Supercomputer predicts Total financial collapse by May 15

If you got an extra $1000 for the member fee plus another $20k for an nvidia based CUDA personal supercomputer you can join an elite financial forecasting group.

Eleks.com provides the base software and their predictive tools are top notch. A cloud array of 10,000 CUDA desktops has more computational power than the U.S. Weather Service.

While the findings of their quarterly report are kept very secret, a few details have crept out of the latest report. The report was redone in light of the Japan situation and the Mid-east meltdown.

Sudden and unexpected drop in home pricessteep decline in commercial real estate valuesMajor stock market correction ending up near 5000 on the DOWOil would yo-yo from $150 down $50, extreme market oscillation due to speculationcritical financial problems in China, over inflated growth and savings figures6 countries in Europe would fall in to financial defaultUSD would climb in short term but take a massive decline by August30% of all Insurance companies are insolventOfficial US unemployment of 12.75%, actual 19.6%Real inflation of 13.7% this year, excluding fuel

The group no longer recommends paper investments. They are heavy on Tier 1 Defence and applied logistical supply management contractors. To translate they only invest in companies with guaranteed gold plated contracts with large Governments. These are USG emergency contingency contracts. Such as companies who are in contract to supply emergency supplies of Pharmaceutics, Anti-viral, and radiation treatments. These preferred Government contractors make a profit no matter what happens. It is a guarantee by Law. Every private enterprise the group recommends is in the essential services and products category. Their list is like a War time survival list of essential companies. The group has no recommendations on precious metals or commodities. They are buying into the Military-industrial-energy complex and putting all their cash with those who have the guns and means to protect hard assets.

Tags: crash, dollar, Global financial collapse, Japan, market
Posted in News | No Comments »

View the original article here

Supercomputer predicts Total financial collapse by May 15

If you got an extra $1000 for the member fee plus another $20k for an nvidia based CUDA personal supercomputer you can join an elite financial forecasting group.

Eleks.com provides the base software and their predictive tools are top notch. A cloud array of 10,000 CUDA desktops has more computational power than the U.S. Weather Service.

While the findings of their quarterly report are kept very secret, a few details have crept out of the latest report. The report was redone in light of the Japan situation and the Mid-east meltdown.

Sudden and unexpected drop in home pricessteep decline in commercial real estate valuesMajor stock market correction ending up near 5000 on the DOWOil would yo-yo from $150 down $50, extreme market oscillation due to speculationcritical financial problems in China, over inflated growth and savings figures6 countries in Europe would fall in to financial defaultUSD would climb in short term but take a massive decline by August30% of all Insurance companies are insolventOfficial US unemployment of 12.75%, actual 19.6%Real inflation of 13.7% this year, excluding fuel

The group no longer recommends paper investments. They are heavy on Tier 1 Defence and applied logistical supply management contractors. To translate they only invest in companies with guaranteed gold plated contracts with large Governments. These are USG emergency contingency contracts. Such as companies who are in contract to supply emergency supplies of Pharmaceutics, Anti-viral, and radiation treatments. These preferred Government contractors make a profit no matter what happens. It is a guarantee by Law. Every private enterprise the group recommends is in the essential services and products category. Their list is like a War time survival list of essential companies. The group has no recommendations on precious metals or commodities. They are buying into the Military-industrial-energy complex and putting all their cash with those who have the guns and means to protect hard assets.

Tags: crash, dollar, Global financial collapse, Japan, market
Posted in News | No Comments »

View the original article here

Good Economic Numbers? Don’t Be Fooled By The Financial Sugar High

The U.S. financial system is like a junkie that needs continually increasing amounts of "junk" to get the same "buzz".  So what is the U.S. financial system addicted to?  It is addicted to money and debt.  For many years, whenever the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates or the U.S government would borrow and spend more money, the U.S. economy would respond positively.  But just like with any other kind of artificial stimulation, over time it has taken greater and greater amounts of debt and cheap money to get a response from our economic system.  So yes, the fact that the official unemployment rate went down 0.1%  last month is good news, but considering the massive amount of spending that the U.S. government is doing and considering the gigantic quantity of money that the Federal Reserve is injecting into the financial system, the truth is that the unemployment rate should be falling much faster than that.  So don't be fooled by the good economic numbers and don't be fooled by the financial "sugar rush".  The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have been pulling out all the stops to stimulate the economy, and the fact that all of their efforts are barely moving the unemployment rate at all is an indication of just how far our economic situation has degenerated.

Many in the mainstream media were extremely excited when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the U.S. unemployment rate declined to 8.8% in March.  U.S. stocks soared as investors enthusiastically welcomed the news.  But should we all really be jumping up and down over this?

The truth is that some other measures show that the unemployment situation in the United States is becoming worse.

According to Gallup, the number of Americans that are either unemployed or working part-time but desiring full-time work actually rose from 19.8 percent in February to 20.3 percent in March.

So let us not get too excited about the employment situation.  Yes, unemployment is not spinning wildly out of control at the moment and that is good news.

However, when you look at the larger picture things look rather grim.

What the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have been doing is that they have been mortgaging our future big time for short-term economic gain.

This year alone, the U.S. government is going to run an all-time record budget deficit of approximately 1.6 trillion dollars.  By borrowing 1.6 trillion dollars that we do not have and spending it into the system, it does stimulate the economy.

There are some members of Congress that would like to implement substantial budget cuts, but most members of Congress fear doing too much budget cutting right now because it would "harm the economy".

And you know what?  They are right - budget cuts would harm our economy in the short-term.

But continuing to pile up all of this debt is setting the stage for an absolute economic nightmare in the mid to long term.

We have lived far, far beyond our means for decades, and most of our politicians are acting like this can go forever.

But tell me, does anyone out there actually believe that we can keep expanding the national debt like this indefinitely?....

Yes, government spending does stimulate the economy.  The Keynesians are right about that.

However, by accumulating a national debt that is spinning wildly out of control, we have completely destroyed the economic future of this nation.

The Federal Reserve has been very busy trying to stimulate the U.S. economy as well.

Over the past couple of years, the Fed has been injecting massive amounts of money into the financial system.  The theory is that the financial system will loan this money out to the American people and that will stimulate the economy and create more jobs.

Well, that may very well be true to a certain extent in the short-term, but as I wrote about yesterday, in the long-term this is going to create a substantial amount of inflation.

The chart posted below cannot be emphasized enough.  It shows how the Fed has dramatically increased the size of the adjusted monetary base since mid-2008....

Yes, all of this new money will stimulate economic activity, but it is completely and totally ludicrous for Ben Bernanke to attempt to deny that this is also going to cause significant inflation.

So when taking a look at the economic numbers, it is absolutely critical to keep in mind that our "authorities" have pushed all the chips to the middle of the table in an all-out attempt to stimulate the economy in the short-term.

The small economic "sugar rush" that we are experiencing right now is all we have gotten out of it so far.

Sadly, this is about the best that the U.S. economy is going to do from now on.  Things really are not going to get much better than this.

Yes, unemployment numbers might come down a little more, but pretty soon inflation is going to really kick in and that is going to have a really negative impact on tens of millions of Americans.

First of all, when inflation really starts taking off it is going to be absolutely devastating for those on fixed incomes.  Many of them will be completely wiped out.

Secondly, those that do have jobs are going to find that their incomes are not nearly keeping up with inflation.

In fact, we are seeing this starting to happen already.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. workers in the private sector only saw their pay increase by 2.1% during 2010.

So did what we are paying for food and gas only go up 2.1% in 2010?

Of course not.

So are things getting better so far in 2011?

No.

One of the depressing things about the new numbers released by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was that wages for U.S. workers did not increase in March.

According to the BLS, the average U.S. worker earned $22.87 an hour during the month of March, which is exactly the same number we saw in February.

So inflation is going up and wages are staying flat.

That means that American family budgets are going to be squeezed even more.

In addition, the numbers from the BLS show that it is still incredibly difficult to get a job.  In fact, the average length of unemployment in the U.S. is now an all-time record 39 weeks.

So is anyone doing well right now?

Well, yes - as I have written about previously, those at the very top of the food chain are doing quite well these days.

According to USA Today, median CEO pay soared 27 percent during 2010.  For the year, median CEO pay was a stunning $9.0 million.

Wouldn't you like to be making 9 million dollars a year?

According a recent report by CNN, the 25 highest-paid hedge fund managers in the United States combined to bring in an astounding $22.07 billion in income during 2010.

