In our Money Map Report "2012 Investors Forecast," we tell you all about these Micro Booms - and spotlight the very best investment opportunities for the New Year.

To read our report, which identifies several more of these profit cyclones, please click here.

News and Related Story Links:

• Money Map Report “2012 Investor’s Forecast:”
  Micro Boom Investing Report.

We knew we wanted to do something special for you - our subscribers.

And once November gave way to December - meaning the start of the New Year was just around the corner - I knew just what to do.

I went to our five superlative investment gurus and asked each one this same, simple question: "If you look at your trading services, what's your single-best investment idea for the New Year?"

Each of our experts gave me just what I asked for.

All five experts - Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald, retired hedge-fund manager Shah Gilani, international energy consultant Dr. Kent Moors, global-investing guru Martin Hutchinson, and gold-mining expert Peter Krauth - run their own specialized trading services. These services are very exclusive: Subscribers pay hundreds - even thousands - of dollars per year for the advice and recommendations they receive.

Private Briefing subscribers get access to some of those recommendations - for just $5 a month.

At my request, each expert studied his portfolio, identified the stock that he believes will be the best performer in the New Year, and shared the logic behind his choice.

Now I can present those recommendations - and the accompanying analysis - to you.

So let's take a look at each pick.

And we'll start with the gold-mining stock that nobody's ever heard of - but that every investor should own ...

(This report is exclusive to Private Briefing members. Not yet a subscriber? Get today's special report- and all Private Briefing privileges - for just $5. If you're an existing Private Briefing subscriber, you'll find the report already posted and waiting for you once you've logged in.)

The Lowdown on SIPO Stock Profits

Just how profitable are SIPO stocks? For nine straight years and counting, stocks in this obscure market niche (and one that's government-regulated, at that), have trounced the Standard & Poor's 500 Index by a stunning margin of more than 3-to-1. They've generated an aggregate return of 170%, compared with 50% for the broad-based S&P, according to Bloomberg LP.

And SIPO stocks don't just trounce the broad indices; they also outperform such popular investment sectors as technology, healthcare and energy - and quite handily, too.


On one level, it's easy to understand why these stocks generate such huge returns. You see, they are a distant cousin to initial-public-offering (IPO) stocks - the glamorous category of newly public shares that can notch explosive gains in their first days of trading.

But because they are such distant cousins, there are also some major differences between IPOs and SIPOs. First and foremost, while winning IPOs often grab headlines with stratospheric first-day gains, most IPO deals don't enjoy that kind of success. And that can make IPOs a very risky proposition.

Second, the good IPO deals are almost impossible for retail investors to get a piece of. And even if you do get into a good deal, your allotment is likely to be small.

None of that is true with SIPO stocks.

Indeed, there are three factors that make most SIPO stocks quite profitable - a reality that makes them an alluring play for the typical Main Street retail investor. SIPO stocks are:

• Plentiful: Although there are probably a maximum of 30 SIPO stocks that come available in any given year, the fact that the category - or its profit potential - isn't widely understood outside Wall Street means that you will be able to obtain a position in any one you want. In fact, for the most part, you can buy these on the open market - none of this having to get in line or seeking an allotment of shares. In short, with SIPO stocks - unlike their IPO brethren - you can decide how many shares you want to own, and when you want to buy them.
• Predictable: Ironically, a federal financial regulation governs what institutions can hold them, and in what quantity. For someone who understands how to analyze these stocks, that fact alone makes it fairly easy to predict SIPO-stock performance - as a group and on an individual basis.
• Profitable: In fact, had I not been trying to stay with the whole "P"-themed alliteration motif here, I would have labeled this sub-section as "highly profitable." Study after study demonstrates that SIPO stocks are strong performers - and can even show investors the optimum time to buy them after they become available. The stocks themselves tend to be strong performers - and many end up being takeover targets, capping off a nicely profitable holding period with a huge final windfall.

A Unique Opportunity

So what's the catch?

Actually, there really isn't one. But there are some considerations - some issues to keep in mind to make sure you make the very best of this largely ignored profit opportunity.

First and foremost, although there are many SIPO opportunities each year, the big trick is really separating the treasure from the trash.

Then there's the timing issue. The federal rule that regulates the SIPO-stock holdings of institutional investors actually gives you an advantage over Wall Street - really one of the only instances of any kind where that's true. To capitalize on - and to maximize - that advantage, you need to buy at just the right time.

Finally, there is a strategic element. In addition to the normal issues such as which one, when, and how much to buy, the very predictability of SIPO-stock trading patterns will sometimes present a "double-gain" opportunity that you won't find with any other kind of stock.

In those cases - though this is a vast oversimplification - you might actually want to "short" the shares initially, profiting from an expected decline; then you would turn around and buy the shares, profiting the second time when their prices increase as expected.

