Rebecca Surran's Blog

The Curse in Reverse?

It's a rivalry for the sports history books, Yanks vs. Soxs.  And it sank to a new low recently.  I know, tough to beat that brawl back in '03 when 72 year old Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer and 32 year Bosox ace Pedro Martinez went at it on the field.  Not a pretty picture.  But now, burying a Red Sox jersey in 2 feet of concrete at the new Yankee Stadium as a curse against the "Evil Empire"... ooooh!  Thank goodness it was retrieved, that could have been the end of a sports dynasty. ;)  But I think both teams doth protest too much.  That was quite evident when the Yankees gave that David Ortiz jersey back to the Sox, who in turn auctioned it off on Ebay, fetching a cool $175,000.  (Sorry "Big Papi" I know you thought it was worth more.)  Anyway, that sum was then donated to the Jimmy Fund and will benefit kids with cancer.  Nice Job... maybe it was a curse in reverse?  Could this be the end of the sneering and jeering that's gone on since 1919?  Don't hold your breath, that's no fun, especially when we all now know good things can come from it.

Back At It

After a five week hiatus "12 On The Money" is back on the air this weekend.  It was good to get up and running again with the show.  And there couldn't be a more interesting time to cover business.  Today the GE news alone sent stocks plummeting.  And there's still the mortgage, credit and financial crises, not to mention thousands of lay-offs expected at firms like Bear Stearns.

One of my first guests this week was Vern Hayden of Hayden Financial Group who gave us his three mutual fund picks that he vows will beat the S&P 500 this year.  Here they are:

The first, Capital Growth Management, CGMFX.  The fund is managed by Ken Heebner who has been very adept at making the right picks.  One example, he shorted Countrywide right before it imploded.  That led to an 80 percent return for the fund last year.  Not too shabby.

Vern's second pick, the Fairholme Fun, FAIRX.  The fund has returned 20% annually over the past three years.  Bruce Berkowitz runs it and has done so for the past 11 years.  His style is similar to Warren Buffet's; he finds companies that are undervalued and swoops in for long-term growth.  That's why Berkowitz keeps 20% of the fund in cash so he can quickly make a move.

As for Vern's third pick, well, you'll just have to tune in this weekend!

What the Heck?

I sat down at my computer this morning to begin my daily routine... check my e-mail, go through the morning news rundowns and then pour through news wires and papers looking for stories.  This morning, despite my Friday fog, I let out an audible, "What the heck?"  It seems Mother Nature is lashing back in a very Hitchcock-esque fashion. The first story that caught my eye was slugged "Wild Turkey."  Yesterday in an upstate Connecticut town a turkey came crashing through a second story window and right into the middle of a board of directors meeting.  Shards of glass were sent flying as the bird then slammed into another half inch thick picture window.  No one was hurt, including the bird, but can you imagine... an 18 pound turkey crashing through a plate glass window and into the middle of your business meeting?  All I could think of was Tippy Hendren screaming in horror as a flock descended on her in Hitchcock's "The Birds."

I then continued through the wires and came upon the story of the 13 year old Connecticut girl attacked while on a field trip at Fenway Park yesterday by a red-tailed hawk.  Here's the photo:

      

The girl wasn't seriously hurt but the bird did draw blood with its talons.  It turns out the girl was sitting in the upper deck very close to the hawk's nest with one egg.  It was a classic case of a mother protecting her baby.  But Sox fans say it was an omen.  You see it turns out that the girl's name is, in fact, Alexa Rodriguez.  Hmm... are you nervous Yankee slugger A-Rod?  Maybe we should all be a little nervous.  :)