Peter Schiff Divulges On Fast Money How He Picks Dogs To Lose Clients’ Shirts Off Their Backs

Stock Trading Expert Tutorial About The Danger Of A Winning Streak

I just hit a 20% gain for the month of March.

When compared, the S&P 500 was flat, it actually closed down 0.09% for the month of March.

And when you figure in capital gains taxes, I really lost money during the month.

For you Schiff head Ron Paul gold pests out there, here are the numbers. In the month of March, gold is up 0.49%, silver is up 9.5% that means we’ve outperformed gold and silver combined by over 100% just in the month of March. When you go back half a year, then I’ve out performed gold and silver by almost 700%. That is just the facts and checking out the numbers. Inflation certainly isn’t so bad that it is cutting into my stock trading profits, in truth, I’ve played inflation in the energy sector for profit and so I’m really making money off inflation. As for the declining dollar, exports continue to rise which supports growth in the manufacturing sector here in the U.S. Remember that the U.S. Guess who the world’s top manufacturing country is? The U.S. The unemployment rate is slowly decreasing as a cheaper dollar helps exports and causes more hiring in great manufacturing jobs here in the United States. Moreover, the cheap dollar indicates low interest rates which is pro-growth. Last but not least, I’m not taxed at 40% capital gains tax like a few of these crazy nut job gold bugs declare. My capital gains tax is quite small coming in around half that or 20%. The Obama administration has reduced taxes even more than George Bush on many things and so my tax liabilities are the lowest they’ve been in a long time.

However you know what folks, there’s a wise old biblical scripture which says after an conceited and puffed up mood comes the big fall.

What comes to mind is a video clip that went viral with more than 171,000 views in 2 weeks of a guy who just won a laptop. He was much too excited and he falls immediately after picking it up which smashes it into pieces.

I’ve seen this happen to many experienced Traders. They get all thrilled when they reach three or more winners consecutively and they believe they got trading all figured out and then pow, then wind up right on their back.

You should be getting more fearful whenever you hit numerous winning trades in a row because you have in mind the chances are higher now that you will have a loser.

It really is okay to get good and happy when you finally close out a winning trade as long as you knock yourself back down to earth before shopping for and entering the next trade. Should you be so pleased that you find it difficult to control yourself, then it’s preferable to sit out in cash while you get your emotions back in check.

For additional educational trading lessons have a look at these three terrific resources:

How Opening Range Breakout System Will Make You Wealthy
Trading Lesson – Will You Be A Dumb Dog Stock Trader
Trend Trading For A Living

About the Author

Lance Jepsen is a 10 year technical analyst and educator. To discover more on how to trade with the stochastics check out <a href=”http://www.guerillastocktrading.com/technical-analysis/use-the-stochastic-oscillator-wrong-and-stay-poor-or-use-it-right-and-become-rich”>stochastics</a>

Medical Marijuana (MJNA.PK) Technical Stock Chart Video

Hot Penny Stocks Trading Reviews Ten Stocks For Coming Week USOG, XMDC, IWEB, HEME, EIGH

Oil Sector Ready to Breakout OTC USOG

Oct 2nd, 2010 Boca Raton,FL TheStockwizards.net a free Hot Penny Stocks alert blog newsletter that gives  you up to the minute real-time detailed financial information such as usog with quotes and chart updates on the OTC-OTCBB, NYSE, and NASDAQ.

TSW is  looking for hot penny stocks exposed on the move showing unusual movement like usog which could be a popular top performing HOT OTC Small Cap Penny Stock.

We know Traders and investors are looking for exciting OTC volume movers such as usog to put on there speculative watch list for review.

The TSW Penny Stock Finder Trading System locates the best small cap, Micro Cap penny stocks that have unusual movements with news, popular penny stocks with big gains, and strong Stock Trends. TSW looks for exciting, explosive penny stocks  like usog with the right mixture of powerful volume and low Market Capitalization to give day-traders & investors an opportunity to build a Penny Stock Watch list consisting of the most notable penny stocks that have high volume with positive change that can become explosive mega volume penny picks at any given time.

Hot Penny Stock Picks included in this report are: TIVU, USOG, MDMN, IWEB, XMDC, HEME, HLNT, QASP, PWEB, EIGH

(1) (OTC)  Tivus, Inc. TIVU

This could be one of the biggest home runs of the fourth quarter. With an outstanding share count of only 19 million and lots of momentum and sponsorship, this looks really intriguing to TSW. If you use our magic formula of a 40 million market cap on TIVU, we are looking at a $1-$2 stock. Obtaining a 40 million market cap on a penny stock is very achievable and not outrageous. This is how TSW has developed a reputation for  finding stocks like TIVU, our latest trade alerts.

HLNT & EIGH were home runs for our members. Any pull back should be looked at as a buying opportunity. If the stock dips at the open, TSW feels that it should be bought. Look for the .08 cent area.

If TIVU keeps putting out the right kind of news and the float gets locked up, who knows where this will go. This is definitely one to put on everybody’s watch list for higher prices in the future. TIVU deals with quality companies such as The Double Tree Hotel, as stated in their most recentpress release. A weekly close above .18 and the stock could move much higher. It’s going to be very interesting to see how it plays out. With a 1.9 million market cap, there is plenty of upside potential. This could get exciting!

(2) United States Oil & Gas Corp. USOG

Is a Big Run on Oil starting again? Oil futures are getting ready to breakout. look for energy and Oil Penny Stocks to make major runs in the next several months. USOG  is a great example of what is about to happen in this sector.

(3) (OTC) Medinah Minerals, Inc. MDMN

Commodities related to oil, energy and gold will be in play over the next several months. MDMN is a junior mining stock. Looks like it’s getting ready to breakout over the .04 for a weekly resistance. Will this be the weekly breakout?