There are even opportunities to use options as a proxy for the actual shares, both to manage risk and to magnify profits.

This is the real beauty of SIPO stocks: No matter what your income level, portfolio size or risk-tolerance happens to be, you will find a low-risk/high-profit investment opportunity available to you in this little-known stock-market niche. And beginning investors and sophisticated individual investors alike will both find that the coveted advantage over Wall Street is there to be exploited.

But it is worth having a guide - especially someone who knows the back passages and secret trap doors of that hallowed financial center known as Wall Street.

Just ask Gilani, an old Wall Street hand himself - and one who will be glad to be your guide.

Said Gilani: "There aren't many investment opportunities that flower like SIPOs - over and over again."

For more specifics on SIPO stocks, as well Gilani's insights on how to play them, please click here.

• "How to Profit From $120-a-Barrel Oil." (Aug. 11).
• "Earn 8.5% While You Wait For This 50% Oil Gain." (Aug. 31).
• "A Dream Pick in the U.S. Energy Sector." (Sept. 15).
• "The Best Tar Sands Play I've Ever Seen." (Sept. 9).
• "It's Time to Start Bargain Hunting." (Sept. 8).
• "The Energy Stock to Buy Now." (Aug. 19).

When the 800-pound gorilla of Wall Street starts pushing energy as a top investment idea, you can bet others on "The Street" will follow suit. Knowing what Goldman Sachs is up to means it's time for you to get serious about your energy-related investments.

In Private Briefing, we told readers first - and we showed them how to profit.

Given our repeated predictions that oil prices will soar, you can expect that many recommendations are still to come.

And at only $5 a month for daily access to the best current thinking of our global-investing experts - who operate their own investment-advisory services that cost thousands of dollars a year - it's hard to see how you can go wrong.

To find out more about Private Briefing, please click here.

News and Related Story Links:

• Channel News Asia:
  Goldman Sachs Tips Oil to Hit $130 in 12 Months.
• Money Morning:
  How High Oil Prices Will Fuel Europe's Next Economic Crunch
• Money Morning:
  Cash in on the "Takeover Mania" in the Gold-Mining Sector With These Two Stocks

Up to now, gold-mining stocks have lagged gold prices. That's been a puzzle to gold bugs and institutional investors alike: After all, profits have been strong - and with gold prices still not far below their record highs, that doesn't figure to change.

Indeed, institutional investors are even speculating (amongst themselves, of course) that a takeover frenzy is about to sweep the industry.

For that to happen, however, gold prices have to remain above the $1,500-an-ounce level - something most investors have grown increasingly fearful isn't going to happen.

We know differently.

We Know Gold Prices Are Headed Higher

Powerful trends are in place to steady gold prices in the near term - and to send prices higher in the longer term. And that means gold remains a solid long-term profit play. And the same is true for gold-mining stocks - provided you pick the right ones.

In today's (Tuesday's) issue of Private Briefing - in a report entitled "A "Tidal Wave' of Takeovers is Headed Our Way" - we'll show you how we know gold prices are headed higher.

In fact, they have to - and we can prove it.

And while you're there, check out Monday's Private Briefing report "The Brewing "Takeover Mania' in Gold-Mining Stocks," in which global-resources expert Peter Krauth spotlights two mining companies that are prime takeover candidates.

To find out more, please click here.

News and Related Story Links:

• Money Morning:
  The Outlook for Gold and the Dollar Make Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) a "Buy"
• Money Morning:
  Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) is a Gold Bug's Best Friend
• Money Morning:
  The No. 1 Way to Profit as the Price of Gold Soars Into Record Territory
• Money Morning:
  Short-Term Drop in Gold Prices Overrun by Profit Potential

Monday's slight 0.63% gain in the 30-stock Dow followed a 302-point fall on Friday that dragged the index below the 11,000 level.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is also down this month, losing 4.6%, and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index has fallen 3.3%.

Today wasn't the only time we warned readers that there were rough waters ahead for stocks. In the Sept. 1 edition of Private Briefing, in the report "Investment Plays for the Current Economy," I reminded readers that September (not October) was the absolute worst month for stocks: Since the Dow's creation in 1896, the blue-chip index has lost an average of 1.07% in September - compared to an average gain of 0.71% for all the other months combined.

That differential, or "spread," of 1.78 percentage points is what mathematicians refer to as being "statistically significant at the 95% confidence level."

In that Sept. 1 Private Briefing column, Martin Hutchinson predicted what was ahead for the U.S. economy, and told readers why this September wasn't going to be any better for U.S. stocks. He even detailed a "safety-first" investing strategy he said would help investors navigate the rough waters he said lay ahead.

Before that, as part of our Aug. 11 debut of Private Briefing, our new premium advisory service, we issued a special investment report "The One Safety Play Every Investor Should Make." The report warned subscribers that global uncertainty was certain to boost stock-market volatility, and showed readers how to protect their portfolios from a big decline.