Wouldn't you like to get just a small piece of that?

All of the measures that the government and the Federal Reserve are using to stimulate the economy are causing tremendous distortions in our financial system.

Wall Street is absolutely swimming in cash right now.  There are some people that are making obscene amounts of money.

But ultimately the party is going to end for all of us.

It has been incredibly foolish for the government and the Fed to go "all in" in a desperate attempt to boost short-term economic numbers.

Our long-term economic future is completely gone.  Our financial system is heading for a horrible collapse.  It is not a matter of "if" it will happen, but rather "when" it will happen.

You better buckle up and get ready.

View the original article here

Good Economic Numbers? Don’t Be Fooled By The Financial Sugar High

The U.S. financial system is like a junkie that needs continually increasing amounts of "junk" to get the same "buzz".  So what is the U.S. financial system addicted to?  It is addicted to money and debt.  For many years, whenever the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates or the U.S government would borrow and spend more money, the U.S. economy would respond positively.  But just like with any other kind of artificial stimulation, over time it has taken greater and greater amounts of debt and cheap money to get a response from our economic system.  So yes, the fact that the official unemployment rate went down 0.1%  last month is good news, but considering the massive amount of spending that the U.S. government is doing and considering the gigantic quantity of money that the Federal Reserve is injecting into the financial system, the truth is that the unemployment rate should be falling much faster than that.  So don't be fooled by the good economic numbers and don't be fooled by the financial "sugar rush".  The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have been pulling out all the stops to stimulate the economy, and the fact that all of their efforts are barely moving the unemployment rate at all is an indication of just how far our economic situation has degenerated.

Many in the mainstream media were extremely excited when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the U.S. unemployment rate declined to 8.8% in March.  U.S. stocks soared as investors enthusiastically welcomed the news.  But should we all really be jumping up and down over this?

The truth is that some other measures show that the unemployment situation in the United States is becoming worse.

According to Gallup, the number of Americans that are either unemployed or working part-time but desiring full-time work actually rose from 19.8 percent in February to 20.3 percent in March.

So let us not get too excited about the employment situation.  Yes, unemployment is not spinning wildly out of control at the moment and that is good news.

However, when you look at the larger picture things look rather grim.

What the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have been doing is that they have been mortgaging our future big time for short-term economic gain.

This year alone, the U.S. government is going to run an all-time record budget deficit of approximately 1.6 trillion dollars.  By borrowing 1.6 trillion dollars that we do not have and spending it into the system, it does stimulate the economy.

There are some members of Congress that would like to implement substantial budget cuts, but most members of Congress fear doing too much budget cutting right now because it would "harm the economy".

And you know what?  They are right - budget cuts would harm our economy in the short-term.

But continuing to pile up all of this debt is setting the stage for an absolute economic nightmare in the mid to long term.

We have lived far, far beyond our means for decades, and most of our politicians are acting like this can go forever.

But tell me, does anyone out there actually believe that we can keep expanding the national debt like this indefinitely?....

Yes, government spending does stimulate the economy.  The Keynesians are right about that.

However, by accumulating a national debt that is spinning wildly out of control, we have completely destroyed the economic future of this nation.

The Federal Reserve has been very busy trying to stimulate the U.S. economy as well.

Over the past couple of years, the Fed has been injecting massive amounts of money into the financial system.  The theory is that the financial system will loan this money out to the American people and that will stimulate the economy and create more jobs.

Well, that may very well be true to a certain extent in the short-term, but as I wrote about yesterday, in the long-term this is going to create a substantial amount of inflation.

The chart posted below cannot be emphasized enough.  It shows how the Fed has dramatically increased the size of the adjusted monetary base since mid-2008....

Yes, all of this new money will stimulate economic activity, but it is completely and totally ludicrous for Ben Bernanke to attempt to deny that this is also going to cause significant inflation.

So when taking a look at the economic numbers, it is absolutely critical to keep in mind that our "authorities" have pushed all the chips to the middle of the table in an all-out attempt to stimulate the economy in the short-term.

The small economic "sugar rush" that we are experiencing right now is all we have gotten out of it so far.

Sadly, this is about the best that the U.S. economy is going to do from now on.  Things really are not going to get much better than this.

Yes, unemployment numbers might come down a little more, but pretty soon inflation is going to really kick in and that is going to have a really negative impact on tens of millions of Americans.

First of all, when inflation really starts taking off it is going to be absolutely devastating for those on fixed incomes.  Many of them will be completely wiped out.

Secondly, those that do have jobs are going to find that their incomes are not nearly keeping up with inflation.

In fact, we are seeing this starting to happen already.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. workers in the private sector only saw their pay increase by 2.1% during 2010.

So did what we are paying for food and gas only go up 2.1% in 2010?

Of course not.

So are things getting better so far in 2011?

No.

One of the depressing things about the new numbers released by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was that wages for U.S. workers did not increase in March.

According to the BLS, the average U.S. worker earned $22.87 an hour during the month of March, which is exactly the same number we saw in February.

So inflation is going up and wages are staying flat.

That means that American family budgets are going to be squeezed even more.

In addition, the numbers from the BLS show that it is still incredibly difficult to get a job.  In fact, the average length of unemployment in the U.S. is now an all-time record 39 weeks.

So is anyone doing well right now?

Well, yes - as I have written about previously, those at the very top of the food chain are doing quite well these days.

According to USA Today, median CEO pay soared 27 percent during 2010.  For the year, median CEO pay was a stunning $9.0 million.

Wouldn't you like to be making 9 million dollars a year?

According a recent report by CNN, the 25 highest-paid hedge fund managers in the United States combined to bring in an astounding $22.07 billion in income during 2010.

Wouldn't you like to get just a small piece of that?

All of the measures that the government and the Federal Reserve are using to stimulate the economy are causing tremendous distortions in our financial system.

Wall Street is absolutely swimming in cash right now.  There are some people that are making obscene amounts of money.

But ultimately the party is going to end for all of us.

It has been incredibly foolish for the government and the Fed to go "all in" in a desperate attempt to boost short-term economic numbers.

Our long-term economic future is completely gone.  Our financial system is heading for a horrible collapse.  It is not a matter of "if" it will happen, but rather "when" it will happen.

You better buckle up and get ready.

View the original article here

Investments for Preparedness and Wealth Preservation That Your Financial Adviser Will Never Mention

For the last several years we’ve been providing our readers with news, commentary, strategies and tips for weathering the economic and political storms sweeping the world.

As the economy continues to sputter, even two years after the great financial collapse of 2008, many state sponsored media analysts and talking heads would have you believe that we’ve managed to get through the worst of it, and that bright and sunny days are ahead of us.

While our views have been considered to be pessimistic by some, many others understand that we’re not making these things up, and that our recommended SHTF planning strategies have been grounded in the reality on main street, not the scripted quasi-realities depicted on television.

Last year, we opined that the current economic and political climates in the United States and abroad demanded a different perspective for those wishing to protect wealth, preserve individual liberty and maintain peace of mind. In Wealth Preservation, Investing, and Prepping For Hard Times (January 2010) we put forth the notion that traditional stock investments, 401K’s and other asset classes recommended by university or workshop trained financial advisers were inadequate for preparing you and your family for the crisis in which we find ourselves today. Among other things, we advised our readers to look seriously at non-traditional, non-mainstream assets like precious metals, food, clothing, and other commodity-tied assets that would sky rocket in price as the dollar lost value and uncertainty in government’s ability to mitigate economic collapse reached a boiling point.

For those just joining us, the same strategies that applied in the first quarter of 2010 should be closely considered today.

Jim Sinclair, a precious metals specialist, foreign currency trader and publisher of Jim Sinclair’s Mineset, also agrees with our sentiment, urging his readers to take action immediately if they have the means to do so:

Truth be told, the major theme of JSMineset has been one of self reliance in a monetary, physical and Emersonian sense. Our focus has been on your assets, your debt positions, legal matters and investment.

…

Has Trader Dan not moved from Houston to an undisclosed location in Idaho? I am writing to you from a farm in North Western Connecticut, a rural part of the state. We provide our own water, can provide our own power, have a radio system fallback for communication, satellite phones, furnaces that burn coal or oil, an indoor pistol range that can take up to .50 calibre cartridges into a Detroit bullet trap, perimeter lighting, 16 camera day and night camera security and much more.

We have focused on conservative financial structures which were in truth taking you into the position of being your own central bank.

