Heather Wagenhals joined us today to discuss the recent bank hack/heist and the ingenious way it was executed. Never underestimate the intelligence of criminals. They spend all their time looking for weaknesses and opportunities to illegally profit. Therefore, it's very important that you're extremely wary when dealing with any emails, links, attachments or anything you're not sure of on the Internet. Also, don't store your passwords, and regularly dispose of your cookies and caches from your browser. Otherwise, you could find yourself looted as well. 

Direct download: Heather_Wagenhals_26.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:30am EDT
Comments[0]

Jason Stevens believes that the current low prices we're seeing won't last. He believes that oil will go back up to the $65-70 range within a matter of months and should stay there for quite a while, once the storage situation is worked off. Just low enough to keep out the marginal shale producers. As far as diamonds are concerned, prices are going up and mines are closing. Very few new mines are coming on stream. It takes many years to bring a new diamond mine into production. Therefore, the companies who are currently producing good quality stones can present great values.   

To receive monthly top news stories and commentary on the resource sector from Jason,  click here

Direct download: Jason_Stevens_26.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:48pm EDT
Comments[0]

Jason Hartman is still bullish on real estate and for good reason. In the current environment of financial repression, there are few alternatives to get a decent return on your money, what with banks paying less than one percent on your accounts. His real estate deals regularly pay 10 percent or better cash on cash returns. But he's really excited about driverless cars and believes that it will have a profound impact on the way we work and live. We're getting very close now to the time where you won't have to worry about how much you have to drink when you go out at night since you won't be driving home anyway. 

Direct download: Jason_Hartman_26.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:29pm EDT
Comments[0]

Don Mazzella writes, "It wasn't supposed to be like this for Republicans. A month into their control of both chambers of Congress, they are confronting the very real possibility of a shutdown of the Homeland Security Department later this month.

Instead of advancing a conservative agenda and showing voters they can govern, the GOP has been unable to overcome Senate Democrats' stalling tactics in a dispute over immigration."

Direct download: Don_Mazzella_26.Feb15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:01pm EDT
Comments[0]

You've probably heard by now how a group of low tech hackers managed to steal at least a billion dollars from banks around the globe, in a very short time period. They did it by sending emails with infected links to banks employees. Once they were in the rest was easy. Paul Oster, noted identity theft expert and credit authority explains that virtually everyone with a dollar in the bank or an active credit card is a sitting duck. The only thing you can do is set up a monitoring service and be prepared. 

Direct download: Paul_Oster_24.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:11pm EDT
Comments[0]

Jason Burack has come up with his three most important rules for investing in The New Normal or as we like to call it The New Economy. Unless you've been holed up in a cave in a state of suspended animation like a hibernating monk, you know that things have changed, both in the US and around the world. The rule of law has eroded and we're living in an era of increasing lawlessness. That's why Jason's rules are so important. Here they are. 

 1. Politicians and governments can and will change the rules anytime they want perhaps on a daily basis

 2. Because of rule #1 people should not go "all in" on investing in any one asset class or investing in only one country or company. At least some real diversification is important to protect against known unknowns or unknown unknowns. 

 3. People should focus on creating as many possible income streams as they can from owning different investments and businesses to protect themselves to survive and thrive whatever is coming in the future thanks to the myopic stupidity and rent seeking behavior of parasitical central planners, politicians, bankers, government bureaucrats, etc

Direct download: Jason_Burack_24.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:45pm EDT
Comments[0]

Danielle Park says the fear is always worse than the reality. While no country ever wants to default, the reality is that the debt keeps getting larger and has become unsustainable. Greece and the rest of the world have run out of choices, so now it's time to make the ultimate choice and default. Everyone will feel better in the morning. A four month delay isn't going to make any difference in the long run. It's always better to start with a clean slate, just ask any bankrupt debtor once they've pulled the trigger. 

Direct download: Danielle_Park_24.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:23pm EDT
Comments[0]

Whatever It Takes Wednesday With Andrew Hoffman:

Greece - So Much to Talk about So Little Time;

 

FOMC minutes/Yellen Humphrey Hawkins testimony

 

Plunging PM supply/mining earnings

 

market rigging!  