All charter subscribers to the Private Briefing service get that report.

This warning about the tough month for U.S. stocks wasn't the only correct call we've made. In fact, Private Briefing has enjoyed a pretty remarkable first month. In the first four weeks the service has been up and running, we:

• Warned charter subscribers that gold was due for a correction - and showed them how to "insure" their huge profits in gold - just days before gold suffered its third-worst down day in history.
• Recommended a biotech stock that zoomed 25% in the three days after we wrote about it.
• Profiled two different silver stocks that our experts recommended a week apart - and watched as each posted a double-digit advance in a matter of weeks.
• And correctly predicted what the next round of economic reports would say - and outlined an investment strategy that investors could use for the remainder of the year.

This month's plunge in U.S. stocks adds to that list of timely market calls.

To find out more - or to get started accessing those reports - please click here.

News and Related Story Links:

• Money Morning:
  Private Briefing Service
• ETF Trends:
  Stock ETFs Stumble Into September with 5% Loss
• MarketWatch:
  Looking at a scary September
• Bespoke Investment Group:
  September Seasonality

In today's issue of Private Briefing, in the report "What's Next For Gold Prices," frequent Money Morning contributors Martin Hutchinson and Keith Fitz-Gerald provide their surprising forecasts for the "yellow metal."

To find out more about Private Briefing (our newest service), or this gold-price forecast, please click here.

In fact, had you been a Private Briefing subscriber, you could have avoided some of the pain gold investors were forced to endure this week: In a special report on Monday, we warned readers with big profits in gold that it was time to "insure" those gains. We even detailed a hedging strategy that showed the subscribers of our newest service how to do it.

Gold set another record that day - its fifth in six trading sessions - and closed at an all-time high of $1,891.90 an ounce. At that point, the yellow metal had soared 25% from its lows in July. With gold having risen so far so fast, we thought a correction was in the offing, and warned our readers to take action in that Monday in a Private Briefing story.

Gold prices started their skid the very next day. For those who followed our strategy, profits from the "insurance" (hedged position) would have offset losses incurred in their gold holdings.

A subscription to Private Briefing gives readers daily access to up-to-the-minute thinking from our handpicked band of global-investing gurus - and to the best profit opportunities they uncover.

And with the deal we're offering charter subscribers to this new daily service, there's absolutely no reason not to join us. To find out more, please click here.

Just a few days later, the head of a major overseas energy firm announced plans to partner up with the American company and the stock jumped more than 6%.

That's just the beginning, Barnes said.

The company is working on several major projects that could transform this stock into a multi-bagger.

If you aren't a subscriber to Private Briefing, you didn't hear about this U.S. energy company. And with the deal we're offering charter subscribers to this new daily service, there's absolutely no reason not to join us. A subscription gives readers daily access to the up-to-the-minute thinking from our handpicked band of global-investing gurus - and to the best profit opportunities they uncover.

To find out more, please click here.

"The lack of consistency of ratings coming out of S&P is quickly destroying any credibility they had left," Money Morning Global Macro Trends Specialist Jack Barnes said after S&P changed its Google outlook. "Anyone who still uses Standard & Poor's for advice is going to be "Stupid & Poor" quickly. Their value-added services have become the benchmark for horribly wrong analysis."

For a market call like S&P's "Sell Google" to be useful, it needs to be well thought out, and predictive in its focus (ahead of the curve). And it needs to provide investors with a long-term outlook.

"Sell" ratings - arguably the most aggressive of any call an analyst can make - are instituted much too infrequently on Wall Street. But hammering a stock with a "Sell" rating - and only days later lifting it to a "Hold" - achieves none of the afore-mentioned goals.

The only thing that this "Sell Google" affair has accomplished is to whipsaw investors - and create confusion.

S&P had downgraded Google to "Sell" after the No. 1 Internet-search giant stunned the markets with its Aug. 15 announcement that it would buy Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI) for $12.5 billion.

The ratings firm said the acquisition was likely to "negatively impact" Google's growth - and hit Google with the only "Sell" rating among the four dozenanalysts tracked by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Google shares closed at $563.77 on the final trading day before the Motorola deal was announced - and skidded more than 10% in the days that followed, closing Friday at $490.92 each. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 3% during the same period, Reuters reported.

Scott Kessler, the head of technology sector equity research at S&P, told Reuters that the sell-off that hit Google shares following the deal announcement took the stock down below the $500 target that he established when he downgraded it. Though he agreed that it was unusual to see a stock's recommendation change that quickly, the sell-off all but forced the upgrade, he said.

"It's very hard for us to say sell this stock when it's trading below its target price," Kessler told Reuters on Monday.

However, the ratings change does not eradicate the concerns that S&P has about the Motorola deal, he said.

