Why U.S. tax policy makes saving a sucker's game. - By Henry Blodget - Slate Magazine

 

The problem is how we tax investment gains. Over the past 80 years, the average annual return on Treasury bills (a proxy for savings accounts) has been 3.7 percent per year. Inflation, meanwhile, has averaged 3.1 percent per year. This combination has produced a "real return" of a paltry 0.6 percent per year. If you got to keep that 0.6 percent, you might still have an incentive to save: A $616 real gain on $10,000 in 10 years wouldn't be much, but it would at least be $616 more than you have now. Unless you're so poor that you're exempt from taxes, however, or so flush that you can afford to lock up cash for decades in a tax-deferred annuity or retirement account, you won't be keeping that 0.6 percent. You'll be giving all of it—and probably more—to the government.

Source: Why U.S. tax policy makes saving a sucker's game. - By Henry Blodget - Slate Magazine

Stockpickr! S&P 500 Stocks Furthest Below 50-Day Moving Average Portfolio

 

S&P 500 Stocks Furthest Below 50-Day Moving Average holdings

5940 views

Source: Stockpickr! S&P 500 Stocks Furthest Below 50-Day Moving Average Portfolio

Silvercorp Metals Inc.

 

Silver Market Review

A Review of the Chinese
Silver Market

World Silver Survey 2005 - A Summary

Laws & Regulations

The Selected Laws And Regulations Of The People's Republic Of China On Mineral Exploration And Development

Ministry of Land and Resources People's Republic of China
February 2006

Source: Silvercorp Metals Inc.

JoeCit: Intelligent Investing - Response to INVESTools, Inc. Post

 Disgruntled employees, a short-side blogger, and the CEO get in the mix on this entertaining feed.  Sink or SWIM indeed.

Hi there…I once worked for INVESTools and was FIRED for trying to change the way they do business. Quite literally and openly, they asked the instructors to have a good story about their investing experience, even if we had to conjure one.

Source: JoeCit: Intelligent Investing - Response to INVESTools, Inc. Post

Atlas - Migration Patterns

Where's everybody moving to these days? 

Link to Atlas - Migration Patterns

Mover Mike Accredited Home Lenders

Mover Mike comments on LEND: 

Isn't it interesting how major investors can make the same mistakes ordinary investors make: doubling up, selling at the bottom and buying a falling knife. They also could be right. We'll know this year! Accredited Home Lenders LEND Farallon Capital Management Sub-prime Mortgage Mover Mike

Source: Mover Mike Accredited Home Lenders

A few things I'll take away from purchasing:

1. Don't buy on price spikes.
2. Don't get emotional with the market.
3. Get out early.

I still think LEND has some potential.  The RSI has cratered, there is an 80% short on the stock, and it's second-largest shareholder bailed, which was the driving factor for the downturn.  However, there should be some support around the $10 mark, since their bailout lender Fallond has warrants at that price, and at 13% interest on 200 mil they have some incentive for it to stick around for a few years.

Disclosure: I own a small (and shrinking) position in LEND.

The Frugal Canadian: Tax Software Reviews

 Great list of tax software, including a shareware one!

Drip... drip... drip...

The new Canadian Uranium Focused Energy Fund (UF.UN) , put out by Middlefield, which just came onto the (TSX) market last week, plans to offer a DRIP with Optional payments as well. The fund holds Uranium stocks such as Cameco, Denison, Paladin, etc.
The DRIP will start in about 4 months.
Distributions will be quarterly.
Yield will be around 5%.
Units will be purchased at NAV, or if NAV is less than 95% of market price, units will be purchased at 95% of Market price.
Optional cash payment minimum $100

Baystreet.ca

Here is a list of posted GIC rates.  Outlook Financial (Manitoba) currrently has 4.35% on their 1 year GIC.

