Farewell to Irving I. Ackerman- the Compleat Stockbroker

The Weirdest Coincidence

Here is something weird that happened to me yesterday, which I am still trying to understand as I write this.

Last Sunday, I was browsing through my collection of books to look for something about starting a business, and how to make money, etc. As I was doing this, something caught my eye. Of all the books and novels stacked there, there was this old, withered book that I got my hands on. It was the book of Irving I. Ackerman, "How to Invest and Win in the Philippine Stock Market". I borrowed this book from my father, Mario Domingo,about three years ago. I looked at it and said to myself that this is a good basic book on making money in the stock market. I opened it and started reading about how Eliseo P. Ocampo described Ackerman as the "Compleat Stockbroker"

Compleat Stockbroker

Mr. Ocampo said of Mr. Ackerman,

"A lot of people say that, if you want to succeed in the stock market, you have to trust your stockbroker a lot more than you trust your wife (incidentally, they say it doesn't work the other way around) and Irving you would want to trust unequivocably at first meeting. His face exudes it- it is an honest face and easy to look at despite the well-defined partida of a bygone era. When he speaks, you listen. You listen because he talks sense, because he makes you feel he knows what he is talking about, and because you always know what he is talking about. And he can talk, too, if you happen to touch the proper nerve, always with an optimism that doesn't fail to infect. When the market is down, flat on its back, you won't catch him with a long face or crying on somebody else's shoulder. He is liable to tell you, instead, "It could be worse. Anyway, there is no other way for the market to go but up." If you play the market, Irving is one guy you'd sure be happy to be with..."

The Obituary

I thought to myself that I found a great book so the next day, Monday, I devoured it and read it the whole day even in the LRT while going to work and when I went home. The next morning, Tuesday, I was talking with my father outside the store and I asked him if investing in Philex Mining Corporation and Atlas Consolidated was still a good investment. He said no, and said that those companies are no longer earning as much as they used to be. Then, I told him that I read in Irving Ackerman's book that during the late 1980s, it is good to buy stocks from the said companies because of continued yearly financial growth.

While, we were talking, my mother showed us the Philippine Star newspaper, and to our astonishment, there was the obituary of Irving I. Ackerman, 87, who died on January 17, 2009, the day after I accidentally got hold of his book "How to Invest and Win in the Philippine Stock Market".

I would like give my condolences to the family of the late Irving I. Ackerman, he is definitely a great teacher and a strong pillar to the development of the Philippine Stock Market.

I will continue reading his book and try to find a copy of his other masterpiece "Guide to Some Pitfalls in Business". Hopefully, by reading these I can here his distant voice and give me some advice on how I can win in the Philippine Stock Market.

Farewell, Irving I. Ackerman and thank you.

Economic Roadmap for 2009

EDGARDO G. LACSON, President, PCCI
Joint General Membership meeting
Economic Roadmap 2009

16 January 2008, 12:00 nn
Grand Ballroom, Intercontinental Hotel-Makati


By now, all of us are familiar with the financial crisis that started in the United States but has eventually damaged the global economy as the problem turned troubles to trauma.

After Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy, a domino effect ensued with numerous financial institutions not only in the United States but in other countries as well seeking financial assistance. Soon after, countries like Korea, Pakistan, and Iceland, and even countries in Eastern Europe like Hungary and Ukraine, to mention a few, are likewise asking for hefty financial support packages.

There seems to be no end in sight yet to the global financial turmoil. Leading industrialized nations across the globe are now into recession. China is in a sharp slowdown. Starting with financial institutions, we now see contractions in major industries like automotive, airlines, and the services sectors, specifically in the hotel and retail industries, with many companies seeking for bail outs. And even in the distressful moment there is some comic relief when theus porn Industry asked for a $5 billion bailout as it claims people can do without cars but people can not do without sex. Who knows, the mafia and other drug cartels may be preparing their respective position papers on the matter.

Levity aside, the seriousness of the issue at hand cannot be underestimated. Confidence in the world financial system is almost totally shattered. And it is confusion worse by the recent Madoff scam incident. Unless and until confidence returns, we are in for a tough ride. As we speak, the after-effects of the financial crisis continue to unfold in every conceivable portion of the world First, was the loss of asset values followed by the loss of jobs, and now we helplessly watch the loss of lives as prominent and lesser fund managers and investors committed suicide. Thankfully, Filipino are made of sterner stuff we may bend but we will never break. We can only hope that the bitter pills being administered by financial authorities while still struggling to comprehend the magnitude of the crisis, would have immediate positive effects to prevent a deep and prolonged global economic recession.