Barnes, a retired hedge-fund manager who also writes our popular "Buy, Sell or Hold" features, has a very different view of Google's long-term outlook: He says the Motorola deal will enable Google to unlock more of its potential, enabling the company to become an even bigger part of our everyday lives as consumers.

That's why Barnes rated Google as a "Buy" in his Aug. 16 "Buy, Sell or Hold" special report in Money Morning.

"When the company announced its plan to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings, Google forced me to make a statement that I honestly thought I'd never make - that "It's time to buy Google'," Barnes said in an interview.

According to Thomson Reuters data (which doesn't include S&P research), Wall Street ratings on Google currently consist of 14 "Strong Buys," 20 "Buys," and five "Holds."

Google shares closed yesterday (Tuesday) at $517.20, up $19.03 each , or 3.82%.

As for S&P, the agency announced Tuesday they are replacing President Deven Sharma with Citibank NA Chief Operating Officer Douglas Peterson. Barnes said flawed actions like the "Sell Google" call and the U.S. credit rating downgrade would likely lead to more personnel changes.

"They are not a political rating agency, and I believe they are going to experience a lesson in the difference before this is over," said Barnes. "I expect the upper management of S&P will continue to leave."

To access Money Morning's "Buy, Sell or Hold" special report on Google, please just click here. The report is available free of charge.



News and Related Story Links:

• Marketwatch.com Market Pulse:
  S&P cuts Google Rating to "Sell."
Money Morning "Buy, Sell or Hold" Special Report:
Why It's Time to Buy Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG).
• Money Morning Special Report:
  How You Can Get a Private Briefing From Our Global-Investing Gurus.
• Private Briefing:
  Official Website.
• Reuters/Yahoo! Finance:
  S&P upgrades Google stock days after "sell" view.
• Money Morning:
  By Downgrading Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), S&P Gets it Wrong - Again.
• Money Morning:
  Sen. Dirksen: Allow Me to Introduce You to Standard &Poor's

Standard & Poor's Equity Research downgraded the shares of Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) from "Buy" to "Sell," saying the merger with Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI) will likely "negatively impact" Google's growth.

S&P also cut its target price for Google shares to $500 from its earlier target of $700.

Needless to say, we think S&P got it wrong - again. (Don't forget, it was another unit of S&P that downgraded U.S. debt earlier this month. That downgrade, to be really credible, should have been announced several years ago, during the height of the global financial crisis.)

Money Morning contributor Jack Barnes, a noted global-macro analyst who also writes our popular "Buy, Sell or Hold"features, has a much different - and much more bullish - take on Google's post-merger future.

Barnes, a retired hedge-fund manager, makes his case for Google in a "Buy, Sell or Hold" special report.

If you're a serious investor, this report will be well worth your time to read.

To access Money Morning's "Buy, Sell or Hold" special report on Google, just click here. The report is available free of charge.




News and Related Story Links:

• Marketwatch.com Market Pulse:
  S&P cuts Google Rating to "Sell."
• Money Morning Special Report:
  Why It's Time to Buy Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG)
• Money Morning Special Report:
  How You Can Get a Private Briefing From Our Global-Investing Gurus.
  
• Private Briefing:
  Official Website.

What if, I thought to myself, we could put you right in the room with us - giving you a virtual ringside seat - when those briefings take place? What if we could bring you some of the ideas these experts are researching for their high-dollar trading services? And what if we could bring you some high-profit-potential investment ideas that we can't bring to the readers in Money Morning (for instance, over-the-counter stocks that aren't widely traded enough to provide to 650,000 readers)?

Last, but not least, I wanted this service - Private Briefing - to be affordable.

Because we're providing access to some premium content, and because we're adding some resources to deliver this additional high-quality content, I knew we had to charge something. But I wanted this service to be accessible to any reader who wanted it.

You'll be stunned - in a good way - when you see how we've priced it.

The more I thought about this, the more excited I became: I knew Private Briefing could be a real winner for readers who wanted to take part.

Subscribers will receive:

• "Best of the Best" Recommendations Five Days a Week from Money Morning's top financial experts including Keith Fitz-Gerald, Dr. Kent Moors, Martin Hutchinson, Shah Gilani, Peter Krauth and Jack Barnes.
• Exclusive Scoops on the biggest movements in the global markets.
• High Value Picks from all market sectors worth potentially 100% to 1,800% in your pocket every day.
• Real-Time Analysis showing you exactly how to play these recommendations.
• Key "Premium" Articles containing added research, analysis, and picks - for Private Briefing members only.
• A Private Briefing Dashboard ... Your personal password-protected toolbox to help you manage and track all your past and present e-mail alerts, recommendations, portfolio picks and premium articles.
• Complete Research Files containing all the research our top editors used to support your recommendations, so you can keep up with their progress.
• Interactive Charts to help you follow your recommendations.
• And an Easy-to-Use Notepad for keeping track of your trades.

