Don Kaufman shows us how to "Protect & Profit" in any Market

Today we want to introduce the newest member of our team, Don Kaufman. Don has made quite a mark in the last couple months with the introduction of his new TheoTrade program. Truth is, some of our readers have stated they are getting more from his free videos then some of the more expensive programs they have purchased.

Don will be bringing us a free webinar monthly to keep us on the cutting edge of these extremely volatile markets. Just take advantage of any one of his free items. Getting his free eBook or even just watching his most recent free video will guarantee that you will get notified of the free webinars.

So what's in the "How to Protect & Profit in Any Market" eBook?

This 50 page eBook [visit here for free download] will teach you what you need to know to start playing the markets instead of the markets playing you.

Your Portfolio Deserves More Than a 50/50 Chance 
It has been shown statistically, over the long run, that fundamental and technical analysis is right about 50% of the time. Flipping a coin will give you the same percentage. As the author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street, Malkiel states, “Technical and Fundamental analysis is a science giving astrology a good name.” Why flip a coin when you can use high probability options strategies?

Diversification is Dead
As a Wall Street saying goes, "When they raid the house they take everyone." Professionals consider diversification as a hedge for people who don’t know how to hedge. Think about it - would you protect the value of your own home against a potential fire by diversifying, that is, buying two houses so if one burns down, the appreciation in the other offsets your loss? Of course not! You insure your home so if it burns down, the insurance covers most of the loss. Welcome to one aspect of using options. Real professionals know how to use options to protect their portfolio from any shock to the markets.

Be The House 
Today, investing in the stock market is a big gamble, almost like going to Vegas and playing the slots. And we all know what happens with slot machines. The House always wins. It may take a loss occasionally, but the overall strategy assures that the House will always come out on top. Options let's you turn the tide and be the house. Find out how you can put the odds in your favor.

Get Don's FREE eBook "The Rebel's Guide to Trading Options"....Just Visit Here!

See you in the markets,
Ray C. Parrish
aka the Crude Oil Trader

About Don Kaufman 
Don is one of the industry's leading financial strategists and educational authorities with 18 years of financial industry experience. Prior to co-founding TheoTrade, Mr. Kaufman spent 6 years at TD Ameritrade as Director of the Trader Group. At TD Ameritrade Mr. Kaufman handled thinkorswim® content and client education which included the design, build, and execution of what has become the industry standard in financial education. He started his career at thinkorswim® in 2000 (acquired by TD Ameritrade in 2009), where he served as chief derivatives instructor, helping the firm progress into the industry leader in retail options trading and investor education services.

How to Find the Best Offshore Banks

By Nick Giambruno

It’s hard to think of a topic where following the conventional wisdom can be more dangerous. And that topic is banking. It’s generally accepted as an absolute truth by the public and most financial experts that putting your money in a domestic bank is a safe and responsible thing to do. After all, if anything were to go wrong, your deposits are insured by the government.

As a result, most people put more thought into which shoes they should purchase than which bank should be entrusted with their life savings.

It’s a classic moral hazard—a situation in which a person is more likely to take risks because the costs won’t be borne by that person. In the case of banking, that’s how a lot of people think, but it isn’t necessarily true that individuals bear no costs of their banking decisions. The prudent thing to do is ignore the conventional wisdom and look at the facts to form your opinions. Choosing the right custodian for your life savings makes a difference—and it deserves some serious thought.

A False Sense of Security

In the US, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures bank deposits. In the case of a bank failure, the FDIC pays depositors up to $250,000. The FDIC has a reserve of around $30 billion for this purpose.

Now, $30 billion might sound like a lot of money. But considering that the FDIC insures around $9 trillion in deposits, the $30 billion in reserve amounts to just a drop in the bucket. It’s actually less than half a penny for every dollar it supposedly insures.

In fact, there are over 36 banks in the US that have deposits larger than the FDIC’s reserve. It wouldn’t take much for the FDIC itself to go bust. One large bank failure is all it would take. And with many of the big banks leveraged to the hilt, that isn’t as remote a possibility as many would believe.

