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Labor Day (tomorrow) is your deadline to join Mike Larson before some of the biggest fireworks in the markets and for some of the biggest profit potential we’ve seen in years.
The reason: When traders return from their 3-day weekend on Tuesday, they’re going to walk into a new set of banking disasters that’s likely to drive bank stocks into an even deeper tailspin and send the value of their put options sharply higher.
Here’s the pattern in a nutshell …
First, the subprime mess clobbered subprime lenders like Countrywide Financial.
Then, the cancer spread to America’s largest banks that invested heavily in risky mortgage-backed securities, like Wachovia, Washington Mutual, and even Bank of America.
Now, it’s metastasizing again — spreading to regional and state banks as well.
Two prime examples: Integrity Bank of Alpharetta, Ga., which just failed Friday with nearly a billion in deposits … plus an even larger bank in trouble: BankUnited Financial Corp.
BankUnited is Florida’s largest bank with 85 branches in 13 counties and with total assets of $14.2 billion.
In the first three quarters of last year, it reported a profit of $23.2 million. The first three quarters of 2008? $200 million in losses!
Why? Because a whopping 58% of the bank’s assets are option ARMs.
Like other adjustable-rate mortgages, option ARMs lure in unqualified homebuyers with bargain-basement interest rates … then jack up rates — and loan payments — in later years. What’s worse, each month, an option ARM gives borrowers three choices:
Option #1. Pay principle and interest normally.
Option #2. Pay interest only.
Option #3. Make a bare minimum payment that doesn’t even cover all the interest due.
What happens to the unpaid interest? It gets tacked on to the unpaid balance.
The big time bomb: Borrowers are only allowed to do that for a pre-specified period of time or until their loan balance rises to a certain threshold, typically 110% or 115% of the original loan amount.
When that happens, they have to make the full payment — principle AND interest … which can be many times higher than the minimum payments.
That’s why massive numbers of borrowers are choosing a fourth “option” which no one anticipated: No payment whatsoever. In other words, DEFAULT.
And that’s also why …
The Amount of Non-Performing Loans
At BankUnited Has Surged 770%
Just in the Last Twelve Months!
And if you think that’s bad, the loans the bank doesn’t expect to be repaid has soared a staggering 1,964% since this time last year.
Meanwhile, the non-performing loans in BankUnited’s portfolio are rising at the rate of 10% per month — and the number of foreclosures in the bank’s inventory is up 18% in July alone.
Now, the government is demanding that BankUnited raise $400 million of new capital and offset losses on its $10 billion of home loans.
Bottom line: BankUnited’s stock is already down 91% in 12 months. And analysts are warning that it’s likely to fail!
BankUnited Is DEFINITELY
Not the Only Bank in This Soup!
If BankUnited were an anomaly, it wouldn’t be such big news. But the fact is, the cancer that’s bringing down Florida’s largest bank has also reached a raft of other financial institutions stuck with massive amounts of option ARMs.
- At Bank of America, the $25.4 billion in option ARMs it acquired when it bought Countrywide are sinking fast. A whopping 72% of the borrowers aren’t even paying all the interest due on these loans. One in eight is at least ninety days late on payments.
- At Wachovia, the story is similar: Wachovia bought Golden West Financial at the peak of the real estate bubble in 2006 and as a result now has $122 billion of option ARMs in its portfolio — a staggering 25% of its total assets. Some 14% of those option ARM customers already have zero — or negative — equity in their homes. And that’s only going to get worse as home prices depreciate further.
- And at banks all across the country, we see the same pattern.
Which ones are most likely to fail? In Our Recent “X” List video, we named the weakest banks and told you how to get your money to safety. If you missed it, you’d better watch it before it’s too late. Just turn up your computer speakers. Then click here.
And now, Mike is getting ready to take the NEXT step …
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How to Go for Potentially Massive Profits
From Put Options as Bank Stocks Plunge
We’ve warned you about the vicious cycle of mortgage collapses and falling home prices many times. Now it’s here in full force:
? Millions of Americans now owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth …
? So millions are defaulting and just walking away, handing banks billions more in loan losses, and …
? The glut of repossessed homes on the market is driving home values through the floor … giving millions more homeowners a reason to default on their mortgages … and setting the banks up for even greater losses as far as the eye can see!
This is why we’ve repeatedly urged you to take two crucial steps while you still have time …
FIRST, to achieve true safety for your money, don’t wait one more day to take the steps we set forth for you in our recent “X” List video.
SECOND, once you’ve got most of your money — even as much as 90% — in safe, conservative investments, you have the opportunity to USE this crisis to multiply your money many times over.
