, Puccini, Bellini, Rossini, Vivaldi, and many others are still bringing the Italian language around the world;
 
- Sport: Ac Milan the world’s most titled club, Juventus FC, FC Internazionale, the Ferrari in Formula 1 and the Monza Gran Prix, the Giro d’Italia for Cycling;
 
- Weapons: According to the Sole 24 Ore the industry increased by 5%, major companies are: Fiocchi Ammos, Beretta, Tanfoglio, Franchi, Benelli e Fincantieri. Benelli and Beretta are Official Suppliers of U.S. Armed Forces;
 
- Fashion Industry: Armani, Valentino, Gucci, Versace, Prada, Cavalli, Boggi, Brioni, Kiton, Marinella, which are some of the major global player in the fashion field;
 
- Furnitures: Poltrona Frau, Chateau d’Ax, Natuzzi divani, Poliform and many luxury kitchen brands like Scavolini, Snaidero, Maistri, Varenna and many others. Then there are many other small companies that export their products all over the world; 
 
- At this rate, finishing such a list It would take forever;

- Italian families have savings that are averagely higher to those of any other European country.
 
However here the point is if in Italy there are so many strong points that support it even in moments of crisis, what’s the reason behind the international media campaign to ditch its economy so much? 
 
The reason is found in a simple manipulative technique operated by our market opponents, who focus on certain weak aspects of our economy to magnify them in order to distract the attention from our strong points. Also, Italy doesn’t possess any major global media to defend itself from any global media attack. 
 
The likelihood becomes real. This way Italy is globally known for all its scandals and not for all the things that really work here. Consequently House prices and company values drift lower. 
 
Italy is a very rich country and can be annoying to many big players.
 
If they ditch Italy these big players can buy Italy’s goods at knockdown prices while in the normal market they would worth much more.

So? 
 
Don’t believe those media that vilify Italy.
 
Come to Italy; there isn’t a better time than right now to invest in Italy. 

Luigi Foscale

Friday, December 7, 2012

The Black Sea: Crossroads of History


Once upon a time, the Black Sea was a huge freshwater lake. At the end of the last ice age, because of a sudden climactic warming, glaciers began to melt and consequently, the world’s oceans began to rise.

In 5,600 BC, the Mediterranean Sea broke through a natural land “dam” where today there is the city of Istanbul. This geological event created the Bosporus Strait, allowing vast amounts of seawater to flow into the previously fresh waters of the Black Sea. Carbon-14 radio-dating methods support this viewpoint.

Its ancient name was Pontus Exinus (the inhospitable sea).

The Black Sea was explored and colonized by the Greeks in the 8th century B.C. and later by the Romans in the 3rd century B.C. Its commercial importance grew from the Greek dominance to the Byzantine Empire, when the capital of the Roman Empire became Costantinople.

When the Ottomans invaded Constantinople and changed it into Instanbul, the Black Sea was closed to foreign commerce until 1856 when the Treaty of Paris which settled the Crimea War and made the Black Sea a neutral territory, closing it to all warships and prohibiting fortifications and the presence of armaments on its shores. The treaty marked a severe setback to Russian influence in the region. However since then, the Sea re-opened for business to all nations interested in commerce.

The Black Sea is home to some of humankind’s most intriguing legends like Jason’s Gold Fleece and Noah’s Ark.

Maritime explorer Bob Ballard mostly known for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985 and of the battleship Bismarck in 1989 he is combing the floor of the Black Sea in search of the remains of ancient dwellings, which would buttress a new theory that a cataclysmic flood struck the region some 7,000 years ago—swelling the sea and eventually becoming the basis of the Noah story.

Ballard’s research has been extensevely featured through a special programming on National Geographic Channel. 

Troy, Constantinople, Istanbul, Sevastopol, Odessa, and Yalta are just a few of the names in this coastal area that have been carved in world history.


From the Christian Crusades to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Black Sea has witnessed major religious and political changes which greatly influenced human history.

Today, the Black sea is a melting pots of cultures, traditions, religions and historical memories. It’s still a vital trading crossroads, with major ports along its coast, the commercial fisheries, a diversity of marine life, beautiful tourist beaches and unique archaelogical sites.

The recent discovery of ancient wooden ships in the floor of the Black Sea has grown a renewed interest in its underwater treasures and history. In 1976, Willard Bascom suggested that the deep, anoxic waters of the Black Sea might have preserved ships from antiquity because typical wood-devouring organisms could not survive there. At a depth of 150m, the Black Sea contains insufficient oxygen to support most familiar biological life forms.

The Black Sea has six bordering countries: Bulgaria and Romania on the west, Ukraine on the north, Russia and Georgia on the east, and Turkey on the south.


Bulgaria

The Bulgars were a Caucasian-turkish tribe which formed the first Bulgarian nation in the 7th century. In 1389, the Ottoman Turks took over Bulgaria and nearly 500 years later Bulgaria regained independence with the help of Russia.