                -10 banks probed for gold rigging

                -the new "oil PPT"

 

horrible economic data

                -existing home sales, Dallas Fed yesterday

                -housing sentiment, new mortgage applications (with barely a move higher from 20-year mortgage rate lows), PPI, Industrial Production, Philly Fed, PMI Manufacturing employment/sentiment last week

                -Macy's poor 4Q earnings, 2015 outlook today (following Deere last week)

                -plunging rig count, record low Baltic Dry Index

Direct download: Andy_Hoffman_24.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:43am EDT
Comments[0]

John writes, "  Interest just posted a nice summary of a McKinsey report on the growth of global debt during what some persist in calling the “great deleveraging.” Turns out that since the crisis of 2008, debt has actually risen by $57 trillion, and the ratio of debt to GDP is up 17 percentage points to 286%. Meanwhile, central banks are monetizing 100% of newly-issued sovereign debt. 

The obvious response to this is 1) wow, nothing has been fixed; in fact just the opposite, and 2) these stats, horrendous as they are, are incomplete because they don’t include unfunded liabilities of governments and private pensions, which are just as real as any other kind of debt.

But unfunded liabilities must be getting better, what with the stocks and bonds in pension fund portfolios soaring lately. Right? Since that’s an effortless Google search, that’s what I did. And the results were both counterintuitive and scary. It seems that even with pension fund investment portfolios booming, obligations to future retirees are rising even faster, making these entities even more underfunded today than in 2007."

Direct download: John_Rubino_23.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:38pm EDT
Comments[0]

Lance Edwards has been investing in residential real estate since 2002. Best of all he's been doing it with none of his own money. He's got a free book that available to you that explains it all. First and foremost he looks for value. Once he's got a piece of real estate that produces cash flow, the rest is easy. While we can't endorse his methods, he does have a track record of success. 

Direct download: Lance_Edwards_23.Feb.15_.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:53pm EDT
Comments[0]

David Jensen, prolific writer on sound money and finance, joined us to discuss the potential ramifications of the recent Canadian lawsuit dealing with the Bank of Canada and it's mandate to make interest-free loans to the provinces and how that mission somehow got subverted by the BIS (Bank for International Settlements). Now the policy has been challenged in court and the appellate tribunal has allowed the case to continue. This is only an intermediate appeal and whether the plaintiffs will ultimately prevail is an open question. However, it did send some shock waves across Canada and directed some unwanted attention towards the bank's practices. Where it will eventually wind up is anyone's guess. 

Direct download: David_Jensen_20.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:14pm EDT
Comments[0]

Carol Swain rose from high school dropout and teenage mother to esteemed Vanderbilt University law professor. She is passionate about empowering others to confidently raise their conservative voices in the public square. Dr. Swain’s education and experiences make her a credible and powerful force for change in today’s social and political climate where conservatives are intimidated to champion an often-unpopular message.

Carol Swain’s own courageous voice for conservative causes is expressed among a variety of popular media. She’s a frequent guest on Hannity’s: Great American Panel on Fox News and appeared regularly on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight. Now she joins FSN to tell us about a recent run in she had with her college community over an article she wrote violent Islam. 

Direct download: Carol_Swain_20.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:08pm EDT
Comments[0]

We spoke with Mark Skousen, founder of FreedomFest. Mark has been teaching courses at California Based Chapman University, which has become a leading institution of higher learning. It was gratifying to hear that the student body is predisposed to free markets and free thought, unlike so much of academia today. Mark contrasted them with his students at Mercy College in New York who were much more likely to support government programs and intervention in the marketplace. Perhaps there's hope. 

This year's FreedomFest is also shaping up nicely. More debates are on tap and the Moore-Krugman debate is attracting quite a bit of attention. It promises to be the highlight of the event. We can't wait to see it and Mark will be the moderator. It will be the shoot-out at the Mises Corral. 

