There are Just Two Key Rules for Avoiding Stock Bubbles

By Dan Steinhart, Casey Research

Warren Buffet's #1 rule of investing is "Don't lose money."

It's good advice, though not to be taken literally; all investors lose on occasion. Still, it is a worthy goal for which to aspire. And to have any chance of reaching it, you must learn how identify and avoid bubbles.

Which is easier said than done. We've all seen that seductive sector that just keeps going up…and up… and up… coaxing in more and more unwitting investors along the way. At its peak, even the most strident skeptics concede that sky-high prices are the new industry norm.

And then…POP! Continue reading "There are Just Two Key Rules for Avoiding Stock Bubbles"

Cutting-Edge Technologies Will 'Green' Fracking: Keith Schaefer

Fracking in the U.S. is here to stay, affirms Keith Schaefer, editor of the Oil & Gas Investments Bulletin. North American business is dependent on cheap energy, and even energy utilities are switching from coal to natural gas. Although environmental concerns remain, the industry has incentive to do the right thing, says Schaefer. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Schaefer profiles service companies that are using cutting-edge technology to make fracking safer, greener and cheaper.

The Energy Report: Keith, considering that natural gas prices are still near all-time lows, can you still argue that fracking has improved North American energy markets?

Keith Schaefer: In just a few short years, fracking grew the supply of natural gas way ahead of demand. The price of natural gas fell from $89/thousand cubic feet (Mcf) to $2/Mcf! Natural gas is the low-hanging fruit for the energy sector and for consumers. Cheapened feedstock provides a huge boom for American business. Continue reading "Cutting-Edge Technologies Will 'Green' Fracking: Keith Schaefer"

Gold Chart of the Week

Each week Longleaftrading.com will be providing us a chart of the week as analyzed by a member of their team. We hope that you enjoy and learn from this new feature.

WEEKLY GOLD REPORT (9-24 through 9-28)

After a fairly choppy trade last week, the December Gold Futures were able to pull off a rally to chart resistance last night before finally feeling the pressure of a strong US Currency. While the US Dollar spent most of last week recovering from a three week drop, Gold prices remained relatively unchanged.

Last night Gold Futures climbed to $1775 an ounce before losing momentum and falling almost $20. All of this action had taken place before the open of the pit in New York on Monday morning. I mentioned in last weeks report that key upside resistance for Gold would likely target numbers in $25 increments. I truly expected much more out of Gold, following the FED’s announcement to move forward with QE3, and especially after finding out that Japan also went back to the printing press. My target last week was $1800 and possibly $1825. While I was disappointed in the choppy market, I am pleased to see that Gold continues with the trend of using targets with $25 resistance levels. Continue reading "Gold Chart of the Week"

i2k12 Back With a Bang

NFTRH 204 went like this… Crazy talk about the Outer Limits and complete control in the opening segment (It’s All Out the Window Now) and a serious talk about the DML (Dear Monetary Leader), deflationary destruction and the Crack Up Boom in the Wrap Up segment.  In between was a whole lot of nuts and bolts functional analysis of the situation.  Anyway, here’s the other half of the bookend…

Dear Monetary Leader is ushering in a brave new world and we will have to be nimble and ever in possession of a functional filter or better yet, bs detector.  I believe this is it, the beginning of the end game.  It is funny to think that so many months ago this letter had come up with another one of its little buzz phrases in ‘i2k12’ (inflationary 2012), which I had imagined holding sway in the second half of 2012 after the deflation scare had reloaded the will of policy makers to inflate.

Now we are here and I must admit there were times when I was brought to my figurative knees with respect to that view.  That is what markets do; they humble you and challenge you to be the best you can be.  That is probably the biggest reason I love this so much. Continue reading "i2k12 Back With a Bang"

How to Navigate an Economy Weighed Down by Government Meddling and Cronyism

By Doug Hornig, Casey Research

If you wanted to sum up the just-concluded Casey Research/Sprott Inc. Summit titled Navigating the Politicized Economy, you could say "The situation is hopeless but not serious."

More than 20 speakers – many of them world-renowned financial experts and best-selling authors – gathered in Carlsbad, CA, from September 7 to 9 to ascertain exactly how hopeless, and what investors can do to protect themselves.

Casey Chief Economist Bud Conrad reconfirmed – with a blizzard of charts and graphs – that the ship of state is still heading for a fiscal iceberg… and that iceberg looms closer by the day.

The US national debt has far outpaced the government's ability to pay it off. It's unsustainable – and made continuously worse by the Federal Reserve, which pushes more and more debt onto its balance sheet, blowing up an ever-bigger bubble. And with the recent announcement of QE3 – read "money-printing without any limits" – Conrad thinks the resulting pop! will be one that will make the entire globe's ears ring. Continue reading "How to Navigate an Economy Weighed Down by Government Meddling and Cronyism"