…

There is one more step that you really need to consider. The housing market is in a black hole from which it very well might not recover for generations. Land is cheap. When homes or small farms have been foreclosed on, resulting in bank owned property, they are sold in a fire sale to buyers with cash in hand.

Do as I have done. Do as Trader Dan has done.

…

I strongly suggest that if you have benefited from JSMineset, as many of you have, consider buying yourself a hobby farm and seriously go for the exercise of self reliance. I am certain that if even to cut costs you are going to need it.

The financial system is screwed up beyond any repair. On top of that there is no desire to repair anything because the wise guys know it is impossible. It is the world that the flushing of Lehman Bros. has created. It is not a brave new world. It is more like an audition for a world of Mad Max and the Day After.

It does not matter whether or not there is more QE. The damage is done and there is no solution.

We want to believe that the corruption in the White House, Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and the halls of our federal and state legislatures will cease, that our leaders and those in control of our policies realize where we’re headed and put a stop to it.

But given that absolutely nothing has been done to curb the status quo that brought our country to the brink in 2008, we reluctantly remain pessimistic about the state of our union today and for years to come.

Jim Sinclair describes our sentiment in the most simplest terms possible: “The damage is done and there is no solution.”

For those who have come to the same conclusion, now is the time to take action.

While we can’t predict exactly what will happen – slow and drawn out depression, hyperinflation, economic collapse, stagflation, riots – we feel confident suggesting that life in America as we have known it for the last three decades is about to change drastically – in fact, it’s clear that we’re in the process of transformation right now.

Prices for essential goods will rise. Wages, in terms of real purchasing power, will go down. Taxes will increase across the board in an attempt to counter out of control spending. Government interference in our personal lives, on every level, will expand. Politicians and media will turn the people against each other. Food riots and violence may become commonplace.

Thing will get worse, much worse, before they get better. Thus far, the effects of the economic paradigm shift taking place have been, for the most part, muted. But this will change. And when it does, you will want to be as far removed as possible.

While owning stocks, bonds, and other traditional financial investments may remain a part of any growth or retirement portfolio, we urge those concerned with the coming changes to make the necessary changes in their lifestyles to insulate themselves, as much as possible, from the coming storms.

Today’s savvy investors are planning not just for retirement, but for living in a system that will undoubtedly fail to provide for the millions who have become dependent on easy credit, cheap food and gas, and a government safety net in case things don’t go as planned.

We believe in maintaining a diversified portfolio, but our definition of diversification, and that of your financial adviser may differ. Here’s where we’re putting our money, time and energy:

Invest in precious metals. Yes, we know, you can’t eat them. But so long as gold and silver hold value by central banks in China, India and pretty much everywhere in the world except the USA, there will be a buyer for this asset. As things get worse, prices will go higher, which means that if you need to buy other hard assets, you  may be able to do so by trading in your metals.A farm, ranch. Like Mr. Sinclair and his friends, the Slavo family is getting out of the burbs. While we have come to love the suburban lifestyle in which we all grew up, including the ease of patronizing name brand retail outlets, we prefer to exchange our quarter-acre lot for a larger, more self-reliant compliant property. Larger scale food growth, micro farming and open space, available at cheaper prices when compared to suburban living, is our next destination. While hyperinflation, economic collapse, and city-wide riots are low probability events, being outside of a major metroplex is much better than being smack-dab in the middle of it all. Plus, did we mention the nice, open views of country side or mountain living? For those unable to buy, consider renting. With a three year backlog of inventory, homeowners are willing to work deals. They’ll rent for cheap, lease-to-own, sell without a down payment, and jump through hoops to put you into their property – so getting into the country on a low budget is certainly feasible right now. For those who have made huge gains in gold or silver, maybe trading some of that in for a tax sale property or foreclosure would be a good barter. The point is, there are very cost-effective ways available right now to get out of the city and into a safer, more productive property today.Bulk Food. There’s a reason that the largest freeze dried food manufacturer in the world is unable to keep up with demand. Now, imagine for a second that the even a small percentage of the general population realizes that costs are hyperinflating. Prices will go up that much more, and your local retail outlet may put a limit on how much rice or beans you can buy. This happened in late 2008 at major retailers like Target. And it can certainly happen again. We hear professional traders talk about investing in commodities, and we agree that buying wheat, beans, rice, and other essential goods is a good investment. But where we differ, is that we prefer to hold the physical asset. Using the proper storage techniques, dry grains, milk and other foods can be stored for 20 – 30 years. We’re not suggesting you just buy buckets of rice and throw them in a closet, though. Buy several hundred pounds of food, package them correctly, and rotate them into your food consumption on a regular basis. Rinse and repeat. For those who followed our advice in 2010, you would have saved 40%  – 75% on today’s prices. For those with animals, consider stocking up on feed as well. This strategy will help to not only preserve wealth, but provide an emergency supply of goods in case of a food supply interruption. But something like that can’t happen right? Ask the people in Japan, and you’ll get a starkly different opinion on the matter.Micro farming and Micro Livestock – Animals, Veggies and Fruit. Wifey Slavo is getting a Dexter cow. While we love our organic milk, we’d prefer to have the ability to produce our own on demand. The same goes for chickens, rabbits and goats. You’d be surprised how easily you can establish a small-scale bartering system in your local community or neighborhood. Brother Slavo, who is already setting up the infrastructure at our new homestead, regularly interacts with neighbors, friends and community members, trading everything from tomatoes to fresh eggs. In return, he builds personal relationships with those in the surrounding area, gets fresh produce that we have yet to grow ourselves, and assistance with building out our homesteading infrastructure. You’d be amazed how valuable fresh, organically produced food is and what people are willing to trade for it. Also consider storing some seeds, heirloom variety, just in case. Even if you don’t have the ability to get out to a farm, do what you can at your suburban home or apartment dwelling – there are lots of options available.Alternative Energy. We’re all about alternative energy, just not when it’s mandated on us by government. That’s why our position is that alternative energy should start from the needs of the individual, not the carbon exchange credit system set to make billions when costly laws, taxes and fees are passed by our Congressional representatives. If there’s one thing that will continue to rise in price and lead to economic despair, it’s energy. Oil, coal, electricity – it’s all going to be expensive. That’s why we recommend finding ways to create your own. There’s solar, of course, as well as wind or micro-wind, and hydro if you have running water. Even if you were to take yourself partially off the grid, it’s worth it. Start small, and build from there. Solar systems, especially do-it-yourself systems with the help of neighbors and friends who have already built there own, can be quite cheap and often pay themselves off in a matter of a few years. In addition, building for yourself and continuing to expand may actually put money in your own pocket when you feed power back to the grid. If you don’t have the up front cash to buy a system outright, financing is available – and since we’re talking about an essential good, energy, taking a small loan for such an asset may not be a horrible idea if you can get good terms.Get Skilled. The days of working in cubes (for the most part) are numbered. In the future, if you don’t produce a necessary product or service, you will be obsolete. These jobs, like it or not, are migrating to countries where workers are willing to do the labor for 80% less than Americans. We recommend investing time and energy to acquiring new skills. Physical skills. Welding, machining, carpentry, sewing, installation of alternative energy platforms, farming, raising animals, alcohol distillation, etc. Skills like alternative medicine will be useful as health care becomes rationed. Look to the past, as in the 1800's and early 1900's, and you’ll get a good idea of jobs and skills that may pay well in the future.Guns and Ammo. It might sound a little excessive, but the fact of the matter is that guns retain their value for the most part. Ammunition, as we saw in 2008, is subject to supply and demand crunches as well. As metal prices continue to rise, and uncertainty pervades the American psyche, people will continue to stock up. You may very well be able to trade ammunition for cash, silver or other items. The system doesn’t even have to collapse for this. A host of ‘gun trader’ type web sites already have bartering systems in place. Plus, if the worst does happen, and the system goes catatonic, wouldn’t you rather have a few thousand rounds of 7.62×39 than none?Clothes. The CEO of Walmart recently said that inflation is going to affect prices in months to come. If you’ve got kids, purchasing clothes in advance, especially things like socks, underwear, pajamas, jackets, jeans, shoes and shirts may save you money down the road. And again, if the worst were to happen, you’d have apparel for the kids (or for trade) for years ahead. For those who know how to sew, buying fabric now can save hundreds of dollars later.Tools. You can never have too many nails or screws or too much equipment. If you can, start investing in tools that you’ll be using around the house/farm. Everything from standard toolbelt accessories to quality farming equipment like shovels or even a tractor. A close friend recently built his own alcohol still for production of drinking alcohol and ethanol fuel. Like everything else, prices for these types of assets will continue to rise – and in a SHTF scenario, they will become invaluable and highly sought after. If you can, buy two of everything, especially when it comes to food production or raising animals.