Perhaps it's a holdover from my decades in journalism - or maybe it's just the way I'm built - but I can't manufacture enthusiasm about a product that isn't reader-centric, and that I don't believe in. So the mere fact that I've written this column, and topped it with my byline, is a clear signal that I believe we're going to deliver something you'll find very valuable.

Take a few minutes and check out the product, and the special offer we're making for charter members of Private Briefing.

News and Related Story Links:

• Money Morning's Private Briefing:
  Official Website.
• Google Finance:
  Official Website.
• Money Map Press:
  Official Website.
• Money Morning:
  Official Website.
• Yahoo! Finance:
  Official Website.
• MSNMoneycentral:
  Official Website.

As a service to all of you, Money Morning staff members went back through our most recent coverage, and came up with a short list of news stories, analyses and investment reports that we believe will best help you navigate this crisis. Let's call it a "Debt-Crisis Survival Guide."

If you haven't read them already - or feel a refresher read is in order - we suggest you take a look at:

• Safe-Haven Currencies: If You Want to Flee the U.S. Dollar, Here Are Four Places to Hide: This headline of this story by Money Morning columnist and former global merchant banker Martin Hutchinson really says it all.



• A Sovereign-Debt-Default Survival Kit: The Four Countries That Will Keep Their AAA Ratings: The United States may not keep its top-tier AAA credit rating, but a number of other countries will. Hutchinson outlines the four best to look at.



• The No. 1 Way to Profit as the Price of Gold Soars Into Record Territory: When gold crossed the $1,600-an-ounce threshold for the first time earlier this month, our natural-resources guru Peter Krauth told you that the price was going to keep going. He was right. Even if this mess in Washington gets resolved, there's so much inflation already built into this system that gold is certain to be a long-term winner.



• Why China's New Futures Market is Bullish for Long-Term Silver Prices: Money Morning readers who followed our original silver call back in September did very well. After a spring setback, the debt-ceiling debacle is serving as a near-term catalyst for silver prices. Long-term, the outlook is even more bullish - especially because of a potential new catalyst that Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald details in this report.



• Brace for the Worst as Debt Ceiling Crisis Deadline Nears: If you want a preview of what how things could play out and tips on preserving your personal wealth, check out this report by Money Morning Associate Editor David Zeiler.



• Team Bernanke's QE17: A Glimpse of America in 2015: Washington has created one hell of a mess for Main Street Americans. In this report, Hutchinson does a little crystal-ball gazing and paints a picture of what our economy could look like just four short years from now.



• The Next Global Credit Crisis: Why U.S. Banks and Greek Debt Will be the Toxic Trigger: As one columnist shrewdly this week, the debt-ceiling debacle in Washington has made us forget all about the Greek/European debt crisis. Don't make that mistake. The early week deal to bail out Greece is just the latest in a long line of agreements that have proved to be little more than band-aids. And as credit-crisis-expert Shah Gilani shows us in this report, there's a nasty surprise or two that still could head our way from Europe.



• Don't Get Suckered by Wall Street's Wimpy Gold Price Forecasts: Back in June Money Morning warned investors not to get scared our of their gold holdings. And now the yellow metal is traversing new record highs above $1,600 an ounce.

And don't be afraid to ask for more; drop us a line at mailbag@moneymappress to let us know what else you'd like to see.

"Nicole would have been 27 and her birthday was 4/14/83, so that is why we picked 12,414.27," Diane Alkire said. "The fact that he used that as part of his guess - and won - is almost like Nicole reached out and helped us. Maybe it was her way of letting us know that she's watching over us."

Kenneth, a former trucking company entrepreneur, is deployed to a Middle East military base. In fact, he just returned to work there this week after a short visit home. Diane says her husband works 12 hours a day, seven days a week, and gets a two-week break every three to four months. He's been working this job for seven years.

Alkire's most recent visit allowed him to be home on June 30, when the second quarter came to a close. Diane said that she and her husband watched the Dow ticker as the trading day wound down, acknowledging that Kenneth's guess was very, very close. When the adjusted close was posted - and they saw how close his guess was - they believed he might have won. They even allowed themselves a bit of celebratory excitement.

Diane promises the iPad2 will be put to good use - by her.

"I'm going to use it to track my investments," she said with a chuckle.

Second "Predict the Dow" Winner

Money Morning is actually awarding two iPad2s. The second winner - Christopher Gleason, 54-year-old California pharmacist - was chosen via a random drawing.

A veteran investor with more than 20 years of experience in the financial markets, Gleason says one of his secrets is to make a conscious point of avoiding the hype-laden cable-channel investment programs.

Gleason, a Pittsburgh native, learned of his win on his birthday.

"This is a very nice birthday present," Gleason said.

