Why The Market is Ripe for a MAJOR Shift

PIMCO CEO and all-round market egghead Mohamed El-Erian coined the term "The new normal" during the financial crisis of 2008.

El-Erian's new normal is defined by slow economic growth, persistent unemployment and an accommodative fiscal policy from global central banks and volatile markets.

This new normal results in meager bond yields of only 2% and a tepid return from equity investments. Up close, this seems like an accurate description of today's economy. But if you step back and look at the bigger picture, then maybe the new normal is just becoming the "old normal" again. Continue reading "Why The Market is Ripe for a MAJOR Shift"

Crisis Investing 101: How to Invest in Currencies the Easy Way

In the past few weeks, I've told you about the five assets that could save your portfolio. I've shown my favorite gold and oil plays, how to protect a portfolio with commodities, how real estate provides safety in good and bad times, and how owning gold coins and bullions requires some level of expertise.

Today, I'm going to tell you about currency exchange, an investment that has become so popular, you could trade with only $1 in your account.

Like gold coins and bullion, currency trading is a traditional form of investment, because it can be physically held. For example, investors who held greenbacks instead of the euro during the euro-zone-banking crisis were substantially rewarded. Continue reading "Crisis Investing 101: How to Invest in Currencies the Easy Way"

Value Market in Gold Will Work for Patient Investors: Jocelyn August

The Gold Report: Jocelyn, I'm looking at a portfolio of junior precious metals mining stocks, and all I can see is red ink. With the exception of MAG Silver Corp. (MAG:TSX; MVG:NYSE), all in that group are underwater for the past 52 weeks. We are currently in a down-trending precious metals market, and I'm interested to know if catalysts matter anymore.

Jocelyn August: Catalysts absolutely do matter right now. We may see a catalyst occur in a company followed by a 2% uptick in its stock, on the same day the sector as a whole may be down 25%. We may see that even in this price environment. If you were aware of that catalyst and you bet on it, you would actually have fared better than the sector on that day. By comparison it actually did help the stock price.

"Catalysts absolutely do matter right now."

Conversely, we also see a fair amount of catalysts that might have a negative consequence to the stock price, particularly when it comes to permit approval decisions that may go the wrong way for the company. You could get pretty badly burned. For example, back in early October 2012, Pacific Booker Minerals Inc. (BKM:TSX.V; PBM:NYSE.A) announced that the environmental assessment permit for its Morrison project in central British Columbia was denied. The stock dropped 66% in one day and then dropped even further in the week. A month after that event, Pacific Booker was down 75% from the day before the announcement. So, catalysts do matter.

TGR: In this kind of depressed gold and silver market, it appears that the effect of negative news is magnified. Is that in fact the case? Continue reading "Value Market in Gold Will Work for Patient Investors: Jocelyn August"

Beware of the March Effect on the Stock Market

"Beware the Ides of March." This famous line uttered by a soothsayer in William Shakespeare's 1601 play, "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar," warned the ruler of his pending demise on the 15th day of March.

Well, we all know what happened to Caesar.

We could apply this same warning to the stock market today.

In the past few years, every stock rally in the beginning of the each year was met by a sharp sell-off in the spring. Certainly, this doesn't portend to mean the entire year ended badly. In fact, those investors with the foresight to buy during the spring swoons generally ended the year with strong gains. Continue reading "Beware of the March Effect on the Stock Market"

How the Starbucks Effect Could Lead to 200% Gains

It's easy to find companies that have returned billions to shareholders in the past. And it's easy to find companies that dominate their markets right now.

But the future is much less certain.

As a long-term investor, how can you know your investments will continue to dominate the competition for years to come? How can you make sure they won't crumble under the weight of new competition, intense regulation, disruptive new technologies or a host of other potential problems? Continue reading "How the Starbucks Effect Could Lead to 200% Gains"