Making Money Alert
More Rate Cuts If You Please
09/26/2007
The carcass is still warm on last week's surprisingly deep reduction in interest rates, but already many in the financial media and blogosphere are crying out for another killer cut.
The yearning for even cheaper capital is, in my opinion, largely due to the bad economic news we've received so far this week. On Tuesday, we saw consumer confidence falling to a new low, while housing numbers continued diving south.
This morning we got word via a less -- than -- rosy durable goods report that demand for big -- ticket manufactured goods plunged in August by the largest amount in seven months.
Yes, the market had a great recovery last week in response to the Fed's move, but the question now is can that upward momentum be sustained?
The way I see it, stocks need to break out above the levels they reached immediately following last week's central bank meeting to confirm that we are, in fact, in a new bull market phase.
So far, things haven't quite gone as planned for the most strident of bulls, and hence the call out for more action from the Fed.
Shopping For Energy Trusts
Subscribers to my High Monthly Income advisory service know that I have been bullish on Canadian royalty trusts for some time now. In fact, my subscribers have just been instructed to take two new positions in these dividend -- paying, tax -- advantaged energy securities.
Well, it seems that I am not the only one who has taken a liking to the sector.
On Tuesday, the Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., a state -- owned company based in the United Arab Emirates, agreed to purchase the PrimeWest Energy Trust (PWI) for 2.4 billion Canadian dollars (US$2.4 billion), plus the assumption of debt.
The deal by the Middle Eastern company, known as TAQA, is its third in Canada and triples its investment in the Canadian energy sector to $7.5 billion. TAQA has a stated goal of investing $20 billion in Canada by 2012.
According to the Wall Street Journal, TAQA's investment strategy, which counters the decades -- long trend of Western capital flowing to the oil -- rich, Middle East, acknowledges the difficulty in finding stable sources of oil and natural gas, while also bringing them to market. Canada offers political stability and proximity to the United States, plus vast oil and gas reserves.
Bingo!
Hey, when companies in oil -- rich Middle East nations go shopping for energy trusts, you better believe it's time for you to check out these dividend -- paying stalwarts.
I think this Canadian oil grab from foreign entities is just the beginning of more buyouts and more consolidation in the CanRoy space. And, judging by the extreme price appreciation that shareholders of PWI enjoyed yesterday (see chart), I think you can see why I find these trusts so appealing.
To find out more about positioning your assets in Canadian energy trusts, or to see if my High Monthly Income advisory service is right for you, click here.
This week I am going to take you off the usual Alert path by presenting you an article by one of my favorite writers, freelance financial journalist Jim Woods. In his piece, Jim pays tribute to one of his own personal heroes. More importantly, he reminds us what the real significance of heroes is, and what they should mean to us all.
To A Fallen Hero
On younger women, faster airplanes, bigger crocodiles and brilliant inventions
By Jim Woods
"Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision." -- Ayn Rand, from her novel The Fountainhead
Any man who brazenly proclaims as his personal motto the politically incorrect, hyper -- masculine, younger women, faster airplanes, bigger crocodiles, is, in my opinion, either a delusional chap unworthy of serious consideration, or a supremely confident adventurer with an unquenchable thirst for life.
Arthur Jones was most definitely the latter.
Born November 22, 1926, Arthur Jones lived an incredible life. He was a wild -- animal enthusiast who owned elephants, rhinos, gorillas and crocodiles to name just some of the exotic species in his personal zoo. A professional pilot, Jones ran an import -- export business for wild animals, flying them out of Africa himself in old B -- 25 bombers. Jones was also a filmmaker, producing a wildlife television show and several movies featuring his many exotic beasts. He was even a mercenary soldier, and his exploits prompted the government of Rhodesia to "confiscate" many of his planes and equipment due to what Jones described as a difference of opinion about his actions while in that country.
While most people have never heard of Jones' exploits with exotic creatures, or his time as a mercenary, I would venture to say that most people have heard of, or even at one time used, the brilliant invention that was Jones' brainchild.
You see, Arthur Jones was the man who invented Nautilus fitness equipment, and perhaps more than any single individual, he was responsible for the fitness revolution in America and around the world.
Before I continue, you might ask yourself what relevance this belated and admittedly sycophantic obituary/tribute has to do with Doug Fabian's Alert readers. Well, the answer is actually quite simple.
You see as humans, we need heroes, and I am not speaking here merely about the stuff of Marvel Comics. We need to see real people who embody the virtues of rationality, independence, integrity and honesty.
We need to know there are people out there who actually exist, and who, as Ayn Rand put it via her brilliant fictional hero Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, "...took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision."
Arthur Jones was a man with this kind of virtue and vision, and that vision was realized in the ingenious invention that is Nautilus fitness equipment.
For those who may not be familiar with what made Nautilus equipment so unique, allow me to provide a brief explanation. Before the invention of Nautilus equipment, the standard form of progressive resistance training was your basic barbell. If used properly, these tools can and do help improve an individual's fitness.
