Ritz Half Moon Bay
If you ever get the chance to visit Half Moon Bay you should definitely take advantage of it. The Ritz in Half Moon Bay is located with on the water where you can hear the waves crashing from your room. We especially enjoyed Room 674 it has a view of the Golf course and Pacific. The Golf Course has one of the greatest 18th holes I have ever played.
Take a look
Baci really enjoyed her visit to New York City where she stayed at the Ritz Carlton on Central Park. The hotel is perfectly situated across from Central Park so it is ideal for walks through the park. The weather was wonderful as well.
The Ritz was also very accommodating providing Baci with her own Ritz Food and Water Bowls. She was also given treats and she especially enjoyed the Woof sign that was placed on the door letting others know of her presence.
Baci had a great time in Boston when she visited the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge http://www.hotelmarlowe.com/
This is an extremely dog friendly hotel. When she arrived she was provided with a dog bed and a lunch box of doggie treats (toys, treats, water bottle, bags etc.) The staff could not have been more friendly. We will definitely visit again!!
She is about to make her 4th trip to the US and is very excited!!
I highly recommend a service called Fly Clear if you fly a lot. It will save you at least 30 minutes each time you fly. Basically you no longer have to wait in a security line. What you do is apply–as part of the application process they will ask all sorts of info about you and you will need to give finger prints (which can be done in the airport at one of their stands) so they can identify you. Once you are approved there is a special line only for clear members ( you will provide your card and they will scan your fingerprints)–every time I have used Clear there has never been even 1 person in line ahead of me. They have locations now all over the USA. There is a link to the site below and please use the refer-a friend code this gives you a complimentary month of membership.
Your Refer-A-Friend code: DSCAM1176418
Clear’s Refer-A-Friend Offer
If you love Clear as much as we do, tell your friends! Members who refer friends and family to enroll in Clear can receive complimentary months of Clear membership. For every new member you refer to Clear, we will add one free month of Clear membership to your account and to your friend’s account, too. In order to receive the complimentary month of membership, your friend must enter your “Refer-A-Friend” code on the payment page of online enrollment. For more details, please visitflyclear.com/referafriend or call Clear support at (866) 848-2415
Baci just enjoyed a Brie and Ham Sandwich with me this evening and is still licking her lips. This week we discovered that Baci loves to eat fresh strawberries and almonds 🙂
As I arrived home today Baci greeted me with a 2 minutes of jumping, turning in place, and getting her ball–turning in place some more and then running to get her ball. If everyone would greet each other with the enthusiasm and joy Baci does everyday the world would be a much happier place.
On the Ides of March–Baci had a really full day–she started her day with her usual breakfast and playtime. Then I took her to the beach for a long walk and she got to a lot of “interesting” people. She looked like she still had a lot of energy so I took her to our orchard for another walk. Satisfied Baci arrived back just in time for a Sunday lunch of eggs and ham.
And to cap things off she had her Sunday Spa day and is now resting 🙂
Baci had a fun day today. I took her for her Afternoon walk so she had time to smell and meander. Then she went for an extra walk of the day in my sister-in-laws house. So now I am waiting for her to get back.
Baci spent a great day playing in the Orchards today. She investigated every corner of the yard. Did a fair amount of marking since she had not been there is a few weeks. Then while walking in a more distant part of the Orchard we ran into some wild dogs. So we had to make a run for it. Now she is back at home resting and happy.
The street focuses on quarterly revenue, EPS, EBIT, EBITDA and margins. The income statement is where you find all the metrics that the street loves. It therefore must be the most important financial statement. Not!
In my opinion the most important financial statement is the lowly cash flow statement. Unfortunately, it is probably the least used and most misunderstood statement. Ultimately cash flow is what drives the value of any financial asset. The reason analysts look at revenue, EPS, EBIT, EBITDA and margins, they are trying to estimate a cash flow number.
The balance sheet is a snapshot of a company’s financial position (assets and liabilities) at a single point in time, while the income statement summarizes a company’s income and expenses over an interval of time to determine if a profit was earned. Both of these financial statements are prepared using accrual-basis accounting which matches revenues with the associated expenses to generate those revenues in the same period. This leads to a disconnect between cash and earnings.
