U.S. Banks Overrun by Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels
Our theme today comes from a movie, in which Michael Caine teaches Steve Martin how to be a gigolo. The idea is to identify rich, vulnerable women...seduce them...and then take their money.
In today's world, becoming a real gigolo is social climbing. The average man - even one from a good school and a good family - is an oaf. Next to him, the gigolo, with his suave manners and dandyish airs, is like a Venetian palace next to a double wide.
Besides, the gigolo gives value for money. A woman gets little thrill or merit from landing a Wall Street hustler; no matter how rich, he is almost always boorish and preoccupied. But the gigolo brings refinement and taste to a woman; he makes her feel exceptional because he is exceptional. To a woman of a certain age, his attentions are a welcome as bad lighting.
We only bring it up because it is the front-page story at the Financial Times this morning. Whether life imitates art, or the other way around, we don't know; but yesterday a poor gigolo was sentenced to six years in a German hoosegow for taking advantage of Susanne Klatten. The two met at a health spa - where the hunter scouted his prey. Then, after he had made his advances...without too much resistance, it appears... he made up some cock-and-bull story about having an accident in which a child was hurt. According to him, the mafia was after him. And if he didn't come up with $7 million to pay them off, he was going to have his fine bones broken - or worse.
Naturally, his rich mistress produced the money. But then he got greedy and wanted more. He threatened to show some embarrassing photos to her husband. And then she called the cops.
All of this might have gone unnoticed had the woman involved not been the richest woman in Germany, heiress to the BMW fortune.
Ms. Klatten, no doubt, regrets the affair. Her spirit might have been willing to put up a fight, but her flesh was weak...as it with us all. But she is hardly the only woman - or man - to be robbed by dirty, rotten scoundrels.
"Help needed as investing frauds rise," says a piece in the International Herald Tribune. The IHT focuses on another swindler - Arthur Nadel, accused of bilking investors out of as much as $300 million. But the point of the article is that while jobs are scarce - even bank robbers can't find a bank worth robbing - 'receivers,' court appointed liquidators, can name their price: It's a "job that has become increasingly in demand in such huge investment fraud cases as the Bernard Madoff scandal and the one against the Texas tycoon, Allen Stanford."
But first, let's turn to the headlines...then we'll come back to the dirty, rotten scoundrels.
Yesterday, the Dow lost another 80 points. Oil continued its rise - to $47. And gold reversed downward, losing $24. Maybe the correction in gold isn't over...we'll see.
The Wall Street Journal is now wondering out loud if the Dow could fall to 5,000. And so is Barron's. It's a 'bearish possibility,' says the WSJ. But Barron's voices what we think is still the dominant emotion of this market. "Will the Dow fall to 5,000?" it asks. "We don't think so," it replies.
Not only are the papers discussing our Dow target, they're also beginning to catch on to what is really happening.
The economy is in the grip of a "depression dynamic," says Bloomberg. For the first time sine WWII, the global economy is shrinking...it continues...led by the United States of America.
"Job losses hint at vast remaking of U.S. economy," adds the New York Times.
David Rosenberg of Merrill Lynch looks that the numbers: There are now 12.5 million people out of work in the United States - a 25-year high. This is a lot more joblessness than the typical recession produces, he notes. "In just five months we have lost 50% more than we usually do in a classic 10-month recession."
Oh, for an old-fashioned 10-month recession! This is not a recession at all - it's a depression, in which the economy will be restructured, not merely re-inflated.
*** In a speech yesterday, Helicopter Ben stated that a recovery would "remain out of reach" if the major financial institutions were allowed to fail.
If the banking sector is stabilized, said he, a recovery later this year is not out of the question.
Once the banks find their footing, the Fed chairman says, "then I think there is a good chance the recession will end later this year and 2010 will be a period of growth.
At the risk of sounding redundant: this is a depression. Not a recession. But nothing like a nice, healthy dose of deluded optimism from the head of the Federal Reserve to get you through a Tuesday.
*** Depressions seem to bring out the dirty, rotten scoundrels. Richard Fuld - formerly head of Lehman Bros. - was in Paris this week. A friend reports seeing him at a wedding reception held at the exclusive Automobile Club on the Place de la Concorde. We didn't ask questions. But we're happy to see Mr. Fuld still has the joie de vivre to go out...socialize...and have a good time.
Some guys would have been laid low by his experience; they would cower in a bolthole somewhere...unable to show their faces in public...embarrassed and ashamed. After all, Fuld sank one of the world's great financial institutions...and brought billions worth of losses to millions of people. If he were Japanese, for example, he would have at stepped in front of a bullet train or removed his own intestines. But dirty rotten scoundrels just go to fancy weddings.
Of course, we have no particular reason to single out poor Dick Fuld. The scoundrels are so thick on the ground, you can scarcely jump out of a window on Wall Street these days without falling on one of them.
Forbes says the entire U.S. financial industry is "effectively insolvent," thanks to their errors and omissions. But now that everyone is pointing his finger at capitalists...we take their part. We're suckers for lost causes and underdogs. Yes, they are dirty rotten scoundrels...but the people who now pretend to save us from them are even dirtier and rottener.
At least Dick Fuld got rich honestly - by misleading investors. Even Bernie Madoff made his money, too, the old-fashioned way - like a gigolo - by defrauding investors, one at a time.
But now the whole thing has been turned over to the big boys. Now we're getting theft and fraud on a much bigger scale. Trillions of dollars are being given out by politicians and functionaries. AIG, for example, has been described as 'where taxpayers' money goes to die.' But it doesn't die in AIG - it goes to pay off debts to the biggest boys left in the room - Merrill and Goldman Sachs. 'In the room, in the deal,' they say on Wall Street. Goldman was actually in the room with Tim Geithner and the feds - the only investment bank present - when the decision was made to 'rescue' AIG. Goldman may not have mentioned it at the time, but AIG owed Goldman billions of dollars. Now, the taxpayers bailout AIG so that Goldman can get its money.
*** "Our world is broken," writes Gillian Tett in the Financial Times this morning.
The FT is doing a series on the "Future of Capitalism." A lot of ponderous blah blah, as near as we can tell.
Yesterday, Martin Wolf - whom finance ministers and leading economists read in order to find out what to think - had a nice turn of phrase. Derivatives, he said, did not - as advertised - transfer the risk to those people most able to manage it. "They transferred the risk to those least able to understand it."
But when Wall Street's vaults were open, what did they find? They hadn't transferred it at all! So much risk was left in the hands of the people who created it that - when it blew up - it flattened the entire investment banking industry.
The blah blahers misunderstand their subject. Invariably, they see capitalism as a machine-like 'system' that has lost a gear or gotten a flat tire. They spend their ink wondering how to fix it. Invariably, the solutions come at someone else's expense.
Nationalize the banks. Tighten regulation. More bailout money. The usual claptrap.
Why do we say 'claptrap?' Because all these worthy fixes only make the problem worse...while, of course, giving more power and money to the scoundrels.
Already trillions of dollars have been spent supposedly fixing the machine. The latest estimate we saw was $11.7 trillion; we were so flummoxed by the number we forgot to find out where it came from. No matter. The important thing is this: they've spent trillions so far...and the machine is broker than ever. They can spend trillions more, it won't 'fix' the machine. Because it's not a machine...
"It is like saying to someone that the emperor has no clothes on...and then you find he had no underpants either," says Warren Buffet.
Buffett, too, has been surprised by how broke the machine is. He told investors last October that he was buying stocks...and they should too. Since then, the stock market has lost about 25% more of its value. The Sage of the Plains says he doesn't regret his letter from last autumn, he just wishes he had written it a few months later. He also says he sees an "economic Pearl Harbor" coming...
Economic 'Pearl Harbor?' C'mon Warren...that's a negative and silly way to look at it. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was vicious, unprovoked and underhanded. Here in the building in London with the gold balls - no kidding, our office building has gold balls on the roof - we always look on the bright side. But you don't have to crane your neck to see the bright side of the worldwide financial meltdown...and it has nothing in common with Pearl Harbor. What's going on is that capitalism is going through a phase...a very healthy phase of 'positive collapse.'
We know we've given our version of the events leading up to this crisis. We will give it again.
Top 10 Stocks For The Recovery Market
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5 Additional Deadliest Mistakes When Applying For College Funding
In this installment we're going to cover 5 additional deadliest mistakes almost every parent makes when trying to get money for their child's college education.
If you make any one of these mistakes, it could end up costing you thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in lost funding that you might have been eligible for.
We don't want to see you making these mistakes if you don't have to. That's why we've decided to devote this installment to teaching you how to avoid these common mistakes and make sure you get the maximum amount of money from every school your child applies to.
So, without further ado, let's discuss...
"5 Additional Deadliest Mistakes Most Parents Make
When Applying For College Funding..."
Mistake #1: Not understanding the difference between "included assets" and "unincluded assets" for purposes of filling out financial aid forms
Reality: Certain assets are counted much more heavily in the financial aid formulas than others. For example, savings accounts, CD's, stocks and bonds are all included and asked about on the Federal Financial Aid form. However, it does not ask about the value of annuities or cash-value life insurance anywhere on that same form.
Mistake #2: It doesn't matter where I keep my money; it's all counted in the same way
Reality: Nothing could be further from the truth. Where you keep your money could mean the difference between you getting $10,000 in financial aid or getting nothing! For example, money in the child's name is weighted much more heavily than money in the parent's name. If you don't know how to legally and ethically position your money properly for purposes of financial aid, you could end up losing thousands in financial aid! Even the people reading this who have enough money saved to fully pay for your child to go to college, wouldn't you rather "save" some of the money you've "saved" if the school is willing to pick up part of the tab?!?