In the years ahead, many countries including the Philippines, will continue to experience the effects of a turbulent and volatile world as a new financial order takes shape from the current economic turmoil. This is the new reality we need to face, we believe. That the dogmas of the quiet past are no longer adequate to the stormy present.

For us today, what is critical is to determine how we will cope with the extraordinary uncertainty permeating today’s business environment, so that we need not lurch from crisis to crisis.

And we are very pleased to have our government’s economic managers To roll out the various government economic programs that would help mitigate and prepare the country from the impact of a slowing global economy.

In the spirit of public-private sector partnership, we have also invited today a panel of reactors from each of the major business organization to provide further insights and analysis on the issues at hand.

At this point, let me take this opportunity to thank all the major business organizations whom I have acknowledged earlier, for their active involvement in making today’s program possible.

The world’s response, and our own, to the financial crisis must be such that the solutions today do not become the problems of tomorrow. As the impact of the crisis ripples through our economy, we need to understand and define clearly the larger role for government in terms of outright ownership of former private-sector assets or tighter regulation. As countries, including the Philippines, implement their respective programs in coping with the crisis, we must cautious in the possible swing of the pendulum from, firstly, a fully unregulated free market economy to excessive regulation and secondly, from open economies to protectionist policies.

Purposely I laid out all the grim scenarios around us not to dampen our hopes but to stress the urgency for collective action.

Mark Coleman- Shogun Rua Fight

Stamina was the deciding factor that finally sealed the fate of the fighters in the Coleman-Shogun revenge fight yesterday. When the fighters were introduced, Coleman did not look like the fighter that he was when he fought Don Frye or when he became the first heavyweight champion of the UFC. The well defined abs and chest muscles were gone. But I thought maybe Coleman focused more on cardio exercise as part of his training. Maybe it was a game plan to outlast Shogun in the supposedly fifteen minute fight.

Shogun, on the other hand, looked fresh and back in shape after all the operations he underwent.

Coleman came in the first quarter pumped up, taking down Shogun at will and pummeling him with his signature ground and pound. Shogun even managed to put in good kicks to the left knee of Coleman and I thought that Coleman was going down, like in the Pedro Rizzo- Dan Severn fight.

On the second quarter, things looked very familiar. Coleman again took down Shogun, but after Shogun was able to stand up, Coleman looked very, very tired he could not even put his hands up to defend himself.

What was surprising was Shogun looked even more tired. I did not expect Shogun to lose steam like Coleman. Both looked very tired, old fighters wanting just to finish the round and get it over with.

On the third round, I had the idea that if Coleman keeps it up, he might just pull a winner here. He was taking down Shogun at will even though he was getting hit bad. But before the third round ended, Coleman was hit with a combination ending with a devastating upper cut which brought him down. The referee stopped the fight with Mark Coleman vehemently protesting why the fight was stopped.

I agree with Joe Rogan that even though Shogun won, his victory did not look good in terms of getting him future fights. His win was far from impressive and he did not show the talents of the Shogun Rua of old. Looking at his past fights would show how much he has lost in terms of speed and hunger to win.

Coleman and Shogun need to increase their speed and lenghten their fighting stamina. There are younger, faster and more exciting fighter out there and their performance yesterday might just as well put them in a very long waiting list for a next fight.

Thanks for all your emails. Let's keep this thing up.

Why Fighters Fail

Many great fighters fail not because they lack the skill to win, but because they lack the stamina to finish the fight. This is true not only in the boxing world but also in the arena of mixed martial arts (MMA).

One of my favorite fighters in the UFC is Mark "the Hammer" Coleman. He has dominated a period in the history of martial arts when fighters in UFC has not yet universalized their skills. Coleman created the technique "ground and pound" where, because of his well-sculpted, muscular, he-man, body, he would "take-down" his opponent at will and pound them to submission, or until they are knocked out. I especially remember his fight with Don Frye which is a classic.

During my exciting days as a youth introduced in the world of the octagon, I have not yet seen Don Frye lose. He always won with style and his skill inside the octagon was impeccable. Then came "The Hammer". I saw Coleman fight and I said to myself there is no way this guy is going to lose to anyone. He was very hard to take down because of his bulky built and muscular physique. So you can just imagine the thrill of watching these two excellent warriors fight. It was a no-holds-barred edge-of-your-seat gladiator clash.

