This guy is in Vegas.  No way in hell am I leaving anything with him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3pQcO3Gx84 (Not even for a free lollipop!) Wow!  Good judgment call.  This kind of advertisement sounds like it was directed at the Mob.  Seriously these kinds of places are often used by criminals...

I understand the risk benefit of direct treasuries and physical gold, but hypothetically speaking, what would be the best combination of four ETFs to maximize diversity of the underlying companies?  Here's my first thought: VTI - vanguard TLT - ishares SCHO - schwab GLD - SPDR Based on what I've re...

Yes that chart from Yahoo does give the illusion that at one time it was at 115% and later fell down to 60% making you somewhat deduce that it lost -55%, BUT the chart starts from a PRPFX price of around 18 and the 115% up implies that the price had risen 2.15 times (gain factor) to 2.15 x 18 = 38....

I think he's basically right except that you need some kind of hedge against currency devaluation in there. There's that whole problem of rising inflation to hyper-inflation. Maybe it never happens in our lifetime but maybe it does. It will only take one time to wipe out all the bond holders and ca...

A Risk Once Unthinkable By JAMES B. STEWART Published: December 9, 2011 Are customer accounts at brokerage firms safe? Until the collapse of MF Global, that’s a question I thought I’d never have to ask. Brokerage firms are required by law to maintain segregated accounts holding all client assets, i...

A couple quick points.  First I think that this is veering into the realm of paranoia.  As long as you don't store your gold at home (which as I have noted elsewhere is always high risk) the danger should be minimal.  Beyond which insurance is a better investment than fake coins.  Secondly, gold coi...

If you are what the Swiss term a "US Person" you should pretty much forget about banking in Switzerland unless you have a great deal of money to wave under their nose.  Americans are by and large more trouble than we are worth given the rather onerous reporting requirements now imposed by ...

Just open a US-based brokerage account and you can buy US treasuries directly. See the post on how to buy them at Fidelity.   A workmate (also Australian citizen) has a Fidelity account.  He's mentioned that he has had terrible problems in withdrawing funds via wire or any method other than issuing...

I think the most feasible option is the two-tiered option - like in Germany. In Germany, there is "healthcare" for everyone, but it comprises only well-proven treatments which are cost-effective.  Most of the time, you don't "really need" the $20 pill and the 30 cent pill from 5...

If I were betting on inflation, especially high inflation, I might consider some currency diversification.  There's a difference between devaluation and inflation. If I was betting on devaluation (of the USD) then I'd consider currency diversification. What I'm betting on, is inflation, and that's ...

There have already been several reports that any deficit reduction package will include new standards for indexing inflation which are designed to produce large savings in government outlays.  The whole concept of TIPS is so bizarre that I can't believe anyone would spend a dime on them.  It's like ...

Exocet Are you an Australian citizen or an expat living there?  In general you would want to keep the bonds and cash portion of your portfolio in the currency of your country. If you are an Aussie I would suggest going with the longest duration AAA rated government bonds you can buy.  I don't know h...

If I were betting on inflation, especially high inflation, I might consider some currency diversification.  Foreign stocks (easy enough using a global ex-US index fund) and some foreign government bonds would work well.  For the latter I would be looking for countries with very low Debt/GDP ratios. ...

The lottery is full of rags-to-riches tales. Now, the 1 percent has its own feel-good story. Timothy C. Davidson, Brandon E. Lacoff and Gregory H. Skidmore, three executives at Belpointe Asset Management, an investment firm based in affluent Greenwich, Conn., have won $254.2 million in the Powerbal...

Can an ETF collapse?  Of course it can.  Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it can't.  ETF's haven't even been around that long.  That said some perspective is in order.  Every form of investment carries risk.  Barring a catastrophic event ETF's as a class are probably very low risk, w...

MediumTex wrote: Wasn't the U.S. tax system orginally ONLY excise taxes on certain imports?

Yes it was.  But that was also in an age when the government didn't do ANYTHING beyond deliver the mail and maintain an army smaller than the New York City Police.

Clive wrote:

up 14.49% so far this year

? ? ? I'm seeing figures of around +10% (total) year to date for both the US and UK PP's

That's in line with my own tracking.  Not that I'm complaining.  :-)

I must have misunderstood. I thought that you said that ANYTIME money changes hands it should be taxed. Now you seem to be saying that unless one is an anarchist that taxes are necessary. Are these two statements the same thing? Would it be fairer to say that SOMETIMES when money changes hands the ...

"But I do operate on the premise that anytime money moves from person or entity 'A' to person or entity 'B' it should be taxed." And just why should it be taxed? Just whose money is it anyway? Unless you are an anarchist I presume you accept that we need some form of government.  That req...

From today's Daily Telegraph... Death of a currency as eurogeddon approaches It's time to think what hitherto markets have regarded as unthinkable – that the euro really is on its last legs. The defining moment was the fiasco over Wednesday's bund auction, reinforced on Thursday by the spectacle of ...

While option 2 on the poll is a possibility I am leaning towards option 3.  The problem with Europe is that they ignored history by creating a single currency without a central government powerful enough to enforce fiscal discipline and with sufficient authority to intervene in the event of a major ...

You might not realise how fortunate you are in the US. UK death taxes start at around $500K amounts, above which you're taxed at something like 40%. I only found out today that in the US you're allowed $5,000,000 tax exemption !!! Clive, couldn't anyone with sufficient resources simply transfer the...

Is it too simple to state that inheritance taxes constitute double taxation and therefore should be eliminated or at least reduced? This wealth was taxed over a person's lifetime and should not be taxed a second time upon their death. Am I wrong? I really don't like our tax system at all.  But I do...

Granting that it is possible to buy so called leveraged ETFs that do not leave you personally exposed to the possibility of a margin call, I am still not a fan of it.  You really would need steady nerves and a willingness to potentially incur very steep losses.  And it goes without saying that this ...

While the topic of this thread makes for an interesting theoretical exercise, I seriously doubt that we could return to a true gold standard even if we wanted to.  A 'gold standard" that did not at some level offer convertibility would be meaningless.  And given the