Monday, December 26, 2016

Five Easy Ways to Make Your Finances Less Fragile

By Justin Spittler

A few days ago, we sat down with E.B. Tucker, editor of The Casey Report, to talk shop. The conversation was so good, we just had to share it with you. In the following interview, E.B. talks about how he manages his own money. As you’ll see, he has a unique, yet intuitive approach to investing, especially when it comes to asset allocation. We hope you find this conversation as useful as we did. Also, make sure you read until the end to learn about one of E.B.’s top speculations.

Justin Spittler: I want to talk investment strategy. Could you tell us how you manage your own money?

E.B. Tucker: I like to break up my investments into buckets. I have about five of them. I have one for gold, one for permanent life insurance, one for real estate, and two for stocks. I don’t limit myself to a certain number of buckets. But I’ve had very good results looking at asset allocation this way.

J.S.: Can you tell us a little more about your “buckets”? Why do you break them up this way? What kind of assets go into each?

E.B.: First of all, the buckets change with life and market conditions. For example, I put most of my capital into a real estate bucket in 2009–2010. As you know, the U.S. housing market had just crashed. If you had the capital, you could buy some houses for next to nothing. And that’s exactly what I did.…

During that period, I bought six single-family homes. I bought one of them for just $10 per square foot. I spent another $10 per square foot fixing the place up, so I put about $20 per square foot all in. The guy before me paid $160 per square foot and ended up in foreclosure. He bought near the peak of the housing bubble. My timing was much better. Today, I’m not adding to my real estate bucket. There just aren’t that many great deals out there. This is key to how I invest. Rather than fight the market, I let it determine how I allocate my money.

J.S.: Can you tell us about some of your other buckets?

E.B.: Well, I have a bucket for gold. But I don’t view gold as an investment designed to make money. I see it as a key long term asset. When gold is cheap, I pour money into this asset. I don’t think about this bucket often. I just get the gold, vault it, and move on.

I also have a permanent life insurance bucket. This bucket is important because I have a few people that depend on me. If I die, they’re out of luck. So, I need to have life insurance. Specifically, I own a couple dividend-paying life insurance policies. A lot of people consider these terrible investments, but that’s because they don’t understand them.

You see, any extra money that I put in this bucket on top of the minimum annual premium grows 6% to 7% per year, tax free. If I don’t use the policy, over time I’ll have a fairly large amount of cash in that bucket that I spend, borrow from, or use to buy more life insurance. And, of course, if the worst does happen, my dependents receive a large death benefit. This money will help them get by in my absence.

J.S.: Interesting, it sounds like this bucket protects you and gives you flexibility.

E.B.: Exactly. The reason I invest this way is because it makes me less “fragile." Now, I still have plenty of exposure to rising asset prices in other buckets. But, if you’re smart about when and how much you add to each bucket, your “boring” buckets will eventually balance out your more speculative buckets. The result is a more stable financial situation without giving up the quest for profits. I like investing this way because I no longer worry about trying to maximize my profit on every trade or every time the market changes course.

J.S.: Let’s talk about your stock buckets next. I’m sure our readers would love to know what’s in your portfolio. 

E.B.: Sure. As I said earlier, I have two of them. One is for stocks I plan to hold for the long haul. I don’t trade these stocks often. I’m only a seller if something happens that changes the business landscape for one of the companies. I typically own between six and eight of these companies at any given time. One of my favorite long term holdings is a company that make crackers you buy at the gas station and pretzels that go well with beer. Last year, the company acquired a business that sells almonds and other nuts. It’s a great company. And it now pays me a decent yield of 3%, since I’ve owned the stock for a few years.

J.S.: What are some of your other long term stock holdings?

E.B.: I also have shares of one of the country’s best regional banks. And I own shares of one of America’s most iconic companies. This company is basically a drug dealer, peddling sugar and caffeine from small rented stores. You get the picture. Now, these aren’t the most exciting investments in the world but, over time, you see the value of owning rock solid American businesses.

You end up with companies that slowly capture market share from their competitors, invest money back into their businesses, and pay dividends. I don’t see how you can get hurt having this bucket represent 20% of your net worth. It’s also worth mentioning that I like to own these stocks in company sponsored dividend reinvestment plans.

Since these are long-term investments, I don’t want to log into a brokerage account and see them next to my trading positions every day. Holding them directly on the company’s books means all my dividends get reinvested into additional shares, usually at no cost. The final benefit is I don’t have to worry about my broker going bust. Holding shares directly registered with a company means there’s nobody standing between you and your investment.

J.S.: That leaves us with your speculation bucket. Can you tell us a little bit about this one?

E.B.: Ah, my favorite. I’ve done fairly well speculating. The key here is separating good speculations from bad ones. As a professional investor, a lot of opportunities come across my desk. Most of them aren’t worth my time. You have to pass on a lot of bad speculations before you find a great one.

J.S.: Can you tell us about one of your better speculations?

E.B.: At a lunch meeting with my banker in 2009, he told me about a company in town that invented a hurricane simulation machine. They placed a few in malls, shopping centers, arcades, and museums and charged $2 per customer. The test machines took in $4,000 to $5,000 per month. The company built each machine for around $12,000. The company had trouble getting a bank to lend it money. It was right after the financial crisis, after all.

I met with the company, saw the machine, and looked at their business plan. A few other investors and I funded the company. We bought preferred shares that paid a 20% dividend. We also received a portion of the company’s profits for the first two years, which boosted our initial returns. Seven and a half years later, I’m still collecting monthly checks from the company. I’ve more than doubled my money, and I could sell the shares anytime I want.

J.S.: Have you done any other speculations like this recently?

E.B.: Yes. Before I got into this business, I ran a gold fund for a few years. My former business partner from that fund just took his gold streaming and royalty company public. Our company policy does not allow me to share the name of the stock, since I own shares. I’m involved in that deal to the tune of about 1% of the company. I think there’s a realistic shot that I’ll make 5–10 times my money.

J.S.: Most people would kill to make that much on a single investment. Why are you so optimistic?

E.B.: I think it’s a good time to speculate on small gold and silver stocks. I especially like royalty and streaming companies like this one. They avoid the tremendous financial burdens that mining companies face.
I also look for companies that have a winning strategy but that are overlooked by the market. If these companies execute, my odds of success go up.

But you need to have cash on hand, or what some people call dry powder, to take advantage of these opportunities. That’s because great deals usually require quick action. When one of my speculations is a winner, I’ll take profits and put them into other buckets, depending on what looks good at the time. I almost never leave the entire profit in the bucket it came from.

