“Your Work Helps Me in a Very Practical Way”
Prechter talks with Mind of Money Host Doug Lodmell
Robert Prechter offers a broad overview of the Wave Principle in this interview clip with The Mind of Money host, Douglass Lodmell. Continue reading
Economic Insights from a Lord of Finance
By David Galland, The Casey Report
Of all the social memes related to the economic and investment landscape, none is more dominant than that there is a small cadre of powerful Wall Street money men who, working behind the scenes, effectively control investment markets, the global economy and the politicians that play such a big role in that economy.
Whether you call them fat cats, greedy bankers, soulless manipulators or unindicted co-conspirators, the one sure thing, in the minds of most, is that they wield the power behind all thrones and that it is their whispered agreements, invariably made in darkened rooms full of cigar smoke, that decide the economic fates of us all.
Over the years, I have met quite a few of these “Lords of Finance” and found them to possess the same wide range of traits, positive and negative, shared by all humans: fear, insecurities, self-delusion, high hopes, good intentions, social aspirations, good habits and bad. Continue reading
An Investment Whose Time Has Passed
By Terry Coxon, The Casey Report
Money market funds began as a bright and useful idea, became a habit, and recently have become a bad habit.
Money market funds were invented in 1971 as an innovative end-run around Federal Reserve Regulation Q, which prohibited paying interest on demand deposits. The purpose of Reg Q was to stifle competition in the deposit-taking business in order to benefit commercial banks – at the expense, of course, of depositors.
The regulation had little effect until the late 1960s, when two factors converged. The first was consumer price inflation; it was mild compared to what was soon to follow, but it was still noticeable, and it fueled a general rise in interest rates. The second factor was the arrival of the IBM 360, which made computing much cheaper. Before that device, the administration of checking accounts was still labor intensive and little advanced from the days of green eye-shades. It was expensive for banks to maintain checking accounts, so they weren’t inclined to pay interest on them, Reg Q or no Reg Q. Continue reading
Investing In Real Estate Securities For High Yield
by Charles Petty
Investing in real estate requires investment of not only money but also time and effort. Real Estate investing requires that you buy a property, rehab, maintain it and then rent it out.
But if you want to enjoy the fruits of investing in real estate without all the hassle, then real estate securities is the place to look. Even if you have another business but yet wish to dip your fingers in real estate without investing your precious time, then you can choose from any of the following real estate securities. Continue reading
3 Bears for the Markets
These days there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of good news out there anymore. What with Greece, the looming recession and all the market technicals looking negative we have three big bears (at least) roaring in our faces. In todays commentary Chris Ciovacco Chief Investment Officer of Ciovacco Capital Management tells us how these bears are lined up and what to expect next. Tim McMahon, editor.
Greece, Recession Odds, & Technicals All Bearish
While inspectors from the International Monetary Fund, EU and European Central Bank, known as the troika, are in Athens to review the books, Reuters reported Sunday:
Greece will miss deficit targets set just months ago in a massive bailout package, sources said citing a budget draft being adopted by the cabinet on Sunday, in a setback in Europe’s efforts to stave off the country’s bankruptcy.
Two sources confirmed the new budget numbers, which predict a budget deficit of 8.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for this year and 6.8 percent next year, compared with targets of 7.6 percent for this year and 6.5 percent for 2012.
With Germany hinting last week the terms of the bailouts may need to be revisited, these latest developments may put more pressure on financial markets as we enter October. Back in the United States, more economists and economic forecasters are migrating to the recession camp. From the Economic Cycle Research Institute’s (ECRI) website (9/30/2011) :
Early last week, ECRI notified clients that the U.S. economy is indeed tipping into a new recession. And there’s nothing that policy makers can do to head it off. ECRI’s recession call isn’t based on just one or two leading indexes, but on dozens of specialized leading indexes, including the U.S. Long Leading Index, which was the first to turn down – before the Arab Spring and Japanese earthquake – to be followed by downturns in the Weekly Leading Index and other shorter-leading indexes. In fact, the most reliable forward-looking indicators are now collectively behaving as they did on the cusp of full-blown recessions, not “soft landings.”
From a technical perspective, September closed out with numerous long-term bearish signals present on weekly and monthly charts (see table below). The signals below tell us the odds favor bearish outcomes in October. Could stocks rally instead? Sure they could, but it is the lower probability outcome given the fundamental and technical backdrop. The downside potential of stocks and the euro we outlined on September 23 remains in play as we head into the typically volatile month of October.
