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Record highs for gold, solar controversy, and a phrase Mr. Amberger is prohibited from using EVER again: The Week in Review

Posted January 12, 2008

by J. Christoph Amberger

Baltimore — (TFN): New record highs for gold (at least if you don't adjust for inflation.) New record write-offs for all those smart investment bankers. (It's getting so bad that people speculate that if they lose a few more equivalents of a medium-sized country's GDP, they may only get eight-figure bonuses!)

In short: US stocks took it on the chin this week. The Dow declined to 12,606, the Nasdaq is down at 2,439, and the S&P500 clocked in at 1,401 on Friday afternoon. In a see-saw downward trend, the Hang Seng has declined from its all-time high of 31,958.40 to an intraday low at 26,725.95 yesterday. Almost all European indexes followed the US downward.

But there were notable exceptions: The Shanghai Composite closed up 28.136 points at 5,484.677 and India's BSE 30 was up 245.37 (1.19%) at 20,827.45. Both markets depend heavily on the open purse of the American consumer.

Meanwhile, across the pond, the British pound is sagging not just against the euro, but against the greenback as well. Merryn Somerset Webb, our associate over at Moneyweek.com with the posh British accent, considers this a logical consequence of homegrown fiscal managenment problems.

TFN supplemented the week's events with a host of contributions, both from our international partners and our own staff.

The most hotly debated story was Solar Investing: Don’t trust LDK by Stephanie Grimmett, in which she states: “As is usually the case in a Wall Street scandal, the actual truth is less important than a few soothing words and a nice soft-shoe to make investors feel better about the situation. And that’s what LDK gave us.” It triggered a storm of dissent from hopefully better informed readers. Who is right? Take a look and put in your own 2 cents!

*** In tis weekend's Special Edition of Smart Trading, “Market Outlook 2008,” bestselling author Bill Bonner discusses the global economic crises and opportunities. This is the longest and most in-depth live interview Bill has ever granted. He covers western monetary policy, the outlook for US real estate, China and India, and his analysis of gold and natural resources. (I recommend you fix yourself a cup of tea before you watch it, because Bill and I are at it for a good 20 minutes!)

*** Yesterday, Dollar Bear Peter Schiff argues that current record highs in gold prices have nothing whatsoever to do with a bublle. "Gold is not in a bubble market: The Fed is sending the message that inflation is going to get a whole lot worse and that it couldn’t care less. As the price of gold continues to climb as a result, look for more excuses to minimize the significance of the move."

*** Since TFN's roving financial researcher and editor-at-large Stephanie Grimmett is too modest to appear on video, I had to stand in for her for The Next Asian Tiger: How you can profit from Vietnam’s economic miracle, her emerging markets speculation on Vietnam's emergence as a serious competitor for cheap manufacturing. But even my delivery shouldn't divert from the fact that this is an extremely promising, long-term, groundfloor investment opportunity.

 *** It took a bit of finagling, but we got former Volume Spike Alert editor Andrew Snyder back into our fold. One of the reports he posted this week was Conservative Options Investing: Three tips to surefire success. Let us know what you think in the comments feature!

*** And then, there was I, writing a Book Review of Michael Masterson’s “Ready, Fire, Aim”. I have been using the title phrase for years to encourage my associates and co-workers not to allow process to keep them from testing a good idea. (In fact, I have used it so often that Smart Trading director Laura Cadden, who not only knows her way around a Sig Sauer all too well but also frequently had to fix the results of other people's random neuronal firing, has prohibited me from ever using it again in her presence!) I have not let caution stand in the way of applying Michael's principles everywhere in my businesses and think you should at least leaf through the book at your corner bookstore.

Of course, there is plenty more content that went online on TFN this week. If you think you may have missed a video this week, just check here if one of the screenshots looks unfamiliar.

What are we working on for next week? Well, given the heartfelt opinions voiced on LDK and the impressive gains of the alternative energy sector, Laura Cadden has lined up Greenchip Stocks editor Nick Hodge for Smart Trading. Krista Das and our video genius Andrew Robinson will be back from Vegas, where they shot tons of footage and interviews at the consumer electronics show in search of this year's hot technology stock. Plus, we have enlisted Ian Cooper, who left the Taipan Group for the greener pastures at Angel Publishing, doing the 60-Second Market Buzz. And I have been pecking at my keyboard to write a diatribe on the effusive use of "Hope" and "Change" used in the primaries. 

The majority of TFN coverage, however, will be determined by the market… not by a scheduling manager. (Man, do I enjoy working here!)

****Make sure you sign up for our FREE TFN News Feed for breaking news, special reports and new financial videos. Click here to pick your favorite reader. If you prefer to have the feed delivered to your email, just click here. 


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Posted by J. Christoph Amberger · Filed Under News that Matters 

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