Mistake #3: "My CPA or tax preparer is qualified to fill out my financial aid forms - I'll let him/her do it"
Reality: Unfortunately, CPAs and tax preparers are experts at tax planning and preparation - not financial aid planning. For example, a CPA or tax preparer might suggest that you put some or all of your assets in your child's name to save money on taxes. While this advice is well meaning, it will usually kill most if not all of your chances of getting financial aid. Also, CPAs and tax preparers are not trained in filling out financial aid forms. In many cases, they will unknowingly fill out these forms improperly (i.e., using pen instead of pencil, using white-out to cover mistakes, omitting social security numbers, etc.), and these "minor" mistakes will bump your financial aid forms. If this happens, you will have to re-submit these forms all over again, and you will probably end up losing thousands in financial aid since it is awarded on a first come, first served basis.
Mistake #4: Waiting until January or even worse after January of your child's senior year of high school to start working on your college financial aid planning
Reality: Since financial aid is based on your previous year's income and assets, it is imperative to start your planning as soon as possible before January of your child's senior year. If you want to legally set up your income and assets so you can maximize your eligibility for financial aid, you must start working on this, at least, one year in advance - preferably in the beginning of your child's JUNIOR year of high school. The longer you wait and the closer it gets to your child's senior year, the tougher it gets to set up your financial picture without creating a "red flag" for the colleges and universities. It is also important for you to know what your "Expected Family Contribution" is so you can start saving for it. And, you should also know which schools can give you the best packages before you start visiting and applying to them. My advice is if you haven't started planning, DO IT NOW!
Mistake #5: Going Through The Financial Aid Process By Yourself Because It's "Cheaper"
Reality: If this describes you, the colleges and Federal Government are going to love you! This allows them to keep control over the process instead of you, the parent, understanding how the process works and taking back control from them. It always amazes me that people will readily use a doctor when they get sick, a lawyer when they get sued, but suddenly when they are going to send their child to college and spend between $14,000 - $34,000 per year, parents want to save themselves a couple of dollars and do it themselves. Unless you spent the last 5 - 10 years of your life studying and understanding the financial aid process, there is no way you are going to know how to get the maximum amount of money from each school. And, if you do try it yourself, you'll probably spend countless hours trying to figure it out. The moral to this story is "Don't Be Penny Wise And Dollar Foolish!" Use an expert who can help you through this process and make sure you get everything you're entitled to. (If you still insist that it makes sense to handle this yourself, we have a list of 10 books that we recommend you read word for word before even attempting to navigate your way through the financial aid jungle). On top of that, we would recommend reading the HERA (Higher Education Re-authorization Act), which is 400 pages of the smallest legal type you have ever seen and will only take you a couple hundred hours to read!
Be on the lookout in your email next week for the next Online College Funding Course installment where we will be discussing 7 strategies to help you get the maximum amount of money for your child's college education!
Scott Weingold has been ranked one of the top ten college funding advisors in the country, according to The National Association of College Funding Advisors. He has co-authored the book, "The Real Secret To Paying For College. The Insider's Guide To Sending Your Child To College - Without Spendng Your Life's Savings." and has published two student success handbooks: "The College Admission Application Boot Camp Handbook" and "The No Nonsense Insiders Guide To A Successful Freshman Year And Thereafter." Scott also publishes a popular free online newsletter, "College Funding Made Simple" which reveals insider's tips, methods, and strategies for beating the high cost of college. Scott is the co-founder and a principal of Ohio-based College Planning Network, LLC, one of the nation's largest and most reputable college and financial aid servicing centers. CPN is a member of the National Association of College Admission Counseling and the Better Business Bureau.
Scott, along with his college funding advisory team, helps thousands of families throughout the country with their college planning needs and offers a series of free educational teleseminars and workshops on "How To Pay For College Without Going Broke In The Process!"
There's Always a Silver Lining
Here at Casey Research, we are trying not to be overly pessimistic, but there's no denying the mass of bad news coming to us from all fronts: the forces of collectivism are using the cover of the crisis they largely created, aided and abetted by capitalism's quislings, to roll over the individual.
Even so, contained within the dire reportage is also some very good news for you personally.
The Bad News
As fully anticipated, with its first budget plan, the Obama administration has fired a salvo into the side of the productive classes. (For those of you who are not U.S. citizens, feel free to use Team Obama as a proxy for what is likely to occur where you reside.)
Yes, we expected the $1.75 trillion budget deficit, which will, by the time all is said and done, come in a lot closer to the $2.5 trillion number anticipated some months ago by our Chief Economist Bud Conrad.
Yes, we expected the government to begin raising taxes, which they are proposing to do with vigor ― starting with an increase of $1.4 trillion on the people who earn in excess of $250,000 a year. "Right on!" shouts the mob, on the way out the door to burn Porsches (which, Bloomberg reports, is now becoming something of a trend in Germany's capital, Berlin).
For no other purpose than to keep the record straight, it's worth noting that thanks to the government's steady dose of inflation, $250,000 today will only buy you 77% of what it would have in 1998…and 56% of what it would have in 1988.
A decade from now, given the inflation rate we expect, the dollar's purchasing power will erode by another 50%, and probably a lot more than that. In fact, at the current rate of money creation, by the time the dust settles, $250,000 might be the annual wage commanded by burger flippers.
But, hey, look at the bright side, at that point everyone will be rich!
The further details of Obama's budget plan are a hodgepodge of this and that, some of which we even agree with (like cutting business subsidies). On the whole, however, the overarching mandate appears to be to thrust the hand of government, like some motion picture kung fu villain, deep into the heart of American enterprise.
And government's expansion is far from over. The news continues to pour in…
Citigroup to get another $25 billion bailout from the U.S. Treasury.
Treasury officials work on bailout plan for auto parts manufacturers.
President Obama exploring automatic workplace pensions and an expansion of unemployment insurance.
AIG, now a government lap puppy, takes another big loss, and is again looking to its master for another handout.
Speaking of lap puppies, Fannie Mae, has lost another $25 billion and is looking for $15 billion more from the Treasury. The value of this zombie institution's net assets is now a negative $105 billion, and eroding. Great investment of your tax dollars, eh?
Then there's the new administration's cap-and-trade green tax…a stunning new initiative that will bring many U.S. businesses to their knees.
There is more, so much more, including a $638 billion reserve fund for healthcare reform in the president's budget that loudly broadcasts that, "Yes, we're going there." There being nationalized health care.
However, there's also some good news to be found in the way things will be.
The Good News
My fellow citizens of planet Earth, it is now abundantly clear that the trend toward socialism in all its many disguises is about to, once again, shift into high gear.
We've been here before, encouraged by the words of Karl Marx, a distinctly unsuccessful individual (to read his life story is to read of almost unending misery, poverty, and discontent) but a decidedly successful phrase-coiner, knocking the world off its axis with his "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need."
While no one with any real sense of history, not to mention economics, can take any overt joy at the prospect of the dark clouds of collectivism looming high in the sky above us, there is, if you pay close attention, a very big opportunity in all of this.
Namely, we are now presented with a relatively rare chance to see with some clarity into the future.
Imagine if eight years from now you could step into a time machine and zip right back to this very moment. How much money do you think you could make?
Well, just because the chattering masses have the blinders on as they march forward to their collective penury doesn't mean we need to join them. And, if we are even a little bit careful, we won't.
So, what is it about the future we can now see? Some broad strokes…
Currency depreciation.
More taxes.
Rising interest rates.
A price capitulation in real estate, with a collapse in commercial.
Exchange controls (now that Team Obama is raising your taxes, you don't really think they're going to let you pick up your wealth and leave, do you? The window for global diversification will soon be closing.)
The return of mega-labor unions.
Trade wars, shooting wars, and other forms of heightened geopolitical tension.
(This is a topic we are discussing at greater length, backed up with specific recommendations, in the March edition of The Casey Report, released on March 3. Among its many highlights, Doug Casey has contributed an article titled "Street Fighting Man" about the prospects for social unrest.)
Provided you keep your personal wealth profile low (there was a reason Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, drove a beat-up pickup truck), your financial powder dry, and, maybe most important of all, retain your sense of humor, the opportunities in the unfolding crisis will be abundant.
Whatever you do, don't be complacent about what's coming.
We are long past the point where doing nothing is an option. Review your personal finances, cut out unnecessary expenses, talk to your accountant about tax planning, and, if you're a U.S. citizen, consider moving at least some of your wealth out of the country while you still can (but please, don't try to hide it…that's a fool's errand). If you own gold, only you and your spouse, if you have one, should be aware of it.
Ask yourself, "If I just dropped in from eight years in the future, what measures would I take?"
Now, take them.
One day we'll all look back on this and la-a-augh…
A Shooter writes: "Come on guys! If the socialist leader you're referring to is Obama, you're behind the curve. He took great pains to deny to a journalist that he was a socialist. I have to agree he's not a socialist; he's been trained by communists."
Duly noted.
"Gary,
"Not all Canadians dream of 'evolving into full human potential.' Although I am a proud Canuck, I can tell you that socialism is a tax on creativity and innovation. The justification for socialism is what makes it so appealing ― 'educate the children!' 'Healthcare for all!' These sound noble and wonderful, and they can be, providing that people use them responsibly. I got a great education in Canada. Having said that, I went to school with people who were making a career out of being students. Hey, it's cheap, so why start working? One of the guys I went to university with worked salmon fishing in British Columbia in the summer, and then went on unemployment while he went to university (salmon season's over ― he was unemployed).
"So personally, I think that socialism is great if you have people that appreciate it and use it to better themselves, but unfortunately those people are few and far between ― you get way more people that feel that they are entitled to those benefits. Although having to endure American arrogance could be very painful (a lot of them came up to Calgary for the Stampede every year), I do agree that having the liberty to keep your own money, make your own choices, and succeed or fail on your own merits is vastly preferable to having someone else decide those things for you. If I wanted a parent, I'd move back in with mine."