J.S.: Got it. So, do you like to keep a certain percentage in each bucket at any given time? What rules, if any, do you follow?

E.B.: I don’t really follow a set of rules when it comes to asset allocation. That makes it hard to take advantage of huge opportunities when they appear. For example, I wouldn’t have invested in the Florida rental real estate market in 2009 and 2010 if I stuck to strict rules. When in doubt, you can divide new money equally between buckets. You can also sit on cash and wait for buying opportunities to present themselves.

J.S.: What kind of investments do you focus on in The Casey Report?

E.B.: That’s your most valuable question so far. In The Casey Report, we fill the long-term stock and speculative stock buckets. We try to predict what the investing world will be like one to two years down the road. We then buy stocks that will benefit most as the world changes. In stock investing, that’s the sweet spot where you find the most value in the shortest period of time.

Our goal is to beat the S&P 500 every year. We want our readers to have enough success to irritate their wealth manager. Hopefully, they can use that success and the lessons learned in The Casey Report to beat the market in their asset buckets.

J.S.: Thank you for your time, E.B.

E.B.: You’re welcome.

In August, E.B. told his readers to buy a small North American mining company. At the time, few investors knew about the company. Its stock traded for less than $1. But E.B. said the stock wouldn’t fly under the radar for much longer…and he was exactly right.

In just four months, this stock has soared 115%. Normally, we wouldn’t encourage you to buy a stock after an explosive run like this. But E.B. recently went on record and said, “the stock doubled, it will double again.” To see why, watch this brand-new presentation. It talks about an event that E.B. says will take place exactly one month from today. If the event goes as expected, this stock should skyrocket again.

You can learn more about this event, including how to take advantage of it, by watching this FREE video.

The article Five Easy Ways to Make Your Finances Less Fragile was originally published at caseyresearch.com.



Stock & ETF Trading Signals

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

How to Use the New Market Manipulation to Your Advantage

It's time for another one of Don Kaufman's wildly popular webinars. Don’t miss this live online seminar, How to Use the New Market Manipulation to Your Advantage, with Don Kaufman this Tuesday December 6th. at 8:00 PM New York, 7:00 PM Central or 5:00 PM Pacific.

During this free webinar you will learn:
  • How scarcely used recent additions in market structure have forever changed how we view price movement and volatility.
  • What weekly strategy you can use to take minimal risk and produce astonishing returns surrounding predictable or manipulated movements in any stock, ETF, or index.
  • The one product that has become statistically significant in determining the next market move so whether you're a long term investor, swing trader, or intra-day trader you can get tuned into what's driving today's marketplace.
  • How you can use market efficiency to your advantage in all aspects of your investments, retirement accounts, stock and options trading accounts, futures trading and more.
  • How you can trade up to several times per week without having to continually monitor your positions, "set it and forget it" with this low risk high reward trade.
      Don's Webinars have an attendance limit that we always hit. This one will be no exception.

      Visit Here to Register Now!

      See you Tuesday night!
      The Stock Market Club




Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Carley Garner's "Higher Probability Commodity Trading"

Carley Garner's new book "Higher Probability Commodity Trading" takes readers on an unprecedented journey through the treacherous commodity markets; shedding light on topics rarely discussed in trading literature from a unique perspective, with the intention of increasing the odds of success for market participants.

In its quest to guide traders through the process of commodity market analysis, strategy development, and risk management, Higher Probability Commodity Trading discusses several alternative market concepts and unconventional views such as option selling tactics, hedging futures positions with options, and combining the practice of fundamental, technical, seasonal, and sentiment analysis to gauge market price changes.

Carley, is a frequent contributor of commodity market analysis to CNBC's Mad Money TV show hosted by Jim Cramer. She has also been a futures and options broker, where for over a decade she has had a front row seat to the victories and defeats the commodity markets deal to traders.

Garner has a knack for portraying complex commodity trading concepts, in an easy-to-read and entertaining format. Readers of Higher Probability Commodity Trading are sure to walk away with a better understanding of the futures and options market, but more importantly with the benefit of years of market lessons learned without the expensive lessons.

Get Higher Probability Commodity Trading on Amazon....Get it Here!



Tuesday, September 13, 2016

The Next Big Short



The "Next Big Short" is a collection of looming market risks from The Heisenberg. This 37 page special report will show you the risks in the markets. How to explain The Heisenberg?

Essentially, it's a collective brain trust of skilled traders willing to discuss markets with the freedom of anonymity. You can enjoy Heisenberg's lively market commentary in the TheoDark Report section of their public blog.

Get the "Next Big Short " free special report....Just Click Here

For more backstory, here's Heisenberg in his own words: Heisenberg spent a long time in college. Probably too long. Be that as it may, the experience afforded him extensive cross disciplinary experience. From Aristotle to Kant to Wittgenstein, from Hobbes to Locke to Rousseau, from plain vanilla equities to FX to CDS, Heisenberg is right at home. With degrees in political science and business, as well as extensive post graduate work in political science and public administration, Heisenberg is uniquely positioned to analyze markets from a holistic perspective. He also has a sense of humor, which allows him to fully appreciate how entertaining it is to talk about himself in the third person.

Heisenberg has traded pretty much everything at one time or another and if he hasn’t traded it, he’s studied it enough to drive himself just as crazy as if he had. He doesn’t sleep much because the terminal doesn’t sleep and neither, generally speaking, do currency markets.

Heisenberg once took the law school admission test (LSAT) for fun with no intention of actually going to law school. He then took it again to try and beat his first score. He paid for the second test with profits he made from long calls on a Brazilian water utility ADR that he sold to close from the first iPhone (the 2.5G version that no one remembers) in the middle of a graduate political science class. His score on the verbal section of the graduate management admission test (GMAT) was near perfect. As was his score on the analytical writing portion. Don’t ask about the math section. He got bored after two hours and didn’t care about using the Pythagorean theorem to determine how long Timmy’s shadow was when he was standing next to a 90 degree flag pole.

Professionally, Heisenberg has worked in Manhattan and many other locales and has years of experience generating and monetizing financial web content. He’s continually amused at those who make it seem hard. You provide quality content for users on a consistent basis. Everything else falls into place. Build it, and they will come.

Get the "Next Big Short " free special report....Just Click Here


See you in the markets putting the Next Big Short to work,
The Stock Market Club


Friday, September 9, 2016

Weekend Edition: You’re Not Legally Entitled to Social Security

By Justin Spittler

Tom Dyson, co-founder of Palm Beach Research Group, thinks that’s a dangerous assumption. In today’s essay, Tom explains why the government could “terminate” your Social Security money without warning.

The good news is that there’s another option. Tom explains how to defend yourself against this threat.