The genius of Arthur Jones was that he knew there had to be a better way to get fit, and so he set out to invent it. Jones applied logic, a knack for mechanical engineering and a Herculean work ethic to the goal of improving on ways to strengthen the human body, and after many years of trial and error, he found the answer.
Jones discovered that the way to most effectively train human skeletal muscle for the purpose of increasing strength and flexibility was by creating a machine that varied the amount of resistance on the muscle during the course of one repetition of an exercise.
This revolutionary idea and the machines created to achieve this purpose have helped -- and continue helping to this day -- countless numbers of people around the world live healthier lives.
For the achievement that is Nautilus, I consider Arthur Jones a hero to the world. But what I find personally heroic was the way the man lived his life.
Jones was an intellectual maverick, fighting the skeptics and the fitness establishment most of his life over the validity of his training theories and the efficacy of his Nautilus machines.
Never one to back down from a fight, Jones fired back at his critics with a rapier -- like wit and unassailable logic. His steadfast perseverance and unswerving commitment to his own rational conclusions prevailed, and the world is better off for it.
When we hear of the death of someone whose life and work has had a significant personal impact on us, a little piece of us dies along with them. At the same time, a reflection on that life -- especially one as heroic as that of Arthur Jones -- can be the spark that helps motivate us to create a wildfire of change in our own lives.
If we're lucky, a few of us will see that change translate into the same kind of profound impact on the world that Arthur Jones had.
Here's to a fallen hero.
ETFS: THE FUTURE OF INVESTING 2
Come visit Doug in person as he brings his latest workshop to Southern California for an exclusive look at one of the fastest growing investment products in the world -- Exchange -- Traded Funds (ETFs).
Whether you're an ETF novice or an advanced trader, this workshop is packed with information that will change the way you invest. In this informative seminar, Doug will teach you:
- The current state of the market and how to identify what may be the best buying opportunity since 2003.
- A history of ETFs and what the current landscape looks like today.
- The advantages of investing in exchange -- traded funds.
- A comprehensive overview of the different types and styles of ETFs.
- How to build portfolios using ETFs, including several sample portfolios you can implement in minutes.
- What are some of the pitfalls of ETF investing -- and how to avoid them.
- New ETFs Doug likes right now
- And much more!
This seminar will be held:
Tuesday, October 9, 2007, 6:30 -- 9:00 p.m., at the
Pasadena Westin Hotel
191 North Los Robles
Pasadena, CA 91101
The cost for this event is only $24.95 per person.
Register now and you'll get these four Special Bonus items:
SPECIAL BONUS #1: Workbook that includes the complete list of nearly 600 ETFs and their recent performance data.
SPECIAL BONUS #2: Audio recordings of the event that you can listen to again and again.
SPECIAL BONUS #3: My top three ETF portfolios to profit in bull and bear markets.
SPECIAL BONUS #4: A complimentary autographed copy of Doug's book: Maverick Investing
Don't miss out on the most comprehensive ETF workshop of the year! We offer a 100% money -- back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied with the presentation.
To register, click here.
Or call us toll free at 800.391.1118
Be sure to act soon. Doug's Southern California events almost always are sold out.
Blogs Away: A Fabian Aural & Visual Fixation 6
This week's blog topics include how to use sector ETFs in your portfolio; the situation with mortgage rates; conditions in the Canadian energy trust market, and more on the aftermath of last week's Fed rate cut. Now how's that for a full plate!
To listen to the audio blog, simply click here.
Coaching You Toward A Winning Game Plan
The NFL season is now approaching week four, and already there's been a rash of surprises. Some teams that were supposed to do well are 0 -- 3 (sorry Saints fans), and some teams that weren't given much chance to succeed this year are 3-0 (go Packers).
The reasons for these early season surprises are varied, and there is still a lot of time for fortunes to be turned around. But one thing for sure is that what often separates the consistent winning franchises from the perennial losers is the quality of the coaching.
Nothing succeeds like a well -- thought -- out, perfectly executed game plan. This is true not only in football, but also in just about every walk of life, and setting up that game plan is largely the job of the coach.
When it comes to making sure your money has a winning game plan in place, I want to be your coach.
At Fabian Wealth Strategies, we like to think of ourselves as your personal portfolio coaches. We can put a game plan in plan place for you specifically tailored to help meet your financial goals.
Football may be fun to watch on Sundays, but what's even more fun is watching your money cross the goal line year after year.
If you need some help with your financial game plan, Fabian Wealth Strategies can help. All you have to do is call us and schedule your very own coaching session.
For more information on how to schedule your coaching session, call David Fabian at 800.391.1118 or e-mail him.
The Warrior Spirit
--Bruce Lee
The next time somebody tells you you can't do something, remember the words of martial arts innovator Bruce Lee. Also keep in mind that the warrior spirit Bruce embodies is not just about punching, kicking and defeating an aggressor. Rather, it's about going beyond the internal limits we think we have in life and pushing forth to conquer our own personal plateaus.
Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote you'd like me to share with your fellow Alert readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my radio show, newsletters, seminars or anything else.