Oddly, this doesn’t shake the confidence the public and most financial experts place in the US banking system.

Also, it’s already an established precedent that whenever a government deems it necessary, deposit guarantees can be disregarded on whim. We saw this in the early days of the financial crisis in Cyprus. The Cypriot government initially sought (but was ultimately rebuffed) to dip its hands into bank accounts under the guaranteed amount. Similarly, Spain has imposed a blanket taxation on all bank deposits. I’d bet this is only the beginning. We haven’t even made it through the coming attractions.

Taken together, this shows that the confidence in the banking system—merely because of the existence of a bankrupt government promise—is dangerously misplaced.

Follow conventional wisdom at your own peril.

See what our traders are trading everyday, and it's FREE....Just Click Here!

Fortunately, in this day and age the decision on where to bank doesn’t have to be constrained by geography. Banking outside of your home country—where much sounder governments, banking systems, and banks can be found—is in most ways just as easy as banking with Bank of America.

The Solution

Obtaining a bank account outside of your home country is a key component of any international diversification strategy.

It protects you from capital controls, lightning government seizures, bail ins, other forms of confiscation, and any number of other dirty tricks a bankrupt government might try.

Offshore banks offer another benefit: they are usually much safer and more conservatively run than banks in your home country… at least if you live in the US and many parts of Europe. It’s hard to see how you’d be worse off for placing some of your cash where it’s treated best. In the event that your home government does something desperate or your domestic bank makes a losing bet, it could turn out to be a very prudent move.

When Doug Casey and I were in Cyprus, we met with a number of astute Cypriots who saw the writing on the wall. They got their money outside of the country before the bail in and capital controls, and they were spared. It would be wise to learn from their example.

But you shouldn’t just blindly move your savings to any foreign bank. You want to consider only the best.
For me, being able to find the safest and best offshore banks comes naturally. In the past, I worked as a banking analyst for an investment bank in Beirut, Lebanon. While there, I rigorously assessed countless banks around the world. This experience and the analytical tools I developed have been very helpful in evaluating the best offshore banks worthy of holding deposits.

A basic rundown (but not inclusive) of factors I look for when analyzing an offshore bank include:

• The economic fundamentals and political risk of the jurisdictions the bank operates in.

• The quality of the bank’s assets—namely its loan book and investments. This helps you determine what the bank is doing with your money. I look for banks that are conservatively run and don’t gamble with your deposits. Banks that make leveraged bets with things like mortgage-backed securities or Greek government bonds are obviously to be avoided. Having a sound loan book with a low nonperforming ratio is crucial.

• Liquidity—a relatively safer bank will keep more cash on hand rather than invest it in risky assets or loan it out, all else equal. That way it can meet customer withdrawals without having to potentially sell off assets for a loss—which could affect its ability to give you back your deposits.

• Capitalization—this is a measure of its financial strength of the bank. It also shows you if the bank is using excessive leverage, which can increase the risk of insolvency. A bank’s capitalization is like its margin of error: the higher the better.

Another important factor is whether an offshore bank has a presence in your home jurisdiction. To obtain more political diversification benefits, it’s better that it does not.

For example, assume you are a Chinese citizen and want to diversify. It wouldn’t make much sense to open an account with the New York City branch of the Bank of China. It would be much better from a diversification standpoint for the Chinese citizen to open an account with a sound regional or local bank that doesn’t have a presence or connection to mainland China—and thus cannot have its arm easily twisted by the Chinese government.

The Best Offshore Banks

Each year, a prominent financial magazine publishes a study on the world’s safest banks. Below are its top 10 safest banks in the world (notice that none of them is in the US).

Naturally, things can change quickly though. New options emerge, while others disappear. This is why it’s so important to have the most up-to-date and accurate information possible. That’s where International Man comes in. Be sure to get the free IM Communiqué to keep up with the latest on the best offshore banking options.