These may not be the investments vehicles of the baby boom generation, but, we’re not living in the boom times of the 20th century anymore.

There are a host of other investment opportunities out there. Take the time to think about where we’re headed, or might be headed, and make your investment decisions accordingly.

It’s impossible to predict exactly what to expect. We certainly can’t do it, and neither can your financial adviser or an investment pundit on television. But we can try and plan a strategy that covers most of our bases. While we don’t recommend investing your entire retirement portfolio into the above assets, some diversification is certainly prudent.

The assets recommended above will come in handy, whether or not a complete and total economic collapse is in our future. If you invest properly, and with forethought, most of the items will not be locked away in a closet for 15 years waiting for disaster. They are investments that can go to work for you right now.

View the original article here

Investments for Preparedness and Wealth Preservation That Your Financial Adviser Will Never Mention

For the last several years we’ve been providing our readers with news, commentary, strategies and tips for weathering the economic and political storms sweeping the world.

As the economy continues to sputter, even two years after the great financial collapse of 2008, many state sponsored media analysts and talking heads would have you believe that we’ve managed to get through the worst of it, and that bright and sunny days are ahead of us.

While our views have been considered to be pessimistic by some, many others understand that we’re not making these things up, and that our recommended SHTF planning strategies have been grounded in the reality on main street, not the scripted quasi-realities depicted on television.

Last year, we opined that the current economic and political climates in the United States and abroad demanded a different perspective for those wishing to protect wealth, preserve individual liberty and maintain peace of mind. In Wealth Preservation, Investing, and Prepping For Hard Times (January 2010) we put forth the notion that traditional stock investments, 401K’s and other asset classes recommended by university or workshop trained financial advisers were inadequate for preparing you and your family for the crisis in which we find ourselves today. Among other things, we advised our readers to look seriously at non-traditional, non-mainstream assets like precious metals, food, clothing, and other commodity-tied assets that would sky rocket in price as the dollar lost value and uncertainty in government’s ability to mitigate economic collapse reached a boiling point.

For those just joining us, the same strategies that applied in the first quarter of 2010 should be closely considered today.

Jim Sinclair, a precious metals specialist, foreign currency trader and publisher of Jim Sinclair’s Mineset, also agrees with our sentiment, urging his readers to take action immediately if they have the means to do so:

Truth be told, the major theme of JSMineset has been one of self reliance in a monetary, physical and Emersonian sense. Our focus has been on your assets, your debt positions, legal matters and investment.

…

Has Trader Dan not moved from Houston to an undisclosed location in Idaho? I am writing to you from a farm in North Western Connecticut, a rural part of the state. We provide our own water, can provide our own power, have a radio system fallback for communication, satellite phones, furnaces that burn coal or oil, an indoor pistol range that can take up to .50 calibre cartridges into a Detroit bullet trap, perimeter lighting, 16 camera day and night camera security and much more.

We have focused on conservative financial structures which were in truth taking you into the position of being your own central bank.

…

There is one more step that you really need to consider. The housing market is in a black hole from which it very well might not recover for generations. Land is cheap. When homes or small farms have been foreclosed on, resulting in bank owned property, they are sold in a fire sale to buyers with cash in hand.

Do as I have done. Do as Trader Dan has done.

…

I strongly suggest that if you have benefited from JSMineset, as many of you have, consider buying yourself a hobby farm and seriously go for the exercise of self reliance. I am certain that if even to cut costs you are going to need it.

The financial system is screwed up beyond any repair. On top of that there is no desire to repair anything because the wise guys know it is impossible. It is the world that the flushing of Lehman Bros. has created. It is not a brave new world. It is more like an audition for a world of Mad Max and the Day After.

It does not matter whether or not there is more QE. The damage is done and there is no solution.

We want to believe that the corruption in the White House, Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and the halls of our federal and state legislatures will cease, that our leaders and those in control of our policies realize where we’re headed and put a stop to it.

But given that absolutely nothing has been done to curb the status quo that brought our country to the brink in 2008, we reluctantly remain pessimistic about the state of our union today and for years to come.

Jim Sinclair describes our sentiment in the most simplest terms possible: “The damage is done and there is no solution.”

For those who have come to the same conclusion, now is the time to take action.

While we can’t predict exactly what will happen – slow and drawn out depression, hyperinflation, economic collapse, stagflation, riots – we feel confident suggesting that life in America as we have known it for the last three decades is about to change drastically – in fact, it’s clear that we’re in the process of transformation right now.

Prices for essential goods will rise. Wages, in terms of real purchasing power, will go down. Taxes will increase across the board in an attempt to counter out of control spending. Government interference in our personal lives, on every level, will expand. Politicians and media will turn the people against each other. Food riots and violence may become commonplace.

Thing will get worse, much worse, before they get better. Thus far, the effects of the economic paradigm shift taking place have been, for the most part, muted. But this will change. And when it does, you will want to be as far removed as possible.

While owning stocks, bonds, and other traditional financial investments may remain a part of any growth or retirement portfolio, we urge those concerned with the coming changes to make the necessary changes in their lifestyles to insulate themselves, as much as possible, from the coming storms.

Today’s savvy investors are planning not just for retirement, but for living in a system that will undoubtedly fail to provide for the millions who have become dependent on easy credit, cheap food and gas, and a government safety net in case things don’t go as planned.

We believe in maintaining a diversified portfolio, but our definition of diversification, and that of your financial adviser may differ. Here’s where we’re putting our money, time and energy:

Invest in precious metals. Yes, we know, you can’t eat them. But so long as gold and silver hold value by central banks in China, India and pretty much everywhere in the world except the USA, there will be a buyer for this asset. As things get worse, prices will go higher, which means that if you need to buy other hard assets, you  may be able to do so by trading in your metals.A farm, ranch. Like Mr. Sinclair and his friends, the Slavo family is getting out of the burbs. While we have come to love the suburban lifestyle in which we all grew up, including the ease of patronizing name brand retail outlets, we prefer to exchange our quarter-acre lot for a larger, more self-reliant compliant property. Larger scale food growth, micro farming and open space, available at cheaper prices when compared to suburban living, is our next destination. While hyperinflation, economic collapse, and city-wide riots are low probability events, being outside of a major metroplex is much better than being smack-dab in the middle of it all. Plus, did we mention the nice, open views of country side or mountain living? For those unable to buy, consider renting. With a three year backlog of inventory, homeowners are willing to work deals. They’ll rent for cheap, lease-to-own, sell without a down payment, and jump through hoops to put you into their property – so getting into the country on a low budget is certainly feasible right now. For those who have made huge gains in gold or silver, maybe trading some of that in for a tax sale property or foreclosure would be a good barter. The point is, there are very cost-effective ways available right now to get out of the city and into a safer, more productive property today.Bulk Food. There’s a reason that the largest freeze dried food manufacturer in the world is unable to keep up with demand. Now, imagine for a second that the even a small percentage of the general population realizes that costs are hyperinflating. Prices will go up that much more, and your local retail outlet may put a limit on how much rice or beans you can buy. This happened in late 2008 at major retailers like Target. And it can certainly happen again. We hear professional traders talk about investing in commodities, and we agree that buying wheat, beans, rice, and other essential goods is a good investment. But where we differ, is that we prefer to hold the physical asset. Using the proper storage techniques, dry grains, milk and other foods can be stored for 20 – 30 years. We’re not suggesting you just buy buckets of rice and throw them in a closet, though. Buy several hundred pounds of food, package them correctly, and rotate them into your food consumption on a regular basis. Rinse and repeat. For those who followed our advice in 2010, you would have saved 40%  – 75% on today’s prices. For those with animals, consider stocking up on feed as well. This strategy will help to not only preserve wealth, but provide an emergency supply of goods in case of a food supply interruption. But something like that can’t happen right? Ask the people in Japan, and you’ll get a starkly different opinion on the matter.Micro farming and Micro Livestock – Animals, Veggies and Fruit. Wifey Slavo is getting a Dexter cow. While we love our organic milk, we’d prefer to have the ability to produce our own on demand. The same goes for chickens, rabbits and goats. You’d be surprised how easily you can establish a small-scale bartering system in your local community or neighborhood. Brother Slavo, who is already setting up the infrastructure at our new homestead, regularly interacts with neighbors, friends and community members, trading everything from tomatoes to fresh eggs. In return, he builds personal relationships with those in the surrounding area, gets fresh produce that we have yet to grow ourselves, and assistance with building out our homesteading infrastructure. You’d be amazed how valuable fresh, organically produced food is and what people are willing to trade for it. Also consider storing some seeds, heirloom variety, just in case. Even if you don’t have the ability to get out to a farm, do what you can at your suburban home or apartment dwelling – there are lots of options available.Alternative Energy. We’re all about alternative energy, just not when it’s mandated on us by government. That’s why our position is that alternative energy should start from the needs of the individual, not the carbon exchange credit system set to make billions when costly laws, taxes and fees are passed by our Congressional representatives. If there’s one thing that will continue to rise in price and lead to economic despair, it’s energy. Oil, coal, electricity – it’s all going to be expensive. That’s why we recommend finding ways to create your own. There’s solar, of course, as well as wind or micro-wind, and hydro if you have running water. Even if you were to take yourself partially off the grid, it’s worth it. Start small, and build from there. Solar systems, especially do-it-yourself systems with the help of neighbors and friends who have already built there own, can be quite cheap and often pay themselves off in a matter of a few years. In addition, building for yourself and continuing to expand may actually put money in your own pocket when you feed power back to the grid. If you don’t have the up front cash to buy a system outright, financing is available – and since we’re talking about an essential good, energy, taking a small loan for such an asset may not be a horrible idea if you can get good terms.Get Skilled. The days of working in cubes (for the most part) are numbered. In the future, if you don’t produce a necessary product or service, you will be obsolete. These jobs, like it or not, are migrating to countries where workers are willing to do the labor for 80% less than Americans. We recommend investing time and energy to acquiring new skills. Physical skills. Welding, machining, carpentry, sewing, installation of alternative energy platforms, farming, raising animals, alcohol distillation, etc. Skills like alternative medicine will be useful as health care becomes rationed. Look to the past, as in the 1800's and early 1900's, and you’ll get a good idea of jobs and skills that may pay well in the future.Guns and Ammo. It might sound a little excessive, but the fact of the matter is that guns retain their value for the most part. Ammunition, as we saw in 2008, is subject to supply and demand crunches as well. As metal prices continue to rise, and uncertainty pervades the American psyche, people will continue to stock up. You may very well be able to trade ammunition for cash, silver or other items. The system doesn’t even have to collapse for this. A host of ‘gun trader’ type web sites already have bartering systems in place. Plus, if the worst does happen, and the system goes catatonic, wouldn’t you rather have a few thousand rounds of 7.62×39 than none?Clothes. The CEO of Walmart recently said that inflation is going to affect prices in months to come. If you’ve got kids, purchasing clothes in advance, especially things like socks, underwear, pajamas, jackets, jeans, shoes and shirts may save you money down the road. And again, if the worst were to happen, you’d have apparel for the kids (or for trade) for years ahead. For those who know how to sew, buying fabric now can save hundreds of dollars later.Tools. You can never have too many nails or screws or too much equipment. If you can, start investing in tools that you’ll be using around the house/farm. Everything from standard toolbelt accessories to quality farming equipment like shovels or even a tractor. A close friend recently built his own alcohol still for production of drinking alcohol and ethanol fuel. Like everything else, prices for these types of assets will continue to rise – and in a SHTF scenario, they will become invaluable and highly sought after. If you can, buy two of everything, especially when it comes to food production or raising animals.

These may not be the investments vehicles of the baby boom generation, but, we’re not living in the boom times of the 20th century anymore.

There are a host of other investment opportunities out there. Take the time to think about where we’re headed, or might be headed, and make your investment decisions accordingly.

It’s impossible to predict exactly what to expect. We certainly can’t do it, and neither can your financial adviser or an investment pundit on television. But we can try and plan a strategy that covers most of our bases. While we don’t recommend investing your entire retirement portfolio into the above assets, some diversification is certainly prudent.

The assets recommended above will come in handy, whether or not a complete and total economic collapse is in our future. If you invest properly, and with forethought, most of the items will not be locked away in a closet for 15 years waiting for disaster. They are investments that can go to work for you right now.

View the original article here

Investments for Preparedness and Wealth Preservation That Your Financial Adviser Will Never Mention

For the last several years we’ve been providing our readers with news, commentary, strategies and tips for weathering the economic and political storms sweeping the world.

As the economy continues to sputter, even two years after the great financial collapse of 2008, many state sponsored media analysts and talking heads would have you believe that we’ve managed to get through the worst of it, and that bright and sunny days are ahead of us.

While our views have been considered to be pessimistic by some, many others understand that we’re not making these things up, and that our recommended SHTF planning strategies have been grounded in the reality on main street, not the scripted quasi-realities depicted on television.

Last year, we opined that the current economic and political climates in the United States and abroad demanded a different perspective for those wishing to protect wealth, preserve individual liberty and maintain peace of mind. In Wealth Preservation, Investing, and Prepping For Hard Times (January 2010) we put forth the notion that traditional stock investments, 401K’s and other asset classes recommended by university or workshop trained financial advisers were inadequate for preparing you and your family for the crisis in which we find ourselves today. Among other things, we advised our readers to look seriously at non-traditional, non-mainstream assets like precious metals, food, clothing, and other commodity-tied assets that would sky rocket in price as the dollar lost value and uncertainty in government’s ability to mitigate economic collapse reached a boiling point.

For those just joining us, the same strategies that applied in the first quarter of 2010 should be closely considered today.

Jim Sinclair, a precious metals specialist, foreign currency trader and publisher of Jim Sinclair’s Mineset, also agrees with our sentiment, urging his readers to take action immediately if they have the means to do so:

Truth be told, the major theme of JSMineset has been one of self reliance in a monetary, physical and Emersonian sense. Our focus has been on your assets, your debt positions, legal matters and investment.

…

Has Trader Dan not moved from Houston to an undisclosed location in Idaho? I am writing to you from a farm in North Western Connecticut, a rural part of the state. We provide our own water, can provide our own power, have a radio system fallback for communication, satellite phones, furnaces that burn coal or oil, an indoor pistol range that can take up to .50 calibre cartridges into a Detroit bullet trap, perimeter lighting, 16 camera day and night camera security and much more.

We have focused on conservative financial structures which were in truth taking you into the position of being your own central bank.

…

There is one more step that you really need to consider. The housing market is in a black hole from which it very well might not recover for generations. Land is cheap. When homes or small farms have been foreclosed on, resulting in bank owned property, they are sold in a fire sale to buyers with cash in hand.

Do as I have done. Do as Trader Dan has done.

…

I strongly suggest that if you have benefited from JSMineset, as many of you have, consider buying yourself a hobby farm and seriously go for the exercise of self reliance. I am certain that if even to cut costs you are going to need it.

The financial system is screwed up beyond any repair. On top of that there is no desire to repair anything because the wise guys know it is impossible. It is the world that the flushing of Lehman Bros. has created. It is not a brave new world. It is more like an audition for a world of Mad Max and the Day After.

It does not matter whether or not there is more QE. The damage is done and there is no solution.

We want to believe that the corruption in the White House, Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and the halls of our federal and state legislatures will cease, that our leaders and those in control of our policies realize where we’re headed and put a stop to it.

But given that absolutely nothing has been done to curb the status quo that brought our country to the brink in 2008, we reluctantly remain pessimistic about the state of our union today and for years to come.

Jim Sinclair describes our sentiment in the most simplest terms possible: “The damage is done and there is no solution.”

For those who have come to the same conclusion, now is the time to take action.

While we can’t predict exactly what will happen – slow and drawn out depression, hyperinflation, economic collapse, stagflation, riots – we feel confident suggesting that life in America as we have known it for the last three decades is about to change drastically – in fact, it’s clear that we’re in the process of transformation right now.

Prices for essential goods will rise. Wages, in terms of real purchasing power, will go down. Taxes will increase across the board in an attempt to counter out of control spending. Government interference in our personal lives, on every level, will expand. Politicians and media will turn the people against each other. Food riots and violence may become commonplace.

Thing will get worse, much worse, before they get better. Thus far, the effects of the economic paradigm shift taking place have been, for the most part, muted. But this will change. And when it does, you will want to be as far removed as possible.

