ThxPORTAL - My OnlinE InvestmenT ProgresS

As the 10-year gold bull continues its stunning run, rumors of fakery seem to be cropping up as fast as new Eagles can be minted. Should you be worried? Do you need to run to the coin shop for a home test kit?Well, the counterfeiters are out there, and have been for millennia, but how to counter them?You probably remember movies about the Old West, wherein a shady-looking character would offer to exchange a gold coin for a horse, and the nag’s owner would bite down on the coin. That was about all you could do, if you lacked...

Japanese stocks will be the best investment among the world's biggest markets during 2010, says Byron Wien, vice chairman of Blackstone Advisory Services and former chief market strategist for the Pequot Capital Management hedge fund.Stock prices are low and the economy is improving in Japan, which is good news for companies there, Wien tells Bloomberg.“I would definitely start buying now,” Wien says.“Everybody who could sell Japan has sold Japan. Everybody is on one side of the boat. My view is that we have a pretty good chance...

Malaysia’s gross domestic product may rebound this year from a contraction in 2009 amid signs the global economy is recovering from the worst recession since the 1930s, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research said.Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy will probably expand 3.7 per cent this year and 5 per cent in 2011 after shrinking a projected 3.3 per cent in 2009, the partially government-funded research institute said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today.“The services sector will be the pillar of strength amidst a glum...

First iceberg: Global assets bubble warning From The Economist: "Bubble Warning: Why Assets are Overvalued ... Markets are too dependent on unsustainable government stimulus. Something's got to give ... The effect of free money is remarkable. A year ago investors were panicking and there was talk of another Depression. Now the MSCI world index of global share prices is more than 70% higher than its low in March 2009. That's largely thanks to interest rates of 1% or less in America, Japan, Britain and the euro...

DJI - Is it just a correction or the starting of bear rally?Gold : What happened to gold? Will it follow the DJI to the south or el...

Question -- Russell, you've been bending our ears about buying gold ever since the year 2000. Out with it, at what point or at what level do I sell my gold or silver?Answer -- An excellent and important question. The answer (and this may not surprise you) is that you NEVER sell your gold or silver. These precious metals are an integral part of your estate and net wealth. I don't care what the current price of gold is, gold represents unencumbered wealth.Let me give you an example from the rich man's standpoint. The rich man...

Real-time Monetary Inflation (last 12 months): 2.9%Mornings around here are fragrant: We all wake up to smell the coffee brewing. There's something brewing in the gold market, though, that might not be so pleasant. Lease rates in the London bullion market have risen precipitously. Well, it's not so much that lease rates are rising - they're pretty cheap compared with their year-ago levels - it's more that forward rates are at historic lows.Forward rates determine the pricing of bullion transactions in the over-the-counter market....

Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama called for limiting the size and trading activities of financial institutions as a way to reduce risk-taking and prevent another financial crisis. The proposals will be part of an overhaul of regulations and would specifically prohibit banks from running proprietary trading operations or investing in hedge funds and private equity funds. “While the financial system...

This week’s Guru Outlook brings us the brilliance of Felix Zulauf. Zulauf is the founder of Zulauf Asset Management based in Switzerland and is well known for his appearances in Barron’s annual roundtable. Zulauf has nailed the secular bear market downturn and 2009 upturn about as well as anyone. More importantly, he has been nearly flawless in connecting the dots in the macro picture. From the de-leveraging cycle that led to the downturn to the government stimulus that led to the upturn – Zulauf has been remarkably prescient....

Malaysia may approve the introduction of a goods and services tax (GST) in March to increase revenue as the government seeks to narrow a budget shortfall, Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said.Full implementation of the levy may take about 1 1/2 years after approval as the system’s infrastructure is put together, Ahmad Husni told reporters in Hong Kong, clarifying earlier comments at a conference when he said that Malaysia would “introduce” the tax in March.“We know very well that the sources of revenue...

Bank Negara Malaysia is likely to raise interest rates by 50 basis points in the second half of this year and another 100 basis points in 2011, according to Deutsche Bank Group."It is simply because inflation is returning to normal. It is coming back at two per cent in Malaysia," said the group's managing director and head of global markets research, Asia Pacific, Dr Michael Spencer."Given the concerns that in some parts that Asia's asset bubbles are potentially building up, I think it is reasonable for central banks to raise...

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia plans to conduct 19 bond sales next year to help raise funds for development projects and fin-ance its budget deficit.The government will sell notes maturing in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2030, comprising both conventional and Islamic securities, according to a sale calendar published by Bank Negara Malaysia on its website. The central bank, which conducts debt auctions on behalf of the treasury, didn't provide details on the amount to be raised at each debt sale.Malaysia raised a record 88.5 billion...

In Wednesday's Digest, I showed you why most investors should focus on bonds... not stocks. Yes, that's a curious thing for a newsletter publisher like me to write about. After all, most of our products focus on stocks.But I know it's true. Bonds are far safer than stocks and, if you'll use just a bit of common sense, you can easily make more money in bonds than you will in most stocks. Unfortunately, outside of our own True Income letter, there's very little written about how to invest in bonds. How can you get started without...

In late 2009, former Merrill Lynch economist, now with the Canadian firm, Gluskin Sheff, said the following:"The credit collapse and the accompanying deflation and overcapacity are going to drive the economy and financial markets in 2010. We have said this repeatedly that this recession is really a depression because the (post-WW II) recessions were merely small backward steps in an inventory cycle but in the context of expanding credit. Whereas now, we are in a prolonged period of credit contraction, especially as it relates...

