The VIX (volatility index) had its third spike up on the open in three days. This hasn’t happened yet, but there were two almosts in the last three days. There are 16 sites specified at the end of the web site with their rankings. If the market rallies on Wednesday and next Monday and the volume picks up to above average levels, the market is acting in a healthy manner and the big players are still bullish. Everyone seems to be looking for a way to cut down on risk, yet still achieve a respectable return that will allow them to build enough for a comfortable retirement. As it stands right now Americans are woefully prepared for retirement and have horrible personal finances. Agricultural commodities are dependent on weather as well as inflation. Trading volume was anemic however, coming in well below average. Since commodity trading is not limited to the U.S, but large active markets exist in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and up and coming Dubai, expect trading to increasingly move to those places.

Natural gas is the energy commodity of choice at the moment since it is seasonally strong in the fall. The other two major inflation hedges are energy and agricultural commodities. You may not be fooled by bailouts and government posturing but in the short term many people are. The government is planning on doing something about those pesky speculators that keep driving up the price of commodities. When it becomes apparent that there is no ‘real’ growth, the stock market rally will fizzle – and the government will print even more money to stimulate the economy. Buffett very gently points out that printing money can cause inflation and there could be trouble on the horizon for the U.S. In a mutual fund, there is a professional who can handle securities, analysis, and even questions on the right time to buy or sell stocks and bonds. Without further ado, let’s get straight to the interview questions and “SG TTI” answers!

In a few years inflation is going to get incredibly ugly. Gold and silver are the ultimate protections against inflation and anyone concerned about inflation should make them the cornerstone of their investing strategy. They are partially dependent on inflation and partially dependent on the economy doing well going forward, so they are not the major bargains they once were. These stocks have already had major rallies. When the VIX goes up, stocks go down. Over 90% of stocks on the NYSE are trading above their 200 day moving averages. What isn’t bullish are the technical indicators. Data reveals that more than 78 percent of WordPress sites are using WooCommerce for creating their web shops. Focus, not diversification, is the key to more sophisticated leverage, higher returns, and lower risk. One key to success in business knows your market and invest wisely. To sum up, over the past one or two decades, our education system didn’t evolve to be more robust to deal with these changes. The more I study Australia, the more eerie I find out how alike it is to the US economically.

While the New York Investing meetup has been pointing this out for the last two years, this reality-based view is not supported by the government, Wall Street or the mainstream media. Part of that planning phrase includes bucking the bath remodeling trends that, while popular, don’t directly enrich the comfort or value of your home. A price earning ratio, or “P/E” for short, is a commonly used way to simplistically value a company (determine what a company’s stock should be worth). As the market is still fixated on the reported numbers, one can create a position at an attractive price. In 2002, the big rally on the day before July 4th was followed by one of the ugliest sell offs ever. That is one form of bond. The short bond trade did well between December and June (bond prices went down and interest rates went up), but there has been some give back during the summer.

So you see there is quite the potential to double you money or better in just a matter of hours. From reading many financial sites, you might get the idea that it’s very easy to make money in Forex (the foreign exchange market); I’m sorry to tell you that this is not true. This allows my money to work harder for me. TBT is a leveraged ETF that allows the average investor to short long-term bonds. It is quite clear that if anyone gets disadvantaged from changes in CFTC policy, it is meant to be the small investor who relies on ETFs and not the big players. This January the market was basically flat, so the investing intent of the big players was indeterminate. The next few trading days should provide valuable information on whether or not the big players will keep supporting the current rally. The technicals will not be hitting new highs creating negative divergences and possibly double negative divergences (a very bearish pattern). Its seasonal pattern is almost the exact opposite of gold and silver’s. If it sells off on those days, but manages to rally on Thursday, this is a bearish pattern. So a big rally that day indicates little about future market direction.