You now have a rare THIRD CHANCE to go
for gains of 69% to 1,185% as these weak
bank stocks continue to plunge!
We’ve done our level-best to prepare you for this, Investor …
Two weeks ago, we urged you to join Crisis Opportunity Speculator no later than the following Sunday to go for huge profit potential as weak banks continue to fall …
One week ago, we pleaded with you once again to get on board by Sunday for the next round of profit opportunities as bank stocks fell even further.
Both times we were right. Both times, key financial stocks cratered the very next Monday morning. Both times, put options on these weak stocks rose sharply in value.
Now, I’m alerting you again:
You have a rare, third chance to activate your membership before the next bloodletting in these stocks — but you MUST be on board BEFORE the end of this Labor Day weekend.
Here’s why: Wall Street is a ghost town right now. Most traders are out on their Labor Day vacations. Trading volume is at the lowest levels in months. Come Tuesday morning, they’ll return to their desks and one of two things will happen:
Either they’ll immediately begin dumping bank shares with both hands — in which case put options on the weakest stocks will continue soaring — or …
They’ll attempt to bid these stocks higher — which will give us a prime opportunity to pick up key put options on these stocks at what I’m convinced will soon be seen as bargain basement prices.
Either Way, This is a Crucial
Moment for You, Investor
Either you take action now to stake your claim to huge profit potential as this massive, long-term mega-trend continues to unfold …
Or you allow that profit potential — the opportunity to make more money in less time than you may now believe possible — to once again slip through your fingers.
The simple fact is, we told you these financial stocks would crash and burn. We named their names and urged you to dump them more than 40 months ago in April of 2005, saying — and I quote — “Avoid these stocks like the plague.”
Since then, almost all of the stocks we panned have crashed and burned: MDC Holdings is down 43% … Fidelity National has declined 45% … Countrywide dropped 86.6% … MGIC Investment Corp has plummeted 27% … and Washington Mutual has plunged 90%.
Plus, PMI Group has been beaten down 92% … Fannie Mae has had a 89% haircut … Radian Group has cratered 93% … Freddie Mac has crashed 92% … and New Century Financial has simply ceased to exist, its share price obliterated; plunging 100% in value to ZERO.
Plus, we told you about specialized investment vehicles to profit as they bit the dust.
- Not short-selling …
- Not futures that expose you to unlimited risk …
- But put options that you can buy for as little as $25, $50, or $100 each … that strictly limit your risk … and that give you virtually unlimited profit potential!
If you have some money to risk, buying put options on the most vulnerable banks and brokerage firms are IDEAL for this situation: Very, very cheap. No risk beyond the small price you pay for them.
And they offer you virtually unlimited profit potential when these bank stocks fall. Consider, for example, put options in the very same stocks we predicted would plunge:
On June 6, you could have bought ten put options on Wells Fargo stock for just $145 each — $1,450 in all — and sold them 35 days later for $2,450: A 69% gain.
The list goes on and on:
- Put options on PHH Corporation, which you could have bought on May 17, rose 185.7% in 71 days …
- Puts on Radian Group, which you could have bought on June 9, leapt 245.5% higher in 23 days …
- Puts on MDC Holdings, if bought on June 19, rose 153.8% in 21 days …
- Puts on Washington Mutual, bought on June 23, jumped 231.6% in 21 days …
- And put options on Freddie Mac, bought on July 30, soared 309.1% in 21 days.
Now, wouldn’t it be great if you could go back in time and grab those kinds of gains — over and over again — as these options soared? Sadly, we can’t. But remember: EVERY single one of these stocks was on our list of most likely to plunge. And now, with this bank stock bust accelerating, we expect many more profit opportunities like these in the weeks ahead!
And these gains of 69% to 309%
are with fairly conservative options.
When I swing for the fences,
your profits could be much greater!
My strategy in Crisis Opportunity Speculator is twofold:
First, even though you can never lose more than you invest, most of my recommendations are on fairly conservative, middle-of-the-road options aiming for a steady stream of singles, doubles and triples. Because they’re less volatile, I feel they give you a better chance to minimize losses and win more frequently.
And second, several times per year, when I see an opportunity to hit a grand slam home run, I’ll also offer you the opportunity to take a flier with more aggressive options with the potential to hand you blow-out profits.
And as you’re about to see, when those home runs come along, they can be HUGE! In fact …
- On June 25, you could have bought an option on National City Corp. for just $135 each. Sixteen days later, you could have cashed in for a 408.1% gain — enough to turn your $5,000 into $25,405 in just over two weeks.