(4) (OTCBB) IceWEB, Inc. IWEB

Cloud Computing is a hot topic, and the Best Penny Stock in this sector. TSW is watching for the weekly breakout above the 200 week moving average at .32. Will IWEB breakout this week? A weekly close above that 200 week moving average could really get this going.

(5) (OTC) XTend Medical Corp. XMDC

XMDC had a nice breakout above the 200-day moving average several trading days ago. With a market cap of approx..600 million shares, it will be interesting to see where this goes. .08 to .10 would be a stretch but the stock still has room to run.

(6) (OTC) Healthmed Services Ltd. HEME

TSW started coverage at .20 cents. How high will HEME go? Yahoo finance has it listed as 182 million shares outstanding. We are watching to see if the rat pack will come in and start shorting this coming week.

(7) (OTC)  Highline Technical Innovations. Inc. HLNT

Can HLNT stay above .01 another week? Major home run for TSW Subscribers so far.

(8) (OTCBB) Quasar Aerospace Industries, Inc. QASP

TSW is watching for the breakout above the 50-day moving average.

(9) (OTC) Pacific Webworks, Inc. PWEB

Major resistance levels are .20 and .25 cents with 46 million shares outstanding. PWEB has plenty of upside available. Market Cap is less than 8 million.

(10) (OTC) 8000 Inc. EIGH

This could be an interesting week for EIGH. The rat pack is in total control of the stock as head market maker CHDN has been relentless on the ask all week. Will the Bulls throw in the towel and give into the rat pack? Or do the Bulls get their act together and take the rat pack for a ride? A major battle appears to be going on here.

TSW was previously compensated ten thousands dollars (10,000) for a 1 week trade alert on USOG.

Forward-Looking Statement: This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, commonly identified by such terms as “believes,” “looking ahead,” “anticipates,” “estimates” and other terms with similar meaning. Although the Company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s projections and expectations are disclosed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.usog

All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. TheStockWizards.net is not a registered penny stocks investment advisers or broker/dealer. TheStockWizards.net makes no recommendation that the purchase of penny stocks securities of companies profiled in this website is suitable or advisable for any person or that an penny stocks investment in such securities will be profitable. In general, given the nature of the Penny Stocks Companies profiled and the lack of an active trading market their penny stocks securities, Investing in such securities is highly speculative and carries a high degree of risk. usog

Release of Liability: Through use of this website viewing or using you agree to hold TheStockWizards.net, its operators owners and employees harmless and to completely release them from any and all liability due to any and all loss (monetary or otherwise), damage (monetary or otherwise), or injury (monetary or otherwise) that you may incur. The information contained herein is based on sources, which we believe to be reliable, but is not guaranteed by us as being accurate and does not purport to be a complete statement or summary of the available data. TheStockWizards.net affiliates may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. Any opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. usog

TheStockWizards.net encourages readers and investors to supplement the information in these reports with independent research and other professional advice. All information on featured companies is provided by the companies profiled, or is available from public sources and TheStockWizards.net makes no representations, warranties or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the disclosure by the profiled companies. Investing in micro-cap and growth securities is highly speculative and carries and extremely high degree of risk. usog

It is possible that an investor’s investment may be lost or impaired due to the speculative nature of the companies profiled. Never invest in any stock featured on our site or emails unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. In preparing this publication, TheStockWizards.net has relied upon information supplied by its customers, and press releases, which it believes to be reliable; however, such reliability cannot be guaranteed. Investors should not rely on the information contained in this website. Rather, investors should use the information contained in this website as a starting point for doing additional independent research on the featured companies. usog

About the Author

The Stock Wizards is a Premiere Financial Portal & Investor Relations Firm that brings a wealth of trading resources to Small Cap Investors. We analyze daily market activity and provide our members with Hot Stocks to watch every day. We follow certain patterns and bring you break out alerts, volume spikes, breaking news, mergers and upward trends.

Have you ever had a dog with a kink in its tail?

Hi there…
I was at Petco picking up supplies this weekend with my two 5 month old Westie pups. The lady who works there noticed that one of my girls had a “kink” in her tail.

Gauge (a young rednosed pitbull) has a ‘kink’ near the base of his tail. I think the story was that his mom stepped on it when he was tiny. It doesn’t bother him, and the vet says that it’s perfectly fine, it just didn’t heal straight.

Here is this weeks free stock pick….

You’ve probably read about the importance of having a Trading plan. As part of the trading plan, you need to have a Trading System in place. Without a system, you have no “map” to trade Stocks by.

One of the hidden dangers of system development is over-optimization. As part of your system development process you will be testing your system to see how well it has performed in the past. Some system development tools will let you quickly test thousands of combinations of system parameters in a short period of time.

As you go about evaluating the profit and loss, drawdown and smoothness of the equity curve increase, you’re likely to focus on the one set of parameters that looks best. This is the first danger. It’s better to look for a cluster of superior results than for just one outstanding set of parameters. Choosing parameters that are in the middle of a good cluster of results are likely to lead to more consistent results in the future.

You will also want to make sure you have enough trades in the resulting test set so they’re statistically significant. It’s foolish to be confident in any system for which you have a track record with less than 30 trades during the chosen test period. You can have some confidence after you have more than 300 trades in the test period. This assumes you haven’t over-optimized those results.

Even 300 trades don’t guarantee a reliable system. I have seen any number of over-optimized systems that do great for over 300 trades and then lose money forever after.

One way to check your parameters is to hold back some of your historical data as a “test set.” The danger here is that if you use the test set more than once at the very end of your system development, you’re compromising the optimization. This is because your “test set” now has become part of the optimization procedure.

