Grow Rich Automatically with the World’s Only Gold-Backed “Cash” The U.S. Treasury Dept. has finally approved the new gold-backed “cash.” And according to gold expert Peter Schiff, this new money, called “Gold Dollars,” is not only the best place for your savings today… it could prove very profitable. Why? Because every “dollar” you hold in your bank account is backed by 1 gram of solid gold, held in Fort Knox-like security. So when each gram of gold goes up in value, so does your cash! (Meanwhile, you can spend your money just like you would regular paper dollars.) For Schiff’s full report, please go here.

What’s the name of the world’s best-selling beer?

Hint: It’s not Budweiser. And it’s not Bud Light.

It’s called Snow Beer, and I’ll wager that most U.S. investors haven’t even heard of it before.

If they haven’t, it’s not a surprise. You see, Snow Beer …

Fundamental Forecast for Japanese Yen: Neutral

Direction from the Japanese yen is often the product of risk appetite; and the fundamental outlook for next week doesn’t suggest this essential correlation will break any time soon. However, this connection may actually complicate the future for speculators rather than make it more straightforward. The primary source of what has essentially been a market-wide advance in risk appetite these past two weeks seems to have petered out. Earnings releases are in decline and there are very few individual releases on the docket that can initiate a global shift in sentiment on its own. Among other potential catalysts – like growth speculation – there are many contingencies and shades of gray that could make the yen a very difficult currency to trade going forward.

First and foremost, the market will have to reconcile its predilection for earnings data. Ever since Goldman Sachs

...

Mutual funds with the objective of "growth" seek long-term growth by investing in common stocks. These growth oriented funds also often look for income as a secondary objective.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the Zacks #1 Rank Growth Mutual Funds list.

3 Solid Picks

Paradigm Capital Appreciation (PVCAX) seeks long-term capital appreciation, investing mainly in common stocks of mid-cap companies. The fund may invest in exchange traded funds (ETFs) that invest in mid capitalization companies when investment opportunities are limited, pending selection of individual securities, or for temporary purposes.

The fund's top 10 holdings include Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (HP), Joy global (JOYG) and Invitrogen (IVGN). PVCAX's turnover ratio is 40%. The fund's largest allocation is in the Techonology sector, followed by the Industrial Sector and Health sectors.

Morris Ajzenman, CFA and Senior Vice President, is the portfolio manager of the Capital Appreciation Fund. Previously, Ajzenman was employed by Punk,

...

As the stock market indices are flirting with key charting levels and we are waiting for Mr Market to show his hand, it is useful to get an update on the outlook from Jeremy Grantham.

Grantham, chairman of Boston-based GMO, was a great skeptic between 1999 and October last year when he started propagating “hesitant and careful buying”. His latest thinking has just been reported in an interview with CNN Money as quoted below.

“Meanwhile, GMO chairman Jeremy Grantham is more upbeat - though he does expect more pain to precede any recovery.

“Looking back at historic bear markets, Grantham draws comparisons to 1974 and 1982, when the S&P 500 lost roughly half its value. Since he estimates the current S&P

...

In October last year perennial bear Jeremy Grantham, chairman of Boston-based GMO, said: “We are reconciled to buying too soon, but we recognize that our fair value estimate of 975 on the S&P 500 is, from historical precedent, likely to overrun on the downside by 20% to 40%, giving a range of 585 to 780 on the S&P as a probable low.

“The world faces unavoidable declines in economic activity and profit margins, so this overrun is unlikely to be much less painful than average, although you never know your luck.”

Given Grantham’s forecast, it was with keen interest that I have been awaiting his latest quarterly newsletter entitled “

…

strongFinancial News/strongbr /br /Jason Corcoran br /br /emLetter from Moscow - January 4, 2009/embr /br /Letters to Father Frost, the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, have been stacking up well ahead of the Orthodox Christmas Day on January 7.br /br /This year, the postal service in Moscow’s Kuzminki district reported an unusually high level of correspondence from adults who wish for a new job or help with meeting credit payments.br /br /However, grown-ups looking for personal bailouts may be better served popping a letter in the mail to Vnesheconombank, the state development bank, which has come to prominence during the financial crisis as the Kremlin’s main piggy bank.br /br /VEB, which traces its genesis back to the October 1917 revolution, was originally responsible for managing Soviet-era debt. It was transformed two years ago into a development agency to spearhead efforts to diversify Russia’s economy but has only recently come to ...

HIDDEN VALUE Dear Value Seeker,

We hope you had a happy holiday.

We’re on our way back to our home in Buenos Aires tonight. We’re looking forward to getting back, but not to the nine-hour flight with our nine-month-old son… It’s likely to be grueling.

But at least we’re not in the retail business…

They are likely to be disappointed by the holiday season. According to the Commerce Department, consumer spending fell 0.6% in November, the fifth monthly decline in a row.

The Wall Street Journal reports that 10% to 26% of U.S. retailers are now in danger of filing for Chapter 11 in 2009 or 2010.

That’s up from 4% to 6% of retailers in trouble in the last two years.

It’s no surprise, really.

More Americans are out of work now than at any time since 1982. The number of American’s filing for unemployment for the first time leapt to 586,000

...

Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow17 November 2008 Energy company has been hit by governance failingsThe crash in Russian equities has exposed serious risks for minority shareholders, despite an amelioration in the country’s corporate governance over the past few years.The growth of Russian capital markets and the recent boom in initial public offerings has led to an improvement in corporate governance and accounting practices among the blue chips, but violations continue in the small to medium tier. A number of Russian utility companies that were spun off from the electricity monopoly have been particularly affected.A group of 15 minority shareholders in power generator TGK-4 last month wrote to President Dmitry Medvedev claiming Onexim Group, an investment firm owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, had exerted pressure on Russian officials to act in Prokhorov’s interest after Onexim agreed to buy it ...

Let’s face it — penny stocks get a bad rap in the financial news media. But despite what the pundits tell you, the jabs at cheap stocks are rarely justified. It’s time to bust Five Myths About Penny Stocks.

1.) They’re Riskier Than Other Investments

While this was once true, if you’ve been following the economy recently, you know that’s no longer the case. In an age when blue chips like AIG (NYSE:AIG) or Lehman Brothers can swing just as wildly as the crankiest penny stock, even the big names are no sure thing.

To be fair, penny stocks are far from risk-free. But it’s that risk that brings with it the reward potential penny stocks are known for.

********************************

The “Black Market” Secret Used by Famous Investors

Even world-famous investors first cut their teeth in the investing world by raiding “Black Market” stocks like these…

********************************

2.) They’re Hard to Buy

Just in

...

U.S. stocks futures fell this morning despite yesterday’s barnstormer rally and heavy hints of a further rate cut by the Fed. “S&P 500 futures dropped 21 points to 917.70 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 32.5 points to 1,275.50. Dow industrial futures dropped 200 points to 8,889.00,” according to MarketWatch.

– Yesterday, the Dow surged 11%. It was the second-largest gain in the the history of the index (all 112 years of it). Before you pop the champagne corks, it’s worth remembering that despite yesterday’s show-off surge Dow indsutrials are still 36% off their October 2007 record close. That puts U.S. blue chips deep in bear territory.

– While analysts desperately pour over their charts and numbers in search for a bottom in stocks, economists are on the lookout for a turnaround in the U.S.

...