While owning stocks, bonds, and other traditional financial investments may remain a part of any growth or retirement portfolio, we urge those concerned with the coming changes to make the necessary changes in their lifestyles to insulate themselves, as much as possible, from the coming storms.

Today’s savvy investors are planning not just for retirement, but for living in a system that will undoubtedly fail to provide for the millions who have become dependent on easy credit, cheap food and gas, and a government safety net in case things don’t go as planned.

We believe in maintaining a diversified portfolio, but our definition of diversification, and that of your financial adviser may differ. Here’s where we’re putting our money, time and energy:

Invest in precious metals. Yes, we know, you can’t eat them. But so long as gold and silver hold value by central banks in China, India and pretty much everywhere in the world except the USA, there will be a buyer for this asset. As things get worse, prices will go higher, which means that if you need to buy other hard assets, you  may be able to do so by trading in your metals.A farm, ranch. Like Mr. Sinclair and his friends, the Slavo family is getting out of the burbs. While we have come to love the suburban lifestyle in which we all grew up, including the ease of patronizing name brand retail outlets, we prefer to exchange our quarter-acre lot for a larger, more self-reliant compliant property. Larger scale food growth, micro farming and open space, available at cheaper prices when compared to suburban living, is our next destination. While hyperinflation, economic collapse, and city-wide riots are low probability events, being outside of a major metroplex is much better than being smack-dab in the middle of it all. Plus, did we mention the nice, open views of country side or mountain living? For those unable to buy, consider renting. With a three year backlog of inventory, homeowners are willing to work deals. They’ll rent for cheap, lease-to-own, sell without a down payment, and jump through hoops to put you into their property – so getting into the country on a low budget is certainly feasible right now. For those who have made huge gains in gold or silver, maybe trading some of that in for a tax sale property or foreclosure would be a good barter. The point is, there are very cost-effective ways available right now to get out of the city and into a safer, more productive property today.Bulk Food. There’s a reason that the largest freeze dried food manufacturer in the world is unable to keep up with demand. Now, imagine for a second that the even a small percentage of the general population realizes that costs are hyperinflating. Prices will go up that much more, and your local retail outlet may put a limit on how much rice or beans you can buy. This happened in late 2008 at major retailers like Target. And it can certainly happen again. We hear professional traders talk about investing in commodities, and we agree that buying wheat, beans, rice, and other essential goods is a good investment. But where we differ, is that we prefer to hold the physical asset. Using the proper storage techniques, dry grains, milk and other foods can be stored for 20 – 30 years. We’re not suggesting you just buy buckets of rice and throw them in a closet, though. Buy several hundred pounds of food, package them correctly, and rotate them into your food consumption on a regular basis. Rinse and repeat. For those who followed our advice in 2010, you would have saved 40%  – 75% on today’s prices. For those with animals, consider stocking up on feed as well. This strategy will help to not only preserve wealth, but provide an emergency supply of goods in case of a food supply interruption. But something like that can’t happen right? Ask the people in Japan, and you’ll get a starkly different opinion on the matter.Micro farming and Micro Livestock – Animals, Veggies and Fruit. Wifey Slavo is getting a Dexter cow. While we love our organic milk, we’d prefer to have the ability to produce our own on demand. The same goes for chickens, rabbits and goats. You’d be surprised how easily you can establish a small-scale bartering system in your local community or neighborhood. Brother Slavo, who is already setting up the infrastructure at our new homestead, regularly interacts with neighbors, friends and community members, trading everything from tomatoes to fresh eggs. In return, he builds personal relationships with those in the surrounding area, gets fresh produce that we have yet to grow ourselves, and assistance with building out our homesteading infrastructure. You’d be amazed how valuable fresh, organically produced food is and what people are willing to trade for it. Also consider storing some seeds, heirloom variety, just in case. Even if you don’t have the ability to get out to a farm, do what you can at your suburban home or apartment dwelling – there are lots of options available.Alternative Energy. We’re all about alternative energy, just not when it’s mandated on us by government. That’s why our position is that alternative energy should start from the needs of the individual, not the carbon exchange credit system set to make billions when costly laws, taxes and fees are passed by our Congressional representatives. If there’s one thing that will continue to rise in price and lead to economic despair, it’s energy. Oil, coal, electricity – it’s all going to be expensive. That’s why we recommend finding ways to create your own. There’s solar, of course, as well as wind or micro-wind, and hydro if you have running water. Even if you were to take yourself partially off the grid, it’s worth it. Start small, and build from there. Solar systems, especially do-it-yourself systems with the help of neighbors and friends who have already built there own, can be quite cheap and often pay themselves off in a matter of a few years. In addition, building for yourself and continuing to expand may actually put money in your own pocket when you feed power back to the grid. If you don’t have the up front cash to buy a system outright, financing is available – and since we’re talking about an essential good, energy, taking a small loan for such an asset may not be a horrible idea if you can get good terms.Get Skilled. The days of working in cubes (for the most part) are numbered. In the future, if you don’t produce a necessary product or service, you will be obsolete. These jobs, like it or not, are migrating to countries where workers are willing to do the labor for 80% less than Americans. We recommend investing time and energy to acquiring new skills. Physical skills. Welding, machining, carpentry, sewing, installation of alternative energy platforms, farming, raising animals, alcohol distillation, etc. Skills like alternative medicine will be useful as health care becomes rationed. Look to the past, as in the 1800's and early 1900's, and you’ll get a good idea of jobs and skills that may pay well in the future.Guns and Ammo. It might sound a little excessive, but the fact of the matter is that guns retain their value for the most part. Ammunition, as we saw in 2008, is subject to supply and demand crunches as well. As metal prices continue to rise, and uncertainty pervades the American psyche, people will continue to stock up. You may very well be able to trade ammunition for cash, silver or other items. The system doesn’t even have to collapse for this. A host of ‘gun trader’ type web sites already have bartering systems in place. Plus, if the worst does happen, and the system goes catatonic, wouldn’t you rather have a few thousand rounds of 7.62×39 than none?Clothes. The CEO of Walmart recently said that inflation is going to affect prices in months to come. If you’ve got kids, purchasing clothes in advance, especially things like socks, underwear, pajamas, jackets, jeans, shoes and shirts may save you money down the road. And again, if the worst were to happen, you’d have apparel for the kids (or for trade) for years ahead. For those who know how to sew, buying fabric now can save hundreds of dollars later.Tools. You can never have too many nails or screws or too much equipment. If you can, start investing in tools that you’ll be using around the house/farm. Everything from standard toolbelt accessories to quality farming equipment like shovels or even a tractor. A close friend recently built his own alcohol still for production of drinking alcohol and ethanol fuel. Like everything else, prices for these types of assets will continue to rise – and in a SHTF scenario, they will become invaluable and highly sought after. If you can, buy two of everything, especially when it comes to food production or raising animals.

These may not be the investments vehicles of the baby boom generation, but, we’re not living in the boom times of the 20th century anymore.

There are a host of other investment opportunities out there. Take the time to think about where we’re headed, or might be headed, and make your investment decisions accordingly.

It’s impossible to predict exactly what to expect. We certainly can’t do it, and neither can your financial adviser or an investment pundit on television. But we can try and plan a strategy that covers most of our bases. While we don’t recommend investing your entire retirement portfolio into the above assets, some diversification is certainly prudent.

The assets recommended above will come in handy, whether or not a complete and total economic collapse is in our future. If you invest properly, and with forethought, most of the items will not be locked away in a closet for 15 years waiting for disaster. They are investments that can go to work for you right now.

View the original article here

Avoid Financial Disasters With Trailing Stops

By Chuck LeBeau, SmartStops.net Director of Analytics  (originally published Jan. 2009)

In less than a year six widely held financial stocks (Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM)’ Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE), Lehman Brothers (LEH),

American International Group (NYSE:AIG), Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) and Bear Stearns (BSC) have cost Buy and Hold investors more than $840 billion dollars.  That’s billions more than the controversial government bailout that has the entire country up in arms.  If we add in the losses in the rest of the market we are talking about recent losses measured in trillions of dollars.  (I’m certain that many of the Lehman and Bear Stearns account executives advised their clients that the best way to invest was to Buy and Hold.)

Think of all the retirement funds and college tuition money that has been needlessly lost in these few months.  It’s a very sad scenario for average investors who are not Wall Street tycoons.  However the saddest part is that the investors who lost all these billions and trillions of dollars could have avoided this disaster by simply using some logical form of trailing exit to protect their investments.