Socialism does indeed work great for angels. Not so good for humans. The humans that would benefit are the same ones who'd refuse it. Oh the irony…
"Gary,
"Your response to the Canadian writer today on her impression looking south onto the devastation was off the mark. I'm an American living in Germany ― another one of the misguided 'socialist' countries. I don't understand what you and your fellow rednecks are afraid of. I'm stress-free knowing my family will have full healthcare no matter what. Your disciples will reply with the obligatory whining about poor quality of healthcare and unbearable waiting for treatment and in your vacuum of knowledge and experience, you will be wrong. I say wallow in your ignorance while the world looks on and marks your shameful embrace of a failed governmental system with a victimized populace. Don't fear good intentions ― I know you don't believe [they] always give the worst results."
Actually, yes. Yes, I do. Another Shooter presciently comes to my aid…
"'Too bad you were born with the dreaded Conservative gene. But soon modern medicine will be able to block it. Then you may be free to evolve into the full potential that human beings are capable of.'
"Whiskey & Gunpowder, Mar 10, 2009
"I generally ignore any comments liberals make but I'll make an exception here.
"Liberals, like this one, typically use ad hominem attacks because they cannot defeat conservatives in logical, fact-based debates. Their brain has been marinated too long in socialist juices for them to imagine that some of us actually prefer taking charge of our lives and resent the government ruining them. We are not constrained by socialist dogma to behave in certain ways and think in certain ways. We can analyze global warming based on scientific evidence because we are not ideologically committed to it because our elders tell us to be.
"We don't subscribe to a creed which demands to be taken care of. I submit that we are far more likely to achieve our human potential than are the socialists. They have surrendered their potential to become slaves to a dogma which has been proven a failure many times over.
"Maybe socialists don't mind paying 40% of their wages in taxes so they can 'socialize' while they wait in emergency rooms and clinics for treatment. I do mind, paying the 40% and the long wait! That's why I'm a free man, not a deluded acolyte. I like people who think for themselves and tell the government to go to hell.
"Finally, it is the height of arrogance and conceit to believe that another human being, mortal and flawed like everyone else, can dictate to another their idea of utopia. Their utopia is my prison.
"Liberalism is a form of insanity for which there is no cure. It is easier for a gay person to go straight than for a liberal to regain his self, a self surrendered long ago to indoctrination and propaganda."
Might as well try to thread a needle with a camel, huh?
Personally, I could care less what other people do or believe, but when they insist that I do as they say (usually for the sake of some great lie), then we have a problem.
The Whiskey Room is figuratively covered in fantastic responses this week, much of which make it clear that there are some very good thinkers out there with a knack for writing.
You people really impress me. I am proud to be your editor. You're a bunch of liberty-lovers, obsessed with limited-to-no government and sound money...and you're not afraid to say what's on your mind. There aren't enough of you in the world and you need to be heard.
A Pile-Up on the World's Financial Highway
I will wear my pant-legs rolled And walk along the beach... Then, I will drown myself in the pool
The terrible pile-up on the world's financial highway has left us all in shock. We check to see if our fingers move. We look in the rear-view mirror to see if there is blood on our face. And then we crawl out of the car. Thank God, we can still walk! No broken bones.
What's our name? Count back from 10.... Okay, no brain damage.
But oh...look at our ride! The car is totaled. There's only about $100 trillion worth of wealth in the world. At least, that's the figure we read recently. We've also read that the total loss of wealth from the global financial crisis could be as much as $50 trillion. That was Rupert Murdoch's estimate. And he's probably not far off. Half the world's stock market value. Twenty percent of property values. Trillions in derivatives, SIVs, CDOs and IOUs. It adds up fast.
But wait...what luck!...we're still in one piece. And there, on the side of the road, there's still a gas station...a pizza shop...a mall. Life goes on. Most of the wealth that was lost was only imaginary wealth - confections spun out of sugary dreams. Put a little water on them and the melt away... But the real wealth is still there...more or less.
So cheer up. It's not so bad!
Those who feared the 'end of the world' can relax. A financial crack-up doesn't mean that real assets disappear. Houses are still right where they were before the crack-up began. Factories are there too - with their assembly lines and heavy machinery. Every backhoe and tractor- trailer is still just as ready-for-service as it was before the crisis began.
So what's the problem?
Who said there was a problem? We don't have a problem...do you have a problem?
It's just that the world economy is going through a major re- examination of its life. It was shaken up by the accident. Not just physically... emotionally too. It stared death in the face - or so it explained to friends, a bit too often and too dramatically, after the crash. So, it's decided to take a long vacation... After many years of working day in and day out...buying, selling, investing, speculating, leveraging, borrowing...whew!...it is ready for a rest. So, it's taking some time off. Thinking about things...re-evaluating things.
'What am I really doing with my life?' it wants to know.
'Is this the right way to go?' 'Does this take me where I want to be? Maybe I should have gone to law school like my mom wanted.'
'And my marriage...what the heck is going on there? Evelyn was so nice and sweet when I married her. Now, all she thinks about is redecorating the house...and hanging out with her friends. And look what she did to her face! She's got those cardboard lips that never crack a smile... And now, she's mad at me because I lost money in the worldwide financial meltdown. But who didn't?'
While all this deep reflection is going on, the world's income is falling rapidly. Businesses are closing their doors. Working stiffs are working a lot less. Machines are slowing down. The capitalists are just trying to hold on to what they've got - forget about making more.
On Friday, the Dow fell another 100 points. It's headed down to the 3,000-5,000 level. Could there be a big rally first? Could it fall like a stone...even lower than 3,000? You bet.
And look at what's going on with gold - up $25 on Friday to close over $1,000! The Dow is on it way to 3,000...and so is gold. Remember our 'Trade of the Decade?' Never mind...of course you do. Buy gold on dips...sell stocks on rallies. So far, so good...and only 10 1/2 months left to go.
(More on gold, below...)
Gradually, a stark and uncomfortable realization is setting in. It's like a middle-aged man who suddenly realizes he's wasted the best years of his life...
The world's enterprises are set up for an economy that no longer exists! Factories were built...along with a whole chain of production, delivery, and sales...to provide too many things to too many people who can't pay for them.
And now, in these moments of soul searching...of walking along the beach and hearing the seagulls speaking each to each...comes another realization: almost nothing is worth as much as it used to be. Take IOUs from people who can't pay their debts, for example. Houses lived in by people who don't have jobs. Shares in companies that sell stuff to people who can't afford to buy it. The 'wealth' that these things represented was mostly imaginary. And now that imaginary wealth is disappearing - poof!
Dear reader, we are in a period of discovery - 'price discovery,' as economists call it. It's a time of growing self-awareness...of dawning reality. At moments...it is terrifying. For all of a sudden, it occurs to us that we have been dunderheads. We have paid too much...saved too little...
We have misspent our time...mislaid our fortune...and misunderstood everything...
..and now, terrible truth strikes us like a Mac truck. We have been rear-ended, so to speak. Our life is a wreck...a wasted opportunity...a dead end.
Is it too late to start a new one? A new career...maybe as a bankruptcy lawyer. And a new love in our life - maybe with one of these young surfer bunnies from California. Or perhaps a local girl...?
*** Our intrepid correspondent, Byron King, with his thoughts on the recent gold rally:
"I'm bullish on gold. Actually, I think that gold could go to $3,000 per ounce in the next 30 months. Really bullish.
"There's no fever like gold fever. Right now, we are on the cusp of a great run-up in gold. I believe that there's still time to get into some excellent stocks. The gold miners have room to grow. They should benefit from rising gold prices. And we might see higher dividends down the road.
"Is there a caution? Always. Could gold prices tumble? Well, yes. That would hurt us. But for gold prices to tumble would take a lot of investor dishoarding. That is, people would have to hit the 'sell' button en masse. And that would require some tectonic shifts in worldwide tax, fiscal and monetary policies by a host of socialist- leaning governments. For the moment, I think we're safe from any counterrevolutionary antics like that. As Charles de Gaulle once noted, 'People get the history that they deserve.'"
Even though the stock markets are vicious, Byron sees the precious metals environment as healthy...especially for some of the elements in his Outstanding Investments portfolio.
In fact, he knows of one way for his subscribers to buy gold - without taking delivery...or worrying about storage...bookkeeping...or security. You just benefit when the price of gold rises. And the way it's looking now; that's a pretty safe bet. Learn more about this 'golden opportunity' here.
*** Colleague Manraag Singh brings us up to date on what's going in the monetary experiment known as Zimbabwe:
"The Cato Institute estimates Zimbabwe's inflation rate at 89.7 sextillion percent. That is 89.7 million million million, or twenty-one zeroes behind the number.
"Putting that into perspective, the official count of stars in the universe is about 70 sextillion, apparently...
"On the plus side, Zimbabwe's share index is expected to double this year now that are re-opening it with trading in US dollars...
"Gideon Gono had shut it down about three months ago after accusing some traders of using fraudulent cheques worth '60 hexillion' Zimbabwe dollars to buy shares. I haven't been able to find out how much a hexillion is..."
*** Last night, at the bar...a friend told this story. Every word is true, as far as we know, except those that aren't:
"You know, Nicaragua is a poor country. And you gringos are rich. I know, you're not all really rich. But the local people don't know who's rich and who's not. They figure you are all rich.
"And when you gringos come down here, I guess it is just inevitable that there are some problems between the local people and you. That's why, here anyway, we don't let the local girls fools around with the visitors from North America. I mean, we can't stop them...but if they do, they are fired. We have to do it. Otherwise, it leads to trouble. The local guys don't like the gringos taking their women. And then, they get into fights. And down here, bar fights usually end up with someone dead.
"And think of the poor girl. He goes back to the States and the poor girl has problems with her family and the community...you can imagine.