Still, it’s possible to over-optimize if you have a lot of parameters.

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE:

It might be possible to have a winning system if, for example, the stock you buy:

o has a trade volume between 97,368 and 143,768 shares per day

o opens with a price between $6.42 and $11.76

o rises between .39% and .76% between 9:30 and 9:53 am.

and your exit strategy is to:

o wait for the stock pick to rise an additional .64%

o close the position by 11:44 am.

And did I mention that this is only on Wednesdays close to a full moon and while you’re holding your breath during the test run? While such a system COULD have 30 winning entries in a row during the hypothetical 4 year test period, would you really have confidence that this winning streak would continue?

As you can see from this hypothetical example, even though you MIGHT have gotten some great results in the past, it’s unlikely they’ll continue in the future. In many cases, you could apply some serious math and see at which point you’re in danger of over-optimizing.

However the answer to such an exercise will still be a probability. With experience, you can often develop the judgment to know if you’re in danger of having over-optimized. In general, the fewer the parameters, the less danger there is of over-optimizing.

Frequently, successful systems will only have 2 to 5 parameters. You’re also looking for a cluster of superior results rather than just one outstanding test run.

For example, you might have a system that picks stocks based on an average volume range and a price range. Right there, you already have 4 parameters. You could add an opening price move minimum, but anything beyond that could lead to over-optimization.

In the world of probabilities, you can never be certain that you’ve got a reliable system. This is because you could always be hitting an unlikely (but still possible) string of good or bad results right out of the gate. However, by not over-optimizing, you stand a better chance of having a consistently profitable system.

As a Director of Investing Systems Network, Mr. Newberry is the primary consultant on the usability and conceptual development of portfolio management software and tools to Trade Stocks [http://www.stock-picker-rt.com]. Investing Systems Network makes these available to retail investors in more than 70 countries.

what is the most accurate free Stock Picking service on the web?

None of them are accurate. Most “free” stock picking websites are stock “pumping” sites. The people recommending those picks for “free” often own those shares and naturally tell you, by providing “free” advice, to buy or sell those stocks in order that they can gain financially.

Frank owns XYZ. He puts out a blog entitled “the best free Stock Picks on the web”. He recommends you to purchase XYZ because its the Best Stock in the world. You purchase XYZ and the Stock Price goes up. Frank then sells his shares and realizes a gain. Subsequently, the stock price falls after Frank exits his position and you’re left with a deficit.

This is often how it works and is why those Recommended Stock Picks are “free”. In reality, those “free” stock picking sites come with a price and that price usually results in a loss to whomever is taking the advice.

The best way to avoid all of this is to do your own research and rely on your own brain. It requires time, patience, and skill. If you lack just one of them, then hire a professional to manage your investments for you. You’ll sleep much better at night.

Platinex CEO Interview July 2010 – Part 1

Stock Option Trading Millionaire Principles

INTRODUCTION

Having been trading Stocks and options in the capital markets professionally over the years, I have seen many ups and downs.

I have seen paupers become millionaires overnight…

And

I have seen millionaires become paupers overnight…

One story told to me by my mentor is still etched in my mind:

“Once, there were two Wall Street Stock Market multi-millionaires. Both were extremely successful and decided to share their insights with others by selling their stock market forecasts in newsletters. Each charged US$10,000 for their opinions. One trader was so curious to know their views that he spent all of his $20,000 savings to buy both their opinions. His friends were naturally excited about what the two masters had to say about The Stock Market’s direction. When they asked their friend, he was fuming mad. Confused, they asked their friend about his anger. He said, ‘One said BULLISH and the other said BEARISH!’”

The point of this illustration is that it was the trader who was wrong. In today’s stock and option market, people can have different opinions of future market direction and still profit. The differences lay in the Stock Picking or options strategy and in the mental attitude and discipline one uses in implementing that strategy.

I share here the basic stock and option trading principles I follow. By holding these principles firmly in your mind, they will guide you consistently to profitability. These principles will help you decrease your risk and allow you to assess both what you are doing right and what you may be doing wrong.

You may have read ideas similar to these before. I and others use them because they work. And if you memorize and reflect on these principles, your mind can use them to guide you in your stock and options trading.

PRINCIPLE 1

SIMPLICITY IS MASTERY

When you feel that the stock and options trading method that you are following is too complex even for simple understanding, it is probably not the best.

In all aspects of successful stock and options trading, the simplest approaches often emerge victorious. In the heat of a trade, it is easy for our brains to become emotionally overloaded. If we have a complex strategy, we cannot keep up with the action. Simpler is better.

PRINCIPLE 2

NOBODY IS OBJECTIVE ENOUGH

If you feel that you have absolute control over your emotions and can be objective in the heat of a stock or options trade, you are either a dangerous species or you are an inexperienced trader.

No trader can be absolutely objective, especially when market action is unusual or wildly erratic. Just like the perfect storm can still shake the nerves of the most seasoned sailors, the perfect stock market storm can still unnerve and sink a trader very quickly. Therefore, one must endeavor to automate as many critical aspects of your strategy as possible, especially your profit-taking and stop-loss points.

PRINCIPLE 3

HOLD ON TO YOUR GAINS AND CUT YOUR LOSSES

This is the most important principle.

Most stock and options Traders do the opposite…

They hold on to their losses way too long and watch their equity sink and sink and sink, or they get out of their gains too soon only to see the price go up and up and up. Over time, their gains never cover their losses.

This principle takes time to master properly. Reflect upon this principle and review your past stock and options trades. If you have been undisciplined, you will see its truth.

