Today's Market
by Dr Invest

Let's start with the good news first. Our bond ETFs, TIP and BND performed well today. We moved from 2.04% total gains for 1/3 of our total portfolio invested in BOND ETFs at closing yesterday to 2.24% total gains at closing today. No, it isn't like gold rising 5% in one day but for a low risk investment, even a 4% gain by the end of the year would be respectable.  As I said in Monday's blog, Jeff Macke said that on average hedge funds had gained only 3.9%  by mid-September of 2012. I explained why the ideal is a perception that is never reached. And the idea of investors and hedgefund managers beating the S&P seldom occurs according to the Harvard Business School.

As stocks continue a decline over the short-term it is easily possible that our bond ETFs could outperform the average gains from a hedge fund. Since it is bad luck to count your gains before they occur, we wait patiently for the stocks bloated by speculators, to lose some of their value.

Gold

Gold is a strange investment. It is a commodity. Not much different than copper, silver, wheat, oil, etc. When the dollar strengthens, for each dollar, you can buy more gold. So gold prices fall. This is what has happened over the past year. The EURO has fallen against the dollar, so the dollar has become stronger. This makes gold less valuable against the strong dollar. Now if the EURO regains strength, gold could soar as the value of the dollar falls. Looking at the chart below, gold has been falling over the past 13 days.



It has been suggested that gold needs to fall to around $1680 - $1660 before starting a rebound. Admittedly, I am no authority on gold, but I am watching the current movement in prices to purchase a 10% position in my portfolio.

THE IRAN FACTOR AND GOLD PRICES

Current tensions are high in the Middle East. Israel is threatening Iran, Iran is threatening the U.S., Syria is in civil strife, Libya radicals have struck the U.S. embassy, yet none of these factors have affected the price of gold. I do think that an attack against Iran by Israel would immediately affect markets worldwide. Stocks would collapse, and gold would immediately become a highly sought after medium. Disaster and fear are good for gold. The expectation that world-wide economic collapse is emminent, is good for gold prices. I think you get the picture here, gold is a contender in the face of conflict. The danger is that if the economy strengthens gold is likely to do what it did in the 80s, falling from nearly $594 per ounce to $272 at its low point. That is a 50% loss! There will be some gains you can keep, but losing 50% of your investment once the dollar re-strenghtens would not be unheard of.

Let me ask, are you strongly convicted that the dollar will fall in value? Remember the dollar is already at an all-time low. Look at the chart below:

As the dollar began to strengthen in March, gold turned down. Gold struggled until August as the strength of the dollar remained high. But when the dollar began to weaken against a strengthening EURO, gold began to immediately rise. Gold began to turn over as the dollar began to strengthen once again. I am thinking this is a temporary downturn in gold and it that gold will rebound as Bernanke continues to PRINT MONEY (through liquidity), devaluing the dollar.

This chart demonstrates the complete commitment our government has to continue the printing of money. While this gives governments leighweigh to pay past debts, it also increases inflation and strangles growth from high interest. So, prepare to protect your portfolio by getting 10% or even 20% of your portfolio in gold. By all means, do put a stop-sell/stop-loss on your investment to protect your potential losses. I will NOT be willing to lose 14% of my investment. I will look to buy when there is a gain possible and then to hold on to the gains.

 

(Note: The above article is for entertainment purposes only and not to be used as investment advice.)

Today's Market
by Dr Invest

Hold on! We are getting ready to see an ugly and riled market, punishing investors who failed to understand the depth of her wrath. Now, this may not be the exact moment of a market melt down, but the S&P is at an all-time high since 2007. We can assume that either the market will climb higher OR that the market will fall. Eventhough Bernake has promised an unlimited QE-3, it doesn't seem like we have the economic growth to sustain a continued market rally.

Today, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said, "The Federal Reserve's latest monetary stimulus will not do much to boost economic growth or lower unemployment and raises the risk of longer-run inflation." The early market rally collapsed with the bad news. Plosser said he believes many of the impediments to bringing down the nation's 8.1 percent jobless rate are structural in nature and therefore not amenable to monetary policy solutions. Plosser argued that a proposal by one of his colleagues to set numerical targets or thresholds for unemployment and inflation that would govern the Fed's behavior would not work. "I believe that using thresholds or triggers could easily put us behind the curve, if we have a tendency to underestimate future inflation," Plosser said. He urged policymakers to show humility about the limits of monetary policy's ability to affect economic growth, suggesting policymakers have already reached the outer bounds of useful stimulus.