Money Morning will host this contest again. In fact, look for the next "Predict the Dow" contest to take place late in the current quarter.

News and Related Story Links:

• Predict the Dow Contest:
  Official Website.
• Money Morning News:
  Predict the Dow, Win a "Tablet"
• Money Morning:
  Sign-Up Box For the Free Daily E-Letter.
• Money Map Press LLC:
  Product Lineup/Official Website.

But now, here at Money Morning, I'd like to know what you think about all this - and how you would answer this single question:

• What do you think about the job that President Obama and Congress have done during this developing debacle?

To help you craft your answer to that question, here are some key points to consider:

• Has Washington been a help - or a hindrance - as the U.S. economy struggles to rebound from a horrid housing crisis, high unemployment, Wall Street financial debacles, multi-trillion-dollar bailouts, and the mountain of federal debt we now have to deal with?
• Are these fixable problems?
• What will happen if all the political wrangling - especially that related to the federal budget and the debt-ceiling debate - ends up contributing to a cut in the nation's top-tier AAA credit rating?
• Are you worried about the future of this country? How about your personal future, including your current standard of living, and your retirement? Are you afraid of what our children will end up facing?
• And, finally, if you could have an audience with President Obama, our leaders in Congress, or even U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, what advice would you offer?

We really want to hear from you.

Send your answers to mailbag@moneymappress.com. Make sure to write "debt-ceiling debate question" in the subject line of your e-mail. Make sure to check back after that. We'll look to use your comments in Money Morning in the days to come.

News and Related Story Links:

• USA Today:
  Poll: Low ratings for Obama, Congress on debt talks.
• Money Morning:
  A Sovereign-Debt-Default Survival Kit: The Four Countries That Will Keep Their AAA Ratings.
• U.S. Federal Reserve:
  Ben S. Bernanke Bio.
• Money Morning:
  The 2012 Election and the Truth Behind the Debt Ceiling Debate.
• WhiteHouse.gov:
  Barack Obama.
• Money Morning:
  Sorry Mr. Bernanke: There Will be a Double-Dip Recession.

Insights on the Facebook IPO

Gilani found a receptive audience in Varney, the popular FoxBusiness host, who labeled it "an excellent idea for getting investors into Facebook - which nobody can at the moment, unless [they] are a billionaire."

Gilani, a regular Varney guest, had been on the Tuesday show, as well - and the Facebook IPO had been the topic. But when Gilani outlined to "Varney & Co." producers his proposal to distribute shares to Facebook subscribers after his Tuesday appearance ended, Varney himself issued an invitation to return on Wednesday.

Giving Facebook subscribers access to shares at the offering price would actually be simpler than it might seem, Gilani insisted. Facebook could reserve 20% of the IPO shares for Facebook subscribers, and then dole those shares out via a lottery, Gilani said. Without such a reserve, it's a near-certainty that virtually all the Facebook IPO shares will go to wealthy investors - most of whom have connections with the decision-makers at the brokerage houses or investment banks that will receive allocations of the newly minted stock.

Gilani discussed his idea with Bill Singer, a noted New York securities attorney, and the two concluded that the lottery proposal could be put into action.

And altruism doesn't have to be the sole motivation for Zuckerberg, either. The company's most ardent subscribers are likely to be deeply loyal shareholders, too - especially those who get into the Facebook IPO via the lottery. Those folks will probably view the shares as more of a badge of honor than an investment, and will be loathe to dump them during tough times. And that will help put a floor under Facebook's stock price, Gilani insists.

"Most of these people are very likely to hold onto their shares - recognizing that they're part of the social-networking group that broke historic new ground," Gilani said. "Zuckerberg will see that it's just good business."

Facebook is the most anticipated of the current crop of Internet-related firms that are now going public - a group that includes LinkedI n Corp. (NYSE: LNKD), Groupon Inc. and others.

A key factor that will determine the timing of the IPO is a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandate that companies must start publicly disclosing key financial information once they have more than 500 investors.

Because of this rule, Facebook recently disclosed that it would likely start filing those disclosures "no later than April 30, 2012."

Gilani intends to push this idea.

"Mark Zuckerberg should stand up and say: ‘This is what social-networking is all about.' He should be the point man," Gilani said. "You're already a pioneer. How about doing this for your Second Act. You're already a billionaire, you're already one of the richest men in the world. You've already done all that. But here's a chance to really make a mark, to break new ground, and to make a statement. You claim that your real interest is in the advancement of social networking. Here's a challenge that will prove it."

News and Related Story Links:

• MarketWatch:
  Facebook IPO Seen Moving in First Quarter.
• Varney & Co.:
  Official Website.
• Facebook.com:
  Official Website.
• Money Morning:
  Official Website.
• Capital Wave Forecast:
  Official Website.

