Issues
Global Rate Hiking Cycle Gathers Steam; What to Do …
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, here in the U.S. markets late last week. But on Christmas Day, China’s central bank shocked investors ... Specifically, the People’s Bank of China raised short-term ... …
Six ETFs to Consider Dumping Today
Happy Holidays! Many people have the last day of the year off, but not stock and ETF traders. Since 2011 New Year’s Day falls on a Saturday, the NYSE and other exchanges are open for a full day. This is good ... …
Monetary Tightening Threatens China’s Economic Prospects
China’s role on the global stage has grown tremendously during the past several years. And there are valid reasons to believe this trend will continue. But it will not go as smoothly as many pundits assume ... …
One reason to bet on U.S. stocks in 2011
There are definitely plenty of reasons to be concerned about the U.S. economy — and the broad market — in the year ahead. There are definitely plenty of reasons to be concerned about the U.S. economy — ... …
CBS 60 Minutes: “Day of Reckoning Is at Hand!â€
At this very moment, cities and states all across this country are facing their day of reckoning, with far-reaching consequences for the economy, investors and every American citizen. This morning, I will ... …
Happy Holidays
Our Money and Markets team is off today, spending some quality time with family and friends. But we wanted to take a moment to wish you all the best during this holiday season. Your friendship and loyalty ... …
Lessons Learned by Looking Back at 2010
The year is winding down, and boy has it been an exciting and volatile one. Bonds. Currencies. Financial stocks. Some of the gyrations we’ve witnessed in those instruments over the past 12 months were ... …
Dangers and Opportunities in Muni Bond ETFs
Bonds of all kinds took a beating over the last few months — ever since Ben Bernanke began hinting he would launch another “quantitative easing†money-printing program. Ben was true to his word. And the ... …
European Sovereign Debt Crisis Set to Spread … Government Bonds at Risk!
According to its homepage, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an organization that fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks. The BIS fulfils ... …
Stocking Stuffers for Your Favorite Investor
At my home, the tree is up. Our gingerbread house — a rather elaborate one, at that — has been assembled. And we’ve already been entertaining a number of guests over the last couple weeks ... …
New Riches in a New Miracle Economy
Brazil’s economy is booming, and I can assure you, it’s not a bubble. I am also certain that the vast riches being made are not a flash in the pan. Let me tell you why I’m so confident. First, because my family and ... …
Insanity on the Potomac — Treasury investors recoiling in horror!
Given the insanity on the Potomac last week, I cannot imagine a time when a clear vision of the future would be more crucial. At 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, President Obama signed a new fiscal package, ... …
The U.S. is Muddling Along, Which Right Now … Doesn’t Look So Bad!
For the better part of 2009 and for the second half of 2010, the world’s focus has been on how dreadful things look in the U.S. and how great the opportunities are said to be everywhere else. But despite all ... …
What to Do as the Fed Plays Ostrich
The latest Federal Reserve meeting came and went this week. And I gotta tell you, the Fed should replace the eagle on its website with an ostrich! I say that because the post-meeting statement was a bunch ... …
Consumers on a Shopping Spree … Five ETFs to Help You Profit!
If you’re like most Americans, you know December as the “Season of Shopping.†So today I’ll give you some ideas on how you can make money to replace what you’ll spend this month. Consumers lost some of ... …
THE GLOBAL DEBT TRAP How to Escape the Danger and Build a Fortune
We have just released our new book, The Global Debt Trap: How to Escape the Danger and Build a Fortune, which we think is timed perfectly for the events now swirling around us. And as our way of thanking you ... …
A Social Security “Shot Across the Bow”
For nearly two years, I’ve been telling current Social Security recipients to consider using a little-known provision to boost their payments substantially. And in recent months, I ratcheted up my warnings to ... …
Grand Compromise or Great Conspiracy?
When Americans went to the polls last month, many thought they were voting for a return of fiscal sanity in Washington. And with fiscal sanity, we'd have far better assurance of bond-market stability ... …
The End Game for the Euro
The euro is doomed, and the consequences of its demise are far-reaching — both in terms of the dangers for anyone who is unprepared and the opportunities for those who are. This is so important I have ... …
Interest Rates Surge as Fed, Congress Crush Debtholders
Washington, 0. The bond market, 1. That’s the score folks, in case you haven’t been keeping track. The Federal Reserve Chairman said his $600 billion “QE2†program would lower interest rates. Instead, rates ... …
Follow the Trend with Small-Cap Growth ETFs
With exchange traded funds (ETFs), global stock markets can be sliced and diced in hundreds of different ways. You can invest by country, by geographic region, by industry sector, and by various combinations ... …
Ben Bernanke Ready to Print Still More!
