Thanks for all the interest, but I really can’t send details of our new volatility trading service just yet. The reason is quite simply that we haven’t launched it yet!
I know I said on Friday that this system has been perfected over ten years – and that is the case. But it’s only over the last 9 months that the trader behind it has been prepared to work on making it public.
At long last, we’re getting close to launch. You’ll find out more soon enough – hopefully in the next two to three weeks. Meantime, thanks for your patience. I’m sure it will be worth the wait.
$1,000-gold this week... or this afternoon?
There’s plenty to keep us occupied in the meantime, though, as stocks get smacked once more... and that old trooper keeps on trekking higher.
The way it’s going, gold will touch $1,000 before the week is out... maybe even today. As I write, the bulls are bidding it up to $983 and it’s already touched $989 earlier.
Garry White over at Smart Commodities UK is looking for chances to buy more gold on any dips. In his latest update to his readers, he talks about one possible event that could cause gold to dip – presenting a great chance to pick up his recommended gold shares at a better price:
“Last week, a senior US Treasury official said that the US supported the proposed sale of a part of the gold reserves held by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sales are expected to start in April and some believe up to 400 tons of gold could come into the market from IMF vaults.
“David H McCormick, under secretary for international affairs at the Treasury Department, said that the Bush administration considered the plan to sell 12.9 million ounces of gold as "probably the most viable" option to ensure the long-term funding of the IMF.”
Buyers lining up to get in...
“This caused a fall in the gold price – but not for long. There are many people with the view that you should buy gold on dips (I am one) and the speed with which the metal recovered from its fall suggests plenty of players remain on the sidelines keen to buy bargain gold. The US is also likely to cut rates again, sending the dollar lower, and inflation remains a serious problem. Both these factors are good for the gold price.
“So, with IMF gold sales looming, you need to be ready to pounce on the falls. I do not expect many central banks will sell because the IMF sales are prompted by an operating shortfall. It is a forced sale and not a real investment decision.
“With the investment market for gold so strong at the moment, I think the market will be able to absorb those 400 tons, but it will take some time. According to the World Gold Council, investment demand for gold for investment purposes in the fourth quarter of last year was 189.2 tons. Total demand in the quarter was 1013.4 tons.
“So, although the IMF sales could send the price lower, it is not a threat... it is an opportunity. The sales are caused by financial pressure within the IMF, it is not an investment policy decision, the US dollar remains on the road to zero and the chances of a recession are very, very real. The outlook for gold is as strong as it was before this news hit the market.”
Garry’s overriding message to his readers: “buy gold on the dips”.
Some are even calling this the best opportunity to buy gold since Gordon Brown famously sold off 400 tons of the yellow stuff right at the bottom of the market.
Here’s your chance to get in on this...
Note: to discover the specific ways Garry is recommending his readers buy gold, take a no-risk trial to his service. Just for signing up for the trial, you’ll get instant access to his portfolio... PLUS five investment ideas that could help you cash in on the commodity bull. If you don’t feel the research is right for you – and I cannot imagine why you wouldn’t – then just cancel. You’ll still get to keep all the recommendations Garry sends you.
Meantime, if gold is not your thang, then let’s quickly refocus on the other great investment theme of our times: the shift of power from West to East... and all the opportunities that brings us...
Going after “big fat rabbits”...
Manraaj Singh, Chief Investment Strategist at Profit Hunter notes in his latest excellent weekly email:
“On a trip to Washington last December, Lou Jiwei, the chairman of China’s sovereign wealth fund China InvestmentCorp. (CIC) explained his decision to invest US$5 billion for a 9.9 per cent stake in battered American merchant bank Morgan Stanley. “If there is a big fat rabbit,” Mr. Lou said, “we will shoot it.””
Morgan Stanley – a “fat rabbit”? Manraaj investigates...
“That’s probably not the kindest description of that famous institution that I have heard, but it does neatly sum up the view of many cash-rich “emerging markets” companies and sovereign wealth funds as they watch the carnage in global markets intensify. With $200 billion under his management, Mr. Lou may soon have plenty more opportunities for shooting.