Now, as an American citizen, it’s very unlikely that you could just show up to one of these banks and open an account as a nonresident of that country. That is, unless you plan on making a seven figure or high six figure deposit. Then you might have a chance, but even then it’s not guaranteed.

This dynamic is thanks to FATCA and all the red tape that the US government imposes on foreign banks who have US clients. For foreign banks, the logical business decision is to show Americans the unwelcome mat. The costs simply do not justify the benefits.

This is unfortunately true for many banks the world over. The net effect is to drastically reduce the number of choices that Americans have when banking offshore. It’s a sort of de facto capital control.

There are of course exceptions. Some solid offshore banks still accept Americans, and some even open accounts remotely. This means you could obtain huge diversification benefits without having to leave your living room.

In our comprehensive Going Global publication, we discuss our favorite banks and jurisdictions for offshore banking, crucially including those that still accept Americans as clients. It’s a list that is constantly dwindling, which highlights the need to act sooner rather than later.

The article was originally published at internationalman.com.

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Not All Debt Is Created Equal

By Dennis Miller

Optimal diversification: We all want it. Diversification is, after all, the holy grail of portfolio management. Our senior research analyst Andrey Dashkov has said that many times before, and he echoes that refrain in his editorial guest spot below.

A brief note before I hand over the reins to Andrey. The last time the market tanked, many of my friends suffered huge losses. They all thought their portfolios were well diversified. Many held several mutual funds and thought their plans were foolproof. Sad to say, those funds dropped in tandem with the rapidly falling market. Our readers need not suffer a similar fate.

Enter Andrey, who’s here to explain what optimal diversification is and to share concrete tools for implementing it in your own portfolio.

Take it away, Andrey…

Floating-Rate Funds Bolster Diversification

By Andrey Dashkov
Floating rate funds as an investment class are a good diversifier for a portfolio that includes stocks, bonds, and other types of investments. Here’s a bit of data to back that claim.

The chart below shows the correlation of floating rate benchmark to various subsets of the debt universe.
As a reminder, correlation is a measure of how two assets move in relation to each other. This relationship is usually measured by a correlation coefficient that ranges from -1 to +1. A coefficient of +1 says the two securities or asset types move in lockstep. A coefficient of -1 means they move in opposite directions. When one goes up, the other goes down. A correlation coefficient of 0 means they aren’t related at all and move independently.

Why Correlation Matters

 

Correlation matters because it helps to diversify your portfolio. If all securities in a portfolio are perfectly correlated and move in the same direction, we are, strictly speaking, screwed or elated. They’ll all move up or down together. When they win, they win big; and when they fall, they fall spectacularly. The risk is enormous.

Our goal is to create a portfolio where securities are not totally correlated. If one goes up or down, the others won’t do the same thing. This helps keep the whole portfolio afloat.

As Dennis mentioned, diversification is the holy grail of portfolio management. We based our Bulletproof strategy on it precisely because it provides safety under any economic scenario. If inflation hits, some stocks will go up, while others will go down or not react at all.

You want to hold stocks that behave differently. Our mantra is to avoid catastrophic losses in any investment under any scenario, and the Bulletproof strategy optimizes our odds of doing just that.

When “Weak” is Preferable

 

Now, a correlation coefficient may be calculated between stocks or whole investment classes. Stocks, various types of bonds, commodities—they all move in some relationship to one another. The relationship may be positive, negative, strong, weak, or nonexistent. To diversify successfully and make our portfolio robust, we need weak relationships. They make it more likely that if one group of investments moves, the others won’t, thereby keeping our whole portfolio afloat.

Now, back to our chart. It shows the correlation between investment types in relation to floating-rate funds of the sort we introduced into the Money Forever portfolio in January. For corporate high yield debt, for example, the correlation is +0.74. This means that in the past there was a strong likelihood that when the corporate high yield sector moved up or down, the floating rate sector moved in the same direction. You have to remember that correlation describes past events and can change over time. However, it’s a useful tool to look at how closely related investment types are.