Fed President Ben Bernanke earned his nickname “Helicopter Ben†as early as 2002 when as a Fed Governor he gave his famous speech Deflation: Making Sure It Doesn’t Happen Here. “Helicopter money†is a term he coined to describe ... …
Should U.S. investors fear a “Japan scenario?â€
With Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve now into their second round of quantitative easing, a lot of investors are becoming increasingly worried about the U.S. “becoming like Japan.†In short, they're ... …
Warning: Muni Bond Chaos Imminent
Whenever folks from Washington or Wall Street try to persuade you that the Great Debt Crisis is now “over,†I suggest you shake their hands politely, usher them to the door, and tell them to never come back ... …
Why I’m giving away over $250,000 in prizes and memberships
Hi, I’m having a great Sunday and I hope you are too! I’m happily giving away prizes and memberships valued at over $250,000 in the Weiss Forecast Challenge. Here’s how it works ... …
The Moment of Truth for Medicare
Traditionally this is the season when we look forward to the giving and receiving of gifts. But maybe we’ll look at things differently this year ... because on Wednesday, according to The National Commission on ... …
Deficit Commission Fiddles While Rome (and Dublin … and Athens … Lisbon) Burns!
The meltdown in Europe’s debt market just keeps getting worse. In the past several days ... Ireland was forced to follow Greece down Bailout Road. The country needed $113 billion in aid to fill a Grand Canyon ... …
Does Your ETF Own Derivatives?
What’s in your exchange traded fund (ETF)? The obvious answer is “stocks†if it is a stock ETF, and “bonds†if it is a bond ETF. That’s not always the case, though ... …
The Solution to the Government Debt Problem Is Well Known
Last Thursday in a government declaration, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about the debt problems in Ireland and other European countries. She said, “Europe needs a new culture of stability,†and added, “A better monitoring ... …
Not much time left for year-end moves!
Lots of meals with friends and family. Hundreds of e-mails about shopping deals. And even a trip into the woods to saw down a nine-foot douglas fir for our living room. Yes, this past weekend clearly kicked off ... …
New phase of debt crisis! Striking NOW! Despite rescues!
A belated “Happy Thanksgiving!†— from our family to yours! Sadly, though, even while most Americans were enjoying the holiday or hitting the malls, much of Europe was sinking deeper into a new, more ... …
The Euro Zone’s Timeout Is Expiring!
Last year’s Thanksgiving weekend was an unusually active holiday news cycle. Of course, it was when Tiger Woods had his bizarre car accident outside of his home. That saga would dominate the news for ... …
Why I’m THANKFUL for the Bond Market Sell Off
I don’t know about you, but I’m still stuffed from yesterday! I ate enough turkey to feed a small army, and that’s not even counting all the trimmings. But frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thanksgiving is ... …
A Day for Giving Thanks
Our team is at home today, celebrating with friends and family. But we wanted to let you know just how grateful we are for the trust you place in us each and every day ... …
FINAL 10 hours for $100 reward!
My Three Urgent Questions video goes offline at 11:59 PM tonight, and when it does, your $xx reward for watching disappears as well! …
Warning: Stock Market Sentiment Is Way Too Bullish!
In forecasting stock market movements, I’ve developed a model consisting of many components and indicators. Here’s a brief overview of where four of my five basic categories stand now: ... …
Dividends? Thanks but no thanks, banks!
Dividends have been all over the news lately, including a number of stories talking about the possibility that banks will begin paying out solid dividends again. Well, it might be a week for giving thanks, but I’m ... …
FDIC: 903 banks in trouble. What to do …
Martin here with an urgent update on the next phase of the banking crisis. Just this past Friday, the government released new data showing that the FDIC's list of "problem banks" now includes 903 ... …
A World Awash in Government Intervention, Delays the Inevitable
The past three years have been dominated by government intervention ... The U.S. propped up the banks with TARP money, and then gave banks ultra-easy money terms to recapitalize. And to unfreeze ... …
List of Fed’s enemies grows longer as bond market carnage spreads
It’s always gratifying when the mainstream media picks up on a theme you’ve been banging away at for weeks. And boy is that happening now. Just get a load of the headlines we’ve seen in recent days ... …
Go for Profits with International ETFs
Let me ask you a question. Suppose you have the ability to invest in any stock market in the world. One of the largest markets has lagged badly for many years now. And there are few reasons to think the ... …
Telling Trend Reversals: The Dollar and Bonds
In last week’s Money and Markets column, I wrote about Bernanke’s quantitative easing policy. The goal of the policy is to create higher stock and housing prices by pushing the dollar and interest rates down. So, ... …
Time to Take Profits from Corporate Bonds?
