Archives for March 2011

March 2011 - Page 4 of 10 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

The U.S. Bull Market: At Two Years and Counting, Here's How to Invest

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The current bull market in U.S. stocks celebrated its second birthday on March 9.

With human beings, a 2-year-old is a lusty toddler with a lot more growing to do. For a bull-market-run in stocks, however – particularly a bull market as vigorous as this one has been – the two-year mark is a good time to start searching for some serious signs of aging.

Don't get me wrong: The U.S. bull market could continue – indeed, it probably will continue for some time to come.

But we are almost certainly much closer to its end than we are to its March 9, 2009 day of birth.

And that reality means that we need to invest in a certain way.

To see Hutchinson's full strategy, please read on…

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Special Report: How to Buy Silver

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Forecasting prices for anything can be tricky. And a precious-metal commodity such as silver is no exception.

With gold holding the leash on its "lapdog" – silver – the performance of the so-called "yellow metal" holds the key to silver prices in the New Year.

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Buy, Sell or Hold: Japan's Disaster Will Create More Turbulence for The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA)

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The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA is one of the largest defense companies on the planet, and it's the backbone of commercial air travel in the United States.

However, the production of the company's signature product – the vaunted 787 Dreamliner – has been delayed countless times, costing the company revenue and credibility.

Now, it's likely to see even more delays as a result of the terrible disaster in Japan.

In my mind, that makes Boeing stock a "Sell" (**).

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Insurance Companies Likely to Survive - And Even Prosper - Following Japan's Earthquake

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With estimates for insured losses from Japan's March 11 earthquake ranging from $12 billion to $35 billion, many investors have lost faith in reinsurance companies that have exposure to the stricken island nation.

But despite having to make some significant payouts, reinsurers ultimately may prosper from the disaster.

"Reinsurers typically benefit from a major disaster that's big enough to affect prices but not big enough to kill the industry," Karl Huber, a fund manager at Pioneer Investments in Munich, told Bloomberg Business Week. "That's the business of reinsurance."

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Japan Disaster Update: Crisis Investing Strategies From Money Morning's Top Experts

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The Group of Seven (G-7) nations today (Friday) joined together to sell Japanese yen, a currency-weakening intervention move that's aimed at helping Japan deal with the after-effects of last week's earthquake and tsunami, and a nuclear power plant problem that could end up as one of the worst ecological disasters in history.

Japanese authorities apparently requested the assistance, according to a statement issued by the G-7 after a morning conference call between members.

The G-7 said that "in response to recent movements in the exchange rate of the yen associated with the tragic events in Japan, and at the request of the Japanese authorities, the authorities of the U.S., the U.K., Canada and the European Central Bank will join with Japan, on March 18, in concerted intervention in exchange markets."

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$2,500 Gold Prices: Double Market Returns as China's Gold Fever Breaks Records

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$2,500 Gold Prices: Double Market Returns as China's Gold Fever Breaks Records Inflation risk is driving "explosive" buying of physical gold in China, putting the country on a path to becoming the world's number one gold consumer and driving demand for the yellow metal to a 10-year high. And the country's insatiable yearning for the […]

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Why Japan is a "Buy"

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With a magnitude of 9.0, the March 11 earthquake in Japan was the worst in that country's 300-year history and was the fifth-worst the world has ever seen.

That trembler, coupled with the devastating tsunami that followed, ignited a flurry of fears and caused a two-day sell-off that sent Japanese stocks down 17%. The sell-off wiped out more than $650 billion in shareholder wealth.

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Gold Will Continue to Shine Amid Market Uncertainty

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The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.5% in February from the month before, pushed higher by food and energy costs. The price index for all items climbed 2.1% over the past year.

But many think government-reported inflation numbers don't present an accurate price picture. Some economists estimate the true rate of inflation is closer to 8% or 9%. And those numbers could rise higher as the U.S. Federal Reserve continues to pump billions of dollars into the financial system.

Inflation, coupled with political turmoil in the Middle East, has pushed many investors out of stocks and into commodities. Gold rose to a record $1,445.70 an ounce on March 7. Market uncertainty from the Japan disaster pushed the metal down to $1,380.70 on March 15, but it gained again this week to hover around $1,400 an ounce.

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Disaster in Japan: How Bad Will it Get?

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Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald has spent almost every summer for the past two decades at his family home in Kyoto – which is why he knows Japan in a way that few other U.S. traders could ever hope to.

As part of Money Morning's continued coverage of the disaster in Japan, Fitz-Gerald is sharing those insights with readers. Here are the highlights of a question-and-answer session we held with Fitz-Gerald late yesterday ( Thursday).

For this global-investing guru’s assessment of Japan, please click here.

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