You probably thought Americans had a “right” to collect their Social Security in old age, right? Most people see Social Security as a contract between themselves and the government. You pay money into the system, and the system pays it back at a later date—guaranteed by law.

But nothing could be further from the truth..…

You have no choice when it comes to paying your Social Security tax. It comes out of your paycheck automatically. But did you know the government isn’t under the same rigid contract? In fact, by ruling of the United States Supreme Court, the federal government is under no obligation to pay you a Social Security check.

This is the clear precedent set in the case of Flemming v. Nestor.

Ephram Nestor was an immigrant from Bulgaria. He moved here in 1918 and paid Social Security taxes from the very beginning of the program in 1936. In 1955, when he retired, Nestor began receiving Social Security checks for $55.60 per month. But, just one year later, Nestor was deported. Turns out, he’d been an active member of the Communist Party in the 1930s, giving the U.S. government grounds to kick him out.

When he was deported, his Social Security checks stopped. Nestor sued the U.S. government, arguing that, since he had paid money into the program, he had a right to those benefits. The Supreme Court ruled against Nestor, saying the government had the right to terminate Social Security at any time.

The people who sign the Social Security checks sum it up this way:
[Nestor] appealed the termination, arguing, among other claims, that promised Social Security benefits were a contract. In its ruling, the Court rejected this argument and established the principle that entitlement to Social Security benefits is not a contractual right.
Takeaway: You have no contractual right to Social Security.

That historical precedent means it has the power to cut Social Security anytime it wants. It could end tomorrow, and there’s nothing you can do about it. (Interestingly enough, the SSA has a full page on its website devoted to the Nestor case.) Now, this doesn’t mean the government will suddenly stop paying Social Security benefits. Not now, anyway. (Suggesting an end to this system is political suicide.) But the risk, as unlikely as it seems, is possible.

Meanwhile, recent signals from the U.S. government are foreboding. On November 2, 2015, Congress and President Obama already struck down two massive Social Security loopholes called “File and Suspend” and “Restricted Application.” For some, these rule changes cut up to $60,000 of Social Security benefits over a retiree’s lifetime starting in April of this year.

Could these cuts be just the beginning?

I think so. You see, no politician wants to let Social Security cuts dominate the conversation during an election year. That’s why the government is working on all kinds of sneaky and indirect ways to pay out less money in benefits. It has to do with COLA (cost-of-living adjustment).

I won’t get into all the details here, but know this.....

A small clause in the Social Security Act says that if there is no cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security, then, by law, Medicare premiums can’t be raised for the majority of middle- and lower class Americans. Instead, 3.1 million select Americans will absorb the full increase. If you’re one of them, you’ll see Medicare premiums rise 52%.

In some cases, you could lose as much as $4,200 in 2017 alone..…

That’s like having nearly three months’ worth of Social Security benefits ripped away from you. What we have here is a Social Security cut disguised as a Medicare cost increase. If you’re affected, your Social Security money is going to be taken away from you to subsidize health care coverage for lower income Americans. I think this could be one of the first changes coming immediately after the 2016 election.

Bottom line: If you’re not actively working on a plan B for the coming Social Security cuts, you should be. Congress has just given a couple of big hints of what’s to come in the months, years, and decades ahead.

Good investing,
Tom Dyson




Editor’s note: For years, retirees have relied on three main sources of income: pension plans, Social Security, and personal retirement accounts such as 401(k)s.

Unfortunately, this model is on the verge of complete collapse..…

To help you protect your wealth, Tom and his colleagues are putting on a first-ever Retirement Rescue Round table this Tuesday. Their entire team of experts will be there—including Doug Casey’s longtime friend and colleague, Mark Ford.

To learn more about Tom’s retirement strategy, click here to watch this free video.




Get out latest FREE eBooK "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Tuesday's Webinar...Low Risk Setups For Trading Precise Turning Points in Any Market

Join John Carter of Simpler Options for a special online training on Tuesday evening September 6th, 2016 at 7 pm central and discover low risk option strategies for catching "bold and beautiful" reversal trades. John will also show us how to hunt for tops and bottoms using low risk setups for trading precise turning points in any market and so much more.

Get Your Seat Here

Most traders have no idea how to capture the massive profit potential from trading major reversals. These days’ markets often turn on a dime and those who wait for ‘conservative’ setups either miss out or suffer steep losses.

Here's what you can expect to learn during this live webinar session....

  *  A simple 3-step process to identify major market turning points in any market

  *  How to find low risk, high probability trades in today's volatile market conditions

  *  Why it’s finally possible to catch tops and bottoms in real time on almost any chart

  *  Why these ‘Bold and Beautiful’ reversal trades can be safer than ‘comfortable’ trades

  *  How to avoid getting suckered into the costly traps that most traders fall into

  *  How to adapt your trades automatically for choppy conditions AND big trends

  *  How to know when a support or resistance level is likely to hold or not


       Get your reserved spot Right Here


       See you Tuesday evening,
       The Stock Market Club


Get John's latest FREE eBook "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here!




Sunday, September 4, 2016

The Subprime Loan Crisis Is Back…Here’s What It Could Mean for the Economy

By Justin Spittler

Subprime loans are going bad again. A “subprime” loan is a loan made to someone with bad credit. If the term sounds familiar, it’s because lenders issued millions of subprime loans during the early to mid-2000s. Banks made these risky loans thinking housing prices would “never fall.” When they did, subprime borrowers stopped paying their mortgages. The U.S. housing market collapsed, triggering the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

These days, lenders aren’t making as many reckless mortgages. But subprime lending is alive and well in the auto market. Since the financial crisis, subprime auto lending has exploded. According to Experian, subprime auto loans now make up more than 20% of all U.S. auto loans. Millions of Americans with bad credit now own cars they should have never bought in the first place. Risky subprime loans have also made the auto loan market incredibly fragile.

Right now, people are falling behind on their car loans at an alarming rate. As you'll see, this isn't just a big problem for lenders and car companies. It could also spell trouble for the entire U.S. economy.

Subprime auto loan delinquencies are skyrocketing…..
CNBC reported on Friday:
Delinquencies of at least 60 days for subprime auto loans are up 13 percent month over month for July, according to Fitch Ratings, and 17 percent higher from the same period a year ago.
Folks with good credit are falling behind on their car loans too. CNBC continues:
Even prime delinquencies are on the rise — Fitch Ratings' survey said that last month's prime auto loans were 21 percent more delinquent than in July 2015.
Prime loans are loans made to people with good credit.

