Archives for June 2013

June 2013 - Page 11 of 16 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

A Deadly Wall of Silence Surrounds a Potentially Global Pandemic Disease

by

By Greg Madison, Associate Editor, Money Morning

One of the really beneficial things about science is its power to transcend borders and ideologies.

Scientists in countries that may be totally hostile to one another have the chance of collaborating on difficult problems in a spirit of openness.

This ability to collaborate and exchange information across borders is particularly important when a new disease with global pandemic potential emerges, as it has in the Middle East with the respiratory system coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

This "novel coronavirus" was identified in September of 2012 in the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah. The disease was found in a deceased 60-year old man who died of acute pneumonia and kidney failure. Little else is known of this unfortunate individual.

To continue reading, please click here…

FHA: Potential For Catastrophic Losses Could Lead to a $115 Billion Shortfall

by

Five years after the financial crisis, just about everyone has had to clean up their act.

Consumers have less credit card debt. Banks are stuffed with capital, prodded by the Federal Reserve. Even the federal deficit is shrinking.

But one federal agency seems to have resisted long-overdue change. It's the Federal Housing Administration or FHA.

Findings by a congressional committee, released last week, show the giant government mortgage-insurance agency could face a $115 billion shortfall – at least, if the housing market tanksby 20% again.

The figure is so large the FHA has worked to keep it under wraps for as long it could.

This winter the Fed required the nation's 18 biggest banks to undergo the same sort of "stress test" scenario.

The FHA, though, excluded the results of its stress test from an independent actuarial review released in November – and hoped to release the results later when Congress and reporters weren't paying attention.

In an October e-mail to Integrated Financial Engineering Inc. of Rockville, Md., which conducted the review, an FHA official wrote, "We just do not want that analysis [the stress test results] to be in the actuarial review report."

The e-mail went on to say, "In congressional hearings, it is quite possible that we will be required to present this information on the record, but that will be well after the actuarial review is released and the initial media coverage takes place."

To continue reading, please click here…

The Ultimate Tech Stock "Treasure Map"

by

On Saturday, I introduced you to the "stealth small-cap" – aging-and-slow big-cap tech firms that were rediscovering the fast growth of their small-cap roots … thanks to the newly emergent Cloud Computing trend.

Judging from the comments and correspondence I received, a lot of you were really intrigued by that concept – and by the huge opportunity for profits that the cloud was creating for investors.

In fact, Strategic Tech Investor subscriber Dionisios S. was so intrigued by that column that he asked me to identify some other "stealth-small-cap" profit plays.

What a great question.

This Single Statistic Scares Me to Death

by

A year ago at this time, a U.S. Federal Reserve study found that the median net worth of the American family fell by almost 40% between 2007 and 2010, wiping out 18 years of economic progress and cutting middle-class wealth back to levels not seen since the early 1990s.

A year later, a new study has found that – despite the continuation of the strongest-bull-market rebound in history – America's finances haven't improved.

The Retirement DerailersSM survey found that a staggering 90% of American investors (aged 50 to 70, and with $100,000 or more in investment assets) have been blitzed by at least one "derailer" – an unexpected event that has put a hefty dent in their retirement savings goals.

And when you drill down into the numbers, the story gets a lot worse.

These Oil Stocks Are the Big Winners in This Year's "Summer Pop"

by

I have been "in the field" for the past several days and will be back in circulation later this week. But I wanted to send you a note on what's been taking place recently.

The last two trading sessions have seen a spike in oil stocks. The rise has been focused on companies that provide services to early-stage field development, as well as for crude production.

Now, we have witnessed a similar "summer pop" in each of the past three years. It tends to signal a rise in expected medium-term demand for both crude oil and oil products.

However this time around, the improvement isn't reflected in companies across the board, but rather in those emphasizing geographically specific field plays.

To continue reading, please click here...

Why the Market Yawned at the S&P's U.S. Credit Rating Outlook Upgrade

by

When Standard & Poor's upgraded the outlook for U.S. credit rating from negative to stable on Monday, Wall Street hardly seemed to notice.

The mild market reaction was a stark contrast to the sharp downturn back in August 2011, when the Congressional standoff over the raising the federal debt ceiling prompted S&P cut the U.S. credit rating to AA+ from the top-tier AAA.

But while the improved outlook is welcome, a return of the U.S. credit rating to AAA status isn't expected any time soon.

"Generally these things don't happen in just a few years," said Nikola Swann, S&P's sovereign ratings director.

S&P listed the fiscal cliff deal and stronger-than-expected private-sector contributions to economic growth, combined with increased remittances to the government by the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as reasons for the upgrade to the U.S. credit rating outlook.

To continue reading, please click here…

How to Invest in Gold: Tips from an Expert on the Yellow Metal

by

With gold prices near two-year lows through much of 2013, a bargain-hunting Money Morning TV viewer asked us about how to invest in gold.

Rick Rule, the founder and chairman of Sprott Global Resources Investments, provided the answers.

Rule says he'd put a portion of the money into gold bullion and a portion into gold stocks.

But he warns those unfamiliar with the sector should stick to what they know: If you're bullish on gold, buy gold, but realize gold stocks don't necessarily mirror the price of the yellow metal.

Check out exactly how Rick Rule would invest $100,000 today in the yellow metal in the video below.

The Truth About "Dark Pool" Trading

by

Well, this ought to be interesting – not for what might be revealed, but for what will likely remain in the shadows.

One of the weakest, least effective regulatory bodies around, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), is now saying they want to shed some light on "dark pools."

FINRA is the self-regulatory body, backed and stacked by the broker-dealers and brokerages that channel your trades from your desktops and through brokers, whom FINRA is responsible for registering and regulating, to various exchanges for execution.

They're going to be looking into dark pools, which are off-exchange trading venues where stocks are traded "blindly." That's supposed to mean buyers and sellers don't know who's who.

But the truth is, even dark pool customers are blind to how these shadow operators really operate.

Here's the deal…

How to Profit From Japan's New Lost Decade

by

An old Japanese proverb notes "ura niwa ura ga aru" which means the reverse side has a reverse side.

Japanese markets have come a long way in the past 8 months rising an additional 4.94% in wild trading on Monday alone. Yet there are real long-term dangers to all this volatility.

First and foremost, when (not if) Japan collapses it will affect every investor, in every major market, regardless of your exposure to Japan.

How to Invest in Uranium in 2013

by

It's looking more likely that 2013 is going to be a profitable year for those who know how to invest in uranium.

That will be a nice turnaround from the past two years…

For the past couple years, the nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan seems to have put the industry on ice as far as investors are concerned.