I want to make three points with this chart:

• Floating-rate loans are closely connected to high-yield bonds. The debt itself is similar in nature: credit ratings of the companies issuing high-yield notes or borrowing at floating rates are close; both are risky (although floating-rate debt is less so, and recoveries in case of a default are higher).
  
  Floating-rate funds as an investment class are not as good a diversifier for a high-yield portfolio. They can, on the other hand, provide protection against rising interest rates. When they go up, the price of floating-rate instruments remains the same, while traditional debt instruments lose value to make up for the increase in yield.

• Notice that the correlation to the stock market is +0.44. If history is a guide, a falling market will have less effect on our floating-rate investment fund.
• The chart shows that floating-rate funds serve as an excellent diversifier for a portfolio that’s reasonably mixed and represents the overall US aggregate bond market. The correlation is close to zero: -0.03. This means that movements of the overall US bond market do not coincide with the movements of the floating rate universe.
  
  Imagine two people walking down a street, when one (the overall debt market) turns left, the other (floating rate funds) would stop, grab a quick pizza, get a message from his friend, catch a cab, and drive away. No relationship at all… at least, not in the observed time period. This is the diversification we’re looking for.

Floating rate funds provide a terrific diversification opportunity for our portfolio. This gives us safety, and that is the key takeaway.

Our Bulletproof income portfolio offers a number of options for diversification above and beyond what’s mentioned here. You can learn all about our Bulletproof Income – and the other reasons it’s such an important one for seniors and savers – here.

The article Not All Debt Is Created Equal was originally published at Millers Money


Don't miss this weeks great webinar with John Carter. “How HFT firms are causing you to lose money trading”. Click Here to Reserve Your Seat Now!

Know the Zone & Improve Your Gap Trading

Guest writer today is our trading partner Scott Andrews. If you are not familiar with Scott's work this will be a great primer on "gap trading".

I am a gap trader. Specifically, I 'fade' the opening gap (i.e. go short when the gap is up or long when the gap is down). My first research breakthrough many years ago was in recognizing that gap selection was the “door” to making profits and the “key” to that door was to focus on the location of the opening price.

Using the prior day's direction (up or down) and the open, high, low, and closing prices, I created ten “zones” and each provides tremendous insight into the probability of a gap filling or not. My selection strategy has evolved over the years to include market conditions, patterns and seasonality, but zones remain the foundation of my gap fade selection criteria.

So why do opening zones work? They inherently incorporate :

    *    proven support and resistance levels
    *    short term trend
    *    overnight bias
    *    gap size
    *    trader psychologically


Together these five elements combine to create a wide range of gap fade setups that vary from highly probable to highly risky for any market. Since opening gaps in general have a strong tendency to trade back to the prior day's closing price (65-70%), the name of the game is not trying to catch all of the winners, but rather to avoid most of the losers. And that is what opening zones do very well.

So why do you think gaps in the U-L zone (bottom right of the Gap Zone Map) show such a low historical win rate (48%)? I believe it's because gaps opening in this zone are catching traders positioned to the long side off guard, triggering many sell stops in the process. Plus, such an obvious reversal from the prior day surely attracts new short sellers who want to jump on board the beginning of a new potential trend. I've nicknamed this zone the “BLUD” zone for obvious reasons, plus it's easy to remember: "Below the Low of an Up Day."

Whether you trade the opening gap as a setup or just want to improve the timing of your swing trade entries and exits, you will do a better job, if you pay attention to the opening zone next time. And by the way, gap zones work great for not only the indices, but individual stocks and commodity markets like Corn and Oil too.

Good trading and good gapping!

You may also be interested in watching Scott’s short video on the The Power of Diversification. During this short, compelling video, Scott explains:

    *    Why asset diversification is not enough
    *    7 ways traders can diversify
    *    The right vs. wrong way to diversify
    *    Equity curve example (the power of complementary strategies)

 And much more

Watch This Video Now

Scott Andrews.....Proof You are Crazy not to Diversify Your Trading

Many commodity traders believe that investors only need to diversify to be successful. But that simply is not true!