"Well, not here, but up the coast I was working with a guy from Cincinnati. He was in his 50s, I think. He and his wife decided to build a house on the beach, so I was helping them with it. But then they got divorced; and he came down here to live to put his life back together.
"He was there by himself. I don't know what he did. Maybe real estate. And he had a nice woman, named Rosalita, come in to cook and clean. She was just a girl, only in her early 20s, I think. A beautiful girl, and very nice. I liked her. I knew the family. Very sweet smile...always smiling...so I felt like looking out for her.
"After a few months, though, I was visiting and I noticed that he was treating her like hired help. They smiled at each other all the time. She patted him on the shoulder. He put his arm around her. And then I realized that she was living there with him.
"'Russell,' I said, 'what is this, my friend? If I understand what is going on, I am happy for you...but this can be trouble too. She is a young girl. She needs to find a husband. Of course, she is happy to go with you because she thinks you have money. No, I didn't mean it exactly that way. But these people are poor. And they think you are all rich. And you offer her a better life, which is maybe a good thing. But it isn't that simple. Because she wants to get married and have kids. And in this country people get married when they are young. And if they don't get married then, they have a hard time getting married later. That's just the way it is.'
"'And when you leave, what is going to happen to her? I'm not trying to make trouble for you, my friend; I just want you to understand what is involved here. You don't want to take advantage of her because she is young and naïve...and very poor.
"'And you have to watch out too. Because when you go to a local bar on Saturday night you might run into a boy who liked her...or maybe her brother. And somebody makes a comment. And her brother gets into a fight. You don't understand. Family honor means a lot down here. And a lot of the local men don't like it when you take their girls as girlfriends. Sometimes they want to start fights with in bars. And those kind of fights usually end up with someone getting killed. And I can tell you something, it's usually not the gringo; he just stands on the sidelines and doesn't know what is going on.'
"Well, I talked to him. My friend, Russell, I mean. But he didn't listen to me. He was probably lonely down here. And why shouldn't people get together if they want to? But I didn't like it. I felt sorry for her. She must have thought he would marry her. And that he had a lot money. And I knew she was wrong about both of those things, because I had gotten to know him. And I knew he didn't want to get remarried. And I knew he didn't have any money, because after the divorce, he had a hard time paying me.
"But a couple of years went by...and I saw them once or twice. And the last time I saw them, she wasn't smiling so much. And he wasn't smiling so much either. I thought something was wrong.
"You know, money is funny. I don't think she liked him because she thought he was rich. She wasn't, what do you call it, a fortune hunter. It wasn't that simple. But because he was a gringo, she must have assumed he had some money. It probably wasn't because he had money that she liked him; on the other hand, having money is just something that is part of being a gringo. Or, at least that is the way they look at it down here. So, if she realized that he really didn't have any money, maybe she was disappointed about the money. And maybe she was just disappointed because he wasn't the man she thought he was.
"All I know is that I had a beer with them...and nobody smiled.
"Then, a couple months later, a friend of mine called me. He said, 'Did you hear about Russell?'
"I said, 'No, what?'
"He told me that Rosalita had left Russell a week ago.
"'What, did she go back to her family?' I asked him.
"No, she took up with one of those surfers over at the beach club. But that's not the important part. They found Russell in his swimming pool...he was dead. They think it was a suicide. He drank a whole bottle of whiskey and passed out in the pool..."
Success in Today's Market Is All About "You"
The days of "well, I have a broker and he's going to take good care of my investments" are over. We see this played out everyday as more brokerage firms struggle to survive and unfortunately, we see folks like Madoff facing serious charges.
Here's how you can take control of your investments:
1. Understand what the market is doing.
That's first and foremost. You can invest in a good stock that's breaking out of a set-up, but if the market direction isn't behind you, it's like riding a bike into a fierce wind. You must understand where the market is and where it's likely to go in the short-term. Then, invest in the best set-ups that will be helped by the market direction. It's much easier to ride a bike with the wind at your back.
2. Trade only the best set-ups.
Let's take a look at NVEC, which triggered a long-side trade last week…
When a stock is moving higher, it doesn't go straight up. Instead it rises, then has mini-downtrends where it consolidates its gains before moving higher. These mini-downtrends are where it pulls back off of its highs in an orderly manner ― often to an area of key support such as its upward trend line and/or 50-day moving average.
We connect the lines of the mini-downtrend. A break above the pink line triggers a trade on the long side. For that reason, NVEC was an ideal long side set-up last week:
On Tuesday morning, NVEC triggered a trade by breaking above the pink line.
By Tuesday's close, we were already enjoying a gain of 5%. And Wednesday morning, we locked in gains of 8.9% ― a nice gain in today's market in just over 24 hours.
This leads to step #3.
3. Take your profits when you have them.
While on the surface, a 9% gain may not seem like much, I have to tell you that if you just did one trade like that a week, you'd significantly outperform most brokers, money managers and mutual funds. After all, most of these money handlers are nothing but "Managing to a Benchmark" cookie-cutter indexers that know how to sell but not how to manage. Have you seen what the indexes and mutual funds are down year to date? If your traditional account mimics the indexes, you know you're working with one.
Just think about it. Let's say you have a portfolio of $50,000. And you invest in 200 shares of NVEC at 28.22. After selling it at $30.74, you've made a profit of $504. Multiply that by 52 and you have a one-year profit of $26,208 or 52%! And that's just from doing one trade like NVEC a week.
What would a one-year gain of $26,208 do for you? Well, it would easily put you well ahead of what most brokers could do for you.
Stocks may continue to go in the direction we want after we take profits. But for the time being, you are never going to go wrong ringing the register on short-term gains. For example, what if we didn't lock in our NVEC gains at $30.74? Our gains would have been gone as the stock went right back to where it was when it originally triggered.
Now don't get us wrong. We aren't out to get brokers. We know a lot of them and many are very good. But the point we are trying to make is the days of handing your money over and expecting a traditional Wall Streeter to perform are over. To be successful, you have to be in control of your investments. After all, only you have your best interests at heart. As good as your conventional Wall Streeter may be, he's not able to watch your investments as good as you can.
How 2009 Stocks Market Go?
They're not going to like that I'm giving away "guest passes" into the market that's making them rich...
Why would they? They've done everything to keep this a secret from you. And up until today, they've done a pretty good job...
Only 2,408 people are currently "on the inside."
But today, I'll give you a chance to beat them at their own game. A simple and easy way to gain guest access to their private "Millionaire's Market." Then you could start profiting from their transactions.
Sound crazy? It's not. Let me explain...
First, you won't hear about the "Millionaire's Market" on the evening news. The operation is hush-hush. And obviously, the millionaires want to keep it that way.
Next, only the elite can join. They charge outrageous membership fees to join the "Millionaire's Market." At least a million bucks.
That's exactly why I call it a "Millionaire's Market" — even though most people know it by another name. Some members have even paid $5.8 million to secure their seat inside.
I don't know about you, but I'd pay a few million bucks to gain access to a secret financial market only if I was certain to become "ultra rich" in the process...
And that's exactly what they're doing. Making millions of dollars year after year. All without touching a single best stock... bond... or other kind of investment most people are used to.
In short, they're growing rich trading "secret" things in their "secret" market — while you and I are left spinning the roulette wheel that the stock market has become. Does that sound fair to you? Of course not!
Today, I'll give you a secret "guest pass" into their market — so you can grab your share of the riches WITHOUT ever having to pay their million-dollar membership fee.
Don't worry. Your "guest pass" is perfectly legal. And it could be extremely profitable.
I'll show you a few examples of how much you could make in just a minute.
But first, you're probably wondering just who these secret millionaires are... why they keep their market hidden... and how I know all of this. So let's start from the beginning...
The 136-Year-Old "Millionaire's Market" Moves Stockpiles of Money Each Day. . . Right Beneath Your Nose!
But Today, My "Guest Pass" Gives You the Chance to Withdraw YOUR SHARE. . .
Before we go any further, I want to make something clear: The Millionaire's Market doesn't involve stocks or bonds... These millionaires could care less what the Dow Jones, S&P or Nasdaq do each day.
While the talking heads on television try to stimulate the economy... while the corporate stock market junkies try to convince you that "buy and hold" is the best way to make money... and while brokers charge ridiculous fees to manage retirement accounts that never seem to move...
This secret group of traders plays an ENTIRELY different game.
And they use the mainstream media's "know-it-all analysts" to convince you that the stock market is the place to be... all just to divert your attention away from them while they trade like bandits inside their secret Millionaire's Market...
Today alone, they've completed more than 1,115,153 deals. Yesterday, they closed over 1,045,456 trades... and the day before, they made 1,305,567 deals...
My point is that over a million of these transactions occur each and every day. And they've run this underground Millionaire's Market since 1872.
But today is YOUR day to infiltrate the Millionaire's Market with your own guest pass.
But Why Do They Work So Hard to Keep You out of the "Millionaire's Market"?
Expensive cars, party boats, houses in the Hamptons, private helicopters... these guys have it all.
Think they want to give these things up to you? NO WAY! They want it all for themselves. And the more people who know about their market the more competition they have...
To me, that just doesn't seem fair... So today, I'll throw the doors wide open for you.
I want to give you a "guest pass" that allows access to the opportunities inside the Millionaire's Market.
You can think of the guest pass as your revenge against them for trying to shut off access to the hardworking, blue-collar Joe...
When you use your guest pass to get in on the profit potential of the Millionaire's Market, you'll have the chance to make huge sums of income — as much as $810 per week — from the world's hottest and most secretive market.
Money like that can completely change your life forever. I know — because that income changed my life.
Here's How the "Millionaire's Market" Paid Me to Retire From My 9–5 Office Job at 32 Years Old. . .
No more ironing shirts and tying ties at 6:15 in the morning... no more sitting in rush hour... and no more waiting around at 5 p.m. on Friday to pick up my weekly check...