The auto industry is preparing for more delinquencies…..
Last month, Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) warned that rising delinquencies could hurt their businesses in the second half of this year.
According to USA Today, both giant carmakers have set aside millions of dollars to cover potential losses:
In a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ford reported in the first half of this year it allowed $449 million for credit losses, a 34% increase from the first half of 2015.
General Motors reported in a similar filing that it set aside $864 million for credit losses in that same period of 2016, up 14% from a year earlier.
Investors who own subprime loans are taking heavy losses.....

USA Today reported on Thursday:
[T]hese loans are packaged into bundles which are sold to investors, much like mortgages were packaged into bundles a decade ago before rising interest rates caused many of them to default, eventually triggering the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression. The annualized net loss rate — the percentage of those subprime loan bundles regarded as likely to default — rose 7.39% in July, up 28% from July 2015.
You may recall that Wall Street did the same thing with mortgages during the housing boom. They made securities from a bunch of bad mortgages. They marked them as safe and then sold them to investors. When the underlying mortgages went bad, folks who owned these securities suffered huge losses. These dangerous products allowed the housing crisis to turn into a full-blown global financial crisis.

By itself, a collapse of the auto loan market probably won’t trigger a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis..…

That’s because the auto loan market is much smaller than the mortgage market. The value of outstanding auto loans is “only” about $1 trillion. While that’s an all-time high, the auto loan market comes nowhere close to the $10 trillion residential mortgage market. Still, we’re keeping a close eye on the auto loan market.

If Americans are struggling to pay their car loans, they’re going to have trouble paying their mortgages, student loans, and credit cards too. This would obviously create problems for lenders and credit card companies. It will also hurt companies that depend on credit to make money.

E.B. Tucker, editor of The Casey Report, is shorting one of America’s most vulnerable retailers..…
In June, E.B. shorted (bet against) one of America’s biggest jewelry companies. According to E.B., credit customers make up 62% of its customers. These customers are 350% more valuable to the company than cash customers.

In other words, this company depends heavily on credit. This is a huge problem…and will only get worse as more folks continue to fall behind on their credit card bills—or stop paying them altogether. This is already happening at the company E.B shorted. He explained in the June issue of The Casey Report:
And the company is facing another problem…consumers failing to pay back their loans. From 2014 to fiscal 2016, its annual bad debt expenses rose from $138 million to $190 million. That’s a 30% increase. Over the same period, credit sales grew by only 20%. That means bad debt expenses rose 50% faster than credit sales.
He warned that “tough times are coming for the jewelry business.”

E.B.’s call was spot on..…
Last Thursday, the company reported bad second quarter results. For the second straight quarter, the company’s earnings fell short of analysts’ estimates. The company’s stock plummeted 13% on the news. It’s now down 10% since E.B. recommended shorting it in June. But E.B. says the stock is headed even lower:
We think there’s more pain to come as credit financing dries up…sales continue to drop…and more loans go unpaid.
You can learn more about this short by signing up for The Casey Report. If you act today, you can begin for just $49 a year. Watch this short video to learn how.

This is easily one of the best deals you'll come across in our industry..…
That’s because Casey readers are crushing the market. E.B.’s portfolio is up 19% this year. He’s beat the S&P 500 3-to-1. What’s more, Casey Report readers are set up to make money no matter what happens to the economy—and that’s never been more important. To learn why, watch this short presentation.

Chart of the Day

Not all dividend-paying stocks are safe to own..…

Today’s chart compares the annual dividend yield of the U.S. 10-year Treasury with the annual dividend yield of the S&P 500. Right now, 10 years are paying about 1.5%. Companies in the S&P 500 are yielding 2.0%.

You can see the S&P 500 almost never yields more than 10 years. It’s only happened two other times since 1958. The first time was during the 2008 financial crisis. The other time was just after the recession.
If you’ve been reading the Dispatch, you know the Federal Reserve is partly responsible for this. For the past eight years, the Fed has held its key interest rate near zero. This caused bond yields to crash. With Treasuries yielding next to nothing, many investors have bought stocks for income. But there’s a problem.

Companies in the S&P 500 are paying out $0.38 for every $1.00 they make in earnings. That’s close to an all time high. About 44 companies in the S&P 500 are paying out more in dividends than they earned over the past year. Meanwhile, corporate earnings have been in decline since 2014. Clearly, companies can’t continue to pay out near-record dividends for much longer.

As we explained yesterday, some companies may cut their dividends. This could cause certain dividend-paying stocks to crash. Some investors could see years’ worth of income disappear in a day. If you own a stock for its dividend, make sure the company can keep paying you even if the economy runs into trouble. We like companies with healthy payout ratios, little or no debt, and proven dividend track records.



Get our latest FREE eBook "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here!

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Todd's Team Shows Us How to Profit in Booms and Busts

This week we shared four special charts with you. Those charts are at the heart of a 145 year old financial market mystery. A mystery that’s delivering stable 50.91% annual returns. It literally rotates your portfolio in the perfect asset for each market condition.

The S&P 500 is roaring. Your portfolio is up. The Brexit shocks global markets. Your portfolio is up. Stocks are flat and mostly stagnant. Your portfolio? Still up. AND it does all that without crazy leverage… hyperactive day trading… or risky securities (like penny stocks or options) which can and do regularly go to ZERO.

My friend Todd Mitchell - CEO of Trading Concepts - has put together a video series explaining exactly how this works. If you haven’t started watching it yet…

Watch it Right Now....Click Here

A handful of in the know traders are already trading the “Synergy Pattern.” Traders like Leonard Caruso who writes, “My wife and I started with a $12,000 and less than 6 months later we are up a little over $18,000, which is over 50 percent return on my investment.”

Or Kerry Chen from California who says, “I’m finally making profit and after 12 painful years of losing money or breaking even at best.”

Then there’s Daniel Fisk, who tells me, “After following the method for close to two years, I’m now about 75% invested in this and I’m talking about my IRA and my trading account.”

Martin Beane from Hawaii writes, “I’ve traded for over 15 years, and never imagined that there was a strategy to take advantage of every type of market cycle the U.S. stock market goes through. I’ve already made arrangements to allocate another 25% of my portfolio.”

Now you can find out precisely how it works….

Get the answer immediately. This video series is only going to be up for a few days. You’ll see the countdown timer when you click through to watch. So don’t hesitate or “save it for later.” You won’t get another shot at this one.

Watch it Right Now - Click Here

See you in the markets.
Ray @ the Stock Market Club



Monday, August 29, 2016

How to Generate Consistent Returns in These Crazy Market Conditions

Have you noticed we’re getting a lot of brutally sharp reversals in the markets lately? It’s so frustrating because most traders get caught on the wrong side over and over again. So called safe trend trades get destroyed while betting on bold reversals is working like clockwork.

