Saturday, July 25, 2009

Rick’s Picks Weekend Edition

– Posted in: Free Rick's Picks

Bureaucracy, Taxpayers Headed for a Collision The headline atop the front page of this morning’s Boulder Camera suggests a city struggling diligently to balance its budget: “Work-Week Options Eyed”.  Reading this, one might infer that the city is contemplating unpaid furloughs or some other means of reducing payroll outlays, right?  That would be entirely appropriate, given that Boulder faces a $5 million budget shortfall next year. But that is not what the story is about. In the first place, it is not the city that is “eying” changes in the work week, but the workers themselves. And what they have in mind is nothing so onerous as unpaid work days... Read the Rest of the Article | Comments *** Why Gold Should Anchor a Portfolio (Following is the fourth in a series of articles on gold by Chuck Cohen, a financial consultant and lifelong resident of New York City.) Recently I discussed some of the reasons investors often fall short. Today I want to help bring clarity to your investment goals and also explain why gold should hold a central place in your portfolio. If you succeed in these two areas, you’ll not only prosper, you will also be prepared for the incredible changes and shocks that I believe are coming. As Richard Russell always stresses, succeeding in the stock market is a lifetime learning process. At age 84 or so, he is still working diligently at it. As we have all learned, making money in the stock market is not as easy as the hucksters would have us believe. Success comes not just from market knowledge but from learning from our mistakes. And it is... Read the Rest of the Article | Comments *** Fed Throttles Back, Having Achieved Little The stock market carved out yet another bowl-shaped formation