Back in May of 2009, I wrote an article here in Money and Markets called “Time to Start Nibbling on Corporate Bonds.†As the name implied, I argued that investors looking for opportunities in fixed-income ... …
Fed money printing getting even wilder!
I’ve seen a lot of crazy monetary shenanigans in my lifetime — in Brazil, Japan and elsewhere. But I’ve never seen anything quite like the explosion of out-and-out money printing we’re witnessing in ... …
Dazzling Bargains in Commodities
Is gold a bargain at $1,400 an ounce? Is crude oil a screaming deal at $85 a barrel? Absolutely! In fact, I think the prices of many commodities such as gold, crude oil, wheat, soybeans, copper and silver will ... …
Euro Back Under the Microscope
Investors, politicians and the media have had tunnel vision for the better part of the past five months. And it’s been directed squarely on the United States. The world has been transfixed on the dollar. Experts ... …
Bernanke QE2 Program Backfiring! Global Money War Intensifying!
The reviews are coming in fast and furious — and they’re downright terrible! I’m not talking about the latest romantic comedy or action movie. I’m talking about the reviews of the Federal Reserve’s ... …
Go for the Gold with Mining ETFs
Do you like to dig? I have to admit, it’s not my favorite thing. But if I knew there was gold in the ground I might think differently. In fact, there is gold in the ground — and plenty of other valuable minerals, ... …
Fed money-printing scheme triggering bond price meltdown!
Since talk of new money-printing first surfaced a few weeks ago, 30-year bond yields have jumped sharply higher — from 3.46% to 4.29%. That’s a 21% surge in borrowing costs! It’s the biggest interest ... …
Bernanke’s Monetary Policy Is Doomed!
Last week Ben Bernanke wrote an article for The Washington Post to justify the Fed’s decision of another round of quantitative easing. Here’s his core argument: “Easier financial conditions will promote economic ... …
Silver EXPLODES 5.8%! Gold surging! Global firestorm about Fed money printing
The precious metals markets are going wild even as I write these words. This is precisely what we recommended investing in with our online presentation that so many investors are rushing to view right ... …
Four Steps to Fine-Tune Your Portfolio
In my last couple of columns, I told you about two different portfolios that I’ve been running, both of which contain dividend stocks and have been performing very strongly. That prompted some of you to write in ... …
4 ETFs Beating the Dow by a Mile
Martin here with a quick update on four of our favorite exchange traded funds (ETFs). From the first trading day in May through this past Friday, November 5, the Dow is up 4 percent. That’s actually ... …
A Personal Story with Huge Profit Implications
Larry here, with a personal story that may help you understand just how explosive the right investments can be in this new world of money printing gone wild. It’s why a lot of our readers are making so much ... …
Currencies: Seven Charts You Should See
The currency market, as well as all markets, have been heavily focused on the U.S. and the Fed’s plans for more quantitative easing (QE). And that’s had a huge impact on the dollar and on dollar sentiment. The ... …
Winners and Sinners in the Global Money War
There’s a Great Global Money War raging right now — and the U.S. is losing. That’s the inescapable conclusion I draw from the market action I see on my screens ... the headlines coming across the tape ... …
Gold up $41! Commodities, currencies exploding higher!
Larry here with an urgent update on gold, silver, platinum, sugar, and almost every tangible asset under the sun. It’s been less than 24 hours since the Fed announced it’s cranking up the printing presses ... …
Sorting Out the Asia ETFs
You shouldn’t be surprised if I tell you I like Asia. I talk about Asia frequently, both in my Money and Markets columns and in International ETF Trader. The reason is simple: Asia is where I see the best ... …
News flash: $600 billion Fed funny money! Big LIE!