PRINCIPLE 4

BE AFRAID TO LOSE MONEY

Are you like most beginners who can’t wait to jump right into the stock and options market with your money hoping to trade as soon as possible?

On this point, I have found that most unprincipled traders are more afraid of missing out on “the next big trade” than they are afraid of losing money! The key here is STICK TO YOUR STRATEGY! Take stock and options trades when your strategy signals to do so and avoid taking trades when the conditions are not met. Exit trades when your strategy says to do so and leave them alone when the exit conditions are not in place.

The point here is to be afraid to throw away your money because you traded needlessly and without following your stock and options strategy.

PRINCIPLE 5

YOUR NEXT TRADE COULD BE A LOSING TRADE

Do you absolutely believe that your next stock or options trade is going to be such a big winner that you break your own money management rules and put in everything you have? Do you remember what usually happens after that? It isn’t pretty, is it?

No matter how confident you may be when entering a trade, the stock and options market has a way of doing the unexpected. Therefore, always stick to your portfolio management system. Do not compound your anticipated wins because you may end up compounding your very real losses.

PRINCIPLE 6

GAUGE YOUR EMOTIONAL CAPACITY BEFORE INCREASING CAPITAL OUTLAY

You know by now how different Paper Trading and real stock and options trading is, don’t you?

In the very same way, after you get used to trading real money consistently, you find it extremely different when you increase your capital by ten fold, don’t you?

What, then, is the difference? The difference is in the emotional burden that comes with the possibility of losing more and more real money. This happens when you cross from paper trading to real trading and also when you increase your capital after some successes.

After a while, most traders realize their maximum capacity in both dollars and emotion. Are you comfortable trading up to a few thousand or tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands? Know your capacity before committing the funds.

PRINCIPLE 7

YOU ARE A NOVICE AT EVERY TRADE

Ever felt like an expert after a few wins and then lose a lot on the next stock or options trade?

Overconfidence and the false sense of invincibility based on past wins is a recipe for disaster. All professionals respect their next trade and go through all the proper steps of their stock or options strategy before entry. Treat every trade as the first trade you have ever made in your life. Never deviate from your stock or options strategy. Never.

PRINCIPLE 8

YOU ARE YOUR FORMULA TO SUCCESS OR FAILURE

Ever followed a successful stock or options strategy only to fail badly?

You are the one who determines whether a strategy succeeds or fails. Your personality and your discipline make or break the strategy that you use not vice versa. Like Robert Kiyosaki says, “The investor is the asset or the liability, not the investment.”

Understanding yourself first will lead to eventual success.

PRINCIPLE 9

CONSISTENCY

Have you ever changed your mind about how to implement a strategy? When you make changes day after day, you end up catching nothing but the wind.

Stock market fluctuations have more variables than can be mathematically formulated. By following a proven strategy, we are assured that someone successful has stacked the odds in our favour. When you review both winning and losing trades, determine whether the entry, management, and exit met every criteria in the strategy and whether you have followed it precisely before changing anything.

In conclusion…

I hope these simple guidelines that have led my ship out of the harshest of seas and into the best harvests of my life will guide you too. Good Luck.

About the Author

Jason Ng is the Founder of Masters ‘O’ Equity. He is a fund manager specialising in options trading and his Star Trading System has helped thousands of traders worldwide achieve financial freedom. Please visit Masters ‘O’ Equity’s Website.

Need help with wind stocks?

I want to invest in some pure wind plays. After doing a little research, I found ticker VWS (Vestas) looks like a good pick. Does anyone think it is overbought, or is there more upside to it? Also, is VWDRY the same as VWS? Or, are they different? What would be some other good pure wind plays?

If by pure wind play you mean companies that sell and install wind turbines, then no. Take a cue from the oil and solar energy sectors. Don’t buy the oil company, buy the company that explores for oil. Don’t buy the company that sells solar panels, buy the company that makes them.

GE, Siemens, and Woodward Governor are key turbine manufacturers. But hey, go for it.

Aggressive Growth Stock Picks-Oct.5, 2010

A Trailing stop can be very helpful when you are Trading in the Stock Market. They can allow you to not only let your winners ride longer, but they also make it easy to define your exit.

When you place a trailing stop order what you are actually doing is opening up an order to follow a stock. For example you buy a $60 stock that you expect is going to make a big move. You buy it at $60 and set a trailing stop 5% below the price of the stock.

As the stock goes up so will the stop because the stop is 5% under the value of the stock. However the stop will never retrace if the stock pulls back.

This allows you to enter a trade which will follow the stock up until the stock starts to go against you. The stop will get you out once the stock pulls back 5% from its high.

If you do not want to get out of a stock with such a small pullback you can always change the stop percentage. If you have a longer term perspective you may want to place the trailing stop at 10% or higher. If you have a shorter time frame you may want to place the stop under 5%, (Just remember the less breathing room you give the stock the more often you will get stopped out).

Using this stop can be so helpful if you do not know when you want to exit a trade. It helps to set in a given game plan. Instead of wondering when to exit a trade you can simply let the stop tell you.

This stop order is not the holy grail of trading it should be accompanied by other research but it can definitely be a helpful tool.

To learn more about other stop orders visit http://www.Stocks-simplified.com/stock_orders.html

To learn more about The Stock Market visit http://www.stocks-simplified.com

How do I pick a stock under $5?

Dartboard.

The Holy Grail of Trading: Chapter 1

Finding under valued Stocks are a great way to make money. Depending on the stocks that you invest in, you can make money quickly. The problem that most investors run into is that they did not know which stocks to invest in. There are so many stocks to chose from. How can you tell if a stock is a good investment? How can you tell if a stock is priced at price well below its value? Here are a few ways to help you select the best under valued stocks.