Eventually Bulgaria fell under the Soviet influence and in 1946 became a People's Republic.

The Communist regime ended in 1990, when the country held its first free elections since World War II and began its path towards democracy.

In 2001, Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg, the former king of Bulgaria who was forced from his throne after World War II, returned to power as Prime Minister.

Bulgaria is a unique mix of ethnic groups: Bulgars, Slavs, Thracians, Armenians, Greeks, Romans, and Turks. Some villages have a church, some have a mosque, and some have both. Bulgaria is a peaceful nation which is a pretty rare quality in the Balkans area.

Bulgaria relies on the Black Sea for fishing, commerce, and tourism with its major beach resorts. Varna is the country's largest seaport and second-largest city. Bourgas and Sozopol are the primary fishing ports, Tsarevo is a major touristic hub.

Did You Know That? — About Bulgaria

-   In Bulgaria, shaking your head from side to side means "yes," and nodding your head up and down means "no."
-   Sofia's Alexander Nevski Church is the largest Orthodox Church in Europe.

-   The Cyrillic alphabet was developed in Bulgaria by the saints Methodious and Cyril.

-   Orpheus, the great musician of Greek myth, whose songs could charm wild beasts and coax even rocks to move, was said to have been born in the ancient land of Bulgaria.

-   Bulgarian food uses minced or grilled lamb, beef, veal, pork, pickles, lamb's cheese, and yogurt. Ayran, a yogurt thinned with water, is a popular drink that looks like milk. Traditional Shopska salad is made with tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers and topped with feta cheese.
 
-   The most important commercial port is Bourgas.
 
-   The Corporate Income Tax in Bulgaria is 10%.
 
-   More than 80% of households own the home free from mortgage.


Romania

The name Romania comes from the Latin word “Romanus” that means Roman, however the nation’s current name has been in use only since the second half of the XIXth century.

Before that time its name was Wallachia or Moldavia.

In Romania there are both strong European and Turkish influences, as Romania was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1877.

Romania's political history of the past century has been marked by political instability and violent revolutions: after World War II, King Mihai was forced to abdicate, forced by the Communists, and Romania became a "People's Republic."

In the 1960s, Nicolae Ceausescu took over the Communist Party leadership and instituted increasingly oppressive measures. He was overthrown and executed in late 1989.

Currently, Romania is a democracy and recently joined the European Union.

Romania has a chain of resorts, a "string of pearls," along the Black Sea coast. The largest urban center and seaport is Constanta. The sun, air, Black Sea water, and thermal mud treatments at these resorts are said to have restorative powers.

Did You Know That? — About Romania

-   The Roman poet Ovid was exiled to the Romanian coast by Emperor Augustus in 8 A.D. He wrote some of his most important work there, such as Tristia, which expresses his sadness at being far from home.

-   Romania's Lake Rosca is home to Europe's largest pelican colony.

-   Famous Romanians range from Count Dracula (Vlad the Impaler) in Transylvania to the modern sculptor Constantin Brancusi.

-   Zakuska is a traditional spread made from roasted eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. Almost all Romanian.
 
-   The Corporate Income Tax is 16%.
 
-   More than 80% of households own the home free from mortgage.
 
 

Saturday, December 1, 2012

My Private Banking in Real Estate

 
Dear Friends,

This week’s op-ed is a letter, because I d like to share with you the reasons that led me to conceive the Real Estate Private Banking not only is effective but is actually necessary to overcome this moment of crisis.

First of all let’s see how this idea was born.

Since the end of the 90’s I began to manage my fortune. When I began I told myself: “if I lose, I lose my money, so you should do it the good way”. For this reason I did all I could, to work out the best possible outcome. 

After many analysis and in-depth studies, I had sensed that properties could provide continuous cash flows to uphold the living standards and a protection against Inflation.

And even if before the crisis, rental properties were almost boring for many financiers, I had taken my decision.

Today, after 4 years of persisting crisis, I have seen many of those financiers go bankrupt. In these years of crisis, I have seen many Hedge Fund ending belly up.

What’s weird is before the crisis, these people were like Einstein.
 
Likewise I have also seen that rental properties (if were good deals), they toughed it out.

Obviously real estate values went down too, however those who invested for the rental income in a time that was not the highest ever, nonetheless today is still very respectable.

As i said, 14 years ago, I started to manage my fortune. After a while some of my relatives came to me asking for advice and eventually even the management. In the meanwhile I organized myself and I have grown up until when, in 2006 I decided to quit my job as employee to start my own business. Since then an always growing number of people did contact me to be advised on real estate investment or to solve their financial problems.

Today after years of working, I am proud to be the head of Axet Real Estate Management that operates on a global level. 