What’s going on?

For years, it was possible to just buy any dip in stocks and crank out winner after winner. But those days are long gone. If you try that now, you’ll burn through your account in the blink of an eye. These days’ trends reverse on a dime, but at the same time, you can’t just blindly pick tops and bottoms either.

Anyone who was short stocks recently learned that lesson the hard way when the market rocketed to new all time highs. The bottom line is that those outdated strategies no longer work. If you want to generate consistent profits in these volatile conditions, you’ve got to adapt. And that’s why this short video by renowned trader John F. Carter is so exciting

You’ve just got to see the breakthrough strategy that allows him to catch massive price swings without breaking a sweat.

See for yourself >>> Click HERE to Watch <<<

If you haven’t heard of John before, he’s a best selling author and trader with over 25 years’ experience. He’s developed a world wide reputation for catching explosive trends in stocks, options, and even futures, too.

So I hope you attend on September 6th, 2016 at 7:00 PM Central for a special webinar called, “Hunting for Tops and Bottoms - Low Risk Setups for Trading Precise Turning Points in Any Market”.

Here’s just some of what you’ll learn....

  *  A simple 3 step process to identify major market turning points in any market

  *  How to find low risk, high probability trades in today's volatile market conditions

  *  Why it’s finally possible to catch tops and bottoms in real time on almost any chart

  *  Why these ‘Bold and Beautiful’ reversal trades can be safer than ‘comfortable’ trades

  *  How to avoid getting suckered into the costly traps that most traders fall into

  *  How to adapt your trades automatically for choppy conditions and big trends

  *  How to know when a support or resistance level is likely to hold or not

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I’m looking forward to this special event and I expect I’ll be taking a lot of notes, too. There may not be a replay and this event will almost certainly fill to capacity – so register now and be sure to show up a few minutes early. Unless you’ve already mastered trading these volatile swings, this could be the most important training you attend this year.

To claim your spot just Click HERE

See you next Tuesday,
Ray @ The Stock Market Club


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Sunday, August 21, 2016

Will The Bubble Pop Regardless if the Fed Never Raises Rates?

The current overall SPX pattern is a broadening top, which is usually a very reliable pattern. The market continues to look as though it wants to go even lower. The momentum shift, which I have been expecting, has been slow to start, however one should be prepared for this occurrence ahead of time. Nevertheless, the large divergences which I have been viewing, in my proprietary oscillators, are most real, and, once the selling starts, the momentum should quickly move to the downside.

The current market is being supported by a lack of sellers more so than aggressive buying. With investors still thinking that there is no other place to store their money, they appear to be content with leaving their money with risk on assets within a market that is pushing to all time highs. This type of mentality usually leads to large losses rather than big gains. There isn’t any real opportunity for growth in the SPX that I can see right now.

Dow Theory: Market Indexes Must Confirm Each Other
The Dow Theory was formulated from a series of Wall Street Journal editorials which were authored by Charles H. Dow from 1900 until the time of his death in 1902. These editorials reflected Dow’s beliefs regarding how the stock market behaved and how the market could be used to measure the health of the business environment.

Dow first used his theory to create the Dow Jones Industrial Index and the Dow Jones Rail Index (now Transportation Index), which were originally compiled by Dow for TheWall Street Journal. Dow created these indexes because he felt they were an accurate reflection of the business conditions within the economy, seeing as they covered two major economic segments: industrial and rail (transportation). While these indexes have changed, over the last 100 years, the theory still applies to current market indexes.

Market indexes must confirm one another. In other words, a major reversal from a bull or bear market cannot be signaled unless both indexes (generally the Dow Industrial and Transports Averages) are in agreement. Currently, They are DIVERGING, issuing MAJOR NON-CONFIRMATION HIGH the Dow Jones Industrial average. If one couples this with the volatility index, this is a warning sign and a recipe for disaster.

chart 1


The FEDs’ monetary policy over the last eight years has led to unproductive and reckless corporate behavior. The chart below shows U.S. non financials’ year on year change in net debt versus operating cash flow as measured by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITA).

Chart 2
The growth in operating cash flow peaked five years ago and has turned negative year over year. Net debt has continued to rise, which is not good for companies.

This has never before occurred in the post World War II period. In the cycle preceding the Great Recession, the peaks had been pretty much coincidental. Even during that cycle, they only diverged for two years, and by the time EBITA turned negative, year over year, as it has today, growth in net debt had been declining for over two years. Again, the current 5 year divergence is unprecedented in financial history. Today, most of that debt is used for financial engineering, as opposed to productive investments. In 2012, buybacks and M&A were $1.25 trillion, while all R&D and office equipment spending were $1.55 trillion. As valuations rose, since that time, R&D and office equipment grew by only $250 billion, but financial engineering grew by $750 billion, or three times this!

You can only live on your seed corn for so long. Despite there being no increase in their interest costs while growing their net borrowing by $1.7 trillion, the profit shares of the corporate sector peaked in 2012. The corporate sector, today, is stuck in a vicious cycle of earnings manipulation management, questionable allocation of capital, low productivity, declining margins and growing debt levels.

Conclusion:

In short, I continue to pound on the table to help keep you and fellow investors aware that something bad, financially, is going to take place – huge events like the tech bubble, the housing collapse a few years back, and now national financial instability. Experts saw all these events coming months and, in some cases, years in advance. Big things typically don’t happen fast, but once the momentum changes direction you better be ready for some life changing events and a change in the financial market place.

Follow my analysis in real time, swing trades, and even my long term investment positions so you can survive from the financial storm The Gold & Oil Guy.com



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Thursday, August 18, 2016

The Financial Winter is Nearing

Weathering Out Winter
Nature functions in cycles. Each 24 hour period can be divided into smaller cycles of morning, afternoon, evening, and night. The whole year can be divided into seasonal cycles. Similarly, one’s life can also be divided into cycles. Cycles are abundant in nature – we just have to spot them, understand them, and be prepared for them, because they happen whether we like it or not. Likewise, economic experts have noticed that the world also follows different cycles. An important pioneer in this field was the Russian social economist, Nikolai Kondratiev, also called Nikolai Kondratieff, a relatively unknown genius.

Who Is Kondratiev?
Geniuses have been known to defend their principles and beliefs, even at the cost of losing their lives; they may die but their legacy lives on, as did Kondratiev. He was an economist who laid down his life defending his beliefs. He was the founding director of the Institute of Conjuncture, a famous research institution, which was located in Moscow. He devised a five year plan for the development of agriculture in Russia from 1923-1925.