Marc Coleman grounded and pounded Don Frye like there was no tomorrow and the result was a devastating victory for the Hammer. I have never seen Frye's face punished to submission.

However, the UFC was evolving fast with the entry of various fighting styles from different schools. Pete Williams fought Marc Coleman in the UFC and it was a fight I did not want to remember.

Coleman lost steam, he lost stamina during the final rounds and I could remember him breathing hard holding into his knees looking at Pete before Pete delivered that powerful punishing kick to the face. Yes, a kick to the face as clean as a whistle. This brought to the sunshine Coleman's weakness. He could not fight effectively in the late rounds because of lack of stamina.

Boxers face an equal roadblock. I have seen it in the fights of Oscar de la Hoya with Shane Mosley and Tito Trinidad. Oscar could have won if he gave it his all in the last remaining three rounds.

This is one reason why boxers need to jog long and hard during their training. They need at least six to eight weeks of cardio exercise, meaning exercise involving the conditioning of the heart. Boxers need to be prepared to fight thirty rounds.

Have you seen the fights during the early 1900s where boxers had to fight for forty 3-minute rounds? If the fight went the distance, they would have fought for 120 minutes, or 2 hours. Imagine 2 grueling hours of hand to hand combat with the same man exchanging blows until the other guy fell to the canvass.

But, boxers need to be prepared for long fights not because they need to satisfy the crowd or anything but because they need to be strong and physically and mentally fit after to fight for the sake of their health. One of my favorite fights which I will not mention here, ended up with the other boxer becoming brain dead. This is because the other surviving fighter trained hard to fight well after 15 rounds.

As of now, I like the training regiment of Oscar Larios, the Mexican champion who fought Manny Pacquiao a few years back. I heard he was a long distance runner which allowed him to go the distance with the Pacman during their bout.

In conclusion, stamina plays a very important role in the destiny and success of a fighter. Though ensuring a strong stamina will not guarantee victory, it will improve the chances of a fighter, coupled with dedicated training and improvement in skill.

Boxing Tips to be World Champion

It feels very good that Manny Pacquiao was able to execute his plan of attack during his fight with De la Hoya. He also managed to follow some of my tips to win. I wonder why most Filipino fighters don't just emulate or copy Pacquiao's training regiment. I feel that if you want to be a winner, you must do what winners do. If I was a new boxer and I want to make it big and fight in world boxing championships, here is what I will do to win:

TIPS TO BE A GOOD BOXER

1. Have a list of Pacquiao's training technique and schedules. This means knowing what exercise is best for the body, knowing what time to wake up, train, and sleep, knowing what to eat, and knowing how to condition your mind to fight like a tiger, to fight like the Pacman.

2. Exercise. Wake up at 4:30 AM and jog until 6:00 AM preferably with no breakfast, just bring water. Afterwards, work those abs, work them real hard, really hard. Get good shoes, heavy gloves (for training only, and good running shoes. I prefer using the same shoes I use for training in the actual fight.

Important secret: During jogging and training while punishing the punching bag, I suggest you put weights, about two pounds each, which you can strap in your ankles and wrists. I recommend you do this all the time during training. Once the fight begins, take it off, and you will feel as light as a feather. You will be jabbing, throwing power punches, and dancing inside the ring with superior speed. You will knock out your opponent in no time at all.

3. Eat the right food. Protein and vegetables are preferred. No sugar, no junk foods. Drink lots of water.

4. Focus. Focus on what you want singularly. Meaning, think of nothing else but being the best boxer in the world and do nothing to divert from that goal.

5. Spar with a boxer as big and as fast as your next opponent. It is important that you have a spar mate who can mimic your next opponent. Some boxers who have made it in the big time have the resources to pay for a spar mate. For those who do not have this advantage, I suggest you get at least a regular spar mate, maybe another boxer-friend, who can copy your opponent's style.

6. Know your enemy. Master how your opponent drops his right hand everytime he jabs with the left. See if your opponent attacks with hands down and see how he reacts when you jab. Does he move away, does he stay in place and just bobs and weaves, or does he block it with his hands.

Watch the videos from the previous fights of your opponent but do not depend on it one hundred percent. These videos may be inaccurate because the fighter may have improved over the years. Look at what happened to De La Hoya who thought that he is fighting the same Pacquiao who was defeated by Erik Morales in the first Pacquiao- Morales fight.

7. Pray. Most important of all is to pray. Pray as hard as you train. Train like it is your last fight, and pray like there is no tomorrow.

Good luck to all boxers. Let us bring the sport to a new level this year!