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Don't underestimate Vladimir Putin: he knows how to fight back.
And right now, that trait might be all that keeps Russia from a catastrophic collapse.
The facts on the ground in Russia are, at best, chaotic…
Oil prices are way down, and its currency, the ruble, has crashed.
But while the West may think it's got Russia under its thumb, Vladimir has plenty more tricks up his sleeve to stave off his country's mounting problems and see his people through the crisis.
Oil prices continued to fall this week but stock markets shrugged off the disarray this continued to cause in global markets after Janet Yellen whispered soothing words in their ears after the Fed's last meeting of the year on Wednesday. Mrs. Yellen has become a "bull whisperer" – fearful of upsetting the equity market, she cloaks her words in indirection and equivocation in an effort to keep them calm as she prays for an economic lift-off that will take her institution off the hook.
Unfortunately, her patient is likely to be very disappointed, for it would take an economic miracle the likes of which hasn't been seen in this country since the years after the Second World War to deal with the mountain of existing debt and future liabilities that are going to bury us.
by Jim Bach
Silver prices in December are particularly volatile.
They looked to be gaining slightly from the punishing five-month slide they were experiencing for most of the last six months.
Over the past few of days, three separate prognosticators have claimed the fall in oil prices is a "black swan" event – in other words, an outlier, a development that fails to follow any normal pattern.
This isn't a black swan, but calling it one may be a good way of clouding up what really is happening.
In this case, there's another motive at work - and the black swan becomes a convenient cover...
Over the past 20 years, individual investors averaged a measly 2.53% a year, versus the S&P 500, which chalked up 9.02%.
This is because every investor is hardwired to do three things that kill returns. If you understand what these bad investing habits are, recognize them in yourself, and learn how to eliminate them, then you can build wealth much more quickly.
Tech CEOs are the top dogs of one of the most lucrative sectors on the market.
You'd think they'd lead their companies toward new innovations and bigger profits with the fearlessness of Napoleon.
Several Nasdaq stocks have shown consistent gains in 2014, outperforming the Nasdaq Composite that has gained nearly 14% this year.
As of Dec. 18, the Nasdaq's gains are almost double that of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and three percentage points more than the S&P 500 Index.
Here are six of 2014's biggest gainers...
Good morning! The Dow Jones today Friday could ride yesterday's Fed-driven 421-point surge. Or it could fall on "quadruple witching" – a market-dropping phenomenon that occurs when the expirations of single-stock futures, index options, index futures, and stock options all happen the same day.
Today, investors will listen to two speeches from members of the Fed Open Market Committee. They'll also watch for the S&P 500 to continue its 4.5% run since Wednesday morning.
[Editor's Note: Today we'd like to introduce you to our technical trading specialist, D. R. Barton, Jr. D. R. has been a trader for 25 years, and has spent the last 11 as COO and Risk Manager for the Directional Research and Trading Hedge Fund Group. His specialty is taking big gains from small market moves, like the 160% win his Stealth Profits Trader members enjoyed in November.]
When I'm not spending time digging through charts and analysis for Stealth Profits Trader, I like to look at some of the broader market elements that might be useful for any investor.
Today, I've found a great opportunity to buy a well-known and heavily traded stock at a great, low-risk price – perhaps even the best risk-adjusted price that we've seen on this stock to date.
I believe that it has even more room to run; indeed, the go-to indicator I relied on to find this bargain is lighting up my "buy" screen, and right now is the time to act…
I recently talked about the secret I wish everybody knew when it comes to market timing and discussed one of the most valuable Total Wealth tools of all – the Put/Call Ratio.
I also promised you a look at one great trade in particular involving a current social media darling. Today, I'm delivering…
If you've been with me for a while, you already know I don't like social media stocks. They're not hooked into our unstoppable trends (nope, not even Technology). Their products are "nice to have" instead of "need to have." And most of them have no real way to make money.
But that's the thing about tactics.
If you have the right trading tactics, you can squeeze profit out of any stock. Even ones you don't like.
In this case, I think betting on one stock's failure may be far more profitable than betting on its success.
I know that this may seem un-American or somehow unethical, but shorting a stock – that is, betting on its decline – is a killer tactic and can be a fabulously profitable tactic used to build your wealth.
That's a tactic we've talked about, but if you're not familiar with shorting, don't worry. I've got you covered with a special sidebar in a few minutes. So let's get back to the meat and potatoes.