 

Baystreet.ca

XTR - Highest dividend yields

 

Canadian ETF dividend yields as of 2007-03-26 (at ex-dividend price, most accurate yield figure)
Symbol	Annual yield	Category	Description	Q1 dividend	4 quarter est.	Price at ex-
XTR	4.96%	Income trust	Income Trust index	$0.16886	$0.68	13.62
XRE	4.11%	Income trust	REIT index	$0.17707	$0.71	17.23
XBB	3.97%	Bond fund	Broad bonds (avg term 10 yrs)	$0.29058	$1.16	29.30
XGB	3.94%	Bond fund	Government bonds (avg term 10 yrs)	$0.19963	$0.80	20.25
XSB	3.92%	Bond fund	Short term bonds (avg term 3 yrs)	$0.27833	$1.11	28.40
XLB	3.77%	Bond fund	Long term bonds (avg term 22 yrs)	$0.19038	$0.76	20.21
XCB	3.29%	Bond fund	Corporate bonds (avg term 9 yrs)	$0.16716	$0.67	20.34
XDV	2.81%	Stock index	Dividend paying stocks	$0.16159	$0.65	23.02
XRB	2.80%	Bond fund	Real return bonds (avg term 22 yrs)	Based on 2006 dividends at last ex-
XFN	2.32%	Stock index	Financial stocks	$0.32436	$1.30	56.04
XMD	2.17%	Stock index	Midcap stocks	$0.49483	$1.98	91.13
XIU	1.73%	Stock index	S&P/TSX 60 (broad stock index)	$0.33002	$1.32	76.51
XEG	1.65%	Stock index	Energy stocks	$0.33799	$1.35	82.16
Notes:
1. Bank of Canada overnight and LIBOR rate is 4.25%
2. Last t-bill auction (3 month, 6 month, 1 year) all yield 4.2%
3. Canada 2 yr bonds yield 4.1%
4. Canada 5 yr bonds yield 4.0%
5. Canada 10 yr bonds yield 4.1%
6. Canada 30 yr bonds yield 4.2%
7. Yield curve is flat. 3 month t-bills yield same as 30 year bonds!
Data source: iShares and Scotia Capital for bond market yields

QQ: China's New Coin of the Realm? - WSJ.com

But so far, though, regulations -- or even legal protections -- for virtual assets are scarce around the world. This week, a Chinese court sentenced a former executive at Chinese online gaming company Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. to five years in prison for virtual embezzlement. Along with two accomplices, the programmer who was in charge of creating assets for the game Legend of Mir II created his own virtual assets without permission and then sold them for $260,000. He says he plans to appeal since there aren't any laws in China covering virtual assets.

Source: QQ: China's New Coin of the Realm? - WSJ.com

On a side note, Tron is 25 years old this year.  So is Bladerunner. 

Interesting that fiction is turning into life, with virtual currency becoming real.

This programmer sort of acted like the Fed, creating wealth from nothing.

Handy ETFs from Bill's Comments

 

Here is my handy list of ETFs:

Short/Bear Funds (Allows you to short in IRA/401K accounts)

PSQ - Short QQQ Inverse of the NASDAQ-100
SH - Short S&P500 Inverse of the S&P 500
DOG - Short Dow30 Inverse of the DJIA
MYY - Short MidCap400 Inverse of the S&P Mid Cap 400

2x Margin Built In (Allows you to leverage IRA/401K)

QLD - Double the NASDAQ-100
SSO - Double the S&P 500
DDM - Double the DJIA
MVV - Double the S&P MidCap 400

QID - Double the inverse of the NASDAQ-100
SDS - Double the inverse of the S&P 500
DXD - Double the inverse of the DJIA
MZZ - Double the inverse of the S&P MidCap 400

Countries (Allows you to invest in other economies)

EWJ - Japan
EWT - Taiwan
EWH - Hong Kong
EWB - Brazil
EWU - UK
EWW - Mexico
EWM - Malaysia
EWS - Singapore
EWC - Canada
EWY - South Korea
EWP - Spain
EWA - Australia
EWP - Pacific ex. Japan
EWG - Germany
EWI - Italy
EWL - Switzerland
EWQ - France
EWD - Sweden
EWK - Belgium
EWO - Austria
EWN - Netherlands

Stock Market Sector Funds (Sector Baskets)