The Millionaire's Market changed ALL of that. Now I'm my own boss.
I'm able to go hit golf balls on a sunny Friday afternoon. I'm able to spend entire weekdays with my young daughter. And I'm able to travel whenever and wherever I want. After all, isn't that what life is REALLY about?
I'm finally free from the shackles of "normal" work. You could be, too. I'll show you how in just a moment.
And if you're already retired, the "guest pass" could help you live more comfortably, too.
Since 1989, I estimate that I've made more than $100,000 year after year in this secret market... In fact, I use it whenever I need some extra cash for my wife, my young daughter or me.
Today, I'd like to show you how you could do the same thing...
How You Use YOUR Extra "Millionaire's Market" Money Is Completely up to YOU. . .
If you accept your personal "guest pass" today, you could live a happier life while making a consistent stream of money. And you can start as early as 7:10 a.m. EST tomorrow.
Take Ray Chan, for example. Ray's a 48-year-old software architect from Charlotte, N.C., who told me that he's used his guest pass into the Millionaire's Market to average an extra $1,500 per month. For the past eight months!
What has he used the extra cash on? Well, Ray said this: "Giving gifts is a lot easier when you have some extra money that you didn't work overtime for!"
Or take Stan Rohl — a 51-year-old semiretired uniform rental operator — who recently told me that he used the guest pass into the Millionaire's Market to make $1,337.80 in only ONE WEEK.
If you could do that each and every week, it would add up to almost $70,000 per year in extra income. What would YOU do with an extra $70K per year?
Just think how extra cash like that would change your life...
Because today I'm giving YOU a chance at the same type of gains.
You see, the "guest pass" is my name for a research service I've spent the last 19 years of my life perfecting. And Stan and Ray are just two of the many readers taking advantage of this service.
But before I tell you how you can join me as we raid this market, let's get something straight... The Millionaire's Market isn't for everyone. I want only aggressive people joining me as we sneak into this market through the back door. We have no room for deadbeats.
So if you're not serious about a chance to make an extra $810 per week, stop reading. This letter isn't for you. But if that extra income potential sounds appealing...
What you're about to read is highly confidential.
The truth is, I'm lucky to be telling you about it all. That's because I wasn't born into the "Millionaire's Market."
Instead, I stumbled into it by accident.
How My Life Story Has Paved the Way for YOU to "Withdraw" Money From the "Millionaire's Market" With an Undercover Guest Pass. . .
My true love in life used to be filmmaking.
When I was a kid, my parents told me that I used to act out scenes in my crib. They said I was a natural...
So when I grew older, I left my middle-class Minnesota town and went to the Big Apple to become a film major.
But after college, I couldn't find a job in film to save my life. So being young, broke and desperate, I took any type of work that I could find. And that's when I discovered the Millionaire's Market.
You see, a buddy of mine had just been accepted as an assistant to a trader inside the secret financial market I've been telling you about.
And as luck would have it, he knew another "millionaire" who needed an assistant. The next day, I got the job...
The Secret "Millionaire's Market" REVEALED!
They paid me $22,000 per year to do their grunt work.
And I quickly found out what they were trading to make them so rich...
They never touched a single best stock... never laid their hands on a corporate bond... and didn't think twice about investing in CDOs, ADRs, ETFs or any other fancy acronyms.
They didn't have to worry about shady accounting practices... questionable insider transactions... or even SEC investigations...
Instead, these guys were trading things that can't be manipulated by Corporate America — the stuff we use each and every day. Things like oil... gold... silver... natural gas... soybeans... sugar... orange juice... and so on.
Forget the stock market! Here's where the rich go to get richer...
Want a chance to make a few hundred dollars extra per month? This is the place for you.
Of course, 99.9% of the investing public has no clue how to get in on this action. That's why I feel like the "Millionaire's Market" (known to most people as the commodities market) has been "hidden" and kept "secret" from you... until today!
Why I'm Now Using My "Inside" Experience to Open the Doors on Their Greedy Little Secrets. . . Giving You a Chance to Bring in Extra Monthly Income. . .
I figured out how every part of the system works during my years inside the Millionaire's Market.
I placed trades that banked over $100,000 in a matter of minutes... And I placed trades hundreds of times per day.
I discovered all of the Millionaire's Market's secrets.
But along the way, something didn't smell right to me...
First, they had no loyalty to each other. They were concerned only about fattening their own wallets at any cost. That kind of mentality was sickening in itself. Then I realized what was really bothering me.
These guys were so selfish about the millions they were raking in they took steps to keep this market completely hidden.
Instead of sharing their moneymaking secrets with the world, they screwed over everyday people by charging million-dollar entrance fees. It was all designed to keep the rich getting richer... while the everyday Joes like you and me were grinding through 50–60-hour workweeks.
Call me crazy, but that wasn't the life for me. So as soon as I sucked up all the knowledge I could, I quit with the hope of bringing their secrets back home to my family and friends...
But how does this all add up to you making $810 or more per week from their "hidden" market? Well, that's the secret...
I Realized That After I Quit the Secret Millionaire's Market, the System Didn't Shut Me out. . . Now You Have a Chance to "Hack" Into It With the "Guest Pass" I'll Give You Today!
To be honest, I didn't know if it would work. But my access to this market wasn't shut off when I left.
When I logged onto my personal trading account and tried to tag along on one of the Millionaire's Market trades, I fully expected to be shut out. Then the transaction went through, and my pulse started to beat faster and faster. It wasn't a big victory — I withdrew only $650...
A few days later, I tagged along on another trade. And it worked again. This time, I withdrew a little bit more. Around $1,850.
Jackpot! Since I'm not technically on the "inside" anymore, that's why I call my research service a "guest pass." It allows me to recommend the exact same opportunities without having to be "on the inside."
And at that moment, I realized that anyone could tag right along with the millionaires... as long as they knew where to look.
With all of the money floating around inside the Millionaire's Market, it's like secretly reaching in and "withdrawing" money from their transactions — all perfectly legal and virtually undetected.
And today, I'm inviting YOU to do just that!
Since these secret millionaires complete over 1,000,000 commodity trades in their market per day, as long as you don't get greedy, they'll never notice that you're tagging along with their trades.
How the "Guest Pass" Works
The guest pass allows you to participate in the same transactions that they complete each and every day. When we find one that's potentially profitable, you decide if you want to fork over the small amount of cash it takes to make the deal.
Then, when it comes time to "cash out," you could take back your initial cost, plus your share of the profits.
I know it may sound complicated. It's not. Here's how we're going to play it...
Your FREE Guest Pass Into the Millionaire's Market
The "guest pass" is a financial research service called Resource Trader Alert — a service that focuses on the kind of commodity trades they make inside the Millionaire's Market. My recommendations have safely and consistently been booking gains month after month.
And today, I'd like for you to join us.
Through Resource Trader Alert, I'll give you behind-the-scenes access to the Millionaire's Market with my secret guest pass. You could use it to trade alongside them and have a chance to make as much as $810 per week in profits.
I've been personally using the Millionaire's Market to make money EACH and EVERY day — for more than 19 years. I promise that I'll show you how to do the very same thing...
Take Sacramento, Calif., resident Greg Clay, for example. Greg wrote me saying that he "had absolutely no knowledge about [the Millionaire's Market.]" After I gave him the guest pass, he started with just $15,000 in his account, and he says his account is now worth $123,000!
Sally Flemming from Cedar Grove, Wis., told me that she's "grown her account by $4,000" in four months. She's used the guest pass to generate $1,000 in extra income a month!
Or look what Chuck Zhan — a 52-year-old former psychotherapist who can no longer work due to a disability — told me: "I've invested in a recommendation only one time thus far... and sold for a 96% gain, almost doubling my money." Since Chuck is on Social Security, he needs any income that his guest pass can bring him just to get by.
Now, with the guest pass in your hands, you'll have a chance to begin bringing in huge sums of weekly income from the Millionaire's Market. And you'll be able to start as early as 7:10 a.m. EST tomorrow. I'll show you how.
But before I give you access to the guest pass, let me show you just a few specific examples of how much you could make...
Millionaire's Market "Withdrawal" #1 How to Use Your Guest Pass to Make an Extra $810 in Just 7 Days. . .
Did you know that you could make great money trading cocoa in the Millionaire's Market?
You can. Today. But more than 99.9% of people never do. Because before today, the Millionaire's Market was reserved for, well, the millionaires only...
You see, cocoa trades on the Millionaire's Market each and every day. And they make a fortune doing it. But your guest pass will give you the chance to profit by tagging onto their transactions.
You simply use the guest pass to get in on the action... and then take your share of the cash if they profit.
Here's how...
A few months back, I sent my Resource Trader Alert readers the following note:
"BUY the December Cocoa Calls for $480."
Then seven short days later, I rushed them these simple instructions:
"SELL the December Cocoa Calls for $750."
In at $480... out seven days later at $750. That's like withdrawing $270 from the Millionaire's Market. All with just 10 minutes of work.
Not bad, right? But some Resource Trader Alert readers could have made much more than $270...
If you'd have bought two contracts of the same trade, you could have made $540. And if you'd have loaded up on three contracts, you could have raked in an extra $810 in just SEVEN days.
You could have deposited it right into your retirement account... or used it to pay off those heating bills... or put it toward a nice little vacation for your family. It's your choice.
But it gets even more fun than that. $810 in a week is nothing compared with what some of the other lucky guest pass recipients have had the chance to "withdraw." For example...
Millionaire's Market "Withdrawal" #2: How the Guest Pass Could Have Made You $6,208 in Just Under 1 Month
Another commodity that trades in the Millionaire's Market each day is heating oil...
I knew that if my readers wanted to join the millionaires as they traded heating oil, they could get a share of the profits. And that's what the guest pass gives them a chance to do.
