Sheldon,

After the grief you took in 2008 for your picks; you are certainly entitled to crow with a successful 2009.

Don't forget Sheldon...for every winner there are many losers.

al c'

Yes, and I asked that question in the story, relative to who was taking the other side of the Ford bet? However, anyone who followed my lead in 2009 was not one of the losers.

Always appreciate your commentary.

Half the folks playing in the Superbowl lose. Even more losers in horse racing and auto racing. We all make decisions every day and many do not work out as we had hoped.

I think the title of the story is inclusive of some of your sentiment.

Fear make people do thigns stupids.

Here in Brazil bovespa are in sale too.

[]s

Back when Ford was hovering around $1.80 I wanted to take a flyer on it but chickened out. Congrats to you for having the courage to follow your instincts.

I will say though that, at least to me, the stock market is turning more and more into a casino. The only guaranteed winners are the market makers and their secret software that cheats the intent of the system.

It reminds me of the hacks I read about a couple of years ago who reprogrammed their company computers to round off portions of pennies from each transaction and transfer them to a secret account where they reaped a big wad until they got caught.

Sachs and Morgan are no less crooks than those kids were.

al,

Dearly love to see some substantiation of the claim of "market makers & their secret software".

I have seen the claims here by the guy who shorted a stock & then hit the internet starting disaster rumors for the company. Trading Houses that made moves prior to their customers' to make a few cents off the customer; have faced serious sanctions. By and large the major houses have done well over the last few months but tanked along with the rest of us in 2008. I've seen the casino claims & would like to sit in on a discussion of the issue.

Not that we'd have to; but we can always keep Sheldon humble by reminding him that AAUK was a 2008 suggestion too & use 1/1/08 as his start point.

Don't get suckered aboard that train! Just hold cash and/or short term T-Bills for the time being and absolutely nothing else!

The world's dumbest ego.

Big deal. I bought RIMM at 35 in March and now it's at 76. Does that make me a genius?

No. Anybody who bought low in this market won.

So what? And it's a little late on for the BHP trade.
It's already a triple. Missed that one, huh? First looking at it now?

Congratulations. But you should get your facts straight. Jim Cramer told people when it was time to get out and when it was time to get in again. I only regret waiting a few weeks before following his advice. You obviously don't watch Cramer. Not only is the swipe gratuitous; it is dead wrong.

Lant January I bought FPL at 40. Now it is 59.

Webmavin -- glad you made money on RIMM;

1) There is a big difference between having a stock pick double and having an entire portfolio with 50 positions more than double. In particular with most of those positions made public in advance.

2) By definition, "anybody who bought low" in any market wins.

3) BHP options I mentioned are in the money, so I did take advantage and make the money on the ride.

Howard,

1A) I follow JC relatively closely since he also posts on Bloggingstocks. He was late on his warning call...which was dead wrong... late when advising re-entry... and as you pointed out, if a viewer misses a show it could cost them big. Cramer makes a lot of good calls and offers some good general advise, however, he makes a thousand calls in a year and his track record followed by others in great detail leaves little to brag about. He has also said on numerous occasions his show is for entertainment 1st and investing 2nd.

2B) On my less than polite tone regarding Cramer -- that was not warranted and the point could have been made without it.

What I look at is the chart of oil and overall stocks. Charts aren't baloney and the bottom hit back in Feburary roughly. However you can listen to the criminal private FED oil banksters and Goldman Sachs boys or the "government" they control and own or forget most of it and just use the trendlines with stops and ride the markets up and down. Sounds simple but it's hard to follow through. The dollar is backed by oil being sold for it and oil has tracked the market. The dollar trades roughly opposite the dollar and at some point the dollar will sink much lower.(maybe sooner than later) All this happy talk about "green shoots"etc. is crap. Jobs are being flushed by the millions and the worst is yet to come. Want to know how bad it can get? Take a good look at Detroit, Youngstown, East LA, Camden, Newark, South side of Chicago, most of New Orleans, Lowell, Mass, etc. and the abandoned stores and buildings popping up everywhere. As I've lived in some of those places truth is the ones with guns run them and the police never do much except take the payoffs from the gangs maybe. It could get that way in a lot more places and the cops are just a gang looking out for themsleves first-they show up after you're robbed or dead but not in those neighborhoods. Don't be one of the brain dead pay attention and take care of yourselves and your families first. Find others you can trust and take care of each other. David Rockefeller, Cheney, Bush, Obama, are not going to let you move in.

