Newsletters
The Great F.A. Hayek
“If we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification for the use of coercion.” –Friedrich August von Hayek The great Austrian School economist provides us with some much-needed words of caution, particularly in light of the current notion that […]
ETF Talk: Not Your Father
Precious metals such as gold and silver have enjoyed a strong move higher in recent months, so the roll out of two new funds focused on other precious metals is worth highlighting. I like funds to establish a minimum volume before I recommend them, so I simply will keep an eye on these funds for […]
Obama, Bernanke and Geithner on the Hot Seat
It’s not easy being in power when the electorate is riled up. President Obama certainly found that out last week in Massachusetts, where the election of Republican Scott Brown to the vacant seat of the late Ted Kennedy shattered his party’s filibuster-proof supermajority in the U.S. Senate. This week, another political luminary found out that […]
Is This the Start of Something Big?
It was the first really rough week in over 10 months. Yes, I’m talking about the nearly across-the-board selling we witnessed in stocks last week — a sell-off that slammed the major market indices approximately 4% lower. The S&P 500 Index actually broke below its short-term, 50-day moving average last week, a clear sign that […]
Orwellian Wisdom
“There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them.” –George Orwell The profundities emanating from the great George Orwell are nearly limitless. Here, we have the supremely intelligent novelist poking fun at those who are so smart that they are able to convince themselves that wrong ideas are […]
It’s Time to Squeeze Some Lemons — Q4, 2009
It’s time again for our quarterly lemon-squeezing ritual. That’s right, it’s time for us to expose the worst-performing mutual funds for what they really are — sour investment vehicles that will make your portfolio pucker. For Q4, 2009, the Mutual Fund Lemon List contains 1,566 mutual funds totaling $651 billion in assets! Now, to be […]
ETF Talk: Is Energy Running out of Steam?
With the energy sector exhibiting a second-straight year of weakened demand, the situation could be appealing to investors who may be willing to short utilities in a search for quick profits. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs), such as ProShares UltraShort Utilities (SPD), are available to allow aggressive investors to bet on a retreat in utility stocks. The […]
Investment Themes for 2010, Part 5 — Oil & Water
Oil and Water: they’re two elements that, chemically speaking, do not mix. Yet, both do mix nicely as one investment theme I’m watching in 2010. Let’s take a look at each separately here, as they both represent potential opportunities for profits down the road. In the case of oil, we know it’s the lifeblood of […]
Keep Your Eyes on the Four Horsemen
The market was up big on Tuesday, and down big on Wednesday. This kind of back-and-forth in equities is, I suspect, a harbinger of things to come over the next quarter. I think that we have to face the fact that buyers and sellers are going to do battle for the heart and mind of […]
Hemingway, the Financial Advisor
“Hesitation increases in relation to risk in equal proportion to age.” –Ernest Hemingway The great novelist stumbled upon a truism when it comes to investing. That truism is that as you get older, you’ll want to take less risk, especially with your money. If you’re at a stage in life where you want to protect […]
Jim Woods is a 30-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor.
His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. Read more about Jim Woods.