In spite of the warning, investors will soon forget what Plosser said pushing the market higher and higher on speculation. It may take a week, but the rush will be on to make more and more gains. But at some point, if the fundamentals don't strenghten, the market will collapse. Most importantly, an economist asked a simple question, "If the market is doing so well, regaining ground in so many sectors, why would Bernanke need to commit to such an intense Quantitive Easing Program?

Our Bond Portfolio Position

You can go back to May's blog to learn how I entered a bond position. Utilizing the Ivy Portfolio combined with seasonal charts for a 31 year period, I purchased two ETFs (exchange traded funds) TIP and BND. These can be purchased in minutes and sold in minutes. The bond position was entered in three stages to limit losses. TIP and BND was bought at the first of each month, as long as the price of the TIP and BND did not fall below the 217day SMA (simple moving average).

The gains for TIP and BND have been challenged by the hopefulness of Quantitive Easing. You will remember that when stocks GO DOWN, bond move up. Stocks have only gone up since mid-July, hurting the performance of TIP and BND. Over the past two weeks, TIP and BND have seen increasing gains.

Today, the 1/3 of our portfolio we had invested in bonds, ended at 2.04%, averaging roughly 1/2% per month. This is better than most CDs (certificate of deposits) would return. I expect to get at least another 1% of gains before the end of the year from this position and I am hopeful that I will end the year closer to 4% gains for 1/3 of my portfolio.

Positioning for Stock Opportunities

I don't see safe opportunities for the purchase of stocks right now. I am expecting a decline in stocks until the end of October. Still, there is nothing in this market that is rational, so when we get to the end of October, we will look for buying opportunities. If there are adverse market conditions, I will let you know at that time how I am positioning myself.

Inverse ETFs

Rather than giving you a list of INVERSE ETFs here, let me send you to an article that can help you identify invserse ETFs. http://www.tradermike.net/inverse-short-etfs-bearish-etf-funds/ Called INVERSE or SHORT ETFs, if a CLEAR-CUT bear market is underway you can buy a market index fund that gains as the market falls. So a DOW INVERSE INDEX would gain 40% if market fell 40%. Please understand...this is pure gambling (speculation). You can't possibly know where a falling market will end. On the other hand, you can determine that a market is strengthening and judge whether the market will continue in a more or less upward trend. If there is a strong down trend in the market, you can purchase a 1x, a 2x, or even a 3x ETF for a number of different sectors. This means that if the market falls 40%, you could can 40% with a 1x ETF or 80% with a 2x ETF or 120% with a 3x ETF.  So choose your poison. Because Bernanke is willing to throw 40 billion a month at stimulus, you can't be sure that a down trend will not stop prematurely, ruining your INVERSE POSITION. Bottomline, inverse ETFs are for TRADERS, not investors. To use an INVERSE EFT is to gamble your money. Yes, Jesse Livermore, the world's greatest trader made millions shorting stocks in the great depression, but the out come of his life was failure.

Gold

Gold has temporarily stalled with a strengthening dollar. Like stocks, we really need to see a little pullback before investing into gold. Gold is on my watchlist.

(Note:The above article is for entertainment purposes only and not to be used as investment advice.)
 

Today's Market
by Dr Invest

On Friday, I had expressed my reluctance to enter a gold position because of a strengthening dollar and falling gold price. The price of gold has remained flat or what we call a sideways movement. In all fairness to gold, there has been what is called a "Golden Cross" where the 50 day simple moving average rises about the 200 day simple moving average. See the chart below:

In mid April, the 50 day SMA fell below the 200 day SMA. Gold prices also fell. Gold prices rallied in mid-August, turning into a sideways movement in mid-September. You can see the "Gold Cross" was made on September 20th. The expectation is for gold to decline in price and then resume an uptrend.

So the waiting around to get a gold position is simply to gain a few extra points by buying after gold has lost some of its previous momentum. Secondly, a "Golden Cross" doesn't always guarantee the continuation of a rally in a commodity or stock.

WIRED TO SEE SUCCESS

A Psychologist, studying the mind of stock brokers, noted that stock brokers mostly remembered their successful trades, instead of their failing trades. Perhaps, the psychologist suggested, this helps us see opportunities over risks.