Causes of Depression Yet To Be Addressed

Bob Chapman

The International Forecaster

August 1, 2009

As we enter August we are getting closer and closer to real disruptions with the US dollar, as well as problems with the British pound, as both economies feel the sting of rising inflation within a progressive depression. The stimulus package has exhausted itself for this year so the economy in the US can at best stay neutral at a minus 4% of GDP.

The causes of our depression have yet to be addressed as the Treasury and the Fed flood banking, Wall Street and insurance companies with funds to keep them afloat. The deterioration continues unabated as Wall Street and banking report higher earnings by laying off workers and by playing accounting games.


US debt is on it way to causing a retest of USDX to 71.18. The will cause higher interest rates. There will be a furious effort to re-liquefy the US economy causing ever more inflation. The entire international financial system is in no condition to meet such a challenge. The US Treasury is so busy trying to find buyers for Treasuries they have little time to solve anything, as unemployment at 20.5% throttles the nation.

The economy is not going to recover by saving the anointed few in banking and Wall Street. Americans and Brits are no longer buying the ridiculous fairy tale of green shoots. People are catching on that the economy and the markets are being temporarily rigged.

By the end of October we believe banks in the US, UK and Europe will be in serious trouble again. That should really knock markets and the world economy to new lows. It could also corrupt any improvement in GDP anywhere. The problems of 2007 and 2008 will return, because the façade of the public bailout of banking and Wall Street will crumble again. Further impoverishment is on the way. More and more will be laid off and they’ll be no new jobs available.

Savings will be exhausted and most homes that have been financed will be under water.
You must put in dehydrated and freeze dried foods, a water filter and plenty of guns, ammo and clips. All stocks and bonds should be sold, except gold and silver shares and Canadian and Swiss Treasuries. All cash value life insurance policies and annuities should be sold. We’ll deal with pensions later. All IRA’s, Roth’s and 401(k)’s that you control should be in gold and silver shares, funds and coins.

The phony GDP numbers won’t fool actuality. You cannot have a recovery without an expanding jobs market and we are going the opposite way.

Devaluation and default are in the air and it is only a matter of time before it happens. Be out of dollar and pound denominated investment except gold and silver mining shares and gold and silver coins. Convert as fast as possible.

Following the collapse of both the US and UK economies, New York’s, Wall Street and the “City of London” will cease to be the centers of world financial powers. Then will come the real investigations and trials of those who stole from the people and committed treason. And, all the kings’ horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put the Illuminati together again.

Sheldon Liber said, "Here is a typical example of a crazy market where fools and fear reigned supreme and where my colleague Jim Cramer encouraged people to exit the market and set aside enough capital for five years. He is so out of touch that he thinks there are people that could possibly have five years of liquidity that is so readily accessible. I know very few and I know plenty of wealthy people."
--------------
On October 6, 2008, what Jim Cramer actually said was, “Whatever money you may need for the next five years, please take it out of the stock market right now, this week. I do not believe that you should risk those assets in the stock market right now.” That's a lot different than what Liber said he said.

Diane,

"exit the market and set aside enough capital for five years"

"Whatever money you may need for the next five years, please take it out of the stock market right now"

"That's a lot different" ??? -- NOT

Until you know the difference between 45 acp and 45 long colt-you need to be quiet so to speak-

Mike Young

Fact: The market was seriously oversold during this past year and an upward correction was inevitable.

Fact: If you don't get back into this market in a significant way you will probably rue the day you hesitated.

Fact: Many of the financial experts in the media couldn't find their way out of a paper bag.

Fact: The USA is as strong and resilient as ever.

Tommy -- Bob Chapman's letter is flawed,

There is no question that the Fed's have substantially increased the money supply and the long term effects are likely to be inflation and currency devaluation to the detriment of the average American and Brit. The timing of these events is less sure and can be drawn out over a period of years.

New York and London are not going to cease to be financial centers -- that makes no sense. In the case of London it has been a financial center for 1,000 years and survived. New York will do the same.

If nothing else has been learned from our recent episode in financial folly it is that the centers of our economic activity are, and will be supported AT ALL COSTS.

Now who is in control or influences of these centers may change as players from China and the middle east use their capital more efficiently and buy up our cheapened assets.

I admit that I am not overly astute about stock trading but what is "selling naked puts"? I understand what buying naked puts and selling naked calls means. Is there such a thing as buying naked calls also?

floyd,

Point taken -- I will make it more clear.

Naked puts are "selling to open" a put

closing out the position is "buying to close"

You are correct that I was careless in my terminology.