“When I wrote to you last week, markets everywhere seemed to be gripped by a bout of irrational optimism, staging a bit of rally. It didn’t last very long, of course, and markets have now resumed their downward trend. As I have emphasised in this newsletter repeatedly, we are still a very long way from the end of the current turmoil. But if you have positioned yourself properly, the current global sell-off may prove to be one of the biggest profit opportunities of your lifetime. Our investment in sugar, for example, has already delivered strong gains and may just be at the beginning of an incredible bull run. Our portfolio continues to perform well.
“Western markets set for a terrible beating... which is great news for us...”
“Over the near term though, western markets, in particular, may be set for a terrible beating. In one sign of the dangers still lurking in the Western financial system, the world’s top merchant bank, Goldman Sachs has announced that it may, potentially, be faced with an $11 billion loss on its investment in “variable interest entities” (VIEs).
“That’s just a gobbledegook term for what used to be called “special purpose vehicles” – the instruments that fallen energy giant Enron used to hide many of its dodgy transaction.
“Now, I’m not suggesting that Goldman Sachs has been creative with its accounting – far be it from me to suggest that any merchant bank would be – but it does underline the enormous risks that still lie out there. Particularly since Goldman Sachs appeared to have avoided the fall-out from the sub-prime crisis up to now. The penny may finally be about to drop on Wall Street and in the City. Expect further turmoil.
“That’s all fantastic news for us of course. Here at Profit Hunter, we’ve already positioned ourselves to profit from this trend with our investment in Gulf merchant bank [NAME WITHELD... discover this stock below...]. There’s a company that has made a fortune by shooting big fat rabbits for the last twenty five years.”
If you’ve not come across Manraaj’s work at the Profit Hunter team, then you should certainly take a peek. His thesis is that western markets are facing an extended period of economic turmoil.
Nothing new in that, you might say. But by regularly following his weekly commentary, it is easy to understand exactly why Manraaj believes now is the moment to act if we want to position ourselves to profit from this...
He believes the current crisis marks the point at which the balance of power has begun to shift to the “developing world”.
Each morning when there is some item of bad news concerning the US or European economies or their stock markets, Manraaj rubs his hands. Not in an overt display of schadenfreude, but because he believes it opens up new opportunities for his readers.
“NAME WITHELD” stock... revealed below...
A couple of paragraphs above, I blanked out (NAME WITHELD) the name of one of Manraaj’s key recommendations to benefit from the unfolding power shift. That’s because it’s privileged information for Manraaj’s subscribing members of Profit Hunter and it would be unfair to them to reveal it here.
But the good thing is that this share is detailed in full in a special bonus report that you can download right away if you put your name down for a trial with Manraaj and his service. I say “bonus”, because you’re getting this report IN ADDITION to the research he has written on what he calls the next “slingshot” market.
It’s not just these two reports you’ll get. These are just as a welcome – they are Manraaj’s latest recommendations. But your trial membership if you decide to take it (and I urge you to do so) also gets you every new recommendation he sends over the next three months as well as his highly informative weekly commentary.
Gold hits another all-time high
I’ve just seen a new headline pop in to my email inbox from MarketWatch: “Gold notches all-time high at $991 an ounce; crude oil hits record $103.51 a barrel”.
The question for you is which investment story do you most believe in right now? Gold, oil and all those commodities that Garry White is writing about... or Manraaj’s “shift of economic power” from the West to the “developing world” and the many opportunities he’s revealing?
I think right here we have the two most compelling investment themes of this year and possible the rest of this decade. There is room in anyone’s portfolio for both these themes... even as the US and UK stock markets continue to crumble around us. Don’t miss out on these opportunities.
P.S. If you enjoyed this article then we encourage you to sign up for the free Fleet Street Daily eletter. Learn what you can expect from today's markets -- and how to prosper in the face of uncertainty. You won't find more thought provoking writing anywhere on the Internet.