“My wife was trying to sleep and she’s waking up and saying “What’s wrong with you?” What could I tell her, that I was cracking up over a financial book—?”

“As I approach retirement in a few years, I’m very encouraged by the cash flow my portfolio can generate. If I can generate nearly 8% cash flow in the worst bear market in 70 years, and with minimal capital gains, I’m feeling pretty good about the future.”

In the midst of financial crisis, market upheaval, and world-class uncertainty, at least one financial book provides an easily implemented strategy for safer investing. The Brainwashing of the American Investor is more than just “the book that Wall Street does not want you to read”.

It’s a book that might have helped you avoid many of the errors that have made this crisis so painful at a …

The news is saturated with Hank Paulson’s $700 bailout plan. This is diverting attention away from the increasingly bleak outlook for the wider economy.

Rick Pendergraft says no bailout can immediately solve the problems in the housing market. And all indicators suggest these will run well into 2009 at least.

Rick says your portfolio should be all about playing safe for now. He recommends eight inverse ETF plays to hedge against this downside risk.

This from Investor’s Daily Edge:

I can understand the fixation on the bailout, but other economic reports are getting lost as a result.

Last Thursday was a day that the mass distraction was working to its full capabilities. Investors chose to ignore all economic data in order to focus on the progress of Congress.

In case you missed it, durable goods orders for August were down 4.5 percent from July (I guess the stimulus checks ran out), initial jobless claims jumped to …

With so many stocks beat up by the Bear market, you would expect insiders who believe their shares are trading at a discount to buy them outright and show us the way. Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE:PIR) has been doing just that, the amount of insider activity is either a case of blind faith or true vision. Pier 1 insiders have been doubling-down like nobody's business. These guys have buying back ...

Chrysler Building Sold to Abu Dhabi; 2,500 Employees Depart From Northwest; Icici Bank on the Prowl; OPEC Revenue to Jump 86%; Steve & Barry’s Bankruptcy; Bear Market S&P; Busch to Shareholders: Just Say No; Bank of America Chief Sees Mid-Year Recovery New York’s Chrysler Building, the an iconic piece of the city’s skyline and the world’s tallest building until 1931, was bought by an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Tuesday. The Abu Dhabi Investment Council paid Abu Dhabi Investment Council acquired the Chrysler Building from a fund managed by Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU). Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) said yesterday (Wednesday) that it will cut 2,500 jobs because of high oil prices, and start charging $15 to check a single piece of luggage and as much as $100 to redeem a frequent-flier award ticket, the Associated Press reported. The ...

Big Wednesday Wipeout! Bonzai Pipeline, Oahu

It’s just a big picture but those are big waves! If you rode a wave successfully like that in markets yesterday you were probably pretty pumped-up to try again today. But, wipe-outs happen.

Okay, enough metaphors. This was a pretty ugly day. I day-traded most of the day and was marveling at the low volume and choppiness until the last hour when “BAM!” all hell broke loose.

This is what a bear market can do to you. If you were short yesterday you suffered like our surfer friend with that countertrend rally. But, you had to expect that with markets oversold! Today it’s back to reality, or what passes for it “today”. Tomorrow we go at one more time. Wax your boards!

Volume remains heavy and breadth is as negative today as positive …

June wasn’t kind to the stock market. In fact, the S&P 500 had its worst month since September 2002 and its worst June since 1930.

So far, July hasn’t been much better.

End result: The S&P 500 is now back below 1300, the same place it was at in the beginning of 2006. In other words, it has given up all the gains made throughout 2007.

In fact, the S&P 500 was at the very same 1300 level as far back as 1999. In between were massive rallies, sure. But over the last eight years, the market has basically gone nowhere.

You can see why I continue to think select dividend-paying shares are the perfect way to get paid while the market idles in neutral and interest rates remain insultingly low….

Michael Santoli had a great one liner in his StreetWise column.THE OUTSIZED FOCUS LAST WEEK ON THE DOW'S REACHING "official" bear-market status with a 20% decline from a recent high is a bit like fixating on the moment that storm winds go from 73 to 74 miles per hour to formally become a hurricane.He also mentioned that oil was up 25% since May 1. I hadn't thought of it in those terms but anyone's perception of fundamentals notwithstanding, 25% in two months creates a meaningful headwind for further price rises in the near term.In an environment like this that headwind could be overcome to be sure but with energy now 16% of the S&P 500 an equalweight position takes on a little more risk for downside volatility than some folks may realize.

No video this week. We have guests and other dogs with us for the holiday.The chart is YTD for the Legg Mason Value Trust (LMVTX) versus the S&P 500.You know the fund for its very long streak of beating the S&P 500. A look at the stale holdings on Yahoo Finance shows that it makes what I think are big bets and sometimes big bets do not work out.It has United Healthcare (UNH) which has a 4.45% weight after a 41% drop. The fund is overweight financials versus SPX and it has zero in energy. Zero?This is a good example of how actively managed funds can be problematic. A contrarian might have guessed that after a long run of outperformance the fund would lag. That makes sense. But the issue that ...

By Keith Fitz-Gerald Investment Director Money Morning/The Money Map Report The Dow Jones Industrial Average is already in the bear’s grasp. And the U.S. economy may well be headed for a recession. But here’s the ultimate irony: Bear-market investing offers a direct pathway to the biggest profit opportunities most investors will ever see. History shows time and again that the worst returns come to those who buy at - or even near - market peaks, like those of 1928, 1969, 1999 and 2007, when Price/Earnings (P/E) ratios are typically higher than “normal.” Conversely, investors who buy when the days are darkest reap the best returns: Think 1932, 1942, 1982, 2003 and - take a deep breath - possibly 2008. Clearly, at a point when the world looks like it’s going to hell in a hand basket, sitting on the ...

Forget what you think you know, this Bear market is killing everything. What isn't it killing? Brazil and Energy stocks. For a combo of both, turn to Companhia Paranaense de Energia (ADR) (NYSE:ELP), better known as Copel. ELP operates in the Brazilian state of Paraná, as well as in Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, Malaysia and Paraguay. Just so happens that Copel is the largest company in Paraná; it has 3.38 million consumers, covering virtually 100% of homes in urban areas and 90%, in rural areas. Connected consumers include 2.6 million homes, 58,000 industries, 281,000 commercial establishments and 331,000 ...