Buy and Hold is not only the riskiest possible strategy it doesn’t qualify to be called a strategy.  Buy and Hold is actually the absence of any intelligent exit strategy and is mostly adopted by default.   Buy and Hold is only recommended by unknowing pundits who are out of touch with the modern market place and are willing to advise their followers that taking unlimited risk and being in the market 100% of the time is a good idea.  Obviously that mistaken advice has proven to be very costly.

Investors should be concerned that there may be even more disaster stocks in the months ahead.  The investing climate has changed forever and Buy and Hold should no longer be the exit of choice for mainstream investors.  In the last few years many well known stocks that were once considered “blue chips” have declined 90% or more.  Volatility in the market is at an all time high and expanding.  Prudent investors must learn to protect their stocks with some intelligent form of exit strategy.  The days of being patient and comfortable with Buy and Hold are long gone.  The risks of Buy and Hold are now much too high and the returns over the last ten years have been less than zero.  Buy and Hold investors have been exposing their capital to unlimited risk for meager or negative returns.

One obvious exit strategy that can prevent catastrophic losses is the use of a trailing exit commonly known as a “stop loss order”.  In the past most investors have been reluctant to use trailing exits because they are afraid that after they exit the stock might recover and go back up.  The obvious solution to that problem is to simply have a plan to reinstate the position when the liquidated stock shows signs of recovery.  Selling a stock doesn’t have to mean that you have given up on its prospects for the future.  Selling is just a temporary measure necessary in today’s markets to protect your capital from the increasing probability of catastrophic losses.

If the stock you sold declines you may very well want to buy it back and you will now have the capital to buy more shares than if you held your original position.  One of the blessings in these highly volatile markets is that transaction costs are so low now that they are virtually inconsequential and measured in fractions of a cent per share.  An extra $10 or $20 in transaction costs is a small price to pay to protect hundreds of thousands of dollars from permanent loss.

Here are three suggestions on how to implement an effective trailing exit strategy

1)       Identify the direction of the current trend.  If the trend is Up you will want to set the trailing exit a safe distance away from prices so that you do not exit while the stock is trending up.  You want to let profits run.  If the trend is Down set the exit closer to prices to cut losses and preserve capital.

2)      Keep an eye on volatility and adjust the exits farther away if volatility increases and then move them closer if volatility decreases.  The exits need to be kept outside of normal up and down price action which changes with volatility.  Volatility is presently at record levels so give the upward trending stocks plenty of room.

3)      Before you exit, make sure you have a plan to reenter the stock if the uptrend resumes.  The trailing exit provides a very valuable yet inexpensive form of loss insurance.  The price of that insurance is that your exit may occasionally get you out at a point where the stock stops going down and turns up.  Rather than miss the uptrend and blame the protective exit for the lost opportunity, simply buy the shares back.  Worst case, you will have paid a small price for protection from a possibly catastrophic loss.  Your exit did its job.

This simple advice would have saved investors trillions of dollars over the last twelve months and I’m confident that it will save investors trillions of dollars in the future.  Buy and Hold is dead.  Most investors are not going to miss it; may it rest in peace.

View the original article here

Avoid Financial Disasters With Trailing Stops

By Chuck LeBeau, SmartStops.net Director of Analytics  (originally published Jan. 2009)

In less than a year six widely held financial stocks (Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM)’ Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE), Lehman Brothers (LEH),

American International Group (NYSE:AIG), Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) and Bear Stearns (BSC) have cost Buy and Hold investors more than $840 billion dollars.  That’s billions more than the controversial government bailout that has the entire country up in arms.  If we add in the losses in the rest of the market we are talking about recent losses measured in trillions of dollars.  (I’m certain that many of the Lehman and Bear Stearns account executives advised their clients that the best way to invest was to Buy and Hold.)

Think of all the retirement funds and college tuition money that has been needlessly lost in these few months.  It’s a very sad scenario for average investors who are not Wall Street tycoons.  However the saddest part is that the investors who lost all these billions and trillions of dollars could have avoided this disaster by simply using some logical form of trailing exit to protect their investments.

Buy and Hold is not only the riskiest possible strategy it doesn’t qualify to be called a strategy.  Buy and Hold is actually the absence of any intelligent exit strategy and is mostly adopted by default.   Buy and Hold is only recommended by unknowing pundits who are out of touch with the modern market place and are willing to advise their followers that taking unlimited risk and being in the market 100% of the time is a good idea.  Obviously that mistaken advice has proven to be very costly.

Investors should be concerned that there may be even more disaster stocks in the months ahead.  The investing climate has changed forever and Buy and Hold should no longer be the exit of choice for mainstream investors.  In the last few years many well known stocks that were once considered “blue chips” have declined 90% or more.  Volatility in the market is at an all time high and expanding.  Prudent investors must learn to protect their stocks with some intelligent form of exit strategy.  The days of being patient and comfortable with Buy and Hold are long gone.  The risks of Buy and Hold are now much too high and the returns over the last ten years have been less than zero.  Buy and Hold investors have been exposing their capital to unlimited risk for meager or negative returns.

One obvious exit strategy that can prevent catastrophic losses is the use of a trailing exit commonly known as a “stop loss order”.  In the past most investors have been reluctant to use trailing exits because they are afraid that after they exit the stock might recover and go back up.  The obvious solution to that problem is to simply have a plan to reinstate the position when the liquidated stock shows signs of recovery.  Selling a stock doesn’t have to mean that you have given up on its prospects for the future.  Selling is just a temporary measure necessary in today’s markets to protect your capital from the increasing probability of catastrophic losses.

If the stock you sold declines you may very well want to buy it back and you will now have the capital to buy more shares than if you held your original position.  One of the blessings in these highly volatile markets is that transaction costs are so low now that they are virtually inconsequential and measured in fractions of a cent per share.  An extra $10 or $20 in transaction costs is a small price to pay to protect hundreds of thousands of dollars from permanent loss.

Here are three suggestions on how to implement an effective trailing exit strategy

1)       Identify the direction of the current trend.  If the trend is Up you will want to set the trailing exit a safe distance away from prices so that you do not exit while the stock is trending up.  You want to let profits run.  If the trend is Down set the exit closer to prices to cut losses and preserve capital.

2)      Keep an eye on volatility and adjust the exits farther away if volatility increases and then move them closer if volatility decreases.  The exits need to be kept outside of normal up and down price action which changes with volatility.  Volatility is presently at record levels so give the upward trending stocks plenty of room.

3)      Before you exit, make sure you have a plan to reenter the stock if the uptrend resumes.  The trailing exit provides a very valuable yet inexpensive form of loss insurance.  The price of that insurance is that your exit may occasionally get you out at a point where the stock stops going down and turns up.  Rather than miss the uptrend and blame the protective exit for the lost opportunity, simply buy the shares back.  Worst case, you will have paid a small price for protection from a possibly catastrophic loss.  Your exit did its job.

This simple advice would have saved investors trillions of dollars over the last twelve months and I’m confident that it will save investors trillions of dollars in the future.  Buy and Hold is dead.  Most investors are not going to miss it; may it rest in peace.

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Avoid Financial Disasters With Trailing Stops

By Chuck LeBeau, SmartStops.net Director of Analytics  (originally published Jan. 2009)

In less than a year six widely held financial stocks (Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM)’ Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE), Lehman Brothers (LEH),

American International Group (NYSE:AIG), Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) and Bear Stearns (BSC) have cost Buy and Hold investors more than $840 billion dollars.  That’s billions more than the controversial government bailout that has the entire country up in arms.  If we add in the losses in the rest of the market we are talking about recent losses measured in trillions of dollars.  (I’m certain that many of the Lehman and Bear Stearns account executives advised their clients that the best way to invest was to Buy and Hold.)

Think of all the retirement funds and college tuition money that has been needlessly lost in these few months.  It’s a very sad scenario for average investors who are not Wall Street tycoons.  However the saddest part is that the investors who lost all these billions and trillions of dollars could have avoided this disaster by simply using some logical form of trailing exit to protect their investments.

Buy and Hold is not only the riskiest possible strategy it doesn’t qualify to be called a strategy.  Buy and Hold is actually the absence of any intelligent exit strategy and is mostly adopted by default.   Buy and Hold is only recommended by unknowing pundits who are out of touch with the modern market place and are willing to advise their followers that taking unlimited risk and being in the market 100% of the time is a good idea.  Obviously that mistaken advice has proven to be very costly.