The financial statistics that are provided online can be very good places to find some under valued stocks. They provide very good historical data that contains the most recent Stock Information as well as Stock Data from the past years. One of the first things that you can do is to compare the stock prices over the period of a couple of years based upon the data provided. This can tell you if you have reached a low point within the Stock Price.

Another tool that can be helpful are the analyst’s predictions on that particular stock. Do they recommend to buy, sell, or hold now? What are their predictions for the next few quarters? Although analyst’s predictions are basically opinions, it is still important because many times their predictions will have an immediate affect on the price of the stock. If their recommendation is to buy a particular stock and everyone goes out and purchases, then the demand for the stock goes up which inadvertently makes the prices go up.

All of these methods are ways that you can look for under valued stocks. However, remember that proper research is the key in selecting stocks to invest in.

So, how eager are you to make money in the Stock Market?

Under Valued Stocks is a great resource for you to learn how to pick stocks that will give you substantial profits!

I followed their recommendations and have made relatively HUGE profits.

What are Five stocks that would go up the most by May?

I am in college and for one of my classes our teacher has asked the class to pick 5 stocks to invest $5000 in pretend money in… we have to keep track of them on an excel spreadsheet through out the semester then the person who does the best gets extra credit. I know I should not pick safe stocks, more high risk for a higher return. I was thinking Oil, Energy, Pharmaceticals maybe Tech Stocks??? But I really know nothing. Please help!?!?

solar and green companies are going to do well.

No 1 Trader Vince Stanzione Live Making Money From Global Financial Markets

Europe Is Being Held Together With Duct Tape

Among its many other sins, the greenback is a press hog. The world’s reserve currency, loved and loathed as it is, simply gets most of the ink these days.

In that light many a U.S.-based commentator, not least your cynical Taipan Daily scribes, have repeatedly waxed eloquent on the long-run death of the dollar.

But in our zeal we sometimes forget that, in order for the dollar to die, it has to die relative to other fiat currency offerings… and some of those others are looking pretty sick too. (The main exception, of course, being gold – the one and only “stateless currency” not subject to the whims of a printing press. As Grant’s Interest Rate Observer quips, “Show us a monetary asset whose value is not subject to governmental debasement and we will show you a Krugerrand.”)

In short, the dollar is not the only basket case out there. Take the euro, for example. Now there’s a troubled currency if ever one existed.

As pollyanna stock market bulls are finding out the hard way, rising interest rates (via falling bond prices) can have ugly consequences. The same is true of a rising currency when coupled with a weak economic backdrop.

In this particular case, the stronger the euro gets, the more it cuts into European export sales. At a time when most all of Europe is sick, the economic pain of a too-strong currency becomes intense above a certain threshold.

On top of that, various bits of Europe are in the process of blowing up… or falling apart… or both. There is deep trouble brewing in multiple corners of the continent. Let’s take a quick look on a country-by-country basis to see why Europe is being held together with duct tape.

Britain on the Brink

We’ll start with Britain – not an adopter of the euro, but a member of the EU (European Union) nonetheless.

Britain has been hurled into political chaos, thanks to an unholy combo of deep financial crisis, explosive Labour Party scandals, and the hapless lame-duck status of embattled Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Cabinet Ministers are resigning left and right in protest as Brown’s popularity plummets, calling for the PM to step down. Election results tallied this week showed the Labour Party (Brown’s party) putting in its worst showing since 1918.

Philip Stevens, chief political commentator for the Financial Times, sees an ominous chain of events now set in motion. “Everyone thought the [election] results would be bad,” Stephens reports. “But these [results] are calamitous… the Prime Minister was prepared, if you like, for very bad results. He’s now got to grapple with absolutely terrible results.”

If the Brown government fails, Britain will be left rudderless in the midst of the worst fiscal storm in decades. In a worst-case scenario where bad events lead to worse decisions, opines Stephens, the domino chain could even lead to a British exit from the EU.

This outbreak of chaos is awful and unsettling for the British economy – and by extension awful and unsettling for Europe. As of this writing, it is not yet clear whether Prime Minister Brown can survive a political coup… or even whether he would be better off resigning, Dick Nixon style, in the interest of sparing greater turmoil.

Latvian Pressure Cooker

Elsewhere in Europe, Latvia, a tiny country of 2.2 million, threatens to unleash havoc on the entire continent.

Latvia’s currency, appropriately known as the lat, is officially pegged to the euro. Latvia set up the currency peg to speed up official entry into the EU. But now the fiscal discipline of maintaining the peg is crushing the Latvian economy.

At one time, Latvia was an Eastern European tiger, growing by leaps and bounds. But, like many other countries, Latvia found itself badly caught out by the financial crisis. Just when credit lines were needed the most to shore up a cratering home front, Latvia found it suddenly impossible to borrow. Credit was desperately needed. An attempt to issue $100 million worth of lat-denominated bonds resulted in no takers.

Normally, a small country with an imploding economy would simply devalue the currency to make exports more competitive. But if Latvia devalues now, all kinds of ugly fallout will follow.

For one, the Swedish and Austrian banks that lent heavily to Latvia would take huge, destabilizing losses. Worse, other Eastern European neighbors, like Lithuania and Estonia (and Bulgaria farther south), would see their own currency pegs threatened.

And even worse still, a wholesale lat devaluation would crush many Latvian businesses (due to loads of foreign currency-denominated debt on the books) and kill Latvia’s shot at eventual EU acceptance.

So, with the help of emergency financing from the IMF and European Union, Latvia has vowed to keep on keeping on. The currency peg will not go undefended. But in order to maintain that peg in the face of economic hardship, Latvia will need to cut wages and spending to the bone. This, too, is dire medicine for a small country struggling under the weight of great debt.