2012 is a perfect year to put this theory to the test. Our feeling is that stock brokers are making money "hand over fist". The S&P is up almost 12% for 2012, and we assume that people who have stayed in the market are also up 12%.

Jeff Macke, one of Yahoo's talking heads, said that Hedge Funds on average were up only 3.9%. When you consider average, this means some were higher and others were lower. People I have been talking with are not seeing 12% returns on their investments and in fact, some people have lost value in their investments.

This discrepancy between the REAL RETURN and ASSUMED RETURN confuses the typical investor. When you hear the S&P has gained 12% for 2012, you assume your portfolio has also gained. This is not always true because your money isn't typically invested into the TOTAL MARKET.

Another problem is that most investment adviser's picks under perform the market index. When you combine this with portfolio fees and adviser fees, you can easily be spending 2% to 4% in total management fees. Throw in adjustment for inflation, which Bernanke is trying to keep at 2%, and you could possibly loose 6% of your gains. From 1995-1998 we saw 20% gains per year, but as the gains in the market decline, you could actually loose money. For example: a year where the total market gains only 6% would leave you with no gains; a year where the total market gain is only 4% would leave you with a loss of 2%.

So some of my friend's confusion is warranted. This blog is only suggesting that if a person carefully invested, using a balanced portfolio, and setting stop-loss/stop-sells on their investment positions, they could erase the costs of  a financial adviser and many management fees. This could add an additional 4% of annual returns. Furthermore, this blog suggests that consulting with a financial adviser on an hourly basis is a MUST. This can be helpful in determining the best position for your portfolio and tweaking it from time to time. When you have enough experience and are seeing profitable returns in your own portfolio, you won't need the consultation any longer.  But be careful, a financial adviser will want to SELL YOU SOMETHING. Be sure to make it clear, I am not moving my portfolio, I am only seeking your advice on my current investment positions. Remember his goal is to SELL, SELL, SELL. That is how he affords the expensive office, luxury lunches, and newest mercedes. He got those things from people who he sells his products. Don't buy the products, buy information. Most reputable advisors will work with you.

Gotta go! Remain patient.

(Note: the above information is for entertainment purposes only and not to be used as investment advice.)







 

Today's Market
by Dr Invest

Ho Hum! The past two weeks have, well, been pretty blah. I certainly was considering a purchase of gold (IAU) on Thursday, but a strengthening dollar made for some declining gold prices. Gold falling to around $1675 would be a perfect setup for a buy into gold. My reluctance to take a position in gold was warranted, since gold was moving sideways.

Take a look at the chart below from September 13 until present.



This could be just a moment of consolidation, leading to the resumption of a rising price or a stagnation, leading to a temporary fall in gold prices. Even should gold fall temporarily, I think there will be enough stress in the market to bring rising gold prices over the next year.

Simply said, I am still looking for an entry point to purchase IAU. Market volatility over the next year will do the rest.

OUR BOND PORTFOLIO

Both TIP and BND in our Bond Portfolio now sits at a gain of 1.86%. Thank you Bernanke for limiting the potential gain in bonds.

There is really nothing to do here but speculate and day trade. If you want to take some enormous risks for gaining a lot of money or losing a lot of money, now is the opportunity. Taking these kind of risks is not INVESTING but gambling.

Please, if you need someone to gamble for you, I'd be glad to use your money. In this blog though, I am using my own money and I am fully invested in what you are reading about on this blog. Let me make it clear, I am not planning on losing money. I use stop-sells to limit my losses and carefully look for seasonal trends and proven trading methods that improve my gains. I am interested in individual stocks that bring consistent returns, but the real gains are found in little known stocks that have a proven track record.

2012 has shown some remarkable gains, soley upon the hopes of a QE-3 by Bernanke. I did not invest in stocks in January and by March cracks began forming in the stock market completely collapsing by May. Renewed hints at a QE by Bernanke brought speculators to bid up the DOW and S&P from almost no gains in 2012 to an all time year high by the end of August.  Cracks began to appear yet again in the market, with Bernanke initiating an unlimited QE-3. Bernanke's new promise is that growth will never fall below 2% and that he will stimulate as long as is needed into 2015 to keep the economy above stall speed.

