Markets Up, Markets Down: A Wealth of Money-making Opportunities Are on the Table
By Brian Hicks
Dear Wealth Daily Reader,
In the Fall of 2007, my partners and I had a series of tense meetings on the state of the economy. We were convinced that the whole thing was about to come unglued.
In fact, things looked so bad to us that we spent a good deal of time talking, in detail, of what to do in the event of a complete economic and societal breakdown.
Yet in a sense we were also hesitant.
Hesitant because, although our alarms were ringing loud and clear, there was hardly a whiff of concern coming from DC, from the FED, or from the mainstream media. After all, the stock market was sitting near record highs.
In fact, all of these institutions were actively engaged in a chorus of cheerleading on just how healthy the economy was.
Our research led us to the exact opposite conclusion.
Clearly, someone was very wrong.
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke was consistently touting the strength of the economy, and even went so far as to say the housing market was a minor issue, at the very moment the foundation of the housing market was crumbling.
This man either lied outright, or was simply too dim to understand what was happening. I don't have to tell you, neither option is acceptable from a man of his responsibilities.
Worse still, no one I'm aware of in the mainstream media ever questioned any of this. Instead, we were treated to constant party-line, bull market rhetoric. Look, passing on unchecked data and flat-out rumor as fact doesn't count as useful information.
Luckily for our readers, we don't rely on any of these institutions for hard analysis.
Right on cue, our own Ian Cooper went short, calling for the market to drop to 6,500... over two months before it happened.
While most market participants watched in horror, Ian and his Options Trading Pit readers made a killing in only 60 days' time, including one 338% gain, closed in 2 days.
Sadly, the vast, unwashed majority aren't so lucky. They drove into the teeth of the worst recession in 50+ years without even a hint of apprehension. And they'll be paying for it, literally, for quite a while.
"When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion — when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - when you see money flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors - when you see that men get richer by graft and pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you - when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice - you may know that your society is doomed."
—Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged (1957)
In the 16 years I've been in this business, I can't think of a time when there's been more distrust, more graft, and more uncertainty surrounding the world of finance and politics.
I also can't recall a time more perfectly suited for robust investment gains, provided you've got your ears on.
The reality is that those two worlds—finance and politics—have essentially merged. And it's no secret there's a revolving door between DC and New York.
Worse still, the media has been actively collaborating, perpetuating the myth that we can spend our way to prosperity, that if we just buy and hold we'll get wealthy some day, and a thousand other idiotic ideas that now rival the hollowness of the phrase "Change we can believe in."
It's incredible to me how many of these talking heads remained on air, despite the fact that they couldn't have been more consistently wrong if they'd known in advance how things were going to turn out.
No matter which way you look, you get the sense that you're being gamed. And you're right.
The plain fact is, no one in politics, in the media, or in mainstream finance cares about you, aside from your value as a "useful idiot."
Think I'm kidding?
The public's assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys, and Americans' views of media bias and independence now match previous lows.
Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news stories are often inaccurate. In the initial survey in this series about the news media's performance in 1985, 55% said news stories were accurate while 34% said they were inaccurate. That percentage had fallen sharply by the late 1990s and has remained low over the last decade.
The Socialization Of Risk
Banks: Too-big-to-fail banks take too-big-to-believe risks, receive too-big-to-fathom bailouts, and hand down too-big-to-believe bonuses.
Wall Street: Like banks, Wall Street takes on huge risk, and takes a percentage of the gains on the way up, and the way down. And it gets a bailout. Risk gets socialized, yet profits are privatized.
The Fourth Estate (The Press): On the sidelines, foaming at the mouth, totally unaware.
Brokerage Houses: Their interests aren't aligned with the small investor.
Your 401k: Gone.
529 Plans: The single biggest hoax on college-bound families.
There's a vague sensation taking hold, a feeling that American capitalism is rigged. And as that feeling of angst manifests itself, a wealth of money-making opportunities will be suddenly on the table.
Yet most will be too blind with rage, or simply too slow, to act on them.
Here at Angel Publishing, we've become known for being years ahead of major trends. And as a result, our readers profit from being in early.
Whether it's the Green Revolution, Peak Oil, precious metals, options... you name it, we cover it. And that means we profit from it. Again and again.
I want you to be there with us.
Think about it... Obama's been president for about 8 months now. Yet today it's even more apparent that powerful lobbyists and the wealthiest few still run America.
Somewhere along the line, the deal was broken. You may feel betrayed. But what you shouldn't feel is helpless.
When I think about the out-of-control $23.7 trillion in new Treasury and Fed debt dumped on the backs of my children and grandchildren, frankly, I get a little pissed off.
But I realize that the best way for me to protect myself, and them, is to become as wealthy as possible.
Consider that our mission statement.
Our business model runs contrary to an independent newsletter industry that's quickly becoming a corporate, revolving-door newsletter selling system.
Our philosophy is... If our readers make money from our research, our business thrives.
Truth is, we've consistently shown the way to profits before, during, and after the economic meltdown. But we're just getting started.
For example, our newest analyst, Christian DeHaemer, just went on record... recommending his readers buy put options on the Russell 2000.
He's up 59% in 2 days.
(Christian brings with him 14 years in the financial publishing industry, along with an incredibly accurate track record. He'll launch his new advisory, Crisis & Opportunity, in January. Stay tuned.)
And there's this, which just came over the newswire: "President Obama Pledges $3.4 billion toward a 'smart' power grid.
Jeff Siegel has been covering the Green Energy sector — and talking about this very development — years before it became as trendy as wearing the "Free Tibet" t-shirt.
And his readers have been crushing it.
He's even got a short list of companies poised to reap these government contracts. Take a look for yourself here.
Members of Nick Hodge's Alternative Energy Speculator have racked up over 45 winning trades in 2009. And they're on course to close another 20 before the year is up.
And it doesn't end there.
Ian Cooper's Pure Asset Trader — one of the best commodities and resources trading services in business today — has its readers enjoying a 94% win rate in 2009. (37 winning trades in 39 tries.)
Precious metals expert Luke Burgess has been right on 95% of the trades in his Hard Money Millionaire advisory.
The $20 Trillion Report has closed 20 winning trades in 22 tries this year, capitalizing on a number of unconventional oil and natural gas plays. And with oil moving north again, the gains in energy are just getting started.
And I haven't even mentioned the gains delivered by the likes of analysts Steve Christ, Sam Hopkins, Greg McCoach and Keith Kohl.
So here's a quick look at Angel Publishing's family of investment advisories, and their latest research.
I hope you'll join us.
To your wealth,
Brian Hicks
Publisher, Angel Publishing Investment Research
Source:
Wealth Daily
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However, on the flip side of the aisle, writing a put obligates the seller to purchase shares of the underlying security at a predetermined price if the option is assigned. Put writers typically take a neutral to bullish stance on the stock, and anticipate the share price to remain above the put strike by options expiration.