His book, “The Major Economic Cycles,” was published 1925, in which his policies were in stark contrast to that of Stalin’s. As a result of this, Kondratiev was arrested in 1930 and given a prison sentence. This sentence was reviewed, and, consequently, he was executed in 1938. What a tragic loss of such a genius at only 42 years of age. He was executed because his research proved him right and Stalin wrong! Nonetheless, his legacy lives on and, in 1939 Joseph Schumpeter named the waves Kondratiev Waves, also known as K-Waves.

What Are Kondratiev Waves?
Investopedia defines the Kondratieff Wave as, “A long term cycle present in capitalist economies that represents long term, high growth and low growth economic periods.” The initial study by Kondratiev was based on the European agricultural commodity and copper prices. He noticed this period of evolution and self correction in the economic activity of the capitalist nations and felt it was important to document.
Chart 1 CNA

These waves are long cycles, lasting 50-60 years and consisting of various phases that are repetitive in nature. They are divided into four primary cycles:

Spring Inflationary growth phase: The first wave starts after a depressed economic state. With growth comes inflation. This phase sees stable prices, stable interest rates and a rising stock market, which is led by strong corporate profits and technological innovations. This phase generally lasts for 25 years.

Summer Stagflation (Recession): This phase witnesses wars such as the War of 1812, the Civil War, the World Wars and the Vietnam War. War leads to a shortage of resources, which leads to rising prices, rising interest rates and higher debt, and because of these factors, companies’ profits decline.

Autumn Deflationary Growth (Plateau period): After the end of war, people want economic stability. While the economy sees growth in selective sectors, this period also witnesses social and technological innovations. Prices fall and interest rates are low, which leads to higher debt and consumption. At the same time, companies’ profits rise, resulting in a strong stock market. All of these excesses end with a major speculative bubble.

Winter Depression: This is a period of correcting the excesses of the past and preparing the foundation for future growth. Prices fall, profits decline and stock markets correct to the downside. However, this period also refines the technologies of the past with innovation, making it cheaper and more available for the masses. Accuracy Of The Cycle Over The Last 200 Years

The K-Waves have stood the test of time. They have correctly identified various periods of important economic activity within the past 200 years. The chart below outlines its accuracy.

Very few cycles in history are as accurate as the Kondratiev waves.
Chart 2 CNA

Criticism Of The Kondratiev Waves
No principle in the world is left unchallenged. Similarly, there are a few critics of the K-Waves who consider it useful only for the pre-WWII era. They believe that the current monetary tools, which are at the disposal of the monetary agencies, can alter the performance of these waves. There is also a difference of opinion regarding the timing of the start of the waves.

The Wave is Being Pushed Ahead But the Mood Confirms a Kondratiev Winter
Chart 3 CNA
Chart 4 CNA
A closer study reveals that the cycles are being pushed forward temporarily. Any intervention in the natural cycle unleashes the wrath of nature, and the current phase of economic excess will also end in a similar correction. The K-Wave winter cycle that started in 2000 was aligned with the dot-com bubble.

The current stock market rise is fueled by the easy monetary policy of the global central banks. Barring a small period of time from 2005-2007 when the mood of the public was optimistic, the winter had been spent with people in a depressed social mood. The stock market rally from 2009-2015 will be perceived as the most hated rally and the one most laden with fear.

Every dip of a few hundred points in the stock market starts with a comparison to the Great Recession of 2007-2009. The mood exudes fear and disbelief that the efforts of the central banks have not been successful and are unable to thwart off the winter, as predicted by the K-Waves. The winter is here and is reflected in the depressed social mood.

How To Weather Out Brutal Winter
In the last phase of the winter cycle, from 2016-2020, which is likely to test us, the stock market top is in place. Global economic activity has peaked, terrorism further threatens our lives, geopolitical risks have risen, the current levels of debt across the developed world are unmanageable, and a legitimate threat of a currency war occurring will all end with the “The Great Reset.” Gold will be likely to perform better during this winter cycle. Get in love with the yellow metal; it’s the blanket which will help you withstand the winter.

Conclusion
Cycles are generally repetitive forces that give us an insight into the future so we can be prepared to face it and prosper. Without excessive intervention, nature is very forgiving while correcting the excesses. But if one meddles with nature, it can be merciless during the correction. The current economic condition will end with yet another reset in the financial markets. Prices will not rise forever, and a correction will take hold eventually. Until then, we follow and trade accordingly. I will suggest the necessary steps to avoid losses and prosper from market turmoil when it unfolds.

Follow my analysis at:  The Gold & Oil Guy.com

Chris Vermeulen



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Monday, August 15, 2016

It Can’t Wait Any Longer – It's Deja Vu in the Markets

The stock market tends to repeat itself on a regular basis. Why? Because it moves mainly based on the emotions of market participants, with the exception of extreme times when the masses are moving the market with extreme fear or greed, at which point they are flooding the market with buy or sell orders to create a final pop or drop in the market just before a major market reversal.

As with everything in the universe, everything moves in cycles, periods of expansion and contraction, and there are regular wave like patterns that happen on a regular basis no matter the time frame one is reviewing on a stock chart.

Here are three charts, each showing a similar price pattern of extreme washout lows, followed by roughly a 1 1/2 month rally taking investors on a roller coaster ride from fear and complete panic to greedy "know it alls". In short [no pun intended] U.S. large cap stocks look and feel toppy here. I feel a correction is likely to take place any day now, and the big question is “how much will the stock market pullback? Will it be another 4-5% correction similar to the chart examples above? Or will it be something larger 8-15% correction?

Chris Vermeulen


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Saturday, August 13, 2016

Why Corporate America Can’t Prop Up Stocks Much Longer

By Justin Spittler

Corporate America is bracing for tough times. Since you’re reading an investment newsletter, you likely own stocks. And if you’re like most investors, you keep up with how the companies you own are performing. You might even listen to quarterly “earnings calls,” which are when CEOs present results and give their outlook on the business.

Most of the time, CEOs act as cheerleaders on these calls. If business is bad, they’ll say business is good. If business is good, they’ll say it’s great. And CEOs are notoriously optimistic about the economy. After all, thousands of investors and analysts listen to these calls. CEOs know their stock can crash if they’re pessimistic about the business or economy. Because many CEOs will say anything to make their stock go up, we don’t put much stock in their words. We pay much more attention to their actions. And right now, large U.S. companies are acting like very tough economic times are ahead.