So I wasted no time and rushed an urgent e-mail out to my Resource Trader Alert readers. I simply told them to...
"BUY February $150 Heating Oil Calls for $1,747."
Twenty-eight days later, I rushed them instructions again. This time, they could have exited the trade at a price of $4,851 — a "withdrawal" of $3,104 per contract.
If you had bought just two contracts, you could have turned every $3,500 into $6,208...
Four contracts would have raked in $12,416 in pure profit. All in only 28 days.
Pretty impressive, isn't it? And that's money you could make by using your guest pass to get into just one of the 1,633,894 transactions that these guys USED to make behind your back every day.
This happens time and time again. I send my readers instructions... they get a chance to make money in the Millionaire's Market.
Here's another example...
Millionaire's Market "Withdrawal" #3 $911.25 in. . . $3,375 Out. . .
Would an extra $27,095.75 per month help you sleep better at night?
If so, that's exactly the type of extra cash that my Resource Trader Alert readers could have generated. And they'd have done it by playing coffee on the Millionaire's Market.
The trick to trading coffee is to know how the seasons affect the coffee supply. Based on similar seasonal coffee price moves that I saw in my days on the inside of the market, I knew the winter months would send the price of coffee soaring.
So in November, I positioned my readers for potential profits by sending them this set of instructions:
"BUY May $1.05 Coffee Calls for $911.25."
Just 30 days later, the price of coffee had moved up quickly — sending the $911.25 coffee contract up to $3,375 — an amazing 270% gain!
Resource Trader Alert readers could have raked in a quick profit of $2,463.25.
Had you acted on my series of email instructions, you could have safely turned every $3,000 into more than $7,389. Or with a little bit more aggressive bet of 11 contracts, you could have even made $27,095.75 or more.
All within 30 days.
And all by using your guest pass to gain entry into the Millionaire's Market.
But what about today's unstable economic conditions? Do they play a part?
Not at all.
You won't be playing stocks, remember? This gives you a chance to SAFELY make money, no matter what the stock market does...
While the U.S. Plows Through a Recession, These Secret Millionaires Trade More Than Ever. . . Giving You a Chance to Join Them in Their Elite Game
Does it look like the Millionaire's Market players are hurting over the recession? Nope!
They're making more money than ever from soaring commodity prices.
Here's proof: The sheer number of recent Millionaire's Market transactions is just amazing...
In 2004, the daily average inside the Millionaire's Market was 538,245. In 2005, it increased to 697,371... in 2006, it averaged a whopping 980,400...
Now it averages over 1,633,894 trades per day. That's an impressive 204% growth in just four years.
And this 136-year-old market has increased the number of transactions every year since it started.
This means that the volume of trading on the Millionaire's Market is so high that they'll never even notice you when you tag along to "withdraw" your share of the money!
For example, if you used your guest pass to get in on only a tenth of a percent of their daily transactions, that would still leave you 1,633 cherry-picked potential trades to participate in each day!
The bottom line is that this profit parade won't end anytime soon.
And my Resource Trader Alert system will show you how to safely "withdraw" money from only the VERY best transactions... the ones that could easily pay your monthly bills... and leave you some "extra" cash to burn.
The ones like...
The $4,000 you could have reaped in 20 days if you'd bought 8 of our recommended silver contracts
The $17,820 in pure profit you could have made in just 9 days from 5 wheat contracts
The $4,500 you could have raked in 19 days playing 9 corn contracts
The $4,704 you could have bagged from the Millionaire's Market in 6 days through 10 sugar contracts
The $9,200 you could have made in 28 days by playing 10 gold contracts.
That's exactly what my Resource Trader Alert system is designed to do — safely provide you guest access to the Millionaire's Market, where you'll have a chance to make as much as $2,000–10,000 per month, depending on your initial stake.
And as good as those gains are, they're nothing compared with...
Millionaire's Market "Withdrawal" #4 Using the Guest Pass to Make You $6,048 in 48 Hours
In early 2007, my Resource Trader Alert system locked onto a sugar play. So I rushed out a quick e-mail to my readers telling them to get in on it. If they wanted to get in on the opportunity, they had to shell out just $358.40 per contract...
And less than 48 hours later, I told them to sell those same sugar contracts for a gain of 84%.
That's like "withdrawing" $302.40 in pure profit from each contract.
With 20 contracts, you could have made $6,048 in as little as 48 hours...
All without ever having to worry about a company going bankrupt or announcing bad earnings.
Again, Resource Trader Alert readers simply wait for my instructions... decide if they want to act... and then act quickly when it's time to sell for a profit. It couldn't be easier.
Here's another deal that could have brought you some quick cash...
Millionaire's Market "Withdrawal" #5 The Guest Pass Could Have Made You an Extra $36.46 per Hour. . . Even While You Slept!
I know that sounds crazy. But hear me out...
Over the course of eight days, I gave my Resource Trader Alert readers the chance to "withdraw" $7,000 from the Millionaire's Market. That's eight days... and $7,000 in pure profit.
Said a different way — that's like generating an extra $36.46 per hour... for 24 straight hours... and for eight straight days. Even while you sleep.
And all with just the guest pass to access the best opportunities in the Millionaire's Market and 10 minutes of work.
Here's Why You'll Be Able to Generate Additional Monthly Income for Years. . . and Years. . . and Years
As long as the world spins, we'll need the simple things to live on. The things like sugar, cocoa, heating oil, cattle, oil and soybeans...
And it only makes sense that supply and demand will make the prices of these things go up and down... That means you'll always have opportunities to make money!
All you need is the guest pass to get you behind the scenes. Once the guest pass is yours, you'll have the chance to...
The One Safe Economy to Grow Your Money
Brazil is certainly in this basket of falling markets. Fortunately for you, it shouldn't be.
Sure, more than half of Brazil's exports are commodities like soybeans and iron ore. But there's a very good reason why Brazil is a safer investment than most ― stability. Before you get started, let me explain…
Over the past two decades, Brazil has gone through many crises. Each one taught the country how to handle poor economic situations. But it was the most recent one that puts us in a tremendous advantage.
After so many years of falling on its face, Brazil elected President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Leaving our opinions aside, Lula has done something to put the country in the driver's seat this time around.
At the beginning of this decade, the world punished Brazil for its high debt levels. Its market crashed, erasing years of growth. Since this pseudo crisis, the Lula administration has stabilized the country's economy and paid down debt. On top of these moves, it's also put tough regulations in place across many industries. Most investors thought these regulations limited growth, which they did. But now investors ― or, at least, smart ones ― see the regulations as necessary evils.
By regulating industries like energy and finance, Brazil kept a steady, stable growth rate of about 4% in recent boom years. The rest of the emerging nations of the world were getting used to a 7% rate. These other "emergers" were funding their growth by leveraging their assets and creating massive debts. Brazil was paying its down, while accruing next to no new debt.
The overall stock market hasn't noted this major difference, however. Brazil's major index, the Bovespa, is down 40% over the last 12 months ― alongside the rest of the world.
While others struggle with "bad assets" and massive debts, Brazil will be ready to strike.
Energy is our favorite way to play Brazil. Without energy, you can't expand. Just look at what China is doing these days. As it continues to come online, it burns through more coal and oil than anyone could have imagined. Brazil, while it's no China, is still demanding an enormous amount of energy.
The largest difference between Brazil and China is the regulations. There are many more aggressive mandates in the Brazilian energy industry than most Chinese, or Americans for that matter, can even fathom.
For instance, there's been a lot of talk in recent years here in the U.S. about switching regular gasoline for ethanol to power our light vehicles. Brazil has been doing this since 1975. That's over 30 years of mandates, which require all light vehicles to use at least 25% ethanol blends. The country is the world leader in ethanol efficiency. That came from strategic mandates.
The rest of the Brazil's energy situation is no different. In recent years, hydroelectricity became the country's energy solution. Now 80% of Brazil's electricity comes from hydropower. This energy revolution places Brazil 42nd in CO2 emissions worldwide. It produces less CO2 than countries like Israel and the Philippines, which are just fractions of Brazil's size and population.
Early investors in Brazil's booming hydropower industry stand to make massive gains, while the rest of the world's nations are trying to put their own economies back together. That's where you need to be looking.
A Pile-Up on the World's Financial Highway
I will wear my pant-legs rolled And walk along the beach... Then, I will drown myself in the pool
The terrible pile-up on the world's financial highway has left us all in shock. We check to see if our fingers move. We look in the rear-view mirror to see if there is blood on our face. And then we crawl out of the car. Thank God, we can still walk! No broken bones.
What's our name? Count back from 10.... Okay, no brain damage.
But oh...look at our ride! The car is totaled. There's only about $100 trillion worth of wealth in the world. At least, that's the figure we read recently. We've also read that the total loss of wealth from the global financial crisis could be as much as $50 trillion. That was Rupert Murdoch's estimate. And he's probably not far off. Half the world's stock market value. Twenty percent of property values. Trillions in derivatives, SIVs, CDOs and IOUs. It adds up fast.
But wait...what luck!...we're still in one piece. And there, on the side of the road, there's still a gas station...a pizza shop...a mall. Life goes on. Most of the wealth that was lost was only imaginary wealth - confections spun out of sugary dreams. Put a little water on them and the melt away... But the real wealth is still there...more or less.
So cheer up. It's not so bad!
Those who feared the 'end of the world' can relax. A financial crack-up doesn't mean that real assets disappear. Houses are still right where they were before the crack-up began. Factories are there too - with their assembly lines and heavy machinery. Every backhoe and tractor- trailer is still just as ready-for-service as it was before the crisis began.
So what's the problem?
Who said there was a problem? We don't have a problem...do you have a problem?