For example, during the quarter a company sells some surplus land for cash. The attorney who handled the paperwork did not bill the company by the end of the quarter. Under U.S. accounting rules (SFAS 5 Accounting for Contingencies), you would record an expense on the income statement and a liability to pay the attorney on the balance sheet, although no cash has been paid. The balance sheet and income statement are not the best places to look when you want to understand what is going on with cash. The cash flow statement is not based on accrual accounting, but instead is a cash-basis report focusing on inflows and outflows of cash. It adjusts out transactions that do not directly affect cash receipts and payments, such as adding depreciation back to net earnings.
The cash flow statement allows investors to understand how a company’s operations are running, where the cash is coming from and how it is being spent. Transactions are categorized into the cash flow statement’s three sections of operating, investing and financing activities. The accounting rules are very specific in defining what goes into each section, which ensures a degree of comparability between companies. Each section is discussed below.
Operating activities measure cash generated from core business operations – the sale of the company’s products and services. Included here are income and costs associated with production, sales, delivery, as well as collecting cash from customers. Cash from operating activities should always be positive and greater than the company’s net income. Earnings are considered “high quality” when operating cash flow is consistently greater than net earnings. If operating cash flow is less than net earnings, this is a strong signal you need to look deeper into the financials with a critical eye.
Investing activities focus on the purchase of the long-term assets the company needs to make and sell its products, along with any sales of long-term assets. This section also includes business acquisitions and strategic investments.
Financing activities include the inflow of cash from the sale of stock or issuance of debt, as well as the outflow of cash as dividends, purchases of treasury stock and repayment of debt.
Conclusion: As an investor, you want to pay close attention to the cash flow statement. Given the complexity of today’s accounting rules, earnings on the income statement and assets and liabilities on the balance sheet are often misleading (e.g. mark-to-market of a derivative, recording an asset for an asset retirement obligation). When a company consistently generates more cash than it uses, it will be able to increase dividends paid, buy back shares, reduce debt, or acquire another company. As a dividend investor, I want to know my company is financially capable of paying me a higher dividend each year, and the cash flow statement is the first place to look when making this determination. Do you use the cash flow statement when evaluating a company?
FlyerTalk is an interactive community that provides up-to-date information on travel-related loyalty reward programs. Here is an example of how I use it with the Miles and More Program from Lufthansa. Last year Lufthansa had a few promotions that were not advertised. The promotion provided a bonus of 5,000 miles each time I flew from the Middle East to Europe in business class. So I was able to rack up an additonal 25,000 miles. On top of that Lufthansa had another unadvertised bonus which gave 10,000 miles if you flew 38,000 miles within a 3 month period. So I made 35,000 extra miles by spending about 10 minutes registering for these programs.
While most companies are floundering 3M announced today that they will increase their dividend to 51 cents per share. The company has increased its dividend every year for the past 51 years. Amazing!! I will add to my 3M position on the news.
The founder of Vanguard spoke of 8 Rules of Investing that are worth remembering:
I just opened a new Vanguard Account. The process took about 10 minutes and was very easy. The only thing to be aware of is that a new account requires a minimum of $3,000. for each fund that is opened. The great thing about Vanguard is the account expense fees are very low. Most of the mutual funds at Vanguard have an expense fee of around 0.20%. Mutual funds generally have fees in the 1% range. So the savings are substantial.
I decided to open the Vanguard account in order to diversify my portfolio and reduce risk just in case another major financial institution goes broke. I currently have an E-Trade account that is used to purchase stocks that focus on dividend yield. I also have a Merrill Lynch Account that is professionally managed.
I will post my mutual fund strategy in the next blog.
