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Is Another Huge Bank Failure Brewing?
A large “mystery” bank is scrambling for late night cash. At the close of the quarter, an unnamed bank paid 7% for overnight money from the Fed. The mainstream and the Fed claim this to be normal behavior at the end of the quarter, but don’t believe it for a second.
Recent Articles
Here are the most recent contrarian news and opinions articles from our select contributors. You'll find unique ideas about how to take advantage of what's happening in the financial world. Click on each of the headlines below to read the full story.
About Contrarian Profits
ContrarianProfits.com is a financial news and opinion website with a twist. As investment guru Rick Rule puts it, "You are either a contrarian or a victim." In the financial world, most people are losers because they just don't know what game they're playing. They think they can just get "into the market" along with everyone else, do what everyone else does, and they will make money. Not likely. By the time you've paid commissions, spreads, fees, taxes -- and suffered the consequences of inflation -- you'll be very lucky just to have as much money as you started with.
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If the last three months are any indication, the U.S. tech sector has shaken off its recession-heightened late-winter doldrums, and could see its fortunes soar in the year’s second half as businesses and consumers open their wallets and the broader economy picks up speed.
We recently had an IDE editorial meeting in Delray Beach. I got a sound reminder of the diversified talents represented by your IDE editors at this get together. There was clearly an air of excitement and anticipation regarding ways to navigate the present economic and financial mess.
There are a number of health care reform plans on the drawing boards right now, and they all seem to come with mind-numbing sticker shock. The administration’s new plan and Senator Kennedy’s plan are both estimated to cost $1 trillion over 10 years.
One Pick Each Week Could've Turned $5,000 into $1,000,000 in just 5 Years
Steve Sarnoff makes one pick each week. In both 2005 and 2007 - he picked 100% winners. His recommendations are straight-forward, easy to understand, and they could help you turn just $5,000 into $1,000,000.
Get all the details here on this amazing offer.
When oil prices moved to over $30 a barrel in the mid 1980s, it was considered a significant event. It also signaled the birth of small ethanol companies in the Midwest. Many of them managed to hang around long enough to get a second wind when Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing Gulf War pushed oil prices past $40.
Now that the stock market has soared 40% from its March lows, almost no one can seem to remember what they were so worried about. By contrast, now that the price of natural has collapsed 40% in the last seven months, almost no one can remember why they ever worried about an energy shortage.
Mention Japan and many people think of Geisha, castles and samurai. Mention investing in Japan and the image of an impenetrable wall comes to mind. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have seen all of this firsthand - and not just once, but on a pretty consistent basis for the past two decades, when I’ve been here as a businessman, a resident, and - most recently - as a husband and a parent.
Last week was a very important one. The U.S. Treasury placed a record level of debt, the Federal Reserve announced it would not expand its monetary easing, and we got many top players opining about the economy. In addition, we are facing the uncertainties about ‘Cap and Trade’ legislation and the healthcare reform.
Right now, bunches of savvy investors are getting paid cold, hard cash for nothing more than agreeing to buy stocks. Investors are giving them money to buy stock that they were looking to purchase anyway. Sound crazy? Well it isn’t
The most fundamental tenet of investing is that risk and reward go hand in hand. The greater the potential reward, the greater the risk. The lower the risk, the lower the reward you can expect.
Notes From the Investment Underground
Here’s Why You Need to Be a Dollar Bull TodayWorld trade experiencing a “huge drop”, according to the World Trade Organization. Rather than the gloomy 9% predicted earlier this year, volume will likely contract by 10%.
Will High Unemployment Unleash Inflation?
The Fed continues to preach that high unemployment will stymie any chance of (hyper) inflation taking hold and stealing our collective wealth. Michael Ponto of Delta Global Advisors believes just the opposite.
Why the Millionaire’s Club See No ‘Green Shoots’ Ahead
But the surge in pay is still keeping millionaires on the sidelines. Simon Mellon, of our new Bonner and Partners Family Office service, has been eyeing the sentiment of high net worth Americans. And the picture ain’t pretty.
Social Security: The Biggest Ponzi Scheme You Don’t Know About
Yesterday, the mainstream media whooped and shrieked over the tough sentence handed down to swindler Bernie Madoff. “Madoff got what he deserved,” wrote the columnists. “Mr Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil,” said Judge Denny Chin, who also told the jury that Madoff’s pyramid scheme was “staggering” and “off the chart.”
Will Debt Eventually Bring America to Her Knees?
As California goes, so will the US. It is our strong suspicion here at Notes that California’s fiscal crisis (what is really a profligate spending crisis) is but a prelude to the coming national debt crisis.
Why the Mega-Rich Are Hoarding Gold, Bonds, & Dollars Now
Simon Mellon, who’ll be heading up Bonner & Partners Family Office, our soon-to-be-launched money management and tax optimization service, is keeping in close contact with Notes HQ.
Green Shoots Optimism: The Biggest ‘Bait and Switch’ in History
All this week, we’ve been sounding the alarm of the so-called economic “green shoots.” These have now been exposed as being pure propaganda designed to lure investors back into stocks and to allow banks to recapitalize through share issuances at artificially elevated prices.
The Family Office Secrets of the Ultra-Rich
Simon Mellon, the globetrotting financial insider leading up our new “family office” project, says the super-rich are switching to low risk. (We will be sharing Simon’s insights into wealth protection, asset management and risk with Notes readers for the foreseeable future.)
Frank Pushes Fannie and Freddie to Take On More Risky Loans
Man of the people Barney Frank is proving how difficult it is for elected officials to learn the lessons of history. In a move that goes beyond dumb, Frank has written a letter to government-backed mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac asking them to relax recently tightened mortgage standards for condominiums.
Grayson Challenges Feds Over $300 Billion Citi Slush Fund
Representative Alan Grayson (D-Fla) is proving that Ron Paul isn’t the only one with a pulse up on Capitol Hill. Grayson is going after the “Citigroup Three” – Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner and Vikram Pandit – in an attempt to bust up the Wall Street crony alliance.
How Today’s News Mimics the Great Depression
Plenty of punters and commentators thought things were getting better in 1929, too. And to prove it, one diligent blogger has started summarizing the news from the Wall Street Journal form the corresponding day in 1930 (one year after the crash – get it?).
The Bearer Bond Saga Gets Even Fishier
More news is filtering through about the bond arrests in Italy. Britain’s Financial Times newspaper reports that Italian and US secret service agents now claim the $134 billion in seized “fake” bearer bonds on the Italian Swiss border at the beginning of the month were “the handiwork of the Italian Mafia.”
How to Save 60% On Your Property Taxes
Up to 60% of you could be saving money on your property taxes, says our resident tax expert Raife Neuman…
Alex Merk: ‘Tools in Place’ for Dollar Diversification
We’ve been musing on the fate of US debt for some time now. It’s no secret that we’re bearish on the fate of US Treasurys and the buck. (It’s no accident, dear reader, that your editor lives outside the US of A. We see the threat of inflation on the horizon, a dark and foreboding cloud, and we don’t like it one bit.) And the mixed signals from China and Russia on their Treasury holdings doesn’t make us sleep any easier at night.
Dollar Tree Set to Surge In a Frugal Future
Consumer deleveraging has barely even started, says Payout Trader editor and Crisis Strategy Alert senior analyst Charles Delvalle.