This is just what Wall Street had hoped for, now there is no need to worry about a substantial collapse in the market because every day is Christmas day in the Wall Street world. Think about this for a moment. People making over $250,000 are to play taxes in the U.S. and people who are paying taxes are the only people who have the most invested in the stock market. What a racket, the government in the U.S. are using money of the wealthy to sustain the percieved bull market. It's a beautiful world.

(Note: the above article is for entertainment purposes only and not to be used as investment advice.)
 

Today's Market
by Dr Invest

Sorry for the delay but I've just returned from St Louis. Since Bernanke's promised QE-3 the market has been all over the place. First, a tepid market increase showing an approval of Bernanke's promise and then some down days as the market faced up to the reality that the world economy is slowing.

I really don't want to rain on any one's parade but we have a declining economy with high hopes of a recovery... or high hopes of continued stimulus feeding the stock market at the tax payer's expense. Perhaps from the perspective of the U.S. government, let the rich be taxed and let them pay for their own market rally. It is the perception that "we are doing fine" that is more important than the reality that the total world economy is spinning downward to a halt.

Did I ever mention that NEWS ORGANIZATIONS lie? Well government joins right in, feeding the public with misinformation as well. In the end, it is only a lie. Look at the chart below:


I don't care how much you crow about a recovering U.S. market and industry exploding into a new decade of productive growth; unless people are buying, there is no real reason for manufacturing to hire and get their machines humming.

This chart shows SHIPMENTS in the U.S. verses the GDP as projected by the Federal Government. Which line do you feel tells the real story? Is it GDP or SHIPMENTS? We are barely soaring above ZERO in our GDP with proclamations of renewed growth, while no one is really buying a whole lot as shown by shipments. (at least as shown by the actual amount of shipments)

Let's look at gasoline consumption at the chart below:

We are looking at the summer months for June, July, and August. At the bottom are the years. So at the height of the recession in 2008/2009, you can see our consumption of gasoline. Does it worry you that our total consumption of gasoline is lower in 2012 than in 2008? There are only two possible reasons for this, either we have the most fuel effcient cars known to man or we are driving less and working less. Less trucks delivering goods, less sales persons making calls, less heavy construction building and erecting. 

Already gasoline consumption is down, even below that of a recessionary economy. This is why gasoline has remained at such low prices. There is not a significant demand for gasoline, so prices remain low. We don't really know just how much the price of gasoline will be inflated because gasoline is now in a deflationary state. What is most alarming is that the low gasoline usage is indicative of a recession.

At least in theory, the stimulus by the FED is the only reason the current GDP remains slightly above ZERO.

PRESENT CONCERNS

Saber rattling in the Middle East and a potential conflict between the U.S. and Iran will easily derail an already fragile economy. The EUROTRIBE continues their recession in full force. And China moves quickly toward their own economic slow down.

A number of economists are predicting stocks to advance dramatically in 2013. This doesn't seem reasonable in light of the "real economic condition", but everyone can hope. And if the economy were to pull ahead in 2013, one would have to ask: "Where would all this economic energy come from?". This is the fundamental problem, you can't have a surge in growth without a surge in spending. No jobs, no income, no spending. What part of that do you not understand. Eventhough there is a rise in housing purchases, it indicates a rise in borrowing rather than a rise in spending. For example: the government could give free loans to every family in the U.S. In weeks, every family would have borrowed money to buy houses, but this doesn't reflect "real spending".  Now if each family could pay CASH for 20 million houses, it would indicate "real spending" and be a real stimulus to the economy. This is in-part why stimulating with borrowed money cannot really spur the economy.

OUR PORTFOLIO

Our investment into a BOND PORTFOLIO shows a gain of 1.94%. This is better than a Certificate of Deposit would return, but less than the 4% to 6% hoped for in 2012. Admittedly, 2012 is not over and we have a good 4 more months of potential gains. (Investment into TIP and BND using Ivy Portfolio method.)

GOLD, GOLD, GOLD

Now may finally be a gold buying opportunity. Let me mention the problems of a gold investment first. Gold is still in the negative for 2012, but this represents a buying opportunity. Gold is a commodity and should a powerful recession begin, ALL commodities will be start by being deflated including gold. If the economy did revive, gold could fall against the dollar's rising value as it has done for the past nine months.