If you want more information you can visit www.axet.net

If you want to contact me you can write to retirerichbyluigifoscale@yahoo.com

A dear greeting with the deepest respect and admiration,

Luigi Foscale

Monday, November 26, 2012

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Private Banking in Real Estate: It’s Italy time

 
We are experiencing a new Copernican shift.

Today in Italy Private Banking is in everyone’s range if you conceive it as Real Estate Private Banking.

Let’s see together some aspects of present day’s scenario. 

First clue: The crisis. In my latest posts we have been examining the crisis. Now a few months have passed and the crisis has become an opportunity because prices are incredibly low. Crisis means low price. Crisis also means perfect timing. Prices are low at this very moment, so you have to take advantage of them. Carpe diem.

Milan is Italy’s richest city, time on the market is passed by 2 to 6 months for a property in a prime area. Prices lowered of an average 30%, however in certain cases the demand to cash out is so high that the seller also accept reduced offers of 50% compared to the 2007 values.

For this reason, today investing in Italy and mostly in a city like Milan has become a unique and unrepeatable opportunity.

Even Florence can be an excellent area for a real estate investment. What do you think of a € 2.000 (per sq. mt.) for a nice apartment?

Before 2008 such prices would have been absolutely unthinkable….Actually, to make an offer with today’s prices would had been even offensive in some case.

If you like to know more about or if you have specific need, you can contact me at retirerichbyluigifoscale@yahoo.com . I will get back to you personally.

Second clue. The Brand. In Africa there are 1 billion people and according to Reuters this number is set to double in the next 40 years. Read this study from Reuters.

Same thing for China and India. So there are 3 billion people today and 6 billion in the following 40 years. The majority of these people dream and will dream about doing the world famous Italy’s Grand Tour to visit Rome, Florence and Venice….I call this the Tourism Brand.

The World Tourism Organization reports the following ten countries as the most visited in terms of the number of international travellers.
  

Rank
Country
International
tourist
arrivals
(2011)
[3]
International
tourist
arrivals
(2010)
[3]
Change
2010
to 2011
1
Europe
79.5 million
77.1 million
+3.0%
2
North America
62.3 million
59.8 million
+4.2%
3
Asia
57.6 million
55.7 million
+3.4%
4
Europe
56.7 million
52.7 million
+7.6%
5
Europe
46.1 million
43.6 million
+5.7%

The figure shows in the past two years Italy had the highest percentage of growth in International Tourist Arrivals after Spain whose first position is due to the internal economic crisis that made its prices plummeting. Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

However this favourable situation needs to be supported, structured and promoted. At this regard, I recommend you my post in which I describe my formula to restart Italy’s economy.

Third clue. Property Management.

Property Management is now a well established practice globally. Indeed in the U.S. or in other economically advanced countries you can find a great number of companies that are able to manage your property. Despite the fact Italy always had a bad reputation about business management, the situation has now changed. In fact property management has become an established practice in Italy and there are many companies and professionals in this business.

The most important clue is the fourth, that concerns those who are in charge in Italy.

The so-called big wigs they know very well Italy is not at risk under the financial point of view and the undersigned is absolutely positive at this regard because I had the chance to learn that many “big shots” are now investing in both commercial and residential properties in the major Italian cities.

Talking to some of these people and to people next to them, I had the impression that all of them are convinced Italy is not in such bad waters as they want us to believe...but the contrary.

And they are totally right because as some Wall Street broker said some time ago:” Italy is too big to bail out”.

So you may now asking yourself: ”why Italy is often compared to Greece?”

Simple: Media are arm in arm with those in the government. Nobody goes against “the system”. Indeed, if this community is so successful is because somebody thinks that reality is way different from the one media want us to buy every day .

And they do it for their own advantage: indeed media are ditching something they are buying at the same time in total silence. Do you remember my post in which I revealed the secret of the spread mechanism?

There it goes. Now it’s the time of the Real Estate market.

Italy won’t fail.

Remember these words: It’s Italy time.

There are very interesting properties in Florence, Milan as they are the place with more opportunities. Today you can buy an apartment with less than 180 grand.

I am always by your side, because I am one of you

Watch out!

Luigi Foscale, One of you
 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Warren Buffett is the businessperson of the year 2012

Dear Friends,
 
Fortune's readers elected Warren Buffett as the business person of the 2012. He is the Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA).
 
Personally, I admire much him and many of his book are in my personal library. In this period of crisis he is a positive leader.
 
Yours
 
Luigi Foscale

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Article on Financial Times

Dear Friends,

in the Clippings Retire Rich by Luigi Foscale on the Financial Times you can read new interesting articles.

You can click here to get the news.

Yours

Luigi Foscale

Friday, November 16, 2012

The Yes Generation

 
In my latest post, "The No Generation" , I dealt with a difficult reality. However if I decided to write that post it's to let people understand that a hope does exist.
 
Indeed there is also a Yes Generation.

If the NG is the NO generation (no job, no income, no asset), the YG is represented by who has a job who makes money or has an asset, like properties or a patrimony.