The Truth About the U.S. Economy - and Inflation

Here at Money Morning, we deal in facts and analysis, not empty promises and hype. We bring you the news that explains what's happening and why, and that tells you what our experts believe will occur - and then we show you how to profit from the opportunities and protect yourselves from the dangers. And - thanks to our worldwide group of experts, many of whom are Wall Street veterans themselves - we can bring you insights no one else can.

So what do we see for inflation, one of the most-complicated, most-debated and most-controversial topics before us today?

It's going to get worse - much worse.

The most-recent figures initially appeared to be benign - because oil prices fell - but if you look below the surface it's clear that inflation has really taken hold: For instance, producer prices were up 7.2% on the previous year. Another new report that came out late last week said that a key measure of consumer-price inflation posted its biggest increase in nearly three years in May.

But there's a second part to the inflationary saga. You see, another report said that a gauge of regional factory activity actually contracted in June.

In other words, inflation is accelerating - even as the U.S. economy brakes toward a double-dip downturn.

That's not just a recipe for "stagflation" - the odious combination of rising prices and falling output that we haven't seen since the 1970s - it's a surefire catalyst for higher gold prices.

As I'm sure this week's meeting of central bank policymakers will underscore, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke won't be raising rates anytime soon. Because the gap between interest rates and inflation will continue to get larger, U.S. monetary policy will become more and more inflationary.

With nothing to arrest them, inflationary pressures are going to get a lot worse - and pretty quickly, too.

The inflationary spike - and the decline in the U.S. dollar that accompanies an economic slowdown - will prompt investors to scurry (and eventually stampede) into gold.

In short, we're watching the clouds gather into a "perfect storm" that will cause gold prices to soar.

That's why Wall Street's forecasts for $1,600 or $1,700 gold are a joke. Gold prices will head much higher than that.

Spot gold traded at nearly $1,534 an ounce yesterday (Monday) -not much below the all-time record of $1,575.79 that was hit in early May. So we're essentially already at $1,600 - with inflation that's accelerating and an economy that's doing just the opposite.
That gives us two important questions to answer:

• Where are gold prices really headed?
• And why isn't Wall Street pounding the table - telling every American investor to buy gold?

The second of those two questions is so easy to answer that I'm going to tackle it first.

The Truth About Wall Street's Gold Price Forecasts

If there's one thing that I've learned during my three decades in journalism, it's that Wall Street loves Main Street.

But not in the way that you think.

When I say that Wall Street loves us, it's because it uses us - and not that it's looking out for our best interests. Wall Street manipulates Main Street - and does so in a way that makes money for its very best (read that to mean super-rich) clients and maximizes its own corporate profits.

It's known as the "Greater Fools" strategy, and here's how it works. Wall Street identifies a great potential investment, and then feeds it to its wealthiest clients. Then it whips up a bullish campaign that brings in the mainstream media and piques the interest of Main Street investors - the "marginal" investors who transform a regular bull market into a full-blown bubble.

Those investors, who aren't everyday players, are the difference-makers. They move in - slowly at first, and then in growing numbers - and ignite the market mania that drives prices skyward. This boosts the profits of Wall Street's wealthy clients and maximizes its own corporate profits.

The wealthy (first-in) clients cash out at maximum profit, and the Main Street investors get left holding the bag when there's no marginal (new) investors to bring in and prices collapse.

If you think about it, that's just what happened with the dotcom bubble - and with virtually every other market frenzy that you can identify.

So right now, there's no incentive for Wall Street to issue aggressive gold price forecasts that would let Main Street investors know that the so-called "yellow metal" is going to get hot. Gold isn't hot enough for the Wall Street marketing juggernaut to work its magic - which means it isn't worth messing with right now.

But when a clear trend emerges, mark my words - you'll once again be reading aggressive Wall Street predictions about how gold is going to soar. Investors will push and shove and elbow their way in, and gold prices will head for the moon.

Unfortunately, the investors who wait - and take their cue from Wall Street - are going to miss one heck of a profit opportunity.

Let me show you what I mean.

Where Gold Prices are Really Headed

Late last week, when I decided to write this note to you, I figured it would be a good time to schedule one of my periodic private briefings with Peter Krauth, our resident global-resources expert. I told him what I'd read, and then walked through my reasoning.

"It seems to me," I told him, "that these forecasts are all ridiculously low."

After he finished chuckling over Wall Street's latest demonstration of chutzpah, Peter said that my thinking was right on target - and warned that those crazy forecasts weren't to be trusted.

"In fact," Krauth said, "I'd say that we're actually looking at $1,900 for 2011, $2,500 for 2012, and $5,000 by 2015."

When Krauth talks, it pays to listen. Back in December 2009, for instance, in the Money Morning report "Why Gold Will be the ‘Greatest Trade Ever'," Krauth told readers to ignore a month-long plunge that sent gold prices from $1,220 an ounce to about $1,080 an ounce - because the metal would rebound and zoom to new records.

