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When was the last time you felt uneasy about some of the stocks that you own?  Perhaps it was during the wild and insane levels of volatility this past summer that wreaked havoc on investors' portfolios. Well here’s the good news:  Today, I’m going to show you how the pros protect their stock positions any time time they feel the need.  And, in most cases, it can be done for free. Even better, this technique can easily be applied by you, as an individual investor. While…
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After taking a whopping last week, bond prices look to be in rally mode again.  We saw yields on the 10 Year Note get back up above 2% and, just as it looked like the bond rally was over, renewed fears stemming from Europe have put a bid under American bonds once more. Last week I wrote about the possibility of deflation and took a lot of heat on that article.  As a trader, it's important to force one's self to be able to see more than one view.  Part of what makes The Tycoon Report…
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It's important that you read this in its entirety! If I were on my death bed, and I had to tell you about ONE WAY to get through the next 10 years of financial market volatility, I would whisper two words into your ear:  "STREAMLINED OPTIONS." This is very different than what I've done over the last 7 years at IFII (formerly Tycoon), which is to tell you about trading "options".  The word "streamlined" is KEY!  This makes it easy for any novice investor/trader…
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When I was young, stupid and chasing girls, good looks were the most important attribute a female could have as far as I was concerned. A disastrous relationship with an insane model changed my thinking pretty quickly.  After splitting up with “Crazy Christine”, as my friends used to call her, I became much more interested in what was beneath the surface. The same can be said about my approach to stocks. Most investors look at earnings when evaluating a company.  And that’s…
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Many know of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) S&P 500’s Volatility Index or the VIX as the “fear gauge”.  It generally runs contrary to the S&P 500 -- meaning that when the S&P rises the VIX falls, and when the S&P falls the VIX rises.  While many investors are aware of this inverse relationship, few realize that the VIX, or more specifically its options, can be used as a relatively inexpensive hedge. In fact, last year, when I attended a discussion…
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For China, 2012 will be the Year of the Dragon... But for the rest of us that have plenty of skin in the game, it will undoubtedly be the Year of the Landing: Will China be able to engineer a soft economic landing, or is it headed for a hard fall that will send shock waves reverberating around the world? It’s a question that continues to be highly debated, with very stark differences of opinion as to China’s future path when it comes to its financial health.  It’s also a very…
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I want to extend my warmest thanks to those of you who joined me, Chris Rowe, Ed Pawelec and Costas Bocelli this past weekend in Delray Beach, Florida as we celebrated Chris’ retirement. Activities ranged from the humorous -- such as the "impersonate Teeka Tiwari doing Morning GPS” contest -- to more serious business, such as how the rest of this trading year looks to pan out, along with classes that delved deep into options strategies. It was a wonderful weekend, and it was a real…
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First off, I'd like to thank everyone who joined us this past weekend at my Retirement Party and IFII seminar.  I had an amazing time, and we were very lucky to have such a GREAT CROWD!! It's really all about the people you're with when it comes to either having a great time or just a good time.  So thank you all for making the trip -- and from places all over the globe, such as the Philippines, the U.K., Australia, Canada and so on and so on.  Thank you also to everyone at IFII. …
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There's an adage on Wall Street that stock prices follow earnings. It means that if a company's earnings increase over time, the stock price should follow. The same is true for a business whose earnings are falling. Earnings are the most-used metric when analyzing a company. How much does it earn? How much will earnings grow? What is the price-to-earnings ratio? It's a very useful tool for gauging a company's overall health. But there's another metric that I prefer: Cash flow. Here's why... Cash…
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