Islay Distilleries: Laphroaig, Caol Ila, Bruichladdich, Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bunnahabhain, Lagavulin and Kilchoman
Lowland Distilleries: Auchentoshan, Bladnoch, Glenkinchie, Ladyburn (CM), Littlemill (CM), Inverleven (CM), Rosebank (CM)
Campbeltown Distilleries: Glengyle, Glen Scotia, Springbank
Island Distilleries: Arran, Blackwood, Highland Park Isle of Jura, Scapa, Talisker, Tobermory
Speyside Distilleries: Aberlour, Allt-á-Bhainne, Ardmore, Aultmore, Auchroisk, Balmenach, Balvenie, Banff (CM), Benriach, Benromach, Benrinnes, Braeval (Braes of Glenlivet), Caperdonich, Cardhu, Coleburn (CM), Convalmore(CM), Cragganmore, Craigellachie, Dailuaine, Dallas Dhu (CM), Dufftown, Glenallachie, Glen Elgin, Glen Grant, Glen Keith, Glen Mhor (CM), Glen Moray, Glen Spey, Glenburgie, Glendronach, Glendullan, Glenfarclas, Glenfiddich, Glenglassaugh, Glenlivet, Glenlossie, Glenrothes, Glentauchers, Imperial (CM), Inchgower, Kininvie, Knockando, Knockdhu, Linkwood, Longmorn, Macallan, Macduff, Mannochmore, Miltonduff, Mortlach, Pittyvaich, Royal Brackla, Speyburn, Speyside, Strathisla, Strathmill, Tamdhu, Tomatin, Tamnavulin (CM), Tomintoul, Tormore
Highland Distilleries: Aberfeldy, Balblair, Ben Nevis, Ben Wyvis (CM), Blair Athol, Brora (CM), Clynelish, Dalmore, Dalwhinne, Deanston, Edradour, Fettercairn, Glen Albyn (CM), Glen Esk (CM), Glen Garioch, Glengoyne, Glen Ord, Glencadam, Glenmorangie, Glenturret, Glenugie, Glenury-Royal, Loch Lomond, Lochside, Millburn (CM), North Port, Oban, Pulteney, Royal Lochnagar, Teaninich, Tullibardine
Scotland is divided into six whisky-producing regions; Speyside, Lowlands, Highlands, Campbeltown, Islands and Islay. Although each whisky is unique, the malts produced in each region have some common characteristics which separate them from whiskies from other regions. These differences are the result of several factors for example the use of different raw materials, climate variations and different production techniques.
Islay
Islay is a small island west of the Scottish mainland and is the home of many well-known malt whiskies. Although a few milder versions exits, Islay whisky in general is smoky, peaty and salty and has quite a bit of tang and tar thrown into the mix. The island once had 23 distilleries operating at the same time but the number of active distilleries is now down to seven. They will soon become eight however; a brand new distillery named Kilchoman opened in 2005.
Lowlands
As the name suggests, the Lowlands is a flat region without mountains. It is also the southernmost part of Scotland. Whisky from the Lowlands is smooth and slightly fiery. It is also very light in salt, peat and smoke as opposed to many other whiskies. Any Lowland whisky is a fine aperitif.
Speyside
Speyside is the undisputed center for whisky in Scotland when it comes to the number of distilleries. The region has received its name from the river Spey which cuts through the area. Many of the distilleries use water straight from the river Spey in their production process. Speyside is geographically part of the Highlands but is considered a separate region because of its size and the different characteristics of Speyside whisky as opposed to other Highland whisky. If you wish to introduce a friend to the world of whisky, a Speyside is a good choice with its rich flavor, complexity and relatively mild character. The town of Elgin is the center of the region.
Highlands
The Highlands is the largest of the whisky producing regions in Scotland. The whisky is often powerful, has a rich flavor and is quite smoky although slightly less so than whisky from the Islands. Compared to the Lowlands, Highland whiskies often taste very different from each other. This is partly due to the size of the region which allows for greater differences in the microclimate, but variations in raw materials and productions techniques also play an important part. The word ‘glen’ is commonly used in the name of both Highland and Speyside distilleries and means ‘valley’.
Campbeltown
The region Campbeltown was once a flourishing whisky region and the city of Campbeltown was considered to be the whisky capital of Scotland. In 1886 there were no less than 21 distilleries in and surrounding the city. Today only three distilleries remain. Campbeltown is still referred to as a separate whisky producing region, but today the reason is mostly historical.
Islands
It is not uncommon for this region to be confused with Islay but Islands is in fact a separate production region which consists of the islands Mull, Orkney, Jura, Arran, Shetlands and Skye. It is a source of constant debate whether Orkney belongs to the Islands or in fact should be counted as part of the Highlands region. Whisky from the Islands may be described as a milder version of Islay whisky and is often appreciated by those who have enjoyed whisky for a few years. The well-known whisky Talisker is produced on the beautiful Island of Skye. The Blackwood Distillery is the most recent addition to Scotland’s family of distilleries and is currently being built on one of the Shetland Islands.
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