He even got it right with silver. In September, when the "other" precious metal was trading at about $19 an ounce, it was Krauth who rated silver as a "Strong Buy" in his special report "How to Buy Silver" - and then watched as the metal soared nearly 170% in the eight months that followed (it peaked at roughly $50 an ounce).

So what's the catalyst behind his latest predictions?

Inflation's a given - and I think that our earlier discussion of that topic pretty much proves that. There are also the other obvious candidates - including the lousy economy and the milquetoast U.S. dollar.

Then there's China and India.

India continues to be the world's largest consumer of gold. And as Money Morning just reported in a report we published on gold coins, the demand for gold continues to escalate - in almost every income class.

Back in April, for instance, the State Bank of Travancore announced that a program to sell gold coins through five of its branches would be expanded to 60 branches in a single month's time. But an executive for a bullion dealer in India probably summed it up best when he said, referring to India's fifth-largest city, that "in Chennai, even the poor buy [some] gold."

When it comes to any discussion of investing, China has really fallen off most folks' radar screens. And not without reason, as the Asian giant's many problems continue to come to light.

But dismissing China as a catalyst - with regards to any investment - would be a grave mistake. And if you're talking about the future direction of gold prices, ignoring China would be especially egregious, Krauth explained.

China is not only the top producer of gold on the planet, but it's second only to India in terms of world gold consumption.

"According to the World Gold Council, Chinese investment demand was up a staggering 71% in 2010 over 2009, and that pace followed through into the first quarter of this year," Krauth told me. "The People's Bank of China - China's central bank - has only 1.6% of its assets in gold, and it's no secret it wants that percentage to reach much higher levels. It's no wonder all the gold produced in China stays in China."

Krauth also noted that the World Gold Council predicted Chinese gold demand was set to double within the next 10 years.

Said Krauth: "Higher gold prices - much higher prices - are all but guaranteed. Wall Street's gold price forecasts are way off the mark - and much, much too low."

So it should be no surprise when gold reaches $2,500 in a year - and as much as $5,000 just a few years after that.

Those are what I call real gold price forecasts.

News and Related Story Links:

• Reuters:
  Newmont sees gold above $1,600 in 2012 on Asia demand.
• Reuters:
  Data shows troubling mix of weakness, inflation.
• Money Morning Special Report:
  How to Buy Silver.
• About.com:
  India to remain the World's Largest Consumer of Gold in 2011.
• Money Morning:
  What You Need to Know Before Buying Gold Coins.
• The Economic Times:
  High Gold Demand Pushes Up Coin Sales.
• World Gold Council:
  Official Website.

Blake Springer of Charlotte is really bearish, predicting a second-quarter Dow close of 10,672.32 - a point that's about 11% from yesterday's late-afternoon trading.

"Continuous falls [will stoke] fears of raising the debt ceiling, leading to inflation and the unloading of Treasury bonds," he wrote. "This, among other things, will drive the Dow down."

Karen Owens of Gainesville, FL, falls into the bullish camp, predicting a second-quarter close of 12,424.33 - which she acknowledges is partly a guess.

However, Owens did note that "I believe something will be worked out for the Greek debt and the market will be hugely relieved" - enough, in fact, to ignite a rally.

What do you think? Give us your best guess and qualify for a chance to win a top-of-the-line Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad2 (MSRP $829). And if you really want to have some fun, forward the contest to family members or friends - and challenge them to see which of you can get the closest to the actual second-quarter Dow close.

For all the rules and details, check out our official contest site (PredictTheDow.com). Or just click here.

News and Related Story Links:

• PredictTheDow.com:
  Official Contest Site.
• Money Morning:
  Predict the Dow, Win a "Tablet"

You see, today (Thursday) marks the start of a new Money Morning contest - which we're calling "Predict the Dow/Win an iPad2."

If you can tell us where the Dow will be when the second quarter closes on June 30, you can qualify to win a free top-of-the-line Apple iPad2 (MSRP $829). No purchase is necessary: To participate in our "Predict the Dow" contest, just go to our official contest site (http://www.predictthedow.com/). Once there, you'll be able to check out all the contest rules and enter.

The deadline for entry is June 26.

The winner will be the first person to correctly predict where the Dow will be when the second quarter ends - or, barring that, will be the person who gets the closest with their guess (in the case of a tie, the person who entered first will be the winner - so there is an incentive to enter early, instead of waiting for the deadline). We'll also be giving away a second iPad2 - with a name drawn from among all the entrants.

So give us your carefully calculated prediction - or even your best guess - of the Dow's second-quarter close.

And have some fun: Make sure to forward the contest to family members and friends - and issue a challenge to see who the real stock-market ace actually is. To enter, please click here.

Will the real "Mr. (or Mrs.) Wall Street" please stand up?