If I had to mark the main psychological traits of the YG, I would say optimism and self-confidence to its own future are the main features.

On the opposite, the NG is passive, pessimist and tends to complain about its own condition.

The YG has many problems as well because it lives in a situation of general crisis. However it's the very desire of redeem itself, to express its own creativity that pulls the YG to think mainly how to overcome any problem. 

It would be wrong to paint the YG like a generation that lives an idyllic situation or that it pleases itself in the la la land.

However if it handles to overcome its problems it's because it sees beyond. It's because it's focused on its goal, on the solution and not on the problem. If we had to re-read it all, the YG applies the attraction law in a positive way; the NG applies it in a negative way.

If your mental attitude is continuously moaning about the situation you found yourself, the result will be to attract more problems. If your attitude is instead to find a solution to the problems, so it's easier to get out of it. And to build up something.

So your creative desire together with the planned action are the fundamental features of the YG.

Those who belongs to the NO Generation, you can't say they don't want to be successful. Everyone can say that loves to be successful, but to desire something in a generic way it's not enough. in order to be successful you got to do something.

However, despite the global crisis in which we find ourselves today, we might find the Yes generation acting in the most unexpected places, like in Eastern Europe, where many young successful folks found their way. 
 
I am talking about folks I personally know. It's about young people between 23 and 40 who live in countries like Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and the common thread it's the typical YG features: Creativity, Problem Solving attitude, being optimist rather than spending your time moaning.

An YG example is given by C, a Croatian physician who graduated in Medicine in Rijeka (HR). Since not a long time she moved to another country and today she works in a Health Care Center.
C lives with his boyfriend who also has a job, she bought a house with a mortgage and she's now planning to have a family. Why this story should be considered so extraordinary?

Simply because this physician is only 24 years old and in a country like Italy for example when you re 24 you re still in school like a good Italian slacker!

In Italy many people even in their 30's or 40's they still have to decide what direction they will take, they live with their parents...in Italy this situation is so spread out that they also made tv shows on this category of people without provoking any kind of disdain because that's a situation that completely fits with the concept of normal for Italy's culture.

In many countries when you re 24 you re a grown-up person since a long time.

Italy fully represents the NO Generation attitude. Complaining is an usual custom.

If you talk to a retailer you will realize these people always complain about something both we are in a financial crisis or in a surplus.

Italians have a bad habit because not only they complain about almost anything, but worse they don't do anything to change their situation. Actually they try to find other people who are in their same situation of disquiet, or better failure and once they find each other, once they're together they can better hate and envy whoever is successful.

This is the major difference between the YG and the NG.

If somebody today thinks to be in a better situation only because he lives in a "rich" country he makes a great evaluation mistake. 

Those who live in advanced capitalism countries, the so called rich countries, they are actually living in mature economies (or worse "old economies") And mature economies have many debts... because they are countries that have been living for years in over their heads.

In a little while all the chickens will come home to roost. Actually they already came, you can look at the unemployment level of the young people in Italy....

Personally I admire the Yes Generation, of whatever country, religion or ethnic group they belong to. The YG is a generation that wants to create its own future with their own hands. The YG is transversal because there are people with similar features in different world areas.

Today the world has new balances, you have to be quick and pick them up. Otherwise you re left out.

What worked three years ago, today it doesn't work anymore. Once they said "you study you become an engineer, and you find your way to the industry" . Today it isn't true anymore, so those who based their own lives upon this certainty in a little while they will receive bad news...

The Axiom "I live in a rich country and I have a permanent position ( I relax myself) it's not valid anymore, because today we live in a new era with a new physics.

The Western World generation that today is between 25 and 45 should learn from who has found his way or is making a fortune in the BRIC countries (Brasil, Russia, India, China).

Look how many company managers under 45 there are in Russia and you make a comparison with Italy....In Italy there are people in Congress since when Nixon was at the White House.

We have seen that there exist a YG and a NG and these two represent two different ways to understand life. At this point, I would rise a question. How can I in a simple word distinguish the two generations? And again, how can I understand in a very short time if a person belongs to the YG or the NG?

The answer is very easy.

When you feel if you are hungry or you feel your stomach is full, you are able to understand if you are a Yes or a NO.

The truth is that hunger is the basis of everything. The burning desire to be successful is the real key to success.

If we pick up the hunger metaphor as a key to success, we have to acknowledge that unfortunately the only thing that the NG has learned "is to find their dish ready" as they say in Italy, in other words they never learned is to stand on their own feet. And that's exactly what made them so weak.

And now that they have to make a living on their own they don't know how to do it.

Actually they found a way, because they don't resign themselves starving without a whimper (also because that's what they do best). Their strategy is to occupy squares asking the government for a job. Governments must create the basis to develop the economy through the business development, if the government doesn't do it, then it's right to protest.