Business investment fell 2.2% last quarter..…
This metric measures how much companies spend on property, plant, and equipment. It was the third straight quarter that business investment fell. That hasn’t happened since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. We wouldn’t see this if the economy was headed in the right direction. Companies would be building more factories. They’d be buying more machinery. They’d be spending more money on research and development.

Instead, companies have cut back on investments. This tell us they don’t see many good opportunities. That’s a bad sign for the economy, yet stocks keep rallying. The S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ have all recently hit new record highs. At this point, you’re probably wondering what’s keeping stocks afloat if it’s not the economy.

Companies have spent about $2.5 trillion on “share buybacks” since the financial crisis..…
A buyback is when a company buys its own stock from shareholders. This can lift a company's stock price.
According to investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS), buybacks have been the biggest driver of U.S. stock performance since the financial crisis. Buybacks also reduce the number of shares that trade on the market.

This boosts a company’s earnings per share. But buybacks don’t make a company more profitable. They only make profits look bigger “on paper.” Companies have been buying up their own stock for two reasons: 1) They don’t see many growth opportunities. And 2) it’s incredibly cheap to borrow money.

The Federal Reserve has held its key interest rate near zero since 2008..…
The Fed cut rates to encourage households and businesses to borrow and spend more money. Mainstream economists thought this would “stimulate” the economy. It didn’t work. The U.S. economy has grown at an annualized rate of just 2.1% since 2009. This makes the current “recovery” the slowest by far since World War II.

The Fed did get folks to borrow huge sums of money. U.S. corporations have borrowed more than $10 billion in the bond market since 2007. Last year, they issued a record $1.5 trillion in bonds.
Buybacks are a big reason companies borrowed so much. MarketWatch reported last week:
Companies have been taking on piles of debt to finance buybacks, leading the total debt on the S&P 500 to grow 56% during the past five years.
According to Yahoo! Finance, companies in the S&P 500 funded 22% of last year’s buybacks with debt. This year, debt paid for 39% of share buybacks.

Corporate debt is now dangerously high..… 
According to Barron’s, corporate debt now equals 45.3% of gross domestic product (GDP). The only time this key ratio has ever been higher was in 2009, when it hit 45.4%. If the economy was doing well, this wouldn’t be such a big problem. Companies would be making enough money to pay their debts.

But right now, Corporate America is struggling to make money. Profits for companies in the S&P 500 are on track to fall for the fifth straight quarter. That hasn’t happened since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
There’s no telling when this earnings drought will end either. According to research firm FactSet, analysts expect third quarter corporate profits to fall 1.7%. The third quarter ends on September 30.

Keep in mind, the U.S. economy is technically in a “recovery” right now. Imagine what will happen to corporate profits during the next recession. The more profits fall, the less money companies will have to prop up their shares with buybacks.
  
Companies have already started to cut back on buybacks..…
According to Business Insider, buybacks fell 18% last quarter. This sharp decline in buyback activity followed a near record breaking first quarter, in which companies in the S&P 500 spent an incredible $166 billion on buybacks. That’s the second most ever, and the most in one quarter since 2007. We don’t know exactly why companies are suddenly spending less on buybacks.

Maybe it’s because corporate profits are drying up. Maybe companies are starting to realize they have too much debt. Or maybe it’s because stocks are expensive. According to the popular CAPE ratio, stocks in the S&P 500 are 62% more expensive than their historic average. Since 1881, U.S. stocks have only been more expensive three times: before the Great Depression, during the dot-com bubble, and leading up to the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

Like any investment, buybacks only make sense when stocks are a good deal. With stocks as expensive as they are today, buybacks are a terrible use of money.

Without buybacks, there won’t be much to keep U.S. stocks from falling..…
If you own stocks, take a good look at your portfolio. We recommend that you get out of any company that needs buybacks to retain shareholders. We also encourage you to put 10% to 15% of your wealth in gold. As we often say, gold is real money. It’s preserved wealth for centuries because gold is unlike any other asset. It’s durable, easy to transport, and easily divisible.

Gold is also the ultimate safe haven asset. It’s survived economic depressions, stock market crashes, and full blown currency crises. When investors are nervous about stocks or the economy, they buy gold.
The price of gold has jumped 27% this year. It’s beat the S&P 500 4-to-1.

If you don’t already own gold for protection, we encourage you to do so immediately..…
According to Casey Research founder Doug Casey, the financial system is held together by “chewing gum and bailing wire” right now. When the public wakes up and realizes this, “they’ll flock to gold… just as they’ve done for centuries.” Doug thinks this could cause the price of gold to easily soar 200% in the coming years.

You could make 2x, 5x, or 10x that much money in gold stocks..…
Yesterday, we showed you how leverage works in the resource market. As we explained, this powerful force is why gold stocks can soar even if the price of gold doesn’t rise by that much. This year, gold’s 27% jump caused the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), which tracks large gold miners, to soar 128%.

Some folks might see that and think they missed their chance to buy gold stocks. But regular readers know gold stocks can go many times higher. During the 2000-2003 bull market, the average gold stock rose 602%. The best ones returned more than 1,000%. We expect even bigger gains in the coming years. To learn why, watch this short presentation. In it, Doug explains why we’re headed for “the biggest gold mania” he’s even seen.

By the end of this video, you’ll know why there’s never been a better time to own gold stocks. You’ll also learn how to make the most of this new gold bull market. We’re talking gains of 1,000%...2,000%...even 5,000%. Those kind of returns might sound impossible. But as you’ll see, Doug's hit many “home runs” like this throughout his career. And for the first time ever, he's showing the world exactly how he did this.

To learn Doug’s SECRET to making giant gains in gold stocks, watch this free video.

How Will Negative Interest Rates, the War on Cash, and “Helicopter Money” Affect the Markets?

Today, we have something special to share with you. Instead of the usual “Chart of the Day,” you’ll find a six-minute video presentation put together by our colleagues at Palm Beach Research Group.

In the video below, Palm Beach Research Group co-founder Tom Dyson and Palm Beach Letter editor Teeka Tiwari discuss how radical government policies are affecting global financial markets. As Tom and Teeka explain, these central bank “experiments” will have severe side effects. They could even push the price of gold to $5,000. To learn why, watch the video below.



If you like what you saw from Tom and Teeka, we encourage you to sign up for their “speed round” training series. Click here to get started.