In my mind, the postives out-weigh the negatives. Gold has been low, it should go up in value. Benanke, promising to spend billions to stimulate the market is equivilent to saying, "I'm gonna print money!". This means INFLATION. Gold should do well in the face of inflation. The threat of war with Iran or Korea also bades well for gold. At this point, I see every reason to own gold and would recommend 10% to 15% of the shinny metal to be in your long-term portfolio.

The Ivy Portfolio

We presently have 1/3 of our portfolio in BND and TIP, with a 1.94% gain. We are holding 33.3% to invest in STOCKS at the end of October and 33.3% to be held in cash. It is from the 33.3% in CASH, that we are going make an investment in gold.

As painful as this may sound, I don't suggest that you hold the actual metal. Brokerage fees can reach 20% when buying and selling the stuff. Second, Marc Faber rightly suggests that the good old U.S. may confiscate gold to insure a fair valuation for the DOLLAR. In case you had forgotten, go back an review your American History and Executive Order 6102 by Franklin Roosevelt banning gold. Did you really think you'd be allowed to keep your gold while the government devalues everyone's dollar bills? History does repeat itself and yes, you will either turn in your gold or face a stiff prison sentence. Gold or jail, you choose!

The ETF, GLD has been the workhorse for investors, but over longer periods of time the fees will be higher. A favorite is presently IAU (iShares Gold Trust) and is a good way to own gold and sell gold inexpensively and quickly. In the past month, IAU has returned 9.12%. It would seem that if the economy inflates, gold will continue to climb; and if war ensues, gold will rise; and if the dollar falls in value, gold will still rise.

Tomorrow, we will add a little gold to our portfolio, but being careful to set a stopsell to limit our losses. I expect that gold may fall some and then regain its losses by the end of the year. So this is more of a long-term investment, a hedge against inflation/catastrophic events.

FOLLOW ALONG

Keep reading my blog and please feel free to sign up as a follower of my blog. You can contact me at !drinvest@mail.com! with exclamation points removed if you have any questions.

(Note: the above information is for entertainment purposes only and not to be used as investment advice.)
















 

Today's Market
by Dr Invest

This has to be one of the oddest of moments in economic history. There are no words to describe a world economy so close to the bring of disaster, yet seemingly barrelling ahead under full steam.

Money is being dumped into the world economies by the central banks, enhancing bankers portfolios, but having little long-term effect. For the moment, the central banks have held off the realities of government bankruptcy, while politicians reward their citizens with more entitlements that the governments know they cannot pay. The central bankers are caught in this circle, having to print more to keep world-wide governments from faltering. (To big to fail.)

When does the insanity stop? It makes one want to buy gold and go crawl into a hole. CNBC reported:

Global markets rallied on confirmation that the European Central Bank (ECB) had signed off on a highly anticipated, unlimited bond-buying program, however, experts remain skeptical on how long the euphoria will last. The program - called Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT), aimed at lowering borrowing costs for governments struggling with unsustainable debt levels - involves the purchases of sovereign bonds in the secondary market with maturities of up to three years for countries implementing approved fiscal austerity measures.

According to Jim Nelson, Portfolio Manager at Euro Pacific Capital, the recent upside in risk assets is a case of "unjustified optimistic frenzy." In a note titled "European Central Bank's Bond Buying Changes Nothing," Nelson says without significant support from surplus nations like Germany and the Netherlands, the central bank will accomplish little more than "spinning its wheels," adding that there is no certainty such support is forthcoming.

Germany has demonstrated a lot of resistance to expanding the euro zone's bailout fund. In fact, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann was the only member of the ECB's 23-member Governing Council to vote against the bond-buying proposal. Weidmann on Thursday said the program is "tantamount to financing governments by printing banknotes," adding that it may encourage countries to postpone necessary reforms.

When you read this, it should make your blood run cold. Smoke and mirrors cannot change fundamental problems of governments initiating entitlements without tax revenues to support them. At least for the short-term, central banks can manipulate the market. But where central bank manipulation has occurred, the economy has returned back to the fundamentals that support it. In simple language, a stimulus program cannot cure an ailing and failing economy. With a failing job report for August, September's job reports are likely not much better. Yesterday's elation is today's sadness.

GOOD NEWS

TIP and BND fell dramatically yesterday, but has regained most of the losses here at noon. The bond portfolio had set at 1.76% and now sits at 1.70%. The possibility is that the bond portfolio with re-gain the losses from Thursday.