OIH - Oil Services Sector
XLE - Oil Sector
XLI - Industrial Sector
IGE - Natural Resources Sector
IYR - US Real Estate Sector
XLU - Utility Sector
SMH - Semiconductor Sector
XLF - Financial Sector
RTH - Retail Sector
TTH - Telecom Sector
WMH - Wireless Sector
SWH - Software Sector
XLK - Technology Sector
HHH - Internet Sector
XLB - Materials Sector
XLY - Consumer Discretionary Sector
PPH - Pharmaceuticals Sector
XLV - Health Care Sector
IGN - Networking Sector
BBH - Biotech Sector

Bond Funds

SHY - 1-3 yr treasury bond
IEF - 7-10 yr treasury bond
TLT - 20+ yr treasury bond
LQD - corporate bond

Commodities

GLD - Gold
SLV - Silver
USO - Oil

Currencies

FXA - Rydex CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust ETF
FXB - Rydex CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling ETF
FXC - Rydex CurrencyShares Canadian Dollar Trust ETF
FXE - Euro Currency Trust ETF
FXF - Rydex CurrencyShares Swiss Franc Trust ETF
FXM - Mexican Peso Trust ETF
FXS - Rydex CurrencyShares Swedish Krona Trust ETF

Standard Index Funds

QQQQ - NDX 100
SPY - SP500
DIA - Dow Jones Industrials
MDY - SP Mid Cap 400
IWM - Russell 2000

Source: Bill Cara: Cara’s Bull Board, Wed., Mar. 21, 2007, 8:18 AM

Web-based proxy filings

As of July 1, 2007, companies will be able to file their proxy statements and annual reports on the web. It marks a formal recognition of the importance of the Web, may be a precursor to a mandatory requirement and also marks an important move forward for XBRL. E-Proxies to Debut in 2007 - Technology - CFO.com

 

FIG you?

 

Between January 2005 and this month's IPO, the five principals of Fortress -- Edens, Peter Briger, Robert Kauffman, Randal Nardone and Michael Novogratz -- cashed out $1.04 billion. "That does not include the Nomura transaction," adds company spokeswoman Lilly Donohue.

Total withdrawn in the two years before they took it public: $1.9 billion. Most of that was in the final few months.

Source: immobilienblasen: Plundered Fortress / pump and dump at its best / hall of fame !

Lender Implosion

Latest count of major US mortgage lenders that have croaked since late 2006:

27

The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter

My 1st Million At 33 » Blog Archive » My Advice To Preserving Wealth in 30s thru 50s

 

Investing money is probably the most difficult task for anyone. Every minute, every second, every dollar from everyone is trying to gain the best return on investment (ROI). You can see how much competition is out there. If there is someone (including me) who tells you that he can consistently produce an annual return of 20% above inflation, you can almost be certain that he is telling a lie. Why? Compounding 20% for 25 years will give you 95.4 times back for your money. A mere $1000 dollar will become $95,400. Now if he has such investment knowledge to have such mida golden touch, will he be investing only $1000? He should be borrowing as much as he can and probably invest $100K to get some $9.54 million dollars. And if he has some $9.54 million dollars, I bet that he won’t be talking to you, but probably even making even more money for himself, or retired in some Carribean island. Such outrageous return simply don’t last long, or if it’s true, no one will be telling you about it. This applies to ALL investment, whether it’s real estate, precious metals, or stocks in general. The investing world is pretty much a self-correcting process. Any inefficiency (for investing trick) in the market will be immediately exploited in a short time to the extent that such inefficiency doesn’t work anymore. Every now and then, there will be some inefficiency in the market, but with so many investors and so much capital in the whole world, you can bet on that it will disappear before you know about it.

Source: My 1st Million At 33 » Blog Archive » My Advice To Preserving Wealth in 30s thru 50s

What goes up....

According to IndexUniverse, the top sectors of 2006 were Consumer Staples and Utilities.  The bottom were Materials and Healthcare.

Who wants to bet that these will reverse or healthcare will at least recover some of its losses in 2007?