No single trading strategy works all the time and diversification can help during the tough stretches by REDUCING your draw downs. Best of all, diversification (done properly) can also ACCELERATE your equity without increasing your overall risk.

Check out this excellent video by our friend Scott Andrews from Master The Gap as he explains the ins and outs of trading diversification. No opt-in required.

The Power of Diversification

During this short, compelling video, Scott explains:

• Why asset diversification is not enough
• 7 ways traders can diversify
• The right vs. wrong way to diversify
• Equity curve example (the power of complementary strategies)
• And much more

Watch This Video Now

Don't worry; there is NO SALES PITCH in this presentation. It's just solid information from a conservative trader that we believe everyone should consider.

If you are interested in adding a new setup and/or market feel free to opt in, then watch your email in the coming days for another free video introducing you to trading the oil market.

Please feel free to leave us a comment and let us know what you think about Scott's video

Proof You are Crazy not to Diversify Your Trading

Hedging your account.....Internationalizing Your Assets Webinar

Our trading partners at Casey Research are hosting a great webinar on April 30th that will give you a new insight into protecting you and your investments as we are faced with hedging our investments against the dozens of future challenges we face as investors in the U.S. markets in the years to come. Expansion of the fiat currency, inflation, forced debt reduction, rising taxes and so much more.

None of this worries you? Here are just a few of the topics we will cover in this webinar.....

1.    Increasingly desperate governments are trying to prevent citizens from transferring assets abroad

2.    Governments are increasingly desperate for money due to out-of-control spending that has created historic deficits

3.    This is especially true in the US, which is indebted to the tune of over $16.6 trillion

4.    $5.56 trillion of that debt is held by foreign investors in the form of US Treasuries, who sooner or later will want a better return on their money because current interest rates are extremely low right now

5.    They will also want a better return because the US is not demonstrating a willingness to pay off this debt, which of course raises the risk for Treasury holders

6.    The U.S. will attempt to pay down its debt through increasing the money supply and repaying Treasury holders in diluted dollars

7.    This expansion of the money supply, coupled with foreign Treasury holders' demands for a better return on their money, will exacerbate rising inflation, perhaps catastrophically

8.    This inflation will reduce the purchasing power of the dollar, which in turn reduces the value of assets denominated in dollars

9.    This means that wealth inside the U.S. and wealth denominated in dollars is doomed to depreciate in value

10.  The best way to protect your assets from this depreciation is to diversify them internationally

11.  Dollar depreciation isn’t the only reason to internationally diversify your assets
12.   The risk of asset seizure is another reason – the government can’t seize your assets if they are abroad

13.  The threat of capital controls is another reason to diversify because the government doesn’t want you to stash your money abroad – that’s why they placed severe restrictions on Americans who try to open foreign bank accounts. It’s likely they’ll make these restrictions more onerous

14.  The current U.S. administration has been playing up the concept of the rich not paying their fair share and hiding their money overseas for tax evasion purposes. Becoming more aggressive, including:

a.  Went after UBS in Switzerland to break longstanding tradition and give up the names of US account holders

b.  FACTA law in 2012 forces foreign banks to do the IRS’s bidding and reveal American account holders

c.  Current limitation of under $10,000 in cash transfers without reporting to the government

d.  Dogs in airports specifically trained to sniff US currency, just like the drug-sniffing dogs

e.  Other broke countries, like Spain, are doing the same thing

15.  Rising taxes are another reason to internationally diversify – with the government’s debts continually rising, it’s all but certain that income taxes and taxes on investments will rise in order to fund out-of-control spending

a. The Social Security Payroll Tax Cut enacted in 2010 was not extended during the fiscal cliff negotiations; as a result, an American household with a $50,000 annual income will pay $1,000 more in taxes in 2013

b. The Committee on Ways and Means says Obamacare will cost Americans $1 trillion in taxes, and that it leaves in place 21 tax increases

c.  The top marginal tax rate increased from 35% to 39.6% for taxable incomes over $450,000 (over $400,000 for single filers) as part of the fiscal cliff deal

d.  Personal exemptions for adjusted gross filers’ income (over $300,000) will be phased down ($250,000 for single filers)

e.  Increase in the rate of dividends and capital gains from 15% to 20% for taxable incomes over $450,000 ($400,000 for single filers)

f.   Death-tax increase from 35% to $40% for on estates larger than $5 million

g.  Tax increases on business investment – expiration of full expensing – the immediate deduction of capital purchases by businesses

