Dateline Raleigh, NC, November 6, 2008: Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives discuss confiscating our 401(k)s and IRAs, by Carolina Journal Online reporter Karen McMahan.

This shocking pronouncement is certainly an attention grabber, which if even partially true, would have an impact on nearly every employed and retired American. The basis for the report is testimony before the House Committee on Education and Labor in early October.

Dr. Teresa Ghilarducci is one of many witnesses (scholars, retirees, activists, an investment mogul, and benefits experts) who were interviewed by the committee members. (I was skipped over once again, but a receptive person in the HCEL was willing to forward a listing of my articles to the right person. I expect an invitation to testify momentarily)

McMahan writes: “Dr. Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research, …

There has never been a correction that has not proven to be an investment opportunity. While everything is down in price, there is actually less to worry about than when prices are historically high. More money has been lost by people who bought into last year’s markets than by those who will buy into this one, at this stage of the correction. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.

Every correction is different, the result of various economic and/or political circumstances that create the need for adjustments in the financial markets. This correction is worse than most that I’ve experienced, but the doom and gloom scenarios many have been pushing are unlikely to come to fruition. Once the media elects a new president, they’ll just have to start reporting better news: 96% of all mortgages are current sounds a whole …

In the field of nuclear medicine, it is necessary to perfect non-invasive diagnostic methods, and PulmoBioTech is contributing greatly to this need. The company recently announced the completion of bio-distribution studies concerning its PulmoBind molecular imaging agent.

The process of imaging on a cellular level requires the use of specialized molecules which are chemically engineered to bind to specific cells in the body, and these are then bonded to radioactive tracers. PulmoBind is a bonding agent that has been found to surpass those traditionally used in the field on several points. Essentially, it is a totally harmless substance known as adreno medullin which, upon injection, travels to and bonds with the tissue in the lungs more effectively than commonly used albumin macro-aggregates (AMAs). PulmoBind is safer as well, and provides the ability to capture images that are not possible with the older method.

Perhaps the best reason

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By William Patalon lll Investors better keep an eye on bonds this week. While the stock market may be more fun to follow, fixed income is often a stronger gauge of investor expectations of the economy, future U.S. Federal Reserve policy, and inflation. With the consumer price index (CPI) safely in the books for another month, economists can now turn their focus to wholesale inflation with the release of the May producer price index (PPI). Economists, mistakenly, often disregard the energy component of this data each month and focus mainly on the so-called “core” releases - which excludes “volatile food and energy prices.” While food and energy prices often suffer from month-to-month volatility based on seasonal factors, they cannot be overlooked these days as they continue to have significant impact on the global economy. Also, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH) can’t seem ...

Over the last several weeks, I’ve been steadily ratcheting up my warnings on the interest rate front. On April 25, I noted that the “Bond King” Bill Gross believed Treasuries were overvalued — and that he was aiming to profit from a decline in bond prices (and corresponding rise in yields). My message for you …
“Gross is betting on the same thing I’ve been warning you about for some time — that bond prices will fall and interest rates will rise. The market’s recent action suggests that’s just what we’re going to see.”
Then several days later, on May 9, I got even more explicit. I warned you right here that “The bond market is on the brink.” Specifically, I said …
“Bonds are right on the brink of a significant technical breakdown. An …

This screened ETF list is based on a combination of features that are often requested by more cautious equity investors:

funds with history and reasonable liquidity acceptable expense ratios for the type of portfolio not too much volatility for the return some current yield better total returns than bonds

The funds in the list are not recommendations. They are simply idea possibilities for do-it-yourself investors who may find the particular screening criteria useful.

The funds do not represent a full spread of the asset classes which we believe should be in a well designed portfolio.

The universe from which they were filtered is the entire database of hundreds of ETFs at www.IndexUniverse.com.

Important Note:

The fact that cautious investors ask the kinds of questions on which the filter is based, does not mean the funds that make it through the filter are conservative or necessarily good investments. In fact, some

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A reader asked about what the "little guy" should look for in trying to access foreign bonds.Assuming the question of how is answered with a fund of some sort I would want to see exposure to all sorts of different countries not just very high yielding paper. With a bond fund I would be happy with little to no price appreciation and a fairly steady yield that was at a premium to US treasuries.It seems like the yields in a lot of places are higher than in the US so I would think it would be possible to weave together high yielders and low yielders, deficit versus surplus, importers versus exporters, emerging versus developed and so on to offset, as opposed to hedge, currency movements.Obviously if the dollar continues to be weaker against every currency (longer term trend) then there would be some price ...

As you select asset classes and class weights for your portfolio, you should take into consideration, among other things, the mean return of those classes over different periods of time.

History is no guarantee of the future, but lack of understanding of the past may result surprising returns. It’s a good idea to do all you can to minimize surprises.

The chart shows the relative 1, 3, 5 10 and 15 year annualized returns for six major asset classes. The key feature to observe is the relative size of the return for each class within each year.

You can see bonds as a low return, but stabilizing asset class. You can see the US market has been weak relative to foreign markets. Commodities have been strong. Real estate did well, until it fell out out bed in a major way during the last 12 months.

A representative (but not exhaustive) list

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