by Robert Williams, Advisory Panelist, The Oxford Club Thursday, January 8, 2009: Issue #912

Editor’s Note: Our colleagues at The Oxford Club have been sorting through the debris from the mortgage and credit crisis. Robert Williams has found a company that’s been bucking the trend, profiting from mortgages and racking up a safe, consistent dividend. It fits in perfectly with our asset allocation portfolio, since we recommend holding 5% of your assets in REITs.

Dear Investment U Reader,

The U.S. housing market is walking the plank. Easy credit helped usher in an unprecedented period of rising home prices. But now those same lax credit standards have us caught in one of the worst slumps in recent memory.

According to the latest data, the inventory of unsold homes sits at 4.23 million, representing a 10.2-month supply at the current sales pace. For comparison’s

by Jason Simpkins Associate Editor, Money Morning

Editor’s Note: Oil has been in the news a lot recently, from its roller-coaster movements, to the international issues. Russia and Israel are both helping OPEC bring prices back up. And if 2008 is any indication, oil might be ready for another climb. Our colleagues over at Money Morning think that might only be the tip of the iceberg.

Oil Prices Could be Ready to Rally if History is Any Indication

Last year’s 54% drop in oil prices may have set the table for a rally similar to the one experienced in 1999, when prices doubled after a similar decline.

The so-called “forward curve of futures contracts” traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange suggests prices will rise 28% this year, according to Bloomberg News.

The current curve looks almost the same as it did 10 years ago, when Russia’s

by Don Miller Contributing Writer, Money Morning

Editors Note: Inevitably the fanfare and excitement about our new administration will die down, and they will have to get down to work. President-elect Obama may have a laundry list of urgent jobs, but fixing the economy is priority one. The market’s problems are about to become his problems. Money Morning gives us a taste of the economic data that’s been keeping the president-elect and Wall Street up at night – and what we should be paying attention to as well.

Stock Market Gyrates as Reports Show Economy Deep in Recession

The stock market struggled to recover from a tumultuous 2008 yesterday (Tuesday) while digesting a trio of downbeat economic reports from the manufacturing, housing and service sectors.

The reports included separate data on factory orders and pending home sales for November, as well as the Institute of

Empire Film Group Inc. is an independent film finance, production, and distribution company. Trading on the Pink Sheets, the Company has their corporate and production office in Malibu, California. Empire Film’s commitment is to developing and producing low-cost, high quality, commercial films that will attract talent and strong distribution. They have a management team that has more than twenty-five years of experience. These are in the areas of development, production, distribution, finance, and marketing of feature films and television programs.

In addition to their U.S. production, Empire engages in film production at diverse locations around the world. They also have the ability to produce Canadian Content when it comes to film and television. Consequently, they are eligible to receive Canadian subsidies, tax incentives, rebates, and financing.

The Company is focusing their efforts on what they believe is a lucrative market segment. They look to produce and/or acquire modestly budgeted, theatrical-quality films. They

Gold was under pressure right from the open of Globex trading in the Far East on Wednesday morning. It bottomed in Hong Kong and clawed its way back to unchanged by the time the Comex opened…but there was always someone there to make sure that the price didn’t get over $965 all through London trading. Every time it tried, it got shoved down. Its attempt to break through that price shortly after the Comex opened, met with a wall of selling that dropped the price by $25 in less than 90 minutes…and all of Tuesday’s gain of the same amount, disappeared. A rally attempt at the London close ran into big resistance at precisely 1:00 p.m. New York time yesterday. And as you might have expected…volume was huge as well…128,000 contracts, net of switches.

The shares got creamed.

Headquartered in Hanford, California, Thresher Industries is a provider of aluminum and metal matrix composite alloy castings. The Company started as a perm-mold casting enterprise, but later expanded their manufacturing capabilities to include low pressure, high pressure, and Nautilus Core manufacturing. The Nautilus Core manufacturing is a unique method of producing cores for use in aluminum and magnesium casting. The core is easily removable through high-pressure steam or water, is biodegradable, and can be located in areas not viable for sand or foam core.

Thresher Industries offers full engineering, metallurgical, and sales support along with designs and prototype development. The Company prides themselves on offering rapid response to customer needs as well as regional customer support from their sales and engineering team members. Thresher Industries has manufacturing sites near their diverse markets. Along with their full engineering services, they have a group of fully audited outside service providers for x-ray, machining,

After making gains the last six sessions, the Canadian Markets fell victim to profit taking during Wednesday trading. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange lost 3.70%, while the TSX Gold Index gave back 7.3% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, dropped 2.76% with the declining issuers beating out the advancers by a 467 to 307 margin on volume of 161 million shares traded.

Crosshair Exploration & Mining (AMEX:CXZ) and Target Exploration & Mining have agreed to merge in a transaction that would see Target shareholders get 1.2 Crosshair shares for each target share. The move gives Target access to Crosshair’s cash, while Crosshair gets Target’s Wyoming uranium assets. Crosshair ended the session down C$0.05 at C$0.25, while Target added C$0.045 at C$0.225.

It was a rough day for Shore Gold as the company announced a reduced 2009 exploration budget of C$17.9 million

New benchmark to track companies getting aid from TARP and President-elect Obama's proposed multibillion-dollar aid package.

Less than two weeks before President-elect Barack Obama takes office, a new index is coming out that will track stocks tied to companies participating in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The NASDAQ OMX Group said on Thursday that its Government Relief Index will follow not only those getting financial backing through TARP but also any firm receiving direct government investments from other programs. Presumably, that could include President-elect Obama's proposed $775 billion in additional bailout support to boost jobs and the economy.

Potential benefactors in business from such moves could include industries focused on infrastructure improvements and alternative energy sources, among others. 

"We believe the NASDAQ OMX Government Relief Index will be useful in helping investors evaluate the government's investments and the impact of the relief plan on the economy during this period of

And this, together with the economic disaster that is already out there, only proves the utter, utter failure of the Federal Reserve to ‘preserve the value of the dollar’, which is their freaking mission in life. Morons!

The front of a recent issue of Barron’s asks, “Are Treasury Bonds Safe?” which is actually a really stupid question since every doofus knows that Treasury bonds are perfectly safe because a fiat currency and a lapdog Federal Reserve means that they can print up all the money the Treasury needs with which to pay bondholders!

So… Safe? Hell yes they are safe! You’d think that Barron’s would know that! Jeez! If I had been there at Barron’s, I would have suggested using this week’s cover for what I actually suggested for the cover of the employee newsletter.

At the meeting, I floated the idea of suggesting a splashy cover page with words in blazing red

he economic news continues to bring bad tidings…consumer bankruptcies were up 33% in 2008…The financial crash is causing an economic crash, which will cause a worse financial crash…and around and around we go…Who will spend their savings in ‘09?…the CBO puts the budget deficit at $1.2 trillion for this year - and that’s not counting stimulus programs…and more!

“Psst…we’re breaking out of this joint…Saturday night…pass it on….”

Yes, dear reader…we’re breaking out… We’re not going to let these prison bars stop us. A whole generation of American investors is being fattened for slaughter…we’re not going to be among them.

Let’s look at yesterday’s headlines just to see what is going on.

The Dow rose 62 points yesterday. Oil held steady at $48. Gold went up $8. Yields are rising…but you still get paid nothing when you lend money to the U.S. government.

The economic news tells us that things are getting worse. Alcoa said