This is it — the hot news that Wall Street was waiting for with bated breath. Fed Chief Bernanke’s going to buy another $600 billion in Treasury securities to pump liquidity into the economy ... …
Sentiment Indicators Signaling a Major Top
The S&P 500 index is nearly back to its April high. In the bigger picture the market can be seen as tracing out a major topping formation lasting nearly one year. Valuations are historically high, and macroeconomic ... …
It’s a LANDSLIDE! What to do …
It's all over but the shouting! According to last-minute polling, Republicans will gain up to 60 House seats, including a very vocal Tea Party caucus. Meanwhile, incumbents who have held the same seats for ... …
The Power of Carefully Chosen Dividend Stocks
Last week, I talked a little bit about the recent performance of my dad’s income portfolio. In case you missed that column, the upshot was that every new recommendation I’ve made is up and beating the ... …
The most amazing week of our lifetime …
If there ever was a single week promising to deliver the most amazing financial changes of our lifetime, this has got to be it — with TWO D-Days hitting in the next 48 hours. D-Day #1 comes tomorrow, with the ... …
Fed President: Bernanke Making "A PACT WITH THE DEVIL"
When Fed President Hoenig declared last week that Bernanke is making "a pact with the devil," he wasn't kidding. Nor was he talking about a little side deal that would someday be forgiven in money heaven ... …
Currency War: "The Worst of Wars"
Last week, here in Money and Markets, I suggested that the recent G-20 finance minister meetings could have a meaningful influence on the next trend in global currencies and other key markets. Therefore, we ... …
QE2 Sends Interest Rates Up. Yes, Up!
So if the latest reporting is to be believed, QE2 is a fait accompli. The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday said the Federal Reserve plans to purchase “a few hundred billion dollars†worth of Treasuries over a ... …
My Answers to Your Questions
The upcoming midterm elections have now shifted more decisively toward Republicans, and polling analysts from both parties agree about that trend. Plus, the Fed has now virtually declared that it will ... …
Get Down Under With Australia ETFs
See if you can guess the country ... Straddles two different oceans, Part of the British Commonwealth, Huge wilderness area, English-speaking, Democracy, Capitalist, Technologically and industrially ... …
Seeking Profit Potential When Stocks Sink AND Soar
The outcome of next Tuesday’s election could easily set off a chain reaction of events in our economy … and perhaps worldwide. Will the U.S. economy be able to grow enough to avoid a double-dip recession ... …
Treasury Bond Bubble about to POP!
Financial history shows that interest rates — and hence bond prices — have risen and fallen in long-term trends spanning decades. The following chart shows the 10-year Treasury since 1953. As you can see, ... …
Five strategies I'm using to help dad beat the stock market
You might remember that back in June my 63-year-old dad decided to let me begin managing his $100,000 retirement account at Vanguard. The goal was to help him get better returns than he was earning with ... …
Urgent Joint Release by Larry and Martin
Tomorrow is your last day to see the extremely timely about the strategies and investments to be used in Martin's $1,000,000 portfolio, starting THIS week. The reason it's so timely? Because of FIVE powerful ... …
New buys this week! Your deadline: THIS TUESDAY!
If you haven’t seen our most recent online presentation, I think you’d better do so before this weekend is over. The reason for the urgency is quite straightforward: The presentation is about the strategy and ... …
G-20 Meetings Could Prove Very Important for Currencies
While many investors have their eyes on the G-20 Summit in November, this weekend’s gathering of G-20 finance ministers could prove to be the more significant event for markets. If you take a look at recent ... …
Mortgage Mess Comes Back to Haunt Bankers … Again
Halloween is right around the corner. So it’s only appropriate that — just like some bad horror movie character — the mortgage monster keeps coming back to haunt bankers. Indeed, major financial ... …
G-20 HEADS UP: Losing battle to stem CURRENCY WARS!
I'm getting ready to put my $1,000,000 portfolio into a series of new investments, using an approach that could have generated a 2,478% total return in all types of market environments ... …
Profit from Rising Food Prices with ETFs
Here’s a question for you ... and I’m pretty sure your answer is “Yes.†The question is: Do you eat? Food is a basic necessity of life. We all need to eat. Some of us eat more than others do, of course. Sadly, ... …
Flash update: Mortgage mayhem spreading!