However the hypothesis of a social salary is wrong anyway, because it strengthen the idea of welfarism at any cost, that completely kills the survival instinct which in the NG is already weak.

We should always keep in mind the Chinese wisdom: "don't give your son a fish every day but teach him how to fish". So he will be able to get the fish for his entire lifetime.

Hungry is willing to create. This is the YG.

Angry is fear of losing. This is the NG.

According to the Law of Attraction, everyone is right. Both if he thinks to belong to the YG or the NG. Although remember: the more you focus on a status the more this will tend to broaden. It's called Resonance and this is also another universal law.

Think positive!

Luigi Foscale

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Article on Financial Times

Dear Friends,

I suggest you to read the article clipped on "Retire Rich by Luigi Foscale" on the Financial Times.

Click here to go to the page on the Financial Times.

Yours

Luigi Foscale

Friday, November 9, 2012

Yes, leverage is now good…

When we talk about Leverage, the common meaning is “financial lever”. The financial lever is a fancy way to mean debt. In the past few years, we overindulged on home equity loans not only as a financial tool but we overindulged in those fancy words throughout which the mainstream media dressed all the swindles the Wall Street folks did to us!!! In my latest post, "Is Leverage still good", I wrote that certain use of debt financing were not convenient anymore because they were real scams.

In addition I also explained there's good and bad debt. The good debt allows you to generate cash flow, while the bad one it'll eat your cash flow.
 
However even the good debt could eventually become bad if we are over-indulging in refinancing.
 
What we mean for over-indulging? It's really simple: If I buy a $100 grand apartment and I ask for a loan of $70G I have to invest $30G. This is obviously a use of the debt as a financial tool. However if through those same $30G I try to get a $3M mortgage, even a 10 year child would tell me maybe I am over-indulging a bit.
 
Unfortunately this is what happened with the financial crunch. Someone got incredibly rich, at the big masses' expenses and these people are now paying the crisis.
 
You got to know how to keep your debt under control and you have to know how to manage it. However if I am here today, it's because I want to give you a new vision of the leverage as a financial tool and not only.

 Here you'll read how the leverage can become positive.
 
Today the world has changed and the old economic laws have been swept away by the digital system. Today you can be in more places at the same time and make money side by side. If you start using these tools you can really give your finances a boost. 
 
You know when they say "that person has that little bit extra?" ...there you go! if you keep reading my posts you can have that bit extra too.  
 
Job Leverage in one example: If you are a seasoned pro, you can decide to work 10 hours a day and being paid on an hourly basis. If you devote yourself more than usual, you can work 12 or 14 hours a day.
 
However if I am telling you: you can increase the value of that same day like about 40 or 100 hours more, would you believe me? The point is really simple. If you write a book, every reader pays a fee that's represented by its price-tag. If your readers become 40 or 100 you multiply your presence and your fee as well.
 
The difference is the simplest: while before the boost you worked 1 to 1, this way you work 1 to infinite. Obviously this is just an example but it gives you a clear idea about the difference.
A form of leverage that allows you to make money is Real Estate.
 
If you buy a property, you receive a rent for every time-lapse. If you buy 2 properties you obviously have 2 rents for each time-lapse. This way you keep growing.
 
However you can make a fair objection like: "I have limited resources". Being this the situation you can get a mortgage. Obviously it has to be financially solid. In practice it's your tenants who pay your mortgage rates, then you automatically grow richer. At this point your new job is finding a property that once it has been rented out it can repay your mortgage back. Even a bank leverages its customers. For every deposit, the bank can clearly loan a higher size of it. And if you think about it, there are analogies between the bank's role and that of a Real Estate entrepreneur who invests in rental building.
 
Another form of leverage is the one of the Multilevel Marketing. A very discussed subject and in some cases even controversial. However like in every field there are bad apples that ruined a business that in the past demonstrated to be very efficient instead. For those who don't know what MLM is, when you enter a MLM, you can sell or look for distributors by creating a pyramid scheme. The commissions you generate are shared among all the people above the distributor. Paradoxically, after you worked to recruit a network of distributors, you can even make money without too much effort. All these leverage forms were linked to some form of works.
 
Nonetheless, if you really want to leverage the leverage we have to look inside of us. There's indeed an Inner Lverage. This is our stream of thoughts. You may have read in my latest post how the Law of Attraction works. In short, you get what you re focused on, no matter if you want it or not. Thoughts become real things.
 
Here it is, the leverage of this extremely powerful law lies in the fact of thinking more often about what you really want. You have to figure it out, you have to feel it, you have to live it, you have to imagine the whole thing so intensively that you really would feel like as you'd already got it. And you have to do it often. More often than you can ever think and more times than when you think of those things you don't want. The non-objectives become real too if you just focus on them. The non-objectives are worrying racing thoughts. What you don't want: a negative person or somebody who hurt you, a bad situation, a situation to escape from. All you don't want becomes real if you think about it too often and with an "associated pattern" as said by the Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).
 