Some believe Latvia will be forced to devalue, in spite of all the pain it would cause for both the tiny country itself and many surrounding neighbors. The pressure might just prove too great, as the pressure was too great in 1992 when Britain was forced to devalue the pound and drop out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).

In a way, Latvia is damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t. Some argue that the peg must be defended at all costs, lest the whole of Eastern Europe be lost. If Lithuania and Estonia are sucked into a currency pain vortex, the EU could lose its political hold on the region – and Russia could rush in to fill the torment-filled vacuum.

It would be so much easier (and simpler) if the value of the euro were to fall from current high levels. This would ease Latvia’s pain, as well as a number of other struggling countries. But there is a huge and intractable obstacle there – Germany.

Germany in a World of Its Own

As the global financial crisis has unfolded, Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, has been looked on with increasing amounts of admiration and horror, depending on the observer’s vantage point.

Those who admire Merkel do so because Germany has appeared to completely go its own way in the midst of turmoil. As other countries have stimulated and relaxed and eased to fight the fires of slowdown, Germany has said “Nein!” to anything that smacks of lax fiscal policy.

In a speech last week, Chancellor Merkel even went out of her way to slam the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, stating plainly that “I view with great skepticism the powers of the Fed… and also how, within Europe, the Bank of England has carved out its own line.” Within the subtle context of diplomacy and statecraft, those are amazingly blunt words. Merkel has all but called the stimulators a bunch of out-of-control fools.

Many admire Germany’s fiscal backbone. But others are horrified, and terrified, by Germany’s lack of willingness to show any type of bend or flex in monetary policy.

Remember the Latvia problem? Many other rapidly imploding European economies, like those of Ireland and Spain, are also struggling with the weight of a too-strong euro hurting export prospects. But in its zeal for fiscal responsibility, Germany will probably remain steadfast in its opposition to any loosening of the purse strings.

The stance is cultural and historical. Having lived through the horror of hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic in the 1920s, Germany emerged from its baptism by fire as a zealous hard-money advocate. Rigid fiscal discipline has been a political rallying cry in Germany ever since. So when Chancellor Merkel takes an especially hard line against the easy-money inflationists, she is doing so with an eye for public approval ratings at home.

The trouble is, even Germany can barely afford its own righteousness. The German economy still depends heavily on exports… and so an overly strong euro hurts Deutschland too.

The Rise of the Far Right

Last but not least, a surprising new trend has arisen from the EU-wide elections held in the past few days.

“Conservatives raced toward victory in some of Europe’s largest economies Sunday,” the Associated Press reports, “as initial results and exit polls showed voters punishing left-leaning parties in European parliament elections in France, Germany and elsewhere.”

The rise includes not just the right, but the far right. In Britain, the British National Party – an openly racist party that only admits whites – gained a seat for the first time. In various other countries, openly nationalist parties gained fresh power either for the first time also, or for the first time in quite a long while.

“It is not clear why a chunk of the blue-collar working base has swung almost overnight from Left to Right,” says Ambrose Pritchard of the U.K. Telegraph. “But clearly we are seeing the delayed detonation of two political time-bombs: rising unemployment and the growth of immigrant enclaves that resist assimilation.”

A Poisonous Stew

There are still other problems in Europe we haven’t really touched on, like the Spanish real estate markets headed for freefall, the dire state of the Irish economy (joke du jour on the Emerald Isle: What’s the difference between Ireland and Iceland? The letter ‘C’) and the toxic leverage still lurking in European banks.

Put all this together, and what you get is a truly poisonous stew. Half of Europe is still committed to fiscal stimulus and economic coordination… while the other half has swung inward and hard right, towards a nationalist and isolationist stance, at a time when exports are weak and the whole continent is in trouble.

If Pritchard is right in his gloomy assessments, we could be witnessing a scenario where steely fiscal discipline, though a virtue early on, becomes a terrible vice this late in the game. “The irony is that those fretting loudest about inflation may themselves tip us into outright deflation, with all the perils of a debt compound trap,” Pritchard opines. “It is Angela Merkel who plays with fire.”

By now the Trading takeaway should be fairly obvious. The dollar is not the only paper currency with crash and burn potential. The euro could make for one hell of a great short when the time is right. Whether that time comes sooner or later depends on how events unfold… and how quickly the threat of deflationary vice grip leads to inflationary panic (as ultimately occurs in all unsound paper regimes, when the desperate hope of the printing press is embraced as last resort). Macro Trader will be watching the charts with keen interest.

About the Author

Justice Litle is Editorial Director for Taipan Publishing Group. He is also a regular contributor to Taipan Daily, a free Investing and trading e-letter, editor of Taipan’s Safe Haven Investor and Justice Litle’s Macro Trader.

Can a person living in Africa invest in British and US Markets and how ?

My friend , who lives in Zimbabwe which currently is experiencing hyperinflation wants to invest his foreign currency earned from his flower export on British and USA stock markets or investment companies so that he does not loose his retirement funds .he has about US10 000 . He is worried sick and i cannot help .Any specific Investment vehicles he can use since he can not come physically to Europe .

The standard requirement to open a brokerage account is to provide enough identification to prove where you live and who you are. That normally means they take a copy of your passport and a utility bill. I have opened a brokerage account in the UK and the US and both times it was quick and easy once I produced an identification.

In most cases it doesn’t matter where you live. The rules are the same for everyone, and the brokerage companies will be happy to take your money even if you’re living on the other side of the world. If you can pass the identification requirements and pay the fees then you’re in.

