Asset Allocation

I believe Americans feel that investing in the stock market today is counterintuitive because of unemployment statistics, dysfunction in Washington and ongoing negative news about the U.S. economy....Take a visual look at what investors may be feeling in our new infographic...and you can see some of the reasons investors have thrown in the towel.

The US Treasury Bond market is the longest unbroken bull market known to the financial world [thanks in large part to the Fed who is] buying up every penny of newly issued government debt. [In doing so] this issuance of debt is following the exact path of the Jean-Paul Rodrigue' "bubble model". Words: 290; Charts: 4; Tables 1

The vast majority of people who have money saved have it invested in the stock market, be it stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs or warrants, and have it "managed" by their financial advisor/planner. Very, very few individuals manage their assets in self-directed accounts either through a full-service brokerage firm or totally on their own via an internet account. As such, very few articles are written for such an audience. This post changes all that with links to some very informative articles on virtually everything you need to know to succeed in today's marketplace.

...Even in these challenging times there have been many great winners in the natural resource sector. I have been fortunate, lucky or smart to have racked up some nice gains through the years. I have been consistently picking winners, big winners, monster winners for years - a string of 10 years of 500% plus winners and more, sometimes much more, year after year - ...[so] my message to you is simple: follow me! Your only question should be "Which of my current positions will be the next big winners?" Words: 804; Table: 1

Bain & Co., the private equity firm that you might have heard of during the presidential campaign last year, has come out with a fascinating set of projections for the global capital markets...The generality of...the report [is that] the world is awash in money looking for someplace to invest that will earn a return and [that,] over the rest of this decade, the amount of money looking to be invested will grow by about 50%. What does that imply [and how should you therefore invest? This article addresses both issues well.] Words: 1349

Whether you are aware of it or not, a great battle is being waged around us. It is a war of two opposing narratives: the future of our economy and our standard of living. This battle is about to break and when it does, one side will turn out to be much more 'right' than the other. The time for action has arrived. It's time to choose a side; to do your own personal calculus of the risks to determine where you need to be positioned and to take the necessary steps to get well-situated where you assess you need to be, to position yourself in the direction of the break you think is most likely to happen. [This article comments on both positions to help you come to a decision as to whether you should play offense or defense.] Words: 1600

I expect gold to move sideways or trend down in the first half of 2013 [and, as such,] I would consider this as a good opportunity to buy gold as there is still no long-term fix in place for the economic and financial problems [that the U.S., and indeed the world, face. Here's why]. Words: 665; Charts: 5

For the month of January, U.S. stocks experienced the best month in more than two decades [and the Dow hit 14,009 on Feb. 1st for the first time since 2007]. Per the Stock Traders’ Almanac market indicator, the “January Barometer,” the performance of the S&P 500 Index in the first month of the year dictates where stock prices will head for the year. Let’s hope so.... [This article identifies f more solid reasons why equities should do well in 2013.] Words: 453

The U.S. economy is picking up steam and the Fed’s quantitative-easing approach is helping and as a result investors should watch out for a possible spike in interest rates once growth is well under way (later this year) warns billionaire financier George Soros. It has been suggested that this would adversely affect bonds but not everyone agrees. Read on!

[In spite of what] the typical Wall Street cheerleaders, I mean strategists, are predicting, we see the equity market ever more closer to its cyclical top, miners about to retest a major bottom and hard assets with a new catalyst. [This article analyzes 9 pieces of information, complete with charts, that show what is actually going on in the marketplace at this point in time and what the short-term future holds.] Words: 930; Charts: 8