GOLD MOVING

Gold has begun to move again. As many of you know, I have been reluctant to recommend gold because of the dismal returns for 2012. But in the past thirty-days gold has performed well. Below is the gold price chart.



Gold is still down almost 9% for the year, but holding 10% gold in your portfolio could bring a positive result in the days ahead.

Keep the faith and add wisdom. Careful investing and sticking to your investment method will return the best results. We will think about adding stocks to our portfolio at the end of October if there is an opportunity for an uptrend in stocks. Keep your stop-sell on all your investments. Don't take a loss.

(Note: The above information is for entertainment purposes only and not to be used as investment advice.)



 

Today's Market
by Dr Invest

I know you have been there before, as though locked in time, you wait for the enevitable wreck that is about to ocur. It just may be, that the world's central banks have everything under control, but for the investors stocks surge forward one day while bonds retreat; then the next day bonds surge forward while stock retreat. The choppy market, though rising higher, creates greater losses for investors as governments compete with the investor in buying bonds and their inflation of currencies. (called liquidity)

Today the market has soared on the PROMISE that Draghi and the ECB (European Central Bank) would make bonds available to guarantee the EURO's monetary success. This means that Spain and Italy would have a readied financial resource for more borrowing of money to keep their economies afloat. On that news the market saw gains nearing 2%.

Part of the problem all along has been the cost of bonds (loans) to the failing economies of Greece, Spain, and Italy. Imagine you, getting a loan at 25% interest. Each year, if you don't payoff the loan, your debt rises 25% and in four years, your debt doubles. Yet, the problem is that you have to keep buying bonds (borrowing) each year to pay for all the services your government is providing its citizens. So besides the interest you have an ever increasing debt. Perhaps you can pay down 75% of the debt the first year; but the second year, you can only paydown 55%; and then the third year you can only paydown 35%; finally, the fourth year you are underwater 10%. You get the picture. And this is what has happened to Greece, Spain, and Italy. The way the governments are economically structured has to be changed. There is no such thing as a limitless supply of money for these countries to borrow who are financially underwater.

Like a business that has a herd of executives, paid six figure salaries and awarded million dollar bonuses each year whose salaries are solely dependent upon BONDS offered to investors, so too are governments continuing business as normal as BONDS (loans) are their only hope of remaining financially viable in governing .

Regardless the promises by Bernanke or Draghi or any central bank, there has to be substance to their promises. Yes, these promises have bought time and may continue to do so at the expense of investors, but at some place and at some time governments will have to practice fudicury responsibility and spend less than they get from taxes to pay back all the bonds. (Loans)

You can't keep the entitlements coming and pay for them without increased taxes; and where there are increased taxes there is also reduced economic growth. The wheels are slowly decreasing their speed and unless economic drag is removed, the wheels with eventually stop.

(Note: the above information is for entertainment purposes only and not to be used as investment advice.)
 

Today's Market
by Dr Invest


Happy Labor Day!  DeJaVu reappears with the world economies waiting for the stimulus that they think must invariably come. Bernanke said... no more stimulus for now, but we will be watching the economy and should it slow we are prepared to act.

Some immediately responded by getting out of stocks and others responded by wildly buying more stocks. Demands are being made of China to do their own stimulus to get their economy going again. It seems that if all other economies inflate their currencies and China doesn't, the other currencies will fall against the Yen.

China is in no hurry to inflate their currency. Yes, growth has slowed in China, but only to 6%. Quite frankly, a stimulus program in China is stupid and they know it! It is just the other countries that think that China must do something.

Although out market is closed, world markets rose in anticipation that World Central Banks have no other options but to stimulate. The stimulus option in 2012 has been largely "smoke and mirrors". No real stimulus package has been implimented and the market has risen almost solely on the hopes of a stimulus.

That's about all there is to report. I remain solidly invested in TIP and BND. (see May) There has been some growth in this position, but competition with the Fed in the purchase of bonds ruins the posibility of great returns for the investor. For now, I am keeping to my investment strategy and expecting a 4 to 6% gain by the end of 2012. Even a 2% gain will beat a CD at the bank, so I am not particularly worried.

Finally, listen to EX-STOCK BROKER Realized most of what he did was bad for clients.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/ex-stock-broker-realized-most-did-bad-clients-134422604.html

(Note:The above information is for entertainment purposes and not to be used as investment advice.)