Investors should be concerned that there may be even more disaster stocks in the months ahead.  The investing climate has changed forever and Buy and Hold should no longer be the exit of choice for mainstream investors.  In the last few years many well known stocks that were once considered “blue chips” have declined 90% or more.  Volatility in the market is at an all time high and expanding.  Prudent investors must learn to protect their stocks with some intelligent form of exit strategy.  The days of being patient and comfortable with Buy and Hold are long gone.  The risks of Buy and Hold are now much too high and the returns over the last ten years have been less than zero.  Buy and Hold investors have been exposing their capital to unlimited risk for meager or negative returns.

One obvious exit strategy that can prevent catastrophic losses is the use of a trailing exit commonly known as a “stop loss order”.  In the past most investors have been reluctant to use trailing exits because they are afraid that after they exit the stock might recover and go back up.  The obvious solution to that problem is to simply have a plan to reinstate the position when the liquidated stock shows signs of recovery.  Selling a stock doesn’t have to mean that you have given up on its prospects for the future.  Selling is just a temporary measure necessary in today’s markets to protect your capital from the increasing probability of catastrophic losses.

If the stock you sold declines you may very well want to buy it back and you will now have the capital to buy more shares than if you held your original position.  One of the blessings in these highly volatile markets is that transaction costs are so low now that they are virtually inconsequential and measured in fractions of a cent per share.  An extra $10 or $20 in transaction costs is a small price to pay to protect hundreds of thousands of dollars from permanent loss.

Here are three suggestions on how to implement an effective trailing exit strategy

1)       Identify the direction of the current trend.  If the trend is Up you will want to set the trailing exit a safe distance away from prices so that you do not exit while the stock is trending up.  You want to let profits run.  If the trend is Down set the exit closer to prices to cut losses and preserve capital.

2)      Keep an eye on volatility and adjust the exits farther away if volatility increases and then move them closer if volatility decreases.  The exits need to be kept outside of normal up and down price action which changes with volatility.  Volatility is presently at record levels so give the upward trending stocks plenty of room.

3)      Before you exit, make sure you have a plan to reenter the stock if the uptrend resumes.  The trailing exit provides a very valuable yet inexpensive form of loss insurance.  The price of that insurance is that your exit may occasionally get you out at a point where the stock stops going down and turns up.  Rather than miss the uptrend and blame the protective exit for the lost opportunity, simply buy the shares back.  Worst case, you will have paid a small price for protection from a possibly catastrophic loss.  Your exit did its job.

This simple advice would have saved investors trillions of dollars over the last twelve months and I’m confident that it will save investors trillions of dollars in the future.  Buy and Hold is dead.  Most investors are not going to miss it; may it rest in peace.

View the original article here

Supercomputer predicts Total financial collapse by May 15

If you got an extra $1000 for the member fee plus another $20k for an nvidia based CUDA personal supercomputer you can join an elite financial forecasting group.

Eleks.com provides the base software and their predictive tools are top notch. A cloud array of 10,000 CUDA desktops has more computational power than the U.S. Weather Service.

While the findings of their quarterly report are kept very secret, a few details have crept out of the latest report. The report was redone in light of the Japan situation and the Mid-east meltdown.

Sudden and unexpected drop in home pricessteep decline in commercial real estate valuesMajor stock market correction ending up near 5000 on the DOWOil would yo-yo from $150 down $50, extreme market oscillation due to speculationcritical financial problems in China, over inflated growth and savings figures6 countries in Europe would fall in to financial defaultUSD would climb in short term but take a massive decline by August30% of all Insurance companies are insolventOfficial US unemployment of 12.75%, actual 19.6%Real inflation of 13.7% this year, excluding fuel

The group no longer recommends paper investments. They are heavy on Tier 1 Defence and applied logistical supply management contractors. To translate they only invest in companies with guaranteed gold plated contracts with large Governments. These are USG emergency contingency contracts. Such as companies who are in contract to supply emergency supplies of Pharmaceutics, Anti-viral, and radiation treatments. These preferred Government contractors make a profit no matter what happens. It is a guarantee by Law. Every private enterprise the group recommends is in the essential services and products category. Their list is like a War time survival list of essential companies. The group has no recommendations on precious metals or commodities. They are buying into the Military-industrial-energy complex and putting all their cash with those who have the guns and means to protect hard assets.

Tags: crash, dollar, Global financial collapse, Japan, market
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Broke And Getting Broker: 22 Jaw Dropping Statistics About The Financial Condition Of American Families

Most American families are really struggling in this economy and they see most of the families around them really struggling, but they don't have any hard numbers to back up the feelings of economic despair that they are experiencing.  Well, below you will find 22 statistics that prove that American families are broke and getting broker.  Today, the financial condition of most middle class families is rapidly deteriorating.  The number of good jobs is declining, incomes are down, debt loads are up and bankruptcies and foreclosures just continue to increase.  If you step back and really examine the statistics, it becomes really hard to deny that American families are getting poorer.  Well, the wealthiest 5 percent are still thriving, but everyone else is really having a tough time.  The truth is that a large percentage of the U.S. middle class is slowly but surely going broke.  Unfortunately, this is being caused by long-term economic trends that simply are not going to be fixed overnight.

Most Americans had just assumed that the United States would always have a dominant, prosperous economy.  But in the world we live in today there are no guarantees.

The era when almost anyone could find a good job is over.  Millions of good jobs have already left the United States, and vast numbers of legal and illegal workers have been shipped in to the country to compete for the jobs that are still here.

There are millions of Americans that would give just about anything for a good job right about now.  But the good jobs are very few and far between at this point.

Every day there is more depressing news.  For example, a recent job fair in Massachusetts was shut down because of a lack of jobs.

In fact, with jobs so scarce these days, more Americans than ever are willing to work for free.

This is not just a "recession" or an "economic downturn".  The U.S. economy is fundamentally changing for the worse.  Millions of American families are already experiencing economic despair and millions more will be experiencing it very soon.

The following are 22 jaw dropping statistics about the financial condition of American families....

#1 In 2010, one out of every eight American families had at least one family member that was unemployed.  In fact, the figure for 2010 was the highest it has been since the U.S. Labor Department began keeping track of this statistic back in 1994.

#2 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 8 million Americans are working part-time jobs because they can't get full-time jobs.

#3 There are now more than 6 million Americans that the government says have given up looking for work completely.

#4 After accounting for inflation, the average income for an American family has fallen 5 percent since the year 2000.

#5 According to the New York Times, as of 2009 the wealthiest 5 percent of all Americans had 63.5 percent of all the wealth in America.  Meanwhile, the bottom 80 percent had just 12.8 percent of all the wealth.

#6 During this most recent economic downturn, employee compensation in the United States has been the lowest that it has been relative to gross domestic product in over 50 years.

#7 According to the Federal Reserve, between 2007 and 2009 median household net worth in the United States fell by 23 percent.

#8 The Federal Reserve also says that median household debt in the United States has risen to $75,600.

#9 Total U.S. credit card debt is more than 8 times larger than it was just 30 years ago.

#10 Today, 46% of all Americans carry a credit card balance from month to month.

#11 Of U.S. households that have credit card debt, the average amount owed on credit cards is $15,788.

#12 Americans now owe more than $887 billion on student loans, which is even more than they owe on credit cards.

#13 A staggering 25 percent of all American adults now have a credit score below 599.

#14 When you adjust wages for inflation, middle class workers in the United States make less money today than they did back in 1971.

#15 American workers that are unemployed are nearly twice as likely to have been told by a doctor or a nurse that they suffer from depression.

#16 In 2010, for the first time ever more than a million U.S. families lost their homes to foreclosure, and that number is expected to go even higher in 2011.

#17 According to RealtyTrac, one out of every 45 U.S. households was hit with a foreclosure filing in 2010.

#18 U.S. home values have fallen an astounding 6.3 trillion dollars since the peak of the real estate market.  Most of that pain has been felt by ordinary American families.

#19 Approximately half of all American workers make $25,000 a year or less.

#20 According to a survey released very close to the end of 2010, 55 percent of all Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck.

#21 1.5 million Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2010.  That represented the fourth yearly increase in bankruptcy filings in a row.

#22 As 2007 began, only about 26 million Americans were on food stamps, but today over 44 million Americans are on food stamps which is an all-time record high.




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