Market Reaction

It was the Dow's worst day since 2002.

Understandably the markets are on everyone's minds. Consider that problems like the Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy can be traced to our obsession with short term results. It will continue to happen as long as companies remain focused on maximizing profit right now.

Companies focus on the short term because North America's stock markets are focused on the short term. Stock market analysts always ask "What have you done in the past three months and what will you do in the next three months?"

It's a game called can you 'beat the street'? That's what the experts estimate your profits will be every 90 days. That can lead to poor long term decisions.

Compounding the problem, company managers get rewarded based on short term performance. The top three men at Lehman Brothers each made five million dollars last year -- 80 to 90 per cent of that money was a cash bonus for great performance.

For Lehman, 2007 was a record setting year. Today, less than a year later, the company is bankrupt.

What does that say?

If you invest in individual stocks, pay attention to your investments, and get really good advice.

You have to take an interest in more than "Gee I made lots of money this month." The most important question to ask is why. Why did I make all this money? What has the company done that made its stock value go up?

People often only ask questions when things go down, not when they go up. A year ago Canadian bank stocks were way up there. They looked like winners. Today CIBC, for example, is down about 40 per cent from last year's record.

You need to find out whether companies you invest in take a short term or long term view. You have to ask the tough questions of your financial advisor, in the good times, not just the bad.

Do Not Call List 

The countdown is on until Canada launches its Do Not Call List at the end of the month.

But will it really help you hang up for good on telemarketers?

Ian Hillman is tired of all the telemarketing calls.

"We receive sometimes three, four, five calls in a week," he explained.

Even screening the calls using caller ID hasn't stopped the persistent telemarketers.

"If you don't pick up their calls they just keep calling you back and calling you back until you do," he said.

Ian just wants to be left alone.

"I pay for phone bill so that I can contact my children, my family, my friends this sort of thing not so other people can invade my privacy," he said.

Ian's frustration is shared by thousands of Canadians who complain to the federal government every year. So now the CRTC is dialing up a solution.

"There have always been a lot of complaints about telemarketing calls but primarily it's happening because consumers were asking telemarketers not to call them and they were not honouring their request," explained Nancy Webster Cole, the CRTC's senior manger for telemarketing regulations.

Starting September 30th the national Do Not Call List will go into effect.

Signing up is easy. Just call 1-866-580-dncl (3625) or log on here (Do Not Call) and follow a few easy steps.

But there are exceptions.

"For example calls from charities - figured to be calls for social good. Political parties and newspapers --we live in a democratic society with freedom of the press, and in general people don't mind getting those types of calls and that's why those exemptions were made by parliament," said Webster Cole

And there are other exempted organizations.

Companies with whom you have an existing commercial relationship, such as your phone company or bank, or r a company you've done business with in the past 18 months, like a carpet cleaning business, and market researchers, doing polls and surveys.

And one final restriction: the sign-up is only good for three years, then you have to re-register.

Still, with all the limitations, Ian likes what he's hearing and will be signing up the minute the service as available.

The national do not call list will not prevent you from receiving junk mail with your name on it, like a credit card application. If you want to stop that as well, you need to sign up for the Canadian Marketing Association's Do Not Contact Service.