According to the NLP When you are "associated" you are "inside the event" or picture looking around you and to the outside. When you are disassociated you are outside of the event or picture looking inwards, watching your own behaviour. When you are associated you live your experience through your emotional sphere, when you are dissociated you live your experience without the weight of the emotional sphere.
 
So the power of the mental leverage is not only in the use of the law of attraction. It's about using it all the time! 
 
This form of leverage also includes writing down your objectives and as we said in "the Survival Handbook" , the Tracking Ob is meant to impress in your mind what you'll become. At the end of the day you might understand that leverage is linked to time.
 
If you are able to break the rules of time. If you manage to assign time not a 1 unit value but infinite, you will be able to understand the value of leverage.
 
The new value of leverage...
 
Luigi Foscale

 

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Article on Financial Times on Ecomomy

Dear Friends,

in our Clipping List on the Financial Times, "Retire Rich by Luigi Foscale", you can read an article on global economy.

Enjoy reading!

Luigi Foscale


Luigi Foscale
Retire Rich by Luigi Foscale on Financial Times


Friday, November 2, 2012

The No Generation

 
We all know many baby boomers are now next to retirement and if we look at how life has treated them we find an happier generation than ours: they had jobs, a secure income, they had the chance to buy a property home and most of all, they enjoyed life. They created wealth.
 
Now the situation has changed: today even if you have a job or you own a business, everything is less stable. 
 
If you are under 30, you are in the “No generation” but if you are jobless and in your forties, you are deeper in the “No generation”.
 
No income, no Job, no Assets.
 
A dark future. In particular, if you are more than 40 years old but you had many career changes and you are used to be fired within few months, the situation is much more dramatic.
 
Maybe you feel like a passive viewer of other people’s success… and maybe you complain about other people’s fortune too… Maybe you need a new car every three years… and in your household you have a couple of brand new cars…. and you have many hobbies and in the end you are like a child... but you are an adult! And if you meet a successful person you may envy him because you think you are better than him. He’s got a successful life while yours sucks. However you don’t think about what he went through to reach that kind of success. 
 
If you are in this situation, or if you are in the “No generation” and you really want to change your life for good, you only need one thing: Changing your mindset. 
 
Don’t blame others for their success and stop complaining about the crisis. 
 
Start working to improve your situation. If you accept your difficult position you already did 50% of your whole job.
 
The odd part is to work diligently everyday and take the challenge! Instead of blaming others, you should learn the word “humility”. 
 
You need to accept your mistakes and clearly acknowledge you got a problem. Look at your past mistakes. Look at your work attitude. Look at what you could do for your boss, and not what he should do for you. Look at your thoughts. Are they positive? or negative? If, they are negative, there is something wrong in your long standing way of negative thinking.
 
This is the first point. Accept your fault and start doing something about it. Thus, write clearly what you want from life.
 
Second point: Look at your income and your lifestyle.
 
And if you find a gap, please do not hesitate to make some cuts to your spending. Maybe you have some expensive hobbies… or maybe you got some bad habits, I know it is hard, but this is the time to give your life a makeover.
 
If you start cutting unnecessary expenses, your household will improve. Although you got to be honest with yourself and don’t lie. This is not the time to lie to yourself …unless what you want is a miserable future. Because that’s what you re going to get if you don’t accept your situation. Please be aware If you lose the train, you will only have a miserable future.
 
Only after you accept your mistakes and tear your pride apart, you can set your goal.

If you want to succeed you need to start walking in a diligent way!

Luigi Foscale

 

Friday, October 26, 2012

Is leverage still good?

 
This article is dedicated to someone I hold very dear.

In my latest post, "The Italian Government’s insider trading ", I wrote about the fact in Italy the financial system has been stuck by the government and the central bank. Those institutions poured huge amounts of money to the major banking institutions and those same bankers invested in Italian T-bond earning buku bucks in just a few months. The problem is that money wasn't invested in companies that needed mortgages for their business goals. 

The Italian economy is made of small to medium sized companies, which are near to bankruptcy due to their limited cash restrictions. On the other side, I was told by a big wig, that if the banks had not invested in the Italian T-Bonds, Italy would have gone bankrupt. In my opinion there is not a black-or-white position. The right way is in the middle. And in the middle there are deserving companies which didn’t receive the money they needed and now are in big financial trouble.

For the above mentioned reasons, this is the best momentum to explain if leverage is still good. In the last ten years, Banks gave money to everyone. Everybody knows it. And the Subprime Crisis is a widely known concept as I wrote in my post. History showed it was a destructive formula.

Now we are suffering for the opposite reasons. Banks stopped banking. And even if you are a healthcare company CFO, you are going to pay for the sins of others. Although this is a destructive way also. So, the right way is supporting only those businesses that deserve to be supported. But how can a banker trusts a company? There are tons of theories on “how to lend money”. I will focus on two of them I usually adopt with my banks.