16.  The heirs of individuals with wealth will be hit with huge estate taxes if that wealth is in the US – yet another reason to internationally diversify

17.  The government has given consideration to taking control of 401(k) plans and IRAs to make pensions more “fair.” This will take control of your retirement funds out of your hands and put it into the government’s hands… unless those funds are abroad and out of reach of greedy politicians

a.  Argentina nationalized private pension plans in 2008

b.  Ireland earmarked 4 billion euros from the country’s pension reserve fund in 2009 to rescue banks; in 2010 the remaining $2.5 billion euros was seized to support the bailout of the rest of the country. Hungary forced its citizens in 2011 to remit their individual retirement savings to the state or lost the right to a basic state pension

18.  Anyone with means is also at risk of predatory lawsuits if their means are concentrated in their home countries (this is especially true for Americans)

19.  For all of these reasons and more, you need to protect at least some of your wealth abroad

20.  Your first step toward doing that is to watch the Internationalize Your Assets webinar on April 30th

21.  It features top expert advice you’ll find on asset expatriation from: contrarian investing legend Doug Casey; CEO and Euro Pacific Capital Chief Global Strategist Peter Schiff; GoldSilver.com founder Mike Maloney; Casey Research Managing Director David Galland; and World Money Analyst Editor Kevin Brekke. Link to bios: ((link to full bios))

22.  When these experts talk about international diversification, smart investors listen, as they have been featured in numerous well known media, including the Washington Times, Newsweek, and Bloomberg

23.  During the webinar, they will reveal actionable advice on how to protect your assets from increasingly intrusive governments, including low cost options for international diversification, the best countries to do business in, and the best ways to move your savings abroad without triggering invasive reporting requirements

24.  The webinar is free – the only thing you have to do is tell us where to email the details and webinar link.

Visit the "Internationalizing Your Assets Webinar" here and get signed up today.

See you in the markets,

Ray C. Parrish

President/CEO The Crude Oil Trader

The 2 Energy Sectors You Should Invest in This Year

Do You Understand The Conoco-Phillips Spin Off?

Guest blogger Tim McLeenan brings us answers to all of our questions on what the Conoco-Phillips [ticker COP] spin off will mean to investors.....

I was checking out the recent conference call that James Mulva, the CEO of Conoco-Phillips, conducted with analysts to discuss the company’s plans to split the company up in 2012, with one company focusing on Exploration & Production while the other one will focus on Refining & Marketing. While the list of disadvantages associated with any stock spinoff may be self-evident, the duplicate boards, management, and cost structures, the loss of diversification that gives a company the ability to rely on multiple business units during difficult times, and of course, reduced efficiencies, or whatever the correct term is to note the opposite of ‘synergy savings’ that companies always claim, will occur when two companies merge.

So investors need a reason to believe that a stock spinoff will actually provide something to investors that the combined company didn’t either capital appreciation in the form of P/E multiple expansion that a more focused company can achieve, higher growth, or an unexpected dividend boost that did not appear likely under the combined company.....Read the entire article.


Click Here to Get Your Free Trend Analysis For Conoco-Phillips

Diversification Doesn't Work Anymore

Find out how Wall Street has sold the myth of safety in diversification for years to unsuspecting investors everywhere.

Now you can learn from this timely 10 page report that exposes the myth of diversification and how it can cripple your financial future if you do it the Wall Street way.

This Is Not About Derivatives
Before I go any further, we are not talking about exotic derivatives, the kind that tanked the economy and sent a financial tsunami through Wall Street. No, we’re talking about the major markets, mainstream shares, the kind of shares you hear and read about every day.