See the full article here
Doug Casey: Glowing Prospects for Uranium
On September 22, 2011, Karen Roche and JT Long of The Energy Report interviewed renowned speculator and financial author Doug Casey on his views about uranium. Read here why Doug thinks despite the recent bad press, “yellowcake” has a bright future.
The Western world’s skittishness, skepticism and staunch opposition when in comes to nuclear energy won’t stand in the way of its production elsewhere in the world. It will be full steam ahead in China, India and other developing nations, says Casey Research Chairman Doug Casey, and the Western world is tiny in comparison. In fact, “I’d say uranium is a great place to be for at least the next generation,” he tells us in this Energy Report exclusive. With ever-advancing technology enabling economic recovery in places where it previously wasn’t possible, he’s also optimistic about natural gas and oil. Continue reading
How Long Might It Take to Get Rich from Gold Stocks?
By Jeff Clark, Casey Research
Let’s just admit it: we’re invested in gold stocks not just to make money, but for the chance to change our lifestyles. And with their lackadaisical year-to-date performance, one may begin to wonder if they’re still going to bring the magic.
While the answer will depend as much on the individual investor as it does the market, let’s look at some historical patterns to get a hint as to how similar or different our situation is to past bull markets, as well as what realistic expectations we can hold about the future.
The first thing I wanted to know is if there is historical precedence for gold stocks to underperform gold during a bull market. If so, then maybe what we’re experiencing isn’t out of the ordinary, and more importantly, wouldn’t necessarily mean they are destined to continue lagging. And that brings us to our first historical observation… Continue reading
The Zen of Resource Speculation
By Louis James, Casey International Speculator
Whenever gold and silver hit a correction, those are the times that try men’s souls. But they are also a classic case of making volatility our friend.
And there should be terrific bargains ahead on great stocks, if the market corrects from recent highs. It enables you to go long at prices as low as, or sometimes even lower than, those paid by speculators who picked winning plays early – but with the advantage of hindsight about the results of those companies’ exploration and development efforts. You get a combination of lower risk and lower prices.
How cool is that? (As my children say.) Continue reading
The Sector Where Individuals Can Still Beat The Big Boys
Wouldn’t it be great if there were a sector where you have the edge over the Goldman Sachs of the world?
A market where small players can outmaneuver the big guys – and where having knowledge of that market gives you a distinct advantage over day traders?
Such a market exists – biotechnology. Small and mid-cap biotech firms don’t get a lot of close coverage by analysts, so with the right expertise it’s possible to beat the masses to the early profits.
Our colleague, Alex Daley, the chief technology strategist for Casey Research and senior editor for Casey’s Extraordinary Technology, recently sat down with The Daily Crux to reveal valuable insights on investing in this explosive sector:
- Why biotech is offering hope to millions of chronically ill people – and serious profits for bold investors
- Why nine out of 10 biotech therapies are destined for the trash heap – and how to improve your odds of investing in the winners
- Key factors you need to know when evaluating biotech stocks
- …and much more.
When Alex talks technology, smart investors listen – he’s worked with Microsoft, Facebook, MySpace and many other household-name tech firms, as well as renowned research universities like MIT and Harvard.
He’s also been a featured guest on CNN, CNBC, BBC and other major media.
So grab a cup of coffee and discover some of Alex’s strategies for uncovering profitable biotech stocks. Continue reading
Later Is Now: Profiting from Rising Interest Rates
By Terry Coxon, The Casey Report
In the fall of 2008, the Federal Reserve responded to the Lehman bankruptcy by igniting a rapid expansion in the U.S. money supply. It did so because, by its lights, the immediate and obvious menace to the economy was a deflationary collapse, with one giant bankruptcy breeding another. And it went about the task without compromise; the monetary base more than doubled in less than a year, and the public’s M1 money supply (checkable deposits plus hand-to-hand currency) jumped by 20%.
To some investors, including many of the editors at Casey Research, this policy seemed to guarantee price inflation sooner or later – which, when it came, would mean higher interest rates and falling prices for long-term bonds, including Treasuries. Or, as a speculator would put it, when the time comes, a lot of money can made by shorting T-bonds.
But “sooner or later” is a nearly useless foresight. So far, as Treasury bonds were concerned, the fear brought on by the bursting of the housing bubble, tumbling stock prices, the near-death experiences of large financial institutions, and the well-publicized bailouts of public companies trumped any concerns about inflation somewhere in the future. The compelling desire, especially among institutional investors, was to escape default risk, and that meant buying Treasuries. Inflation was a hypothetical event that could be dealt with later. Continue reading