Source: IndexUniverse.com - Follow The Flows

Move the money - Hedge funds flee London

 

London Hedge Funds Suffer Panic Attack
February 2007
Hedge Fund Daily

According to some estimates, London may be hedgie free by the summer, if new tax proposals are adopted as scheduled next month. Financial Times reports that a sense of panic among the U.K. hedge fund community has set in. "We have already had one investor turn us away because they don’t know if the fund will be subject to tax in the future," one manager told FT. Corroborating the panicked mood of the industry brought on by HM Revenue & Customs, a spokesman for the Alternative Investment Management Association said in an FT interview. "Managers have left the U.K., citing withholding tax as being a factor in their decision. There is a real danger this could escalate into a significant loss of business for the U.K. as others follow suit." So, where are they heading? One lawyer, who noted that successful hedge fund managers now realize they don’t have to remain in London to make money, are contemplating moves or have moved to Channel Islands, Switzerland, Monaco and Dublin. The lawyer also says his U.S. clients that wish to have a presence in Europe are asking for advice on where to go. The number of HFs in the exodus has not been quantified, but some suggest that within four months, the industry in London could be decimated. The unnamed lawyer said the tax authority could have calmed things down by merely clarifying some of its proposals.

Source: Bill Cara: Week #07 (2007-02-17) in Review (FINAL)

Top Canadian Tax Software Programs - Tax Software Canada

 

Top 5 Canadian Tax Software Programs

From Susan Ward,
Your Guide to Small Business: Canada.
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Today's tax preparation software does more than just let you calculate your income tax and send in your return. Most tax software programs include tax planning features so you can analyze different income tax scenarios. If your business is a sole proprietorship or partnership, you'll be able to use any of the Canadian tax software in this article; if your business is incorporated, your tax software options are more limited. All these Canadian tax software programs are CRA approved.

1) QuickTax Canadian Tax Software

This user-friendly Canadian tax software program lets you prepare your income taxes easily and quickly. The EasyStep Interview leads you through the tax preparation process by asking questions in plain English, and tax planning is a snap because of the ability to run multiple tax scenarios, and features such as the capital gains analyzer and incorporation analyzer. Many Windows versions are available, including one for incorporated businesses.

Vendor's Site

2) TAXWIZ Canadian Tax Software

This Canadian tax software program for preparing personal income tax has many of the features QuickTax has, such as the ability to run "what if" scenarios, popup help, and multiple filing options, (you can prepare up to six income tax returns) but unlike QuickTax, there is no corporate version, and the CD-Rom is only available for Windows.

Vendor's Site

3) TaxTron Canadian Tax Software

TaxTron used to be GriffTax and is still the only fully functional user-friendly Canadian tax preparation software available in both individual (T1) and corporate (T2) versions for Macintosh OS. However, there is a version of this tax software available for Windows, too, that you can use to do your individual and/or business income tax. All versions are quick, easy, and fully bilingual.

Vendor's Site

4) GenuTax Canadian Tax Software

This Canadian tax software program has two things going for it that really appeal to me. The first is that you purchase GenuTax once and future annual updates for the income tax software are free. The second is that there's no limit on the number of tax returns you can prepare and file (unlike most tax preparation software programs). The downside? You can't use this tax software if you live in Quebec or for preparing corporate tax returns.

Vendor's Site

5) UFile for Windows Canadian Tax Software

Essentially with this tax preparation software, you enter your income tax information using an interview interface. Currently this Canadian tax software program only offers personal income tax preparation (T1), but it has the capability to handle any kind of self-employment income and calculate capital gains - and can be used by Quebec residents. Ufile also offers online income tax preparation and filing.

Vendor's Site

Source: Top Canadian Tax Software Programs - Tax Software Canada

Tax Time - Investing in the future

 

GenuTax may only be purchased as downloadable software from this web site. You may purchase GenuTax for $34.99 plus applicable sales taxes.

Once you purchase GenuTax, you may never have to purchase tax software again.

From time to time we may release a new version of GenuTax with additional features requested by our customers. If you would find the additional features useful, you may upgrade your product for a reasonable fee.

However, you will never be forced to upgrade. If you are satisfied with GenuTax version 1, the free annual tax update modules will continue to work with that version.

Click the button below to begin the purchase process.

Warning: Before you purchase GenuTax, it is strongly recommended that you have a high-speed Internet connection. See our system requirements page for more information

Source: Purchase