2nd Estimate of Q2 2012 GDP Revised Lower

Excerpt from my next newsletter that I am working on this morning:

On May 31, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said their second estimate of Q1-2012 GDP (Gross Domestic Product adjusted for inflation) growth increased at an annual rate of 1.9%. This was a downward revision of 0.3% from April's estimate of 2.2%.  The estimates for prior quarters were unchanged.  

The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), exports, residential fixed investment, private inventory investment, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from federal government spending and state and local government spending.  Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.

You can read the full press release at  Gross Domestic Product, 1st quarter 2012 (second estimate)

How bad would this be if we actually had a balanced budget today?

See my articles:

Despite First Budget Surplus Since 2008, U.S. Still Borrows 34 Cents Of Every Dollar Spent

and
ECRI's Weekly Leading Index Makes A 19 Week Low 

FREE Annual Credit Reports by Mail, Phone or Online

How to Get FREE Annual Credit Reports

By federal law, each of the 3 major credit bureaus is required to provide you with one free copy per year of your credit report (though not your credit score ) upon request. It is important to review this information not only to track and improve your financial health, but also to ensure against fraud and identity theft. Because of this, it is advisable to space your requests out from the 3 bureaus throughout the year, like every 4 months, rather than requesting them all at the same time. For the full details, read: 

• How to Get FREE Annual Credit Reports Online, by Mail or by Phone

You may request your free credit report online, request your report by phone or request your report through the mail. 

Budget Deficit: U.S. Borrows 34 Cents Of Every Dollar Spent

In March 2012, the U.S. Government had a budget surplus of $59B, the Treasury Department reported. This is the first monthly budget surplus since September 2008.

I have certain rules I live by. My first rule: I don't believe anything the government tells me.
-- George Carlin in the 1992 HBO special "Jammin' in New York"

Read my full article here:

Despite First Budget Surplus Since 2008, U.S. Still Borrows 34 Cents Of Every Dollar Spent

Network Bandwidth Crisis & How to Profit

With all the new smart phones and tablet computers placing new demand on internet bandwidth, there is a shortage brewing.

Here are some excerpts from my current newsletter.

• I still expect AT&T & Verizon to start spending less on 4G LTE wireless front end and less on the networks to tie their systems together soon. They have good coverage, but the networks are often far too slow. ATT raised the cost of my landlines nearly 20% ($3 each) which will give ATT cash to add capacity to their network. Finisar’s Chairman Jerry Rawls said he expects these “backhaul investments” to catch fresh tailwinds soon; "By the time we have [our new line of ROADM connection cards] finished and designed, carrier spending has to be coming back. The networks are becoming too loaded. They're going to have service-level problems if they don't start upgrading capacity."
• While driving through San Jose on the way to a fishing trip in Monterey with my brother, he used his iPhone to set up a Skype video chat with our other brother who was on his PC. He put the phone on the dash over my navigation unit so the other brother could see us both and I could look forward to drive. It was very cool.
• I have an 18-month old HTC/Android smart phone (MyTouch 4G) so it is fun to compare it with my brother’s new iPhone 4s. We found Apple continues to be a bit behind leading edge but what they do, they do very well. With minor technology differences between these two phones, what we found most important is the annoyance / disappointment we had when there was not enough bandwidth to use the applications we compared such as using GPS to see where we were when hiking around 17-mile drive. We also got stuck in traffic in a small town and neither phone showed it as if there was a blackout for the area. We couldn’t get traffic updates at all there which was very annoying. If I lived and commuted this route daily, I would complain to my carrier about the lack of coverage. Good opportunity!

I hope I have my portfolio well positioned to take advantage.

Smartphone vendors:
Apple, HTC, Nokia, Motorola/Google, Samsung, etc.