There are a tiny number of countries where the US and UK regulators consider that there are no effective money laundering controls in place and they will not allow citizens of those countries to open brokerage accounts. It is considered too dangerous – accounts from those countries would be used for criminal purposes. You need to check but I’m pretty sure Zimbabwe is one of those countries. The others I know of are Burma, Iraq, Iran, Syria and North Korea.

So a person living in Zimbabwe will not be able to directly invest in the British and US Markets.

Markets Tumble, European Financial Officials Promise Support for Greek Debt Restructuring

Dubai Drops a Turkey on Global Markets! November 27, 2009

Being Street Smart

Sy Harding

Dubai Drops a Turkey on Global Markets!  November 27, 2009.

This was shaping up to be such a calm and enjoyable Thanksgiving week.

A lot of important economic reports were crammed into the first three days of the week. Most of them provided positive surprises, supporting the scenario of a nicely improving economy. It wasn’t good that the economic recovery in the third quarter wasn’t as strong as previously reported, with 3rd quarter GDP being revised down to 2.8% from the previously reported 3.5%.

However, other economic reports included that new unemployment claims fell by 35,000 the previous week (to the lowest level in 13 months); existing home sales shot up 10.1% in October; new home sales rose a better than expected 6.2%; home prices rose again in October; and consumer confidence was up again. The Stock Market was following its tradition of usually providing a positive Thanksgiving week, closing up each of the first three days of the week.

What a nice backdrop for the beginning of a long and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the U.S., with the market closed Thursday and open only half a day Friday, and a three-day Islamic holiday in much of the Middle-East,

However, Dubai World, Dubai’s government owned ‘sovereign investment company’ stuffed the Thanksgiving turkey with a bombshell announcement that gave many investors indigestion before the bird was even carved.

As everyone is well aware by now, Dubai World announced a plan to delay payments on its global debts for six months. Dubai acknowledged that it realized how global markets would react, but will not provide more details until next week, for which it is being accused of irresponsibility and ineptitude.

Stock markets in Europe, open at the time, plunged an average of 3.2%. When Asian markets opened Thursday night they plunged between 3% and 4.8%. Dow futures were down more than 300 points overnight Thursday before improving some by Friday morning. But even so, when the U.S. market re-opened Friday morning the Dow was down 230 points in less than five minutes.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar and Treasury bonds soared as safe havens, while gold, oil, and most commodities plunged along with stock markets.

The Dubai announcement is generating enough ghosts, goblins and things that go bump in the night to remind me of Halloween rather than Thanksgiving.

Investors are worried that a default on its debts by a government-owned ‘sovereign investment company’ will create a ripple effect through global financial markets. Most of Dubai World’s debts are related to its massive commercial real estate developments in Dubai, as well as mortgage-debt on its large global real estate investments.  Most readers will remember the considerable publicity and political debate a few years ago when Dubai World bought the seaport operations of major cities on both coasts of the U.S. It has much more quietly acquired other large holdings around the world. Freezing its debt payments cannot help but cast a pall over global banks already experiencing rising defaults on commercial loans and mortgages, perhaps leading to even less willingness to make loans.

However, the initial reactions may have been overdone.

Dubai’s total debt is estimated as between $60 and $80 billion, large in relation to the country’s GDP of $75 billion. But, since any losses would only be some percentage of that, defaults spread globally could be quite easily absorbed, not likely on their own to create a new global credit crunch.

The danger of course is that fear could cause a ripple effect in financial markets similar to the aftermath of the failure of Lehman Brothers last September, a panic by investors to get out of all investments without discrimination.

We will have to wait and see. It was encouraging that after plunging more than 3% in kneejerk reaction on Thursday, European markets closed up on average of more than 1% on Friday. Meanwhile, the U.S. market, which was closed on Thursday, had a less panicked reaction than the rest of the world when it opened on Friday, closing down ‘only’ 1.7% on the day. It also almost salvaged a traditional positive Thanksgiving week, the Dow down only 9 points, or 0.1% for the week, and the S&P 500 exactly unchanged for the week.

However, the Dubai announcement did ruin what had promised to be an unworried weekend for investors, and adds considerable importance to next week. Retailers reports of Black Friday sales, and anticipation of the important employment reports due out next week, may take a backseat to renewed debate over the financial foundation of the fledgling economic recovery.

Sy Harding is president of Asset Management Research Corp, publishers of the financial website www.StreetSmartReport.com, and the free daily market blog, www.syhardingblog.com.

About the Author

Sy Harding is CEO of Asset Management Research Corp., author of 1999’s Riding the Bear and 2007’s Beat the Market the Easy Way, editor of www.StreetSmartReport.com, and www.SyHardingblog.com.

Can a USA foreigner hold an online account to invest on Shares?

I am an US Foreign, based in Europe, my legal residence is in Kenya. and I would like to open an online account to operate on Stocks with a serious company (any name or reference will be welcomed). I do not know exactly what i am looking for, but I would like something easy to operate on line and capable to invest online on several market places (like USA, Europe, Asia).
I would like also to understand how the taxes on gains, if any, are applied (where, from which gain level and at what percentage), and if any loose happen, if it can be reported on my own income taxation scheme.
Thanks

Maybe you should look into the Forex market. Whaen I stumbled upon the FreedomRocks system I found the easiest system in all my investment career. I have now pulled all my stocks and put my funds into the forex market using this system. Some of my trades have averaged over the past 500 days over 30% ROI monthly. Actually one of my trades profited over 500% within the 500 day period I have logged so far. I literally spend 15 – 20 minutes a week on my investments now. Check it out if you are open to other forms of trade that allow you to trade in other countries. Oh yeah my favorite part of forex is that I am earning daily interest on 400:1 leverage. Don’t get that in the stock market.