Lien. If you have money, banks will give you more money. Money follows money. You will experience it once you have a 7 figure bank account. For the bank this is the easiest form to secure its own interest, but if a bank considers this form of lending as the only form to secure its interests then it can be considered as financially suicidal. Because not every business is a good business…

In addition to the tangible assets, banks should also consider how much cash flow their given money would generate. This is the basics of commercial banking. If you have a good business with a strong cash flow, you deserve a financial injection from the banking system, obviously if you need it. Unfortunately in Italy it ain’t always possible.

If I were a Banker, first of all, I would certainly consider the customer's cash flow. I run companies with solid cash flow figures and with solid assets. Sometimes in Italy I found it difficult receiving financial lending for my companies, or if I found it, it was too expensive. In other countries it's much easier. So my advice is simple: first you have to set up a business with a positive cash flow so that it will be much easier for you to find a Bank that understands your financial figures. In the end during these hard economic times I would focus on the debt. A debt is not good or bad. When you use a debt you are simply using other people's money. The debt is good whether it is necessary to generate a positive cash flow. If the positive cash flow creates a stream of cash to pay interests and the capitalization rate, then is a good debt. I use this type of debt. And if you need it, you need to have a supportive banking system. But if you have too many loan repayments you are going to be in trouble.

Never forget Leverage is like fire. You can cook your dinner with it but if the flames overwhelm yourself you will be dead in few seconds.

Use leverage only if you are able to live without it.

Luigi Foscale.

A note on Italy. Unfortunately Italy is not the best place to establish a new business because banks only give money to those who have a friend or a relative in that bank. If you have no connection, it can be really hard.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Collateral on Retire Rich by Luigi Foscale on Financial Times

Dear Friends,

On the list "Retire Rich by Luigi Foscale" on FT.com , you will read an interesting article regarding the banking system. My advice is to read it because the article continues what I anticipated in this Blog.

Take information.

Yours

Luigi Foscale
The most visited Clipping List on Financial Times is Retire Rich by Luigi Foscale

Friday, October 19, 2012

The Italian Government’s insider trading

Today, I read on the news the Italian 10-year bonds dropped to 4.77%, the lowest record since June 2011. So those who in the past 6 months invested in Italian bonds, made a 25% capital gain. 

In my latest post about banking (Banks Stopped Banking), I have hit hard on banks because once they received massive amounts of cash from Central Banks instead of lending out money to business companies in need of cash, they invested that money in state bonds. In my opinion such a move would have got the market completely stuck. In fact mainstream media praised the banking system claiming it was a great move to gain stability. 

By reading the news today, governments is telling us the story that banks and government officials saved our system and that they did it well by investing their money in Italian bonds. The Banks raised Italy’s risk by investing in the bear market, something that eventually would have gone up. 

The very reason why banks invested in state bonds is because they already knew the spread would have gone down. Bankers are awarded bonuses. If banks make money they make it too. So they chose to secure their bonus and they gambled on the bear market.

The 2008 crisis, which is still on, was generated by those same people who now have been called to solve it.  

These are the only people who took advantage of the crisis and mostly they took an undue advantage of us all!!!! It’s like asking a robber to protect your money. The trick is really simple and it’s made of two stages. 

First I destroy your asset’s value then I buy it for a penny, then I raise it up again and then I sell it big time. 

Let’s see it together: 

In the past few months the major Western governments attacked the Italian system and the Italian bond spread went up. In the meanwhile they made up an infamous media campaign against Italy, that literally ditched our financial situation. Then they led the banks to buy Italian bonds. 

Please consider bankers get millions in bonuses and that the incumbent Italian government is plenty of technocrats. 

After a few months they emphasised a series of positive macroeconomic figures, so that the risk about Italy and by consequence the spread both went down. This evil plan was possible thanks to the connivance of the Italian government, the banks and the mainstream media. 

What then? 

Those managers who made the banks realise outrageous profits were rewarded with stellar bonuses. 

While those business companies that desperately needed the money to survive they never obtained their deserved help and many of them unfortunately went bankrupt. 

However the game is not over. The worst is yet to come: the future. 

Small businesses will face the crisis and because of their lack of liquidity they will be pressured to sell off their stash. If you add up the out-of-control Italian revenue service, the game is even clearer. 

Indeed those who gambled they found themselves with a lot of cash and they can buy goods at very lowered prices. These people generated the crisis, these people made their money out of it while we are those who are going to pay it. 

If we were in the U.S. Stock Market, this would have been Insider trading....big time! 

Unfortunately this is Italy and the business world pays the system’s inefficiency. Business in Italy is overtaxed and can’t grow its potential at its best. 

These are the real economic barriers to Italy’s industrial development and its potential economic growth. 

