Newsletters
ETF Investing — What You Need to Hear
The world of ETFs keeps getting better and better. We now can invest in almost any asset class, currency or country in the world with just a few clicks of a mouse. But to use ETFs properly, you have to learn a few key concepts. Here are three important concepts you’ll learn by listening to […]
Don’t Give up Your Mind
“When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.” –Thomas Paine In one of his many brilliant and pithy quotes, the great Thomas Paine reminds us that failure to uphold reason is a sure prescription for tyranny. Indeed, they are words to live by — given the current […]
ETF Talk: Betting on the Buck
The U.S. dollar had been getting hammered for much of the past year, but recent debt problems in Europe are giving the greenback a lift. Fortunately, there are exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that you can buy to help you profit from the rising dollar. It remains to be seen whether the recent upward move in the […]
Come on up for the Rising
Come on up for the rising Come on up, lay your hands in mine… –Bruce Springsteen, “The Rising” I’ve been writing a lot lately about the prospect of rising interest rates (i.e., falling bond prices and rising bond yields) in my investment advisory services. The reason why is because rising interest rates will affect so […]
The Little Index That Could
We’ve been dancing around the 1,100 mark on the S&P 500 for about the past five weeks, but every time we get a little too far above this level, stocks seem to bleed back toward the 1,100 support line. As the year comes to an end, it will be interesting to see if “the little […]
Something Is Rotten in the State of Denmark
“Alas, how many have been persecuted for the wrong of having been right?” –Jean-Baptiste Say On Monday, the big Copenhagen climate change conference got under way. I doubt, however, that we’ll hear much about the questionable science being used to argue in favor of increased regulation on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. As Say […]
Why the Next Decade in Real Estate Finance Will Be Different
By John Doan, president, Miracle Mortgage I frequently speak with people who fondly remember what their homes were worth two, three and four years ago. Many of them actually think their home will soon return to those previous levels of valuation. They talk about how that value inevitably will come back, because “real estate always […]
ETF Talk: SPY Offers Investment Intrigue
The SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) has an attention-grabbing ticker, but the broad market stock fund’s mission is no mystery. This exchange-traded fund (ETF) is designed to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index, and to let investors benefit from gains in the performance of this benchmark index. The broad-based nature of the fund also […]
A Greek Tragedy
You may not have heard this news, but Greece just had its bond rating cut to BBB by Moody’s. Now, you may be asking what the big deal is. After all, what does Greece’s credit rating have to do with my investments here at home? Well, just like you, countries have credit ratings. They issue […]
Thoughts on Victory
"In war there is no substitute for victory." –Douglas MacArthur As our nation escalates the war in Afghanistan, let’s hope that Gen. MacArthur’s wise words aren’t lost on the political powers that be. Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote you’d like me to share with […]
Jim Woods is a 30-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor.
His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. Read more about Jim Woods.
