Does Bombing Iran Make Sense? As tensions rise in the Middle East surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, the calls are getting louder to engage the country militarily. Of course, the main proponent for this stance is Israel, which makes sense since they are the frequent targets of Iran’s vitriolic hyperbole. **Sponsor** The Surprising No Cost Moneymaker [...]
Don’t Let the Door Hit You on Your Way Out Ah, the Greeks. The cradle of modern civilization has finally hit rock bottom. In a country where tax evasion is as popular as the Olympics, the time has come to pay the piper. In a perfect world, the Euro-Zone would tell the Greeks to exit [...]
Newt Gingrich soared in the polls after South Carolina, heading into the Florida Primaries. Arguably, Florida is the most important of the early states since it represents a better cross section of the country’s diverse electorate. But, predictably, Newt began to lose steam the minute he set foot on the sandy soil of the Sunshine [...]
Mitt Romney has just climbed a peg or two in my opinion. Maybe not as the best presidential candidate, but as a superb money manager. His quest for paying a tax rate that most of us dream about is a reality. Congratulations Mitt! You’ve done exactly what the founding fathers of this country advised us [...]
Turkey Day Comes Early Many have criticized the Republican Nominee Debates as being an exercise in helping Obama win a second term. It’s no secret that the nominees have been battling each other with a take no prisoners attitude. It’s the best and worst of American politics on display for the country and the world [...]
The market is making a significant move higher during these first days of January. The S&P has finally broken over a technical barrier at 1280 which it has had a lot of trouble staying above since the late summer. On two occasions it broke 1280 just to head back lower. If this move it to [...]
Where to Next? Iowa is over. Ron Paul did not win. He made a great showing though, solidifying his place among the top three candidates…none of whom were able to garner more than 25% of the vote. A victory of sorts, many will argue for Dr. Paul. But, it is not enough to catapult him [...]
The Year Ahead 2012 is upon us and for the most part it looks like the volatility that produced more triple digit up and a triple digit down days in a single year, 2011, will continue. Volatility along the lines that we have seen is the result of massive uncertainty in the minds of investors [...]
Holiday Greetings! Last week I wrote once more about Ron Paul and how he was surging in the race for the Republican nomination, but would not be the winner…despite how he shows in Iowa or anywhere else. It’s not the good Doctor that I am not fond of, nor his platform. It’s the reality that [...]
Yes! It is his turn to surge in the race for the Republican nomination. Merry Christmas America! But, he’s not going to win. He’d make a great Vice President though, maybe even a cabinet position. But, he’s not going to take the top job. That requires personality. In this age of “Reality Politics”, Ron Paul [...]
The Risk Trade If you think blue chip paying stocks are hot now…wait for another year…or buy some when the markets dips. Last I checked, my bank was paying me just less than 1% for money market cash. And, this has been the case for about three years. I know that you know it’s painful [...]
The presses are back on. Money’s cheap and there’s lots of it. You haven’t heard? The US Federal Reserve has taken on the role of the World’s banker as evidenced by the announcement last week of a coordinated action by World Central Banks to add liquidity to the system. Sure, the announcement said “World” central [...]
Homme du Jour The flavor of this week is Newt Gingrich. While failing miserably at the outset of his campaign, Newt has gained momentum in recent weeks to take over the leadership in the race for the Republican nomination. Did Newt’s popularity really surge…or did the popularity of others really decline. Well, our buddy Herman [...]
Isn’t it bad enough that only 9% of Americans approve of Congress as far as their job performance is concerned? The latest revelation about our elected political class is enough to make most voters sick to their collective stomachs. Amazingly enough, it’s something that has been kept quiet for decades and that makes me wonder [...]
It’s going to be tough to leave politics for this week. There’s so much to talk about from the Circus that is the Republican Nominating Process. Still, the markets are calling and it’s time to pay attention to money. **Sponsor** How to Profit From the Small Print Have you ever been caught out by the [...]
Razing Cain I can’t decide what’s more exciting – the possibility of a collapse of the European Union at the hand of the Greeks or the collapse of the Republican Nominees at by their own hands. The Greeks, if you haven’t heard, are not happy about an austere future after decades of economic mismanagement, lax [...]
Forget 2012 That’s really what it boils down to. Last week I wrote about how the Republican Party candidates are handing Obama a second term on a platter, despite the horrible economy. Just when I thought they had hit bottom by their debate performances, they decided to go on a further offensive. **Sponsor** What’s In [...]
It’s getting ugly out there. The Republican debates are shedding more light on the negatives that each candidate brings to the table than the positives. The fact that none of the candidates can produce more than a 27% tally from the party’s constituency does not bode well. Even worse is the punditry is looking for [...]
The 99% Solution There are lots of numbers being thrown out there. You hear that the top 1% pay 40% of the taxes collected by the Treasury and that the bottom 50% pay nothing. It’s all malarkey. We all pay taxes and lots of it. Few talk about the burdens of sales tax, property tax, [...]
The crisis that continues to play out in Greece is a wake up call. Last week, in the face of continuing austerity measures, much of the country shut down as strikes by labor and government unions shuttered businesses and transportation. The strikes are a result of massive overhauls in the Greek way of life. **Sponsor** How This Lie Affects [...]
Last week was a doosie. In fact the whole month of September has been a wild ride. And not just for stocks but for gold as well. Never in the history of the markets have we had so much sustained volatility as we have experienced in the past few years. There is a good reason [...]
Well, well I am glad that there is life out there after-all. Politics is not the main focus of this forum. But, let’s talk about it anyway since it does have major implications vis a vis the markets today. Whether you’re a Dem, a Republican or and Independent, one thing is for sure – we [...]
If there is one thing that the recent Republican Party Debates have shown us, it is that there is still a no real viable option from the Party to win the 2012 election. The infighting has just begun and it’s going to get dirtier in the weeks and months ahead. If you’re a Democrat, you’ve [...]
Currency traders are a brave breed. They invest in trades based on moves of tenths of a point. It doesn’t sound like much, but when leverage of 100 to 1 is involved every move is magnified by a hundred times on the upside…and on the downside. **Sponsor** You Don’t Need Money Lying Around Starting a [...]
That is the question. Markets, as I have previously noted, do not just bottom and then rocket upwards. Nor do they just top out and crash. Both events are processes and it takes time. Right now we are in what looks to be a bottoming process, but that usually requires further consolidation. We have successfully [...]
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