Luigi Foscale

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Retire Rich by Luigi Foscale on Financial Times

Dear Friends,

please check our Clipping on the Financial Times. There is an interesting article on Banking.

http://clippings.ft.com/lists/luigifoscale

Thank you for following me, for almost one month, we are the most visited List on Financial Times.



Retire Rich by Luigi Foscale on Financial Times is the most visited list
Retire Rich By Luigi Foscale on Financial Times is the most visited list


Yours

Luigi Foscale

Sunday, October 7, 2012

US unemployment rate at 7,8%


Dear Friends,

In the Clipping List "Retire Rich by Luigi Foscale" on the Financial Times, there is a new article regarding the lowest unemployment rate in the US.

Check it out.

Yours

Luigi Foscale

Friday, October 5, 2012

The Physics of Money


There are tons of books that tell stories of big challenges, taken by the richest billionaires. I have read many of them, and I can tell some of them are really inspirational. The majority of these stories, explain how these people were able to create their own fortune. 
 
I am here to provide you with the unique opportunity of learning how did they manage to keep their fortune. You have to know not only how to accumulate but most important how to maintain your wealth.
 
What if you make $1 million, and you lose it after a few months?
 
Do you know that this kind of “loss”, usually happens to the many who happen to win the lottery for the first time? Inform yourself… In order to build and to keep your wealth you need a plan on how not to waste your money.
 
 
First point. Wealth is Accumulating (and not spending…)

Your first fortune is learning how to maintain your money. 
 
In my latest post, "the Survival Handbook" , I introduced the Cash Flow, and the Tracking Ob. If you do not have a plan, you have less opportunities to become rich. Planning, budgeting and controlling expenses are key elements. Accumulating money means knowing your daily inflow and outflow. Build a plan of action, study your Cash Flow and Tracking Ob.
 
 
Second point. Money is a form of Energy
 
Let me introduce you a metaphor: consider a weir on a lake. The water is your wealth. If the inflow is less than your outflow, you are generating wealth. If not, you are wasting money. You need to close the plug or at least to open it carefully. If you pull out the plug, the water creates a giant whirl of energy. Same thing is for the money. 
 
Money, is a form of energy. And what you need to know, is how does energy works. I don’t understand why at school they taught me about physics (and that’s an important subject) but they didn’t teach me about the Physics of Money …
 
Money is energy!!
 
The more money you have, the more energy you are able to provide. 
 
Do not trust those who go like: “do you prefer money or love?” I prefer both. I couldn't live without my son’s smile, my wife’s cuddles and my dogs… but I cant live without money too. In these few lines I am ready to challenge every Scientist on earth to prove that Money is not a form of Energy. Money is Energy.
 
 
Third point: Net worth and Cash Flow are the measure of economic success
 
You need to control your levels of net worth and your cash flow, in a systematic way. Check your wealth status. 
 
 
Fourth point. High consumption lifestyle and High Maintenance are not forbidden
 
The important thing, is that your spending must always be under the line of your income budget. 
 
For example, if you buy a car with a lease, that’s not the best way to generate money, because you work to pay the lease rates and its interest rates. You work to have something you cannot afford! It’s like if you keep running without moving a step forward and if you stop you "probably" default. Ask yourself: if you stop working now, how long would you be able to keep up with the same living standards?
 
Advice of the day: Live below your means. 
 
 
Fifth point. Work to “Retire Rich”
 
Even if you have a job, my advice is to start creating your own Automatic Cash Flow. And later you will check your finances. When you are in the “Retire Rich” level, your money will work for you. 
 
Your time will be dedicated to generate money, counting the inflow and checking your financial status.

The Question....
 
Now, after these 5 points, I ask you a question: “Why aren’t you in the “Retire Rich” level yet?” 
 
The answer is easy: Nobody taught you how to do it. Nobody told you anything about the opportunity to “Retire Rich”. 
 
Sixth point. “Teach by Examples”
 
Thus, don’t let your children do the same mistake you did! The most important thing you can do for your children is teaching them about the money physics. Teach them financial discipline and how to be financially independent. 
 
If you don’t, they will always struggle to make ends meet. It is proven that a random donating system always generate financial dependence, in the end, It’s like any other addiction. Teach your kids how to fish and not simply provide them with the fish every day. They will become financial independent and productive adults. Eventually one day they will thank you.
 
You will find out you are able to learn the art of making money sooner than what you thought. Life is a long run.
 
Luigi Foscale






Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Do you want to stay up-to-date?


Dear Friends,

I invite you to stay up to date with my "Retire Rich By Luigi Foscale" Clipping list on the Financial Times.

Stop wasting your time by getting lost among myriads of news!

With my clipping list you’ ll have immediate access to those financial news you are looking for. Being a businessman myself, I perfectly know what’s the news that meet my specific needs as an investor and a manager.

That’s why my Clippping list has been ranking in the first five since my selection joined the FT.

Set my Clipping list as your homepage and you will stay up to date with financial news that matter.

Stay tuned,

Luigi Foscale