Direct download: Mark_Skousen_19.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:58pm EDT
Comments[0]

We caught up with Ned Schmidt today and the word of the day is Peak Food! A recent paper released showed that many crops, while their production is still increasing, are requiring more and more input and their yields per acre aren't rising as fast as they once were. This doesn't mean famine is coming to the world, rather it means that food prices will be going much higher in the years to come and a higher percentage of incomes will be devoted towards food, where possible. Proits of food producers and related companies will also tend to go higher. 

We also discussed precious metals. Ned hasn't seen a better "set-up" for gold and silver since 2009. The gold to S&P ratio is extremely favorable as is the gold to silver ratio. This could mean a big move for the sector is on the way. But then again, we've been disappointed far too many times in the past to remain unskeptical. 

Direct download: Ned_Schmidt_19.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:07am EDT
Comments[0]

Bill Tatro believes that before you trust any number issued by the government, you should probably have your head examined by several mental health professionals. Every number issued by the government is part of an agenda to make the populace feel better about things, even though they know that things are not getting better. Nowhere is this truer than with the unemployment numbers. The government says it's around 5.6 percent, but the real number is much higher, just look at the labor force participation rate and you'll understand why. It's hovering at generational lows and keeps going lower. This is a sure sign that recovery is not right around the corner. 

Direct download: Bill_Tatro_18.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:30pm EDT
Comments[0]

Whatever it Takes Wednesdays with Andrew Hoffman!

 

Greece!

 

Central banking gone mad - 65% of survey participants believe Central bank actions will be the most important market movers in 2015.

 

U.S. economic data plunge!

- housing starts, refi activity, retail sales, industrial production, consumer confidence, jobless claims

-today biggest ever PPI drop for January - but BLS says largest real wages increase in years!

-rig counts

-record low Baltic Dry Index

-record high oil inventories

 

Record Chinese gold imports

2/28 India will probably repeal PM import tariffs

miner armageddon thus far - as planned, with tomorrow being super thursday for earnings

 

FOMC minutes today

-fed's gambit of goosing 10-year backfiring

-now in oil manipulation (supporting) business now, too - will FAIL

Direct download: Andy_Hoffman_18.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00am EDT
Comments[0]

Charles Hugh Smith has written about the we are living in An Empire of Lies. We discuss what that means and why it must eventually end. The surprising thing is how long it has lasted. This is why it's so important to go back to the local investing and keep the money in your community where it will do the most good. Because when it all collapses, you'll be living in your local town, not in the global economy. Which is why you investing always needs to begin at home. 

Direct download: Charles_H_Smith_17.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:40pm EDT
Comments[0]

We talked with the Gold and Oil Guy today, Chris Vermeulen. He says that Gold is still in a bear market, like it has been for the past three years. There's an opportunity to pick up a quick profit when it rebounds from its current plunge, but don't be fooled. It's all setting up very nicely for the ultimate bull market that's getting closer. Same with the much maligned Toronto Venture Exchange (TSX:V), which is at record lows due to its composition of miners and resource companies. Chris believes that when it comes back, it will come back very big, so consider the ETF. Chris is very bearish on Oil and doesn't see it for quite some time, so don't chase it lower. Believe the technicals, not your heart. 

Direct download: Chris_Vermeulen_17.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:49pm EDT
Comments[0]

John writes, "Global capital is looking for a place to hide. But after decades of enthusiastic currency creation and financial engineering, there’s way too much of it for any one country to accommodate. This mismatch between money knocking at the door and available space is leading the handful of remaining safe havens to put up “no vacancy” signs in order to avoid being swamped. Among the things they’re trying is negative interest rates. That is, if you want to deposit money in a Swiss or Danish bank or lend money to the Japanese or German governments you now have to pay them for the privilege.

This sounds a little crazy, and from a historical perspective it is indeed highly unusual. But it’s exactly what you’d expect in a world of ever-increasing debt and ever-more-exotic financial speculation: Too much bad paper gets created which eventually blows up, causes instability and leads worried investors to value return of capital over return on capital. They all pile into whatever seems most likely to still exist a decade hence, forcing (or enabling) the managers of those assets to charge rather than pay interest."

