Where is the US economy headed?

Is there a charge for the big stock tip, imposter?

Here's a free one: invest in gold, oil, or food production, as inflation - thanks to the Fed and their damned idiocy - is on the rise.

Cycloptichorn

Advice is often not even worth about what you pay for it, cyclops.

We could make a gentlemans' bet if you like; see whose investments would do better over the next 6 months.

Cycloptichorn

Defaults are on the upswing - some by as much as 1000 percent. Be careful how you interpret the financial pundits about our "good economy."

I'm not into betting, cyclops, and any investments I do are for the long term and I let other people do it, as in mutual funds. Except for a few stocks. My best one is an oil company that has more than doubled in the last 3 years I think approximately, I would need to look again at the exact purchase date. All the other ones are positive as well, except one loser. A few months ago, I was tempted to buy more oil stocks, but decided against as it had already risen 50%, but now it is up another 50% from that point.

As a novice, I like energy stocks, and right now, whats wrong with real estate when its a bit down and you can find a bargain from desperate sellers looking for buyers? But for just 6 months, I wouldn't bet on these.

I don't sit around studying this stuff, and I don't have alot of money to play with. What are your recommendations?

okie, Oil is a very good commodity to invest in; it'll always have demand, and the price can always be increased to show a margin of profit. You don't need to worry about "supply" during our lifetime, but I'm sure not all oil companies are created equal; management always makes the difference.

"LONDON (MarketWatch) -- This week's announcement that Dubai's investment company will take a 20% stake in the Nasdaq may have set off alarm bells in Congress, but it's probably just the beginning.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was especially quick to fire up his press operation and release a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson seeking assurance that the deal won't compromise U.S. national security.
However, as a political opportunity for Schumer and his ilk the Nasdaq deal has some problems. One is that Dubai is only acquiring 20% of the exchange, rather than a controlling interest. Another is that even the Bush administration is unlikely to be completely flat-footed for a second time on an issue that burned them so badly the first time around -- in the Dubai Ports fiasco.
And, political maneuvering aside, with the dollar at generational lows and headed lower, there is only so much the politicians can do anyway.
Middle Eastern and Chinese interests have hundreds of billions of dollars to invest.
The about-face by the Fed on interest rates means the pressure to get out of dollars and into something profitable, or at least stable, will only grow.
Put simply, the U.S. is on sale.
So whether it goes into stock exchanges or private-equity firms such as Carlyle Group, that money's looking for a home. See related story.
Yes, Americans have balked at a number of transactions in recent years, most famously the aborted Cnooc Ltd. (CEO:
CNOOC, Ltd.
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4:01pm 09/28/2007
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CEO 166.43, +3.24, +2.0%) acquisition of Unocal in 2005 and the Dubai Ports deal in 2006.
The ability of politicians to oppose those kinds of transactions is weakening, however, given that they're the ones voting to spend more money than comes in to pay for the pork-barrel projects that get them re-elected.
The good news is that the U.S. is an attractive place to invest, given the size of the market and the relatively simple regulatory regime, particularly compared with Europe.
Politicians may not like it, but they're unlikely to do anything meaningful about it, unless they suddenly decide to stop living like subprime borrowers and clean up their balance sheets.
-- Tom Bemis, assistant managing editor/commentary End of Story
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/marketwatch-first-take-us-sale/story.aspx?guid=%7B11409019%2DB055%2D42C3%2DB32C%2DBDDBAB0169FF%7D&dist=hplatest

Rama, They are very smart; they've waited until asset values in the US have started to get depressed. They just need to watch what they invest in, because Japan did the same thing in their hay-days, and it bit their arses.

Smart investors don't seek out advice on finance in internet chat rooms. :wink:

Miller
Of course we are here to share our views about the Economy in USA
and not awaiting any clue from the "outsiders" to buy a share.

We are not "licensed" financial advisors; only people who share ideas about our economy and investments with some suggestions thrown in that people can agree or disagree with.

Miller is correct; each individual has a responsibility for their own investments. It's something that should not be "relegated" to a total stranger. If all investment advisors were smart, they'd all be rich, but we know they are not. It's one of the most important responsibility any individual has; to secure their retirement in comfort. Why give that responsibility to others? Their interest is never as great as your own.

I managed most of our investments during our working years, and have done reasonably well. When I retired, I sold our income property, and a few years ago transferred our many investments in different institutions into Vanguard Funds and paid them a fee for their advise.

Our performance is not the best, but good enough for us to live a very comfortable life; that's all I want. I took out most of our year-to-date gains, and transferred them into a federal money market fund, because it's my personal opinion that our economy is headed into a recession.

I can sleep at night with some comfort.

The following story is part of our economic legacy.


Wounded vets also suffer financial woes

By JEFF DONN and KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press writers 1 hour, 44 minutes ago

TEMECULA, Calif. - He was one of America's first defenders on Sept. 11, 2001, a Marine who pulled burned bodies from the ruins of the Pentagon. He saw more horrors in Kuwait and Iraq.
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Today, he can't keep a job, pay his bills, or chase thoughts of suicide from his tortured brain. In a few weeks, he may lose his house, too.

Gamal Awad, the American son of a Sudanese immigrant, exemplifies an emerging group of war veterans: the economic casualties.

More than in past wars, many wounded troops are coming home alive from the Middle East. That's a triumph for military medicine. But they often return hobbled by prolonged physical and mental injuries from homemade bombs and the unremitting anxiety of fighting a hidden enemy along blurred battle lines. Treatment, recovery and retraining often can't be assured quickly or cheaply.

These troops are just starting to seek help in large numbers, more than 185,000 so far. But the cost of their benefits is already testing resources set aside by government and threatening the future of these wounded veterans for decades to come, say economists and veterans' groups.

"The wounded and their families no longer trust that the government will take care of them the way they thought they'd be taken care of," says veterans advocate Mary Ellen Salzano.

How does a war veteran expect to be treated? "As a hero," she says.

Didn't think anyone would see that in the other threads you posted it in C.I.?

Lord Byron

No advice asked here, or followed. Just opinions, as a matter of interest.

Read:

Barrons
WSJ
Financial TImes


Each and every day if you can, and you'll make better informed decisions about your investments.

How much did you miss out on since you pulled your stocks, such as today, imposter? Up over 14,000 again.

okie, I pulled $13k more out today.

Who knows, it could be great timing, or maybe its headed to 15,000 in the next months? I'm not a bettin man, and this is not advice for anyone, but I tend to believe it will oscillate wildly from day to day and week to week, but in general will go yet higher, maybe 15,000 or so.