- A more speculative put option on Freddie Mac, if purchased on July 2 and sold on July 9, soared 425% in seven days. And another Freddie Mac put, if bought on July 10, spun off a 700% gain in just eight days — enough to turn a $5,000 investment into $40,000 in just over one week!
- You could have bought one of these more aggressive puts on Washington Mutual on July 8 … taken your money off the table on July 14 … and banked a whopping 836.4% gain in just 6 days — enough to turn $5,000 into $46,820 in less than one week.
- And on May 2, you could have bought a bundle of ten puts on Wells Fargo for just $350 … closed your position on July 15 … and banked a whopping 1,185.7% gain in just over ten weeks.
These options would have multiplied your money nearly 12 times over, turning your $5,000 investment into $59,285 in just 74 days!
You Now Have the Opportunity
To go for Gains Like These
Over and Over Again Throughout 2008 …
Throughout 2009 … and Probably Well into 2010!
For crisis opportunity hunters like us, this is definitely a target-rich environment.
Everywhere I look, I see major U.S. financial institutions mortally wounded … in their death throes … desperately trying to sell the only assets that are making them money … and finding few buyers.
Others are losing money hand over fist on bad loans … getting whacked as commercial and residential mortgage markets tank … and poised to plummet in the weeks and months ahead.
There’s never a “sure thing” on Wall Street. You can lose money even in the best of investments. But with huge, supposedly “safe” companies like Freddie and Fannie falling dramatically in value … and with so many banks loaded with their stocks and bonds … you don’t have to be a financial genius to spot the companies that are being hammered the hardest.
All you have to do is read the headlines.
I’ve shown you many times why I’m convinced that we’ve only seen the beginning of the carnage that banks and brokers will experience in this great credit crisis, and that means you’ll have many more opportunities to go for gains like these in the months ahead.
Plus, the fact that this credit crisis is spreading far beyond the real estate and financial sectors is definitely not good news for investors in retail, technology, industrial, or other companies that have nothing to do with housing or mortgages. With each passing day, their profits and financial condition worsen.
But once you harness the power of put options, not only do you create a powerful hedge against the dangers that are so rampant today … you actually turn adversity into huge profit opportunities.
Every trading day of the year I look at the mortgage lenders, banks, S&Ls, brokers and other companies that are likely to be the next domino. I scan the entire U.S. stock market searching for options on the stocks most likely to get slammed. And then I pick the options with the duration and strike price to maximize your opportunity for explosive profit potential.
When I strike pay dirt …
- I alert you immediately — by e-mail, fax or both (your choice) …
- I tell you why we’re recommending the trade and give you our strategy for maximizing your profit potential while reducing your risk …
- And I give you specific step-by-step instructions on precisely how to execute the trade — either online or simply by reading the trading instructions to your broker.
Then, once you’re in the position, you just sit back and watch your investment’s performance. When it’s time to close your position, I will rush you a “sell” signal. And again, I’ll tell you how to execute your trade quickly and easily with your broker, either online or by phone.
Crisis Opportunity Speculator
Gives You Everything You Need to Go for
Huge Gains as This Credit Crisis Unfolds
When you become a member of Crisis Opportunity Speculator …
First, you’ll immediately download my Crisis Opportunity Speculator Operating Manual — everything you need to know about using put options to profit in this crisis:
- How options work … how they’re traded … and even step-by-step instructions for placing trades online or with your broker …
- How I find the options I feel offer you the greatest profit potential with the lowest risk …
- Why put options on falling stocks could make you more money more quickly than call options on rising stocks …
- Why the banking crisis is just ONE of many crises that are striking our markets, and how to turn each crisis into an opportunity …
- Special crisis opportunities that could also drive call options on select sectors through the roof …
- How buying options strictly limits your risk — and how Crisis Opportunity Speculator adds an extra layer of protection to limit your downside while allowing you virtually unlimited profit potential …
- And much more!
Second, I will rush your first “buy” recommendations to you the minute I’m convinced I have a big profit opportunity for you — which, given what’s already happening on Wall Street right now is likely to come soon after Labor Day.
Then, just follow the simple instructions. It’s easy. It’s convenient. And you can place your trades online or with a simple phone call to your broker.
Crisis Opportunity Speculator is based on the age-old principle that every crisis can be turned into an opportunity. It has just one objective: To help you get rich in times of crisis … and then help multiply those riches when the economy recovers.
Third, in each trading recommendation, I tell you exactly what to buy, when to buy it, how much to buy, and what to pay for it.