Direct download: John_Rubino_16.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:36pm EDT
Comments[0]

Dave Barnett has found the key to investing locally and profitably. Find local entrepreneurs who need capital and either don't want to deal with a bank or who are priced out of the small business loan market. Dave has been making loans to small business owners in his area for years and has only had one bad loan during that time. Now he's got a referral network that keeps the deals flowing. He show;s you how to do it too in his book Invest Local

Direct download: Dave_Barnett_16.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:04pm EDT
Comments[0]

Our guest and friend Woody O'Brien joined us for a wide ranging discussion about what's happening with the world economy and the oil patch. He sees oil going back up in price at some point because the so-called surplus is just not great enough to keep the price down for long. Also he's extremely bullish on cyber-security and loves the HACK etf. As always he's bullish on food, because of rising population and the fondness of humanity for 3 squares a day. And as usual he's down on the banksters for putting the world in the current mess it finds itself in as today. There's so much more. Woody has a talent for cutting through the bull. 

Direct download: Woody_Obrien_13.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:30am EDT
Comments[0]

According to the Survival Doctor James Hubbard, the vaccine critics are all wet. The science behind vaccines is well established and beyond repute. Before the measels vaccine, approximately 1000 Americans per year died of this illness. Once vaccination became near universal that number went down to zero. In addition, Dr. Hubbard says the fears of adjutants and preservatives used to store and suspend the vaccine agents have been completely disproven and have only been kept alive due to the power of the Internet. But you need to be the judge. 

We also discussed how one needs to react to life threatening situations. Because the average person has not received medical training and is not prepared for such events, the odds are panic will set in when confronted with these situations. The key is preparation. Only by preparing can we expect to avoid the onset of panic to stressful, traumatic situations. 

Direct download: James_Hubbard_13.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00am EDT
Comments[0]

Goldmoney's Director of Research Alasdair MacLeod stopped by yesterday to give us an update on what's happening in Europe. Since he's based in the UK and he's beholden to no one, he's got a great perspective on things and they're not pretty. Seems the Greek Government has been taken over by a group of determined adolescents. Their solution to everything is, when in doubt spend more money that you don't have. Raise the minimum wage, increase bankrupt pension payments, hire more civil servants to do nothing and on and on. The very same behavior that has caused the crisis across the globe. And of course they're expecting a different outcome a la Krugman. Good luck on that one! 

And Alasdair explains that this will no doubt lead to an exit from the Euro and it's spawning similar movements in Spain, Italy and elsewhere. The failure of leadership is nearly universal and the results will be catastrophic. More good news for your weekend. Buy gold and silver and forget about it!

Direct download: Alasdair_MacLeod_12.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:42pm EDT
Comments[0]

John Manfreda is convinced that oil prices will return to and exceed their former highs, sooner rather than later. Whether he's right or wrong, there are some screaming buys among the downtrodden sector in the stock market. As usual the baby has been thrown out with the bath water. There's some dividend plays that would bring a smile to Benjamin Graham's long withered face. John tells you all about them. 

Direct download: John_Manfreda_12.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:05pm EDT
Comments[0]

Howard Davidowitz lists a half dozen more stores that are in bankruptcy or closing down, including such names as Radio Shack, Jones New York, Izod and Delia's with many more on the way. The economy is sinking and the White House is doing nothing but doubling the debt and increasing the number of people living in poverty. Howard calls it crackpot economics. The American People gave the Democrats a failing report card in the last election and Obama and the Party are in denial. Howard says the Democrats can't even negotiate with him. He listens to no one, except perhaps Al Sharpton. And it's no better overseas with the latest defeat Yemen. Which explains why Obama and Biden have never had jobs. Obama and the teachers' unions cannot and will not be evaluated. 

Land of the Malls No More

Direct download: Howard_Davidowitz_12.Feb.15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:17am EDT
Comments[0]



-->

Syndication

Categories

Archives

February 2015
S M T W T F S
     
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28