Time Keeps on Ticking…

100% of the shots you don't take don't go in. - Wayne Gretzky

You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough other people what they want. - Zig Ziglar

No matter what holiday you celebrate, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or Festivus, we all know the most important part. It’s not the “airing of the differences (although most families get around to this anyway).” It’s about the TOYS!!! When your child is getting to the age where the toys are more than rattles and shakers, it’s even more about the toys. I just spent the last forty five minutes playing with my four year old son’s new remote control car (while he was asleep).

Onto the important stuff. Each of the three publications we will cover today has been in previous posts. The first one is the Argus Vickers Weekly Insider Report. The most recent release, entitled “NYSE Insiders Again Our Weakest Link” talks about how insiders from the NASDAQ have started to show some bullish signs, but the NYSE counterparts have not jumped on the same bus. He covers the performance of the model portfolio and also lists all insider trades. David E. Coleman is also calling for us to be “hitting the sweet spot in global economic recovery” in 2010.

From Roger Williams, we have the Sector Fund Timer. The 12/14/09 edition gives us commentary about last week’s trading and the “momentum rankings” of all Rydex & Profounds. An investor can create a portfolio using this list and the “Buy, Hold or Sell” strategies Williams lists here.

The Spear Report discusses the potential opportunity in Chinese Real Estate and how it resembles California before the big run up. “Sinofornia” also speaks about Anthony Bolton is coming out of retirement for Fidelity. He managed the Fidelity International Special Situations Fund for 28 years and is calling this “the opportunity of a generation.”

The year is wrapping up and as we head to the final moments of the decade, we will be here to help you make the right, informed investment decisions for the end of this year and the start of the next.

For more information, please go to http://www.zepinvest.com.

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Its All About the Ridges

The wise man puts all his eggs in one basket and watches the basket.
- Andrew Carnegie

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
- Henry Ford

I’m not sure how the graduates from the “School of Diversification” would feel about Mr. Carnegie’s quote. Proper diversification and allocation has been a very popular philosophy in modern investing circles. For every person that follows the rules of diversification, there will also be somebody who will build their entire philosophy around one stock. I had a client who for 18 months made a considerable amount of money on Chevron (CVX). They had inherited a considerable amount in the stock and continuously sold somewhere between $80-90 and bought it back in the low $60’s. They repeated this four or five times all with some degree of success. For the record, I do NOT recommend this strategy.

Since I know we are all waiting with much anticipation for the Lions’ game on Thursday, I’m going to keep this blog as wild and crazy as I know that game will be. Originally “Bond Tuesday,” we’ll go with wild cards for the rest of the week.

The Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report written by Paul Goodwin is a monthly publication that recommends a portfolio of ADRs that are traded through US exchanges from China and other emerging markets. It uses a market timing strategy using both fundamental and technical analysis. Hurlbut Financial Digest has rated it the top newsletter for five years. In his recent release, “Nervous Thanks,” he talks about the “heightened anxiety” of investors in this market. He also offers a stock recommendation as well as updates on previously recommended stocks.

The US Sector Monitor Reports by Lubomir Pechala are monthly comprehensive reports that use technical analysis to make buy, hold and sell recommendations for stocks based on sector. Covering Healthcare, Industrials, Energy, Consumer Staples, IT, Financials, Telecom, Utilities and Materials, Pechala provides 12 month forecasts for each stock listed on these separate reports.

The Argus Vickers Research Weekly Insider by David E. Coleman offers market commentary as well as insider transaction data. It covers the most recent transactions as well as insider trends. According to this week's “Insider Index Rankings,” a popular stock right now is Consolidated Edison (ED) and losers include Carnival (CCL) & TD Ameritrade (AMTD).

So as you wait for Matt Stafford to hit the field on Thursday afternoon, contemplate two things:
1) How can I use these reports to enhance my own education and portfolio?
2) Which cranberry sauce is better, canned or fresh? (Hint, look at the title)

For more information, please go to http://www.zepinvest.com.

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