Foundations of Crisis
December 29, 2008
This week I have a special Outside the Box for you. My long-time friend Doug Casey wrote a very prescient piece back in 1997. He has updated it somewhat for today's times. The critical part is a summary of the work of Richard Strauss and (friend) John Howe and their book The Fourth Turning, which I consider one of the more important and prescient (that word again) books of the last 25 years. (Amazon.com). It should still be read today. It is seminal to understanding the times we live in.
Doug summarized the book and makes some observations based on that understanding, many of which turned out to be true and some of which may well be in out future. I think you will find this to be very useful and enlightening if you are not familiar with their work, and a great review if you are.
Doug is chairman of Casey Research, author of numerous best-sellers over the last 25 years, raconteur and a certified expert in resources stocks. If you are investing in natural resources stocks, energy or gold without reading Doug and his team at Casey Research, you are missing the boat. They have a special offer for readers of Outside the Box. You can learn more about it here.
Here's wishing you a very happy and prosperous New Year.
Semi-Annual U.S. Economic Outlook: Collapsing On Schedule
December 15, 2008
This week I am really delighted to be able to give you a condensed version of Gary Shilling's latest INSIGHT newsletter for your Outside the Box. Each month I really look forward to getting Gary's latest thoughts on the economy and investing. Last year in his forecast issue he suggested 13 investment ideas, all of which were profitable by the end of the year. It is not unusual for Gary to give us over 75 charts and tables in his monthly letters along with his commentary, which makes his thinking unusually clear and accessible.
Gary was among the first to point out the problems with the subprime market and predict the housing and credit crises. You can learn more about his letter at http://www.agaryshilling.com. If you want to subscribe, you can call 888-346-7444. Tell them that you read about it in Outside the Box and you will get not only his 2009 forecast issue but an extra issue with his 2010 forecast (of course, that one will not come out for a year. Gary is good but not that good!)
I trust you are enjoying the holidays. And enjoy this week's Outside the Box.
What is True Diversification?
March 5, 2007
This week we take a look at one of the more common problems I see as I counsel investors, a lack of diversification. Much of the time that stems from not having a philosophy of investing and defaulting to simple selections that over time can create problems when those selections run into a bit of volatility.
Good friend and successful money manager Gary Marks gives us some thoughts on diversification. Gary has written a book called Rocking Wall Street that is the first in what I hope is a series of books with the Millennium Wave imprint. I have written the forward to it. The book is extremely useful in helping you develop a philosophy of investing that will weather the test of time, as well as explain specific strategies and techniques for creating your own diversified portfolio that will help you balance the risk and rewards of the markets.
At least some brokerage firms are clearly not happy about Gary's book. A highly complimentary statement about Gary's strategies by a senior portfolio manager at a major brokerage firm led that firm's compliance department to issue a written warning to Mr. Marks not to use his quote to promote the book.
Why is this book rocking Wall Street? In this edited excerpt from the book, Gary touches on some of these controversial points, such as what if traditional diversification models were debunked as too risky
and ineffective?
You can (and should!) get your copy of this well written, easy to read book at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0470124873/frontlinethou-20.
And now, let enjoy today's Outside the Box.