From Conversations with Casey:Louis James, Casey Research Editor: So, what's on your mind this week, Doug? I understand you've had a "guru moment"…Doug: Well, it's nothing but a gut feeling, but I think the stock market is riding for a big fall this year.Everyone was afraid the world was going to come to an end a year ago, and it almost did. But governments all around the world stepped in and printed up trillions of their various currency units - it's not just the United States. And still, retail price inflation hasn't blossomed....

Another final push in the Dow should mark the top of this bear-market rally's strength. Once the next major leg down in the market resumes, expect it to be strong and swift as all of the positive sentiment built since March 2009 quickly unwinds and becomes negative.As per gold, the downtrend correction could take it as high as $1180 before a resumption of the major downtrend should eventually carry gold to around the $650/oz mark. Silver...

An investment strategist at China's $300-billion (U.S.) wealth fund said the world's third-largest economy now had a say in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar, which it expects to rise while the yen should fall further.The comments by Peng Junming, who works in the asset allocation and strategic research department at China Investment Corp, triggered a rally in the U.S. dollar.“I think the dollar is at its bottom now. There will be very limited space for the dollar to drop further,” he told an academic forum. “The yen is what,...

SINGAPORE: Several Asian central banks intervened yesterday in an effort to temper the rally in their currencies as the dollar weakened broadly, highlighting fears that rapid currency rises may hurt economic recovery.Central banks in South Korea, Indonesia, India and Singapore were spotted buying US dollars to contain their currencies, driven up by the dollar's weakness and expectations that China's strong exports data may prod Beijing to allow the yuan to rise."I think Asian central banks are watching the pace of currency appreciation,"...

Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Japan Airlines Corp.’s largest banks are set to agree to a bankruptcy of Asia’s largest carrier, said four people familiar with the matter.Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are prepared to go along with a proposed court-led reconstruction, said three people who declined to be identified because the matter is private. The state-owned Development Bank of Japan already agreed to the bankruptcy, according to the other person.Japan Air...

SHANGHAI — James S. Chanos built one of the largest fortunes on Wall Street by foreseeing the collapse of Enron and other highflying companies whose stories were too good to be true.Now Mr. Chanos, a wealthy hedge fund investor, is working to bust the myth of the biggest conglomerate of all: China Inc.As most of the world bets on China to help lift the global economy out of recession, Mr. Chanos is warning that China’s hyperstimulated economy is headed for a crash, rather than the sustained boom that most economists predict....

WASHINGTON: U.S. financial regulators told banks Thursday to have procedures in place to minimize their risks from loans when rock-bottom interest rates start to rise.The advisory came from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, which includes the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision.The advisory wasn't meant to signal any upcoming change in interest-rate policy by the Fed.To nurture the budding recovery, the...

Of the many forward looking market indicators we at EWI employ, one of the most interesting tools (and least discussed in the financial media) is the DJIA priced in gold -- "the real money," as EWI's president Robert Prechter calls it.We've been tracking the Dow/Gold ratio for many years and it has serves our subscribers well. It's not a short-term timing tool, yet in the longer term, as our January 6 Short Term Update put it, "the nominal...

PETALING JAYA: Banks which had made loans to LCL Corp Bhd may have to face a “haircut” when they try to recoup their money.LCL Corp’s default in loan repayments to at least three banks could affect the financial institutions negatively, according to a local analyst.“How adversely these banks are affected will depend on the amount borrowed and LCL Corp’s repayment scheme over time,” he told StarBiz.LCL Corp, which last month slipped into the financially troubled Practice Note 17 (PN17) status, currently owes a total of RM112.26mil...

By: Dan WeilHedge fund manager Eric Sprott predicts stock prices will plummet 40 percent, as the economy remains in recession.The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will drop below its March 12 closing low of 676.53, he told Bloomberg. That was the lowest close in 12 years.“We’re in a bear market that will last 15 or 20 years,” said Sprott, CEO of Sprott Asset Management.He notes that despite investor optimism, payrolls continue to shrink, with unemployment at 10 percent.The low level of interest rates is artificial, engineered...

I always try to look at the long term picture.That is the reason I missed being long this rally in 2009, but did not miss the selloff in 2008. When I see a change in trend from a technical point of view I first wonder what is going on and then look for a reason that might be causing this change.Economists look at numbers that have been generated and make their conclusion from HISTORICAL information. I go the other way. The market is whispering to me that something is happening. I am listening to the motor in the...

To extort the maximum value from a population, when one has control of monetary system, leverage the laws of supply and demand. Use deflation, inflation, and hyperinflation all as tools to transfer wealth. All have a place and a purpose.The banker's guide to owning it all Become majority lender in an economy of people with assets you want. Encourage indebtedness by loaning generously while securing on assets of interest. Loosen lending standards until the assets you seek to capture are attached. (this makes the economy...

it may crush the existing structure of Fannie and Freddy and drag the economy further down, no matter how many dollars the fed throws at ithere are the events:each individual event will have no visible effect, but combined will crash the economy:these are all pending events, many listed on MW as individual events, but no one looks at them all together - but that is how we will feel them in our walletsfinancial:- the next wave of ARMs will start to reset,- mortgage rates will go up,- the next wave of foreclosures will hit,- the...