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http://www.yourforexinvestor.com

Step 9: History – from the IFA Podcast Series

Stock Assault 2.0 Review – Stock Picking Software Review

Stock Investing market is growing up rapidly with more number of organisations getting involved in the business and the increase in the number of investors. Stock picking is the main decision of Stock Investing. If you choose and buy well and take the right time decision to sell it, you will be profited the most. It is not easy to take important verdicts in The Stock Market especially for layman. Stock Assault is now there to help you and makes judgements. It is the latest stock binding software, which helps you to understand the market better and determines the time to buy or sell a share. Stock Assault is the perfect guide in the stock market and assists with the best results.

Stock picking is the actually gear of success and that most crucial decision in the stock market, which is now easy with the Stock Assault. It is not always ideal to take decisions with stocking picking software, as the market depends on a number of factors including company performance, brand name, publicity, employee competence, financial environments and human emotions. However, Stock Assault covers all possible situations and this efficient software gives the best statistical decisions.

Click Here to Download the Stock Assault 2.0 now

This software has its latest version Stock Assault v2.0 available in the market; it is gaining immense popularity from the time of its launch. It is rather quite easy to use this application. You need to install Stock Assault to your system and allow it to track every stock symbol, pricing, historical charts to make steady conclusions about the stock. The Stock Assault is the perfect stock picking software and guarantees easy success. The application is automated with the perfect intelligence to handle tricky situations and the programs assist you to take a positive decision.

Stock Assault is specially designed by state-of-art software to meet the problems and confusions of Stock Investors using strategies. It took almost 5 years and a total cost of $3,000,000 to publish application in the market. Stock Assault takes a week time to study the essential situations and track record of the stock shares which is used in the Stock Assault analyser and tells you the correct choice of stock to invest on. Stock Assault is uniquely built which keeps in record all possible information in the history cabinet and works with the right time in rise and fall of the market.

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Stock Assault continuously monitors every single change in the stock market and the utilities help you to choose the correct Stock Picks and the best exit. The manufacturer of Stock Assault even offers trial versions of the application to let you judge the capability to analyse the situation and take decisions depending upon the Stock Assault track records.

The stock market involves billions of dollar investment each day and Stock Assault handles every transaction with care with the best safely designed ways. Even international banks use Stock Assault, nowadays, for reading the market situation. The software works easily and whenever the application picks up a stock, you can view the details in charts graphs in the Stock Assault visual graphics window. To buy the stock determined by the application, you have to copy the symbol and paste into the online broker account.

Stock Assault has proved to provide almost returns of 1,300% excess amount and is used worldwide, as the global software to take smart stock picking decisions.

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About the Author

Wall Street – New York Stock Exchange – August 2009

A Brief History of Stock Market Growth and Expansion

A brief history of The Stock Market might tell you that the world’s first stock exchange was in Italy or in Egypt or even in France, but no matter where they originated, the concept of a place to trade Stocks and bonds has taken firm root and stock exchanges are now the cornerstone of our financial marketplace. The first American stock exchange was established in 1792 in New York at the intersection of Wall Street and Bond Street and it continues to be there today, having grown into one of the world’s most influential stock markets. It is aptly called the New York Stock Exchange. A brief history of Stock Market Trading will show that the 1800s were a time of great innovation and growth for the stock market. It was in this century that government bonds, insurance and bank stocks started actively trading. It was also during this time that street trading was prohibited and the NYSE found a home on Wall Street in a building of its own. Specialists were installed at particular locations on the trading floor to facilitate stock trade. The 1900s were the time of the Industrial Revolution and saw much growth and expansion in The Stock Markets and their associated regulatory agencies. The Federal Reserve was set up to regulate the banking structure of the nation and New York gained popularity as the world’s financial capital supplanting London as the previous financial hub. The 1900s also saw the rise of speculators in a secondary trading market. Eventually this century was witness to one of the greatest stock market crashes in history, where stocks plunged and the Dow hit rock bottom by decreasing 89% in the period from 1929- 1932. This period immediately following the Stock Market Crash was called The Great Depression because it saw many people lose their savings, lose their jobs and and some even lose their lives. The stock market crash brought about much-needed regulatory changes into the stock market. The result was the passing of the Securities and Exchange Act which saw the formation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC is responsible for helping to ensure that such a crash never happens again by closely monitoring and regulating trading practices and ensuring that companies offer all relevant disclosure to the public at the time of going public. Today there are a lot of new initiatives taken by the NYSE and other American exchanges such as a paperless office, women on the trading floor, real time stock tickers on CNN-FN and CNBC, an updated technology plan for the trading floor, global indexes, and representative offices around the world. Beginner investors can learn a lot about the stock market by reading this and other related items outlining the brief history of stock market buoyancy and crashes – this will in turn help them understand what powers a bull or bear market and how to spot one coming like the financial pros do.

About the Author

Kelly Clifford from StockMarketsMadeSimple.com has put together a complimentary report titled “Stock Market Basics: A Beginners Guide To Understanding The Stock Market” that will likely prove invaluable in putting you on the fast track to becoming a knowledgable and successful Stock Market Investor. To download your copy now instantly.. visit http://www.stockmarketsmadesimple.com/index.php

Are you ready for the next Wall Street Collapse this fall?

plummeting home values (AND I MEAN PLUMETTING). You will be able to buy a mansion around here in a few months for $50,000. People losing their jobs. The government artificially keeping the automotive industry alive for a few months with the “cash for clunkers” program. OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE. THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE END.

LOL nice trolling, unless you’re serious. Then your delusional rant is just sad and pathetic.