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has just announced that new mortgage applications have slumped again despite some of the lowest interest rates in history — a drop in demand that bodes ill for the ... …
Banks and the Unfounded Hope of Easy Money
The main driver of the stock market rally off the late-August low seems to be the Fed’s relatively clear announcement of quantitative easing number two. Market participants seem to think that another round ... …
Urgent Alert: China Raises Rates! What it means …
Thank you, Beijing! By raising interest rates this morning for first time since 2007, China has triggered profit taking in everything from currencies to commodities! Great! That is now triggering precisely ... …
Further Limiting Your Risk with CDs (or Bonds)
It’s now official: As I suggested last week, Social Security recipients are not getting any cost-of-living increase in 2011. This marks the second straight year of flat monthly checks. That fact, combined with ... …
Two Game-Changing Decisions
If you think all the game-changing decisions to be made on November 2 will be by voters at the ballot boxes, think again! In his latest online presentation, Monty Agarwal reminds us that, on that very same ... …
Gutting the dollar is now official!
It’s official now. The Fed said it in their meeting notes. And Bernanke said it again on Friday: He’s going to run the money printing presses. It’s the same trick we’ve seen in countries like Brazil, Argentina and ... …
Reflation Trade Is Overdone
In recent weeks, the dollar has been the centerpiece of speculation surrounding the outlook for global economies, rising protectionist threats and the resurgence of global asset prices. And it all derives from ... …
Tensions Rise as Global Policymakers Part Ways
The tension out there is so thick you can cut it with a knife. I’m talking about the tension building between central bankers and policymakers in developed nations and their counterparts in so-called emerging ... …
Diversify Out Of U.S. Dollars With ETFs
Do you pay attention to the currency markets? You’d better, if you want to survive and thrive in these crazy times. I have to tell you I am NOT a currency expert. For deeper analysis I refer you to my ... …
European Investors Haven't Been this Bullish in Nine Years!
Price-earnings ratios and dividend yields are showing that the stock market is expensive. And my big-picture economic indicators are signaling high recession risks. My liquidity indicators are confirming this ... …
Will 2011 be another stagnant year for Social Security checks?
In just a few days, the Social Security Administration is going to let retirees know how much their checks will go up next year. Or, in this case, how their checks aren’t going to go up at all. If you were ... …
Election's impact on stocks, gold, oil, currencies and more!
If you think the winds of change in Washington — both on the political scene and at the Fed — can have a big impact on the financial markets, wait till you see what can happen in the coming political storm! For ... …
China's Currency War: Enemy #1 for Global Economy
When Brazil’s finance minister said the world was in a currency war, it came as big news to many people — a surprising “new†economic threat. But there’s nothing new about a currency war. China has been ... …
Central Bankers' Global Race to the Bottom
Well, that pretty much seals the deal. I’m talking about the latest, lousy batch of employment data. The ADP Employer Services report out Wednesday showed the economy shedding 39,000 jobs in September ... …
Seven New ETFs Cover New Ground
The exchange traded fund menu is growing fast. So far this year more than 170 new ETFs and similar exchange-traded products have hit the market in the U.S. Quite a few of the new ETFs were just ... …
Don't Let September's Rally Trick You
You’ve probably heard the optimistic hype surrounding September’s stock market performance. The S&P 500 gained an impressive 8.8 percent during a month that has a bad reputation among stock market investors ... …
Do even CDs trump long-term Treasuries right now?
Last week I told you why many mutual fund investors could be setting themselves up for serious losses in Treasury bonds. Just to recap – the idea was that mutual funds often buy and sell before their bonds ... …
How to Time the Market’s Biggest Moves
One of the great dilemmas of any investor is timing the market. I’m not talking about the very short-term ups and downs. Nor am I recommending the kind of quick in-and-out trading that merely racks up more ... …
QE2: This Time Is Different
Since the Fed’s most recent meeting, everyone seems to have an opinion about another round of extraordinary monetary stimulus and the economic and market reactions such a move could leave in ... …
The Biggest Disconnect of All Time
I’m seeing one of the biggest disconnects of all time — between the underlying U.S. economy and the performance of the stock market. Just consider what we’ve learned about the economic fundamentals in ... …
Five Tech ETFs to Look at Now
You can always count on one thing in the technology sector: Change! The cutting-edge inventions that fascinated us so much back in the 1990s are de rigueur now. Where will we be in ten years? I can only ... …
If the Recession Has Ended, Why Is the Fed So Worried?
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is the official arbiter of U.S. economic history. It sets the officially accepted dates for the beginning and the end of U.S. recessions. And on September 20, its ... …
A Hazard of Buying Bond Funds Now
A number of us here at Weiss have been warning you about the dangers of buying bonds in this ultra-low-interest-rate environment, especially longer-dated U.S. Treasuries. But as I recently told my ... …
