Hashemian Blog Huh? What? Tuesday, December 28, 2004 Handling Telemarketers, Kiddy Style  As parents, we always strive to teach decorum and proper behavior to our kids. One of these areas has to do with how one handles telephone calls. As a matter of personal choice I rarely pick up the phone. Having three females in the house for a number of years, the Pavlovian in me has learned that chances of me receiving calls is rather insignificant. Nevertheless proper telephone etiquette is a necessity of life. I still answer most calls I receive in the office. So here's the conundrum. How can we teach the kids proper telephone manners when most callers are telemarketers? My wife and I have different approaches in dealing with them. Depending on her mood she could go from rude to nasty. In some cases it even makes me shudder, which is why I sometimes plead with her to allow me to handle the calls. My methods are more gentle. They go from abruptly declining to fooling with them. I have to admit neither of us employs much etiquette in dealing with telemarketers. But I'm afraid that now my children have acquired some of this crude behavior and that worries me. As adults we can differentiate between a genuine call and a sales cold call. The distinction is murky for kids however. The learned response is to be rude, no matter how amiable the caller is. In fact it seems that the more polite the agent, the more harassment the kids will unleash. I'm not sure what the solution is. How do you teach grade-schoolers that some polite callers are really script-regurgitating sales-people interested in selling something they may not even know about and collecting a commission? And they might be calling from the next town, India, or even a federal prison. For now we've taught them to never identify themselves or disclose any information no matter how trivial. I suppose adding my number to the federal Do-Not-Call list would also be a good move. I just hope my kids don't find out about it. They almost look forward to tormenting the hapless agents. <Handling Telemarketers, Kiddy Style> // posted by rh 0 comments | Friday, December 24, 2004 The Housing Dilemma  The recent plunge in new home sales in the United States should come as no surprise to those following the housing market in the last six or seven years. The laws of economics are much like the laws of physics: "what goes up must come down". But it remains to be seen if the more colloquial law stating, "the higher they climb, the further they fall", also holds true. The meteoric rise of the housing prices, especially in the bi-coastal areas, has been an anomaly to say the least. But the prices have continued to defy the rules and fly in the face many analysts who have believed steadfastly that it can't continue, only to watch in amazement as the market speeds past every predicted bump. And so today we're faced with almost the same conundrum we encountered with the stock market back in the halcyon years of 99 and 2000. Can the housing market continue its march upward, or is it time to bail? As usual, by the time the answer to that question becomes clear, it's already too late for many. There is little doubt that the housing market is due for a breather, but it can also be argued that housing is a different breed than stocks. For one, they are tangible assets, and for another they are a necessity for people. But lest we forget, as everything else in life, the housing market follows the old rule of supply and demand. As long as demand is strong and supplies are in check, the prices will continue to rise. The US population is still on a growth path and there doesn't seem to be an over-abundance of homes in the market. Yet one can't help wonder if prices are artificially inflated or if the demand will continue to be in the same caliber that it has been in the past few years. In any case, average home owners (those with one home) have little to fear. We all need a home to live in, even if the future proves that we overpaid for the nest. On the other hand real estate investors, heavy equity borrowers, and ultimately the banks are in for some pain, should home prices lose their footing and find themselves in the clutches of gravity. <The Housing Dilemma> // posted by rh 0 comments | Tuesday, December 21, 2004 Intel and Analysts: I Told You So  A couple of weeks ago when Intel Reported a blow-out quarter I mentioned here that analysts will reverse course and upgrade the stock. Here's my blog note I am referring to: Intel Flies in the Face of Analyst Well, today Lehman Brothers joined a bunch of other analysts such as those form J.P. Morgan who have been pumping up the stock since their quarterly report. Thank you guys for your acumen and sharp insight, telling us what Intel already reported. Whatever would we do without you? <Intel and Analysts: I Told You So> // posted by rh 0 comments | Wednesday, December 15, 2004 Geico Bows to Google (At Least for Now)  Google's wildly successful Adsense program, while a blessing for some, has become a bane for others. In a lawsuit brought on by Geico, the insurance company claimed damages because some of Google's advertisers buy the "Geico" keyword for the specific reason to display insurance-related messages to the viewers. While Geico claims that this practice infringes on its trademarked company name, I can't see how this holds any water. I suppose if the ads are defamatory or baselessly attack Geico, the company's lawsuit may have some merit, but even then, Geico should pursue such litigations against the original advertisers, not the publisher itself. The point is that if everyone wanted to use cheap litigation to stop their competitors or detractors, then that could amount to censorship and that would drastically change the advertising landscape. Even Geico may not like that. <Geico Bows to Google (At Least for Now)> // posted by rh 0 comments | Thursday, December 02, 2004 Intel Flies in the Face of Analyst  So much for the Intel downgrade by Credit Suisse First Boston barely a week ago. The brainiacs at CSFB downgraded the stock to underperform on November 24th citing lower demand. Tonight Intel pre-announced a blowout quarter citing higher demand. So what happened? As usual the analysts' darts weren't hitting the bull's eye. Maybe they had a bad night at the casino, maybe they had some short positions to cover, or maybe they're just blabbering fools trying to create a stir. However you cut it, they were wrong. And watch tomorrow when the "smart" analysts come out of the woodwork to upgrade the stock and feed on our perpetual fear and greed. But it's not all bad news. After all they're right 50% of the time, aren't they? <Intel Flies in the Face of Analyst> // posted by rh 0 comments |

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