It's just that the world economy is going through a major re- examination of its life. It was shaken up by the accident. Not just physically... emotionally too. It stared death in the face - or so it explained to friends, a bit too often and too dramatically, after the crash. So, it's decided to take a long vacation... After many years of working day in and day out...buying, selling, investing, speculating, leveraging, borrowing...whew!...it is ready for a rest. So, it's taking some time off. Thinking about things...re-evaluating things.
'What am I really doing with my life?' it wants to know.
'Is this the right way to go?' 'Does this take me where I want to be? Maybe I should have gone to law school like my mom wanted.'
'And my marriage...what the heck is going on there? Evelyn was so nice and sweet when I married her. Now, all she thinks about is redecorating the house...and hanging out with her friends. And look what she did to her face! She's got those cardboard lips that never crack a smile... And now, she's mad at me because I lost money in the worldwide financial meltdown. But who didn't?'
While all this deep reflection is going on, the world's income is falling rapidly. Businesses are closing their doors. Working stiffs are working a lot less. Machines are slowing down. The capitalists are just trying to hold on to what they've got - forget about making more.
On Friday, the Dow fell another 100 points. It's headed down to the 3,000-5,000 level. Could there be a big rally first? Could it fall like a stone...even lower than 3,000? You bet.
And look at what's going on with gold - up $25 on Friday to close over $1,000! The Dow is on it way to 3,000...and so is gold. Remember our 'Trade of the Decade?' Never mind...of course you do. Buy gold on dips...sell stocks on rallies. So far, so good...and only 10 1/2 months left to go.
(More on gold, below...)
Gradually, a stark and uncomfortable realization is setting in. It's like a middle-aged man who suddenly realizes he's wasted the best years of his life...
The world's enterprises are set up for an economy that no longer exists! Factories were built...along with a whole chain of production, delivery, and sales...to provide too many things to too many people who can't pay for them.
And now, in these moments of soul searching...of walking along the beach and hearing the seagulls speaking each to each...comes another realization: almost nothing is worth as much as it used to be. Take IOUs from people who can't pay their debts, for example. Houses lived in by people who don't have jobs. Shares in companies that sell stuff to people who can't afford to buy it. The 'wealth' that these things represented was mostly imaginary. And now that imaginary wealth is disappearing - poof!
Dear reader, we are in a period of discovery - 'price discovery,' as economists call it. It's a time of growing self-awareness...of dawning reality. At moments...it is terrifying. For all of a sudden, it occurs to us that we have been dunderheads. We have paid too much...saved too little...
We have misspent our time...mislaid our fortune...and misunderstood everything...
..and now, terrible truth strikes us like a Mac truck. We have been rear-ended, so to speak. Our life is a wreck...a wasted opportunity...a dead end.
Is it too late to start a new one? A new career...maybe as a bankruptcy lawyer. And a new love in our life - maybe with one of these young surfer bunnies from California. Or perhaps a local girl...?
*** Our intrepid correspondent, Byron King, with his thoughts on the recent gold rally:
"I'm bullish on gold. Actually, I think that gold could go to $3,000 per ounce in the next 30 months. Really bullish.
"There's no fever like gold fever. Right now, we are on the cusp of a great run-up in gold. I believe that there's still time to get into some excellent stocks. The gold miners have room to grow. They should benefit from rising gold prices. And we might see higher dividends down the road.
"Is there a caution? Always. Could gold prices tumble? Well, yes. That would hurt us. But for gold prices to tumble would take a lot of investor dishoarding. That is, people would have to hit the 'sell' button en masse. And that would require some tectonic shifts in worldwide tax, fiscal and monetary policies by a host of socialist- leaning governments. For the moment, I think we're safe from any counterrevolutionary antics like that. As Charles de Gaulle once noted, 'People get the history that they deserve.'"
Even though the stock markets are vicious, Byron sees the precious metals environment as healthy...especially for some of the elements in his Outstanding Investments portfolio.
In fact, he knows of one way for his subscribers to buy gold - without taking delivery...or worrying about storage...bookkeeping...or security. You just benefit when the price of gold rises. And the way it's looking now; that's a pretty safe bet. Learn more about this 'golden opportunity' here.
*** Colleague Manraag Singh brings us up to date on what's going in the monetary experiment known as Zimbabwe:
"The Cato Institute estimates Zimbabwe's inflation rate at 89.7 sextillion percent. That is 89.7 million million million, or twenty-one zeroes behind the number.
"Putting that into perspective, the official count of stars in the universe is about 70 sextillion, apparently...
"On the plus side, Zimbabwe's share index is expected to double this year now that are re-opening it with trading in US dollars...
"Gideon Gono had shut it down about three months ago after accusing some traders of using fraudulent cheques worth '60 hexillion' Zimbabwe dollars to buy shares. I haven't been able to find out how much a hexillion is..."
*** Last night, at the bar...a friend told this story. Every word is true, as far as we know, except those that aren't:
"You know, Nicaragua is a poor country. And you gringos are rich. I know, you're not all really rich. But the local people don't know who's rich and who's not. They figure you are all rich.
"And when you gringos come down here, I guess it is just inevitable that there are some problems between the local people and you. That's why, here anyway, we don't let the local girls fools around with the visitors from North America. I mean, we can't stop them...but if they do, they are fired. We have to do it. Otherwise, it leads to trouble. The local guys don't like the gringos taking their women. And then, they get into fights. And down here, bar fights usually end up with someone dead.
"And think of the poor girl. He goes back to the States and the poor girl has problems with her family and the community...you can imagine.
"Well, not here, but up the coast I was working with a guy from Cincinnati. He was in his 50s, I think. He and his wife decided to build a house on the beach, so I was helping them with it. But then they got divorced; and he came down here to live to put his life back together.
"He was there by himself. I don't know what he did. Maybe real estate. And he had a nice woman, named Rosalita, come in to cook and clean. She was just a girl, only in her early 20s, I think. A beautiful girl, and very nice. I liked her. I knew the family. Very sweet smile...always smiling...so I felt like looking out for her.
"After a few months, though, I was visiting and I noticed that he was treating her like hired help. They smiled at each other all the time. She patted him on the shoulder. He put his arm around her. And then I realized that she was living there with him.
China's New Money Migration
They poured by the tens of millions from China's small towns into its cities...
Now, with economic growth hitting the skids, throngs of laborers are heading back to their native provinces and villages, taking the attention of marketers with them.
January 2009's Lunar New Year holiday saw a steady stream of denizens heading home for the only break they usually get all year. The fast pace and hard work of eastern cities like Beijing and Shanghai are grueling, as even visitors can attest.
But this year more migrants booked one-way tickets out of town, knowing that dwindling consumption in the U.S. and other rich countries could pull the rug out from under China's millennial manufacturing juggernaut.
"I don't know if I'm going to come back," one worker told CNN at the capital city's train station. "I might just end up working on the farm."
So, smart western and local companies aren't holding their breath - they're following China's new money...
The Great Branding of China
Beijing-based Lenovo became one of the world's top computer companies after it bought IBM's PC division in 2004.
Then, in 2008, the company took advantage of center-stage marketing opportunities during the summer Olympics, giving it worldwide recognition and some separation from the old IBM brand (IBM took a 19% stake in Lenovo as part of the deal).
In a way, Lenovo made a name for itself at the same time the country established its own economic allure. China became the keystone of the BRIC emerging-market pantheon, which includes Brazil, India, and Russia.
With its best stock listed in Hong Kong (HK:0092) and with headquarters in both Beijing and North Carolina, Lenovo is a prime example of the so-called "Red Chip" best stocks that proliferated and prospered in recent years. And since foreigners can't invest in mainland China's Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, Hong Kong is the nearest point of entry to Asia's leading emerging market.
As the international appetite for a piece of the Chinese pie grew, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange benchmark index, the Hang Seng, tripled in value from May 2004 to its peak in October '07.
Lenovo shares are also available on the Pink Sheets under the ticket LNVGY. But since you can trade Hong Kong shares on a growing number of Internet trading sites like E-Trade, higher liquidity means the smart money is on original HK shares.
The Hang Seng's rise reflected a surge of interest and money into China's economy.
As foreign direct investment (FDI) poured into China, as well as contracts for cheaply-made tchotchkes, double-digit growth became the norm.
Now, Beijing's central planners (yep, they're still Communists, even if they're rich ones) are aiming to keep the country above 8% growth.
They also want to close the gap between rural and urban incomes, which hit a record high at the end of 2008.
Some movement of urban money back to less-populated, poorer areas could help even things out and quell official fears of large-scale rural protests.
In the meantime, FDI is flowing out of China like a draining bathtub. Foreign direct investment sunk by a full 33% from January '08 to January '09.
That calls for new movement of money within the country, as inflow can't be counted on anymore.
Lenovo Follows the Money Trail
Lenovo hopes to sell 5 million computers in the next 3 years... not in bright new urban storefronts, but out in China's hinterlands, where it is estimated that 60-80% of the country's population still lives.
They're not just pushing the same old laptops and desktops, either. Lenovo is creating 15 brand-new computer models that will be cheap and efficient.
Vice President Xia Li says the PCs will be as cheap as 3,000 yuan out of the box... That's just under 450 bucks!
My colleague Benjamin Ross researches China's money movement trends for a living. He gave me the scoop from Shanghai the other day before heading out to the famous Huangshan Mountain:
"These days, people in rural areas are getting richer and richer... due in large part to family members working in cities and kicking money back to relatives in the home village."
But Benjamin adds emphatically the new moneyed classes of China's big cities, and even plenty of the workers who call the countryside home, are sticking out the global recession in eastern metropolises.
Wherever they are, individual Chinese consumers are now the brightest blips on every company's radar.
That's not only smart strategy; it's necessity. Lenovo is currently the world's #4 PC maker, and it expected to gain ground, not lose it, after the IBM acquisition.
But the worldwide recession already took a bite out of Lenovo with a precipitous drop in corporate PC sales.