Every Crisis Opportunity Speculator signal you receive — sent to you instantly via e-mail — will clearly explain what’s happening right now and why the trade is being recommended. For each trade, it’s up to you to pull the trigger or not. But all you have to do is read our simple instructions to your broker word for word … or send him a fax or e-mail.
Fourth, well-timed buy signals are great. But they’re only half the story. You also have to know exactly when to sell.
So, for every single recommendation, you’ll get follow-up instructions on when to take profits or cut a loss. Our goal is to make this as easy as possible for you. No guesswork. No wondering what to do next.
Fifth, if you have any questions, no problem. We’ll be glad to answer them for you. You get full, unfettered access to our Customer Care Representatives via phone, via e-mail, via fax … or whatever is most convenient for you.
We have a dedicated hotline number strictly for Crisis Opportunity Speculator members. When you call, you get the red-carpet treatment and first-rate service that you deserve.
Better-Than-Half-Price Offer:
Join Me Now and Save Over 60%!
Considering the enormous profit potential Crisis Opportunity Speculator offers you, it would be a great value at the regular membership rate of $5,000 per year.
Fact is, a single profitable trade could easily pay you many times that much.
But just activate your membership now and you’ll save half. You get a full year of my Crisis Opportunity Speculator for just $2,500.
You save $2,500 by joining now!
Looking for an even better value? Great! Join me in Crisis Opportunity Speculator now for two years for just $3,950 — better than a 60% savings from the regular price … you save $6,050!
Plus, when you join Crisis Opportunity Speculator, you’ll take advantage of our convenient automatic payment plan. We’ll automatically charge your credit card each time your subscription is about to expire. You’ll never have to worry about renewal notices or missing a single issue.
Test-Drive Crisis Opportunity Speculator Risk-Free
No one can guarantee profits. But what we can guarantee is this: If Crisis Opportunity Speculator doesn’t make you money, we don’t want you to have to pay a penny for it.
Just join now by calling Toll-Free 800-815-2917 (Overseas: 1-561-627-3300), or by clicking the appropriate link below.
Then, if you’re skeptical, don’t risk a penny of your own money at first. Just follow our trades on paper for the next two months.
If you’re not fully convinced that this is a fun, exciting way to go for huge gains in this banking and credit crisis, just cancel within 60 days and we’ll rush you a full membership refund.
You risked absolutely nothing!
Or if you prefer, begin investing with the very first recommended trade you receive. You must be delighted with the profits Crisis Opportunity Speculator earns you, or cancel anytime in your first 60 days for a full refund of your membership fee — or anytime thereafter for a refund on the remaining portion of your membership.
The decision before you is a simple one:
You can decide to allow the enormous profit potential this great credit crisis is offering you to slip through your fingers — and muddle along the best you can while bank after bank … broker after broker … sector after sector … and company after company reels from its consequences …
Or, you can take action NOW to harness the amazing potential of put options to multiply your wealth by up to TWELVE TIMES OVER as weak stocks fall in the months and years ahead.
Remember: Every major crisis brings massive profit opportunities. And the one hitting Wall Street today is one of the greatest of all.
The time to start? Immediately!
And remember: You must be blown away by the profits Crisis Opportunity Speculator brings you or you can cancel in your first 60 days for a refund or anytime thereafter for a refund on the remaining portion of your membership.
The bottom line is, Martin and I have personally done everything in our power to make this opportunity possible for you. Now, it’s your turn to take action.
The toll-free number is 800-815-2917 (Overseas: 1-561-627-3300).
Or you can order securely by clicking the appropriate link below.
We’re looking forward to welcoming you aboard!
Until next time,
Mike
About Crisis Opportunity Speculator
For more details, see our terms and conditions at http://legacy.weissinc.com/cos/tc
About Money and Markets
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Money and Markets (MaM) is published by Weiss Research, Inc. and written by Martin D. Weiss along with Tony Sagami, Nilus Mattive, Sean Brodrick, Larry Edelson, Michael Larson and Jack Crooks. To avoid conflicts of interest, Weiss Research and its staff do not hold positions in companies recommended in MaM, nor do we accept any compensation for such recommendations. The comments, graphs, forecasts, and indices published in MaM are based upon data whose accuracy is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Performance returns cited are derived from our best estimates
but must be considered hypothetical in as much as we do not track the actual prices investors pay or receive. Regular contributors and staff include Kristen Adams, Andrea Baumwald, John Burke, Amber Dakar, Dinesh Kalera, Christina Kern, Red Morgan, Maryellen Murphy, Jennifer Newman-Amos, Adam Shafer, Julie Trudeau and Leslie Underwood.
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