A Crazy Man's Rant or Right
On?
You Be the Judge
Dudley Baker
PreciousMetalsWarrants
January 12, 2006
One of my early on subscribers
wrote me last week with his thoughts on the current economic
situation as he sees it and how he has positioned his portfolio
to ride out the financial storm that he sees brewing on the horizon.
It is so out there, so well argued, so well composed I share
it with you in its entirety.
"I have put all of my
eggs in one basket - commodities. In fact only two commodities
- precious metals and energy with the bulk being in precious
metals. These are diversified only in that they span bullion,
geography and the range of very large to the very early stage
junior exploration companies. A third of my investments are in
(the warrants of) individual stocks, many of them juniors and
two thirds are mutual funds which invest in a range of precious
metals stocks.
Why do I put my eggs in only one basket? From my perspective
the economic and political risks on the US and global horizon
are so serious that my priority and best bet to PRESERVE my equity,
and to SECONDARILY GROW it, is to invest in precious metals and
energy. (Other sectors are either overpriced by historical standards)
and/or highly vulnerable - DOW, S&P, bonds and real estate.
In other words the downside risk of gold, energy and base metals
is far less than the alternatives.
What will cause the system to implode, explode or go off on some
tangent such as deflation or hyperinflation? A lot of events
and circumstances (could) be the trigger, but I also think central
bankers (will) continue to play for time along with their cheerleaders
in the brokerage, corporate and banking sectors. It will probably
be a sudden factor triggering others such as a leveraged hedge
fund collapse, Israeli military hits on the nuclear capacity
of Iran or a terrorist sinking of a petrol ship coming through
Hormuz or Malacca straits. It will definitely cause currency
gyrations and imbalances which will all cause public opinion
and confidence to shrink dramatically. It is that last component
which is the genuine ugly part for which manipulation by the
power brokers will be ineffective to counteract.
When? I think the later part of this year will be more prone
than early on. The point I want to make is that there is virtually
nothing on the economic and political horizon to tell me that
anyone is changing course. The US with all of its current policies,
practices and scary economic and financial realities continues
to operate as if it is business as usual. Moreover, there is
absolutely nothing in terms of facts to suggest to me that the
system will get better.
Remember that politicians only
have a time horizon spanning to the next election - 6 years for
Senators, 4 for the President and 2 for Congressmen. Keep in
mind this is the maximum time horizon with the calendar always
shortening. Their goal to is to be reelected, not raise waves,
always bribe the voter with their own money and never ever tell
the ignorant, TV sotted masses, or the fifty percent who actually
vote, the ugly truth because they are sure to turn on the messenger.
Denial always trumps an acceptance of the truth even when one
is endorsing a system designed to leave one's kids with bad values
and worse circumstances than we have now. The public will always
opt for the pleasure of the moment rather than deny themselves
for a better future for themselves or their kids. Proof is the
rate at which houses have been refinanced to enhance current
living standards and lifestyle. It wasn't too long ago that people
denied themselves in order to double monthly mortgage payments
to become mortgage free as soon as possible. Notice too the fact
we now have negative personal savings for the first time. Check
too the rate at which employees use their registered retirement
income tax savings entitlements and you will see that only half
contribute to their defined contribution pension plans and most
of those who do never come close to using their entire head room
entitlement. And how about the fact that the amount in the 401k
account of the average 50 to 55 year old employee is $10,000
little greenbacks. Guess how far will that get the average retiree?
So how do I end this rant? Economic and political realities are
grim and getting worse. There is no evidence of any serious and
realistic policy initiatives. If there were the public would
reject them because it would invariably entail sacrifice and
deferral of an enhanced lifestyle until some unspecified future
date. So my best advice is to batten down the hatches, preserve
one's equity and exploit opportunities that will emerge even
in a sickly economy. Remember, many people hatched their future
fortunes by judicious acquisitions in the 1930's when everyone
else seemed to be in dire straights."
-contributed by a Precious
Metals Warrants' subscriber
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January 12, 2006
Dudley Baker
Guadalajara/Ajijic, Mexico
email: info@preciousmetalswarrants.com
website: www.preciousmetalswarrants.com
Dudley Baker is the owner/editor
of Precious Metals Warrants, a market data service which provides
you with the details on all mining & energy companies with
warrants trading on the U.S. and Canadian Exchanges. As new warrants
are listed for trading they alert you via an e-mail blast. You
are provided with links to the companies' websites, links to quotes
and charts, tips for placing orders and much more. Precious Metals
Warrants do not make any specific recommendations in their
service. They do the work for you and provide you with the knowledge,
trading tips and the confidence in placing your orders.
For those investors
seeking more knowledge on warrants do visit the Learning
Center
at Precious Metals Warrants, where you will find much more information
and examples to enhance your learning experience. You may also
sign up for The
Warrant Report
free weekly email.
Disclaimer/Disclosure
PreciousMetalsWarrants.com
is not an investment advisor and any reference to specific securities
does not constitute a recommendation thereof. The opinions expressed
in this report are the express personal opinions of Dudley Baker.
Neither the information, nor the opinions expressed should be
construed as a solicitation to buy any securities mentioned in
this Service. Examples given are only intended to make investors
aware of the potential rewards of investing in Warrants. Investors
are recommended to obtain the advice of a qualified investment
advisor before entering into any transactions involving stocks
or Warrants.
321gold
Inc
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