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Friday, July 8, 2016

This 5,000 Year Low Is Ruining Your Retirement

By Justin Spittler

The global banking system, and your financial future, are at serious risk right now. To understand why, just look at what's going on with the government's latest radical policy. Regular Dispatch readers know we're talking about rock bottom interest rates. According to MarketWatch, global interest rates are at the lowest level in 5,000 years. Credit is cheaper right now than at any point since the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt, around the 32nd century BC. Today, we'll explain what this means and how to protect yourself going forward..…

Interest rates didn’t get this low “naturally.” They’re at record lows because central bankers put them there..…
In 2008, the Federal Reserve dropped its key rate to near zero to fight the financial crisis. It’s kept rates there for eight years to encourage borrowing and spending. Other major central banks did the same thing. According to MarketWatch, there have been more than 650 rate cuts since September 2008. Rates in Canada and England are also near zero. In Europe and Japan, rates are below zero.

As we’ve explained before, negative interest rates basically tax your bank account. Instead of earning interest on the money in your bank account, you pay the bank. Not long ago, negative rates were unheard of. Today, more than $12 trillion worth of government bonds pay negative rates, up from $6 trillion in February. 

They’ve even seeped into the corporate debt market. According to Bloomberg Business, more than $300 billion worth of corporate bonds now “tax” bondholders. Central bankers told us low and negative rates would “stimulate” the economy. But, as you’re about to see, they’ve done far more harm than good.

Central bankers made it much harder to retire..…
That’s because rock bottom rates don’t just make it cheap to borrow money. They make it tough to earn a decent return. From 1962 to 2007, a U.S. 10 year Treasury paid an average annual interest rate of 7.0%. Today, a U.S. 10 year Treasury yields just 1.5%, an all time low. It’s the same story around the world. Last week, 10 year bonds in Ireland, England, Germany, France, and Japan all fell to record lows. In Japan, you actually have to pay the government 0.23% every year you own one of its 10 year bonds.

This is a serious problem for hundreds of millions of people. For decades, retirees could earn a safe, decent return owning these bonds. Some folks even lived off the interest they earned from these bonds. These days, you have to own riskier assets like stocks to have any shot at a decent return. Central bankers have effectively forced retirees to gamble with their life savings. Rock bottom rates are a serious threat to major financial institutions too.

According to U.S. banking giant Citigroup (C), low and negative rates are “poison” to the global financial system..…
They could make pension funds, insurance companies, and banks “no longer viable in the long term.” Business Insider reported last week:
As Citi notes: "Viability in its strong sense means profitability (a rate of return on equity at least equal to the cost of capital). In its weak sense, viability means solvency." Basically, Citi is warning that the negative rates may stop institutions being able to make money, which in turn would hit their ability to pay out on things like pensions and insurance policies.
This is a major risk even if you don’t have a pension or life insurance policy. That’s because pension and insurance companies oversee trillions of dollars. They’re pillars of the global financial system…and negative rates are destroying them.

Rock bottom rates could also put some of the world’s biggest banks out of business..…
You see, banks earn most of their money making loans. When rates are high, they make more on each loan. When rates are at record lows, like they are today, banks often lose money. Business Insider explains how today’s record-low rates are starving banks of income:
Citi points out that: "Banks in large part live off the differentials between lending and borrowing rates or between investment returns and funding rates." Persistently low interest rates could hit these differentials, lowering profitability and seriously harming banks in the long run.
Profits at America’s four biggest banks fell by an average of 13% during the first quarter…
This group includes Citigroup, Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC), and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM). European banks are doing even worse. Swiss bank UBS’s (UBS) profits plunged 64% during the first quarter. Profits at Deutsche Bank (DB), Germany’s biggest lender, fell 58%. Spanish banking giant BBVA’s (BBVA) earnings fell 54%. The CEO of Deutsche Bank warned last month:
In the banking world, we are currently struggling with negative interest rates.
We will struggle more as the effect of those negative interest rates plays out into our deposit books.
Dispatch readers know some of Europe’s most important financial institutions are looking for ways to get around negative rates..…
Commerzbank, one of Germany’s largest banks, said last month that it was thinking of pulling money out of Europe’s banking system to avoid paying negative rates. Other banks have started making riskier loans and buying riskier assets to offset rock-bottom rates. The Financial Times reported in March:
Gonzalo Gortázar, chief executive at Spain’s Caixabank, expressed concerns about a build up of risk in the banking system as a whole. “In a world of low or negative interest rates, that is a possible consequence; you could see banks taking more risk,” he said.
Longtime readers know excessive risk-taking by banks contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. As a result, the S&P 500 plunged 57% from 2007 to 2009. And the U.S. entered its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Bank stocks are already trading like a financial crisis has begun..…
Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CS) has plummeted 63% over the past year. Deutsche Bank is down 60%. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is down 59%. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU), Japan’s biggest bank, is down 39%. These are huge drops in short periods. Remember, these are some of the most important financial institutions on the planet.

We encourage you to take action now..…
Our first recommendation is to avoid bank stocks. Low and negative rates are eating these companies alive right now. And it could be years before governments abandon these failed policies. According to Fed Chair Janet Yellen, low interest rates are the “new normal.” We also encourage you to own physical gold. As we like to remind readers, gold is real money. It’s preserved wealth for centuries because it has a rare set of characteristics: It’s durable, easy to transport, and easily divisible. A gold coin is valuable anywhere in the world.

This year, gold has jumped 26%. It’s trading at its highest price in two years. But Casey Research founder Doug Casey says this rally is just getting started. According to Doug, gold could soar 500% or more in the coming years. If you’re nervous that central bankers will take this interest rate experiment too far, own gold. It’s the best way to protect yourself from desperate governments.

We also encourage you to watch this short presentation. It explains how these failed monetary policies could spark something much worse than a banking crisis. As you’ll see, this is a threat to you even if you don’t a have a single penny in the stock market. Click here to watch this free video.

Chart of the Day

Deutsche Bank is trading like a financial crisis has begun. Today’s chart shows the performance of the German banking giant. You can see its stock is down more than 50% over the past year. Last Thursday, it hit it a new record low. Like other European lenders, low rates are killing Deutsche Bank. Last year, the company lost $7.5 billion. It was its first annual loss since the 2008 financial crisis. And yet, its plunging stock suggests more bad results are on the way.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Deutsche Bank is the world’s riskiest financial institution. That’s a problem even if you don’t keep money with Deutsche Bank or own its shares. The Wall Street Journal reported last week:
The IMF also said the German banking system poses a higher degree of possible outward contagion compared with the risks it poses internally. “In particular, Germany, France, the U.K. and the U.S. have the highest degree of outward spillovers as measured by the average percentage of capital loss of other banking systems due to banking sector shock in the source country,” the IMF added.
In other words, problems at Deutsche Bank could spread to other banks around the world. It’s another reason why you should avoid bank stocks and own gold right now.




The article This 5,000-Year Low Is Ruining Your Retirement was originally published at caseyresearch.com.


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