That led to the resignation of CEO William Amelio in February and partially explains the shift in emphasis to rural markets.
New management and new markets mean opportunity for long-term Lenovo investors. We'll be keeping an eye on the outcome of Lenovo's rural marketing, hoping for an upside surprise as fresh earnings roll in to a beaten-down market.
Another factor working in Lenovo's favor is a top "Green Ranking" compared to other electronics makers. China's national policy and market demands are pushing Lenovo and other firms to energy efficiency and smart growth.
At Green Chip International, we've prepared a full report on just how much money and effort is going into making China a bastion of healthy growth in a shrinking global economy. The numbers will amaze you.
286% Net Gains From 2009 Stocks Market
It sounds too good to be true... especially right now.
And yet it is true. This 286% net gain is from Steve Christ's Wealth Advisory portfolio.
And while most other investment advisories are getting ripped to shreds, Steve's showing his readers a way to steer clear of the financial melee... and actually profit.
It's a bulletproof strategy giving investors exactly the thing they're looking for to protect and preserve their wealth in today's market: safe, steady income.
Steve calls it the "Dividend Money Machine." Simply put, it's wealth... without worry.
So if you're looking to receive steady, tax-free income payments -- month after month, year after year -- the next 10 minutes is well worth your time...
Dear Reader,
We're all in the same hole. Some worse off than others. I don't need to share any more financial doom and gloom stories with you... they just make your stomach churn, and keep you up at night.
But still you can't help asking yourself the same question. How to dig ourselves out... protect and preserve the wealth we're still clinging to... and build an even bigger nest egg...
1. You could become a genius stock trader for the long haul. A tall order for most retail investors.
2. You could juice your returns with the dividends of income top stocks.
Truth is, investors everywhere are moving a part of their portfolios into fixed income. They've figured out it's Income Investing that guarantees you a head start in every market.
Income-generating stocks are the new ticket. It's the dividends that can make a huge difference in any portfolio right now.
Dividend-paying hot stocks should be a part of every well-balanced portfolio-especially in today's markets. Young, old, or in between.
Before we discuss which dividend plays are best to get into right now, allow me to explain why.
Even in bear markets, dividend-paying hot stocks typically do well, especially if those companies have a strong history of increasing the dividend payout.
That's because investors win two ways when a company increases its dividend. First, the yield on your initial investment goes up with the dividend, and even better, the dividend increase often propels the share price higher.
That's an unbeatable combination in today's tough markets. That's why investors are so eager today to gobble up hot stocks with high dividend yields.
But Here's the Best Part: You Build Wealth Without Worry
You see, you don't exactly need to be a mutual fund star to beat the markets with dividend payers. In fact, the truth is that you need to be just opposite -- you need to be something of a lazy investor.
That's no typo. You really can accomplish more with dividend stocks in the long run by actually doing less.
So don't believe for a moment that buy and hold investing is dead -- Not by a long shot!
Of course, successful dividend investors themselves have known this for years and have been banking big gains because of it.
That's why the truly rich don't spend their days glued to the financial news watching Joe Kernan and Becky Quick. They're way too savvy for that.
Instead, they seek out the high-yielding income top stocks that will perform in any market. Then they just sit back and watch their portfolios grow.
Sure, it's lazy... but it works.
The name of the game, after all, is profit and income investors earn them like clockwork -- even in down markets.
That is why these "Dividend Money Machines" are looking pretty good these days for investors looking to build wealth without taking big risks.
After all, if you're already collecting a 7% or better dividend with your investments, you're beginning the race with a pretty big head start.
And let's face it...
Finding a profitable investment today is getting harder and harder.
The reasons are simple...
The housing market is in a never-ending tailspin.
The banking system is being torn apart.
The economy is struggling, and
Wall Street is taking it on the chin.
I could go on, but you get the idea... a giant wall of worry is building, and it feels like it could come down on us at a moment's notice.
The whole situation is overwhelming really, and the worst part is that there's no end in sight. So for most investors, it's just easier to ignore it... hoping that somehow things will all work out.
And yet, the worry continues to linger like a 500-pound gorilla.
But the risks aren't imaginary -- they are real -- and every investor knows that their financial future is hanging by a thread.
However, instead of charting their own course, the majority of investors will just blindly jump in line behind the rest of the herd... A sure-fire way to lose money.
But what if there was a better way to create wealth?
Would you be savvy enough to invest in a "wealth without worry" system... one that could safely and easily Double Your Investment?
Well, if you did, you'd be joining the likes of Warren Buffett, Wilbur Ross, and Bill Gross.
You may have heard of them. They're some of the greatest investors the world has ever known.
Along with them, you'd be riding along with countless others "in the know" who have been utilizing this often-overlooked investment strategy for years now.
Now, listen.
I know that you could spend hours surfing the internet trying to find out what I'm talking about. But why would you bother?
After all, a ticket to this money machine costs less than your last meal out.
Because I can tell you, without reservation that our "Dividend Money Machine" is the best way to supplement your income and build true wealth... kind of like the goose that laid the golden eggs.
Because the one thing this portfolio does is generate income... Month after month... year after year. And that is no exaggeration.
But first, let me explain to you exactly how it all works. It is simple really…
And as our current members have happily learned -- you can't help but make money.
And below, I'm going to show you how to make this strategy the most profitable weapon in your portfolio.
The Seven Golden Rules of Income Investing
You see, every successful income investor lives by a certain set of rules. And if you follow them, you will build a million dollar portfolio for less than half of what it costs to go the store these days.
Here are the seven rules every successful income investor lives by.
Learn them... Live them... and Watch Your Money Grow!
1. Ignore the News. Warren Buffett doesn't bother to watch CNBC, and why should you? The financial news, after all, isn't any different than your own 6 o'clock news. Drama may draw viewers, but it's nothing more than a distraction to long-term holders. Smart income investors set their portfolios and forget them, ignoring the shrieks of the financial press.
2. Be content to take a single. Sure, home runs are exciting, but a string of singles is just as effective, and much more profitable. Yes, building true wealth takes time, but it's completely achievable. The right Income Investing plan is the solution.
3. Reinvest your Dividends. When an investor receives income, he or she has two choices. The first is to take the cash and spend it... the second is to immediately take those funds and purchase more stock. The savvy investor chooses the latter. Income reinvestment programs are an automatic way to build wealth, and they're the perfect example of why the income investor is often the smartest one in the bunch.
4. Remember the Rule of 72. Compounding is one of the most powerful forces known to man. That's where the Rule of 72 comes in. The rule says that to find the number of years it takes to you double your money at a given rate, you just divide the interest rate into 72. For example, to figure out how long it'll take you to turn $12,857 into $25,714 at 9%, you simply divide 72 by 9, and get 8 years. Now, what if you actually saved $12,857 a year at 9% interest -- for a period of 24 years. Then how much would you have? The answer is roughly $1,076,154. Not bad, eh? Income investors know it's the turtle that wins this race -- not the hare.
5. Avoid taxation. Inflation is bad enough, but taxation is even worse. As a result, smart, income investors get to know all the legal ways to avoid the Tax Man... and they execute these strategies, without fail, year in and year out. That leaves more money for the income investor to reinvest, fattening up their portfolios all along the way.
6. Protect your Principal. Successful income investors realize that chasing yield and yield alone is much too risky. So, instead, they search for income-producing investments with a long, solid history of earnings and plenty of future upside.
7. Income Investors Don't Procrastinate. Time, after all, is literally money. Smart, income investor's don't hesitate to act on an opportunity.
And for those of you who may be dissuaded by the rocky state of today's stock markets -- Don't be!
Income investing is the winning ticket in every market -- even this one.
How to Profit Better Than "Dr. Doom"
After all, the 44 year-old president of Euro Pacific Capital was mocked on networks like CNBC and Fox for predicting "wild" things like a real estate bust, a credit crunch, and a deep recession. Two years later, and Schiff's original prophecies have come true.
That validation has been earning Schiff some much-deserved credibility in the financial world, where until now he's been dismissed as overly pessimistic.
But does Schiff really deserve the acclaim he's recently found?
While Schiff has proved himself as an economist, his ability to parlay those predictions into profits for his clients was questionable for 2008. For the last few years, he's been betting big on overseas investments and precious metals ― two areas that got hit as hard or harder than the S&P last year.
According to Morningstar, the average international equity fund performed 7% worse than the average U.S. stock fund in the last year.
Just look at the iShares MSCI Belgium (EWK), the worst performing ETF last year according to SmartMoney.com, or the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 ETF (FXI), which lost 49% in 2008.
Another of Schiff's investment strategies has been to exit the U.S. dollar in favor of more fundamentally sound currencies. This too has proved untimely since anxious treasury investors have driven up the dollar in the last year.
Just because Schiff's favored investments didn't do well doesn't mean that others' investments didn't. Just look at former hedge fund manager Andrew Lahde, whose real estate fund made 866% last year by betting that defaults would rise. Schiff was an early investor in the fund, but even that play couldn't shake the losses on his other picks.
Some of the market's other doomsayers, like Nicholas Nassim Taleb, banked gains for the year, so why couldn't Schiff?
Likewise, a lot of individual investors did well in 2008 by betting against the market. But if you're still trying to decide where to put your money in 2009, you're not alone. While the market is a lot less volatile than it was six months ago, it's still wild enough to give pause to even the most decisive investors right now.
Now, I don't think Schiff should be written off ― he took a risky stance against CNBC's perpetual bulls, and it paid off. He's also helped to bring attention to some of our country's very real financial problems. That's something he should be congratulated for.
We'll see where his investments go in the future, but it doesn't look like his opinions are wavering for the time being. "…My problem has always been that I see things too clearly and too far in advance," he said in the Fortune article, "Other people don't understand what I do, so the markets might not validate what I'm saying right away. But they will eventually."
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