We Have A Solution
In this in depth report on diversification, you will learn how one simple adjustment can easily open up the money spigots and turn the tables on Wall Street. This one simple adjustment can put your account in the black faster than you can go to our website. This new solution, which we fully reveal, can turn your retirement account into the financial powerhouse that it deserves to be.

A Non Wall Street Portfolio
Also included in the report is a model portfolio that proves that diversification can work when it's done the right way. Using the Wall Street method of diversification you would have lost close to 30% of your money! In the “Global Strategy Portfolio” included in the report, you would have made a 23% return on your money during the exact same timeframe. That’s an over 50% swing in just 30 short months. In the report we show you not only how to achieve these results, but we also share the rules that you need to follow in order to get the exact same results in half the time, with less risk.

What Is The Cost?
If you do nothing and don’t download this special report, it could cost you thousands of dollars in losses in your portfolio over the next few months. However, if you call or click on the link below, the report is free of charge along with our “Global Strategy Portfolio.”

ACT NOW AND RECEIVE THIS REPORT BY EMAIL

Call or click to receive your personal copy of this timely report and it can be in your hands in the next 3 minutes. This report is free of charge and there is no obligation. We guarantee that this report on diversification will have you laughing all the way to the bank.

Click HERE to get your report immediately!



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Phil Flynn: Brown Shoes Oil

Comedian George Gobel once asked, "Did you ever get the feeling that the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?" Energy traders right now probably know exactly what he means. Are you not feeling a little left out of all the commodity excitement and feel like you are on the outside looking in? While oil prices fail at another attempt to take out $80 a barrel this week and stumbled back down into the mid seventies, it seems the rest of the commodity world has gone parabolic. I mean look at all the markets that have gone dong gone wild! Gold overnight hit another all time nominal high! Silver hit the highest level since the Hunt boys diversified from tomatoes or is it tomatoes to silver.

Sugar seems to be targeting doubling its price from the low it made last May. Corn is back above $5.00 a bushel as it appears that the crop and some of the ears are more than a few kernels short of the cob. Coffee has been percolating and is surging as Arabica supplies are tight and there are worries about the current crop. Yet petroleum these days have been very rangy. For oil it is hard to get over the hump when the demand outlook is sketchy and the supply is mounting. Oh sure, you can speculate that supply will tighten dramatically in the future.....Read the entire article.

Proof....Diversification Doesn't Work

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Stock Market and Commodities Summary For Thursday Evening

The U.S. stock indexes closed firmer again today and hit multi week highs. Bulls have gained upside near term technical momentum recently as the bulls have "climbed a wall of worry." While the months of September and October have been historically unkind to the stock market bulls, the indexes are getting through the month of September in good shape, so far.

Crude oil closed down $1.58 at $74.44 a barrel today. Prices closed near the session low today. Bulls are fading and bears again have the slight near term technical advantage. The next near-term upside price objective for the bulls is producing a close above solid technical resistance at this week's high of $78.04 a barrel.

Natural gas closed up 5.3 cents at $4.048 today. Prices closed nearer the session high today, hit another fresh three week high on more short covering in a bear market, and scored a bullish "outside day" up on the daily bar chart. The bears still have the overall near term technical advantage. The next upside price objective for the bulls is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $4.20.

Gold futures closed up $5.70 at $1,274.40 today. Prices closed near mid-range today and did hit another fresh contract and all time record high today. A weaker U.S. dollar index today helped to boost gold. Look for price volatility in the gold market to heat up in the near term, with bigger daily price movements likely, both on the upside and on the downside, with prices now in uncharted territory. Gold bulls still have the solid overall near term technical advantage.

The U.S. dollar index closed down 27 points at 81.47 today. Prices closed nearer the session low today. Bears still have the near term technical advantage. Bulls' next upside price objective is to close prices above solid technical resistance at last week's high of 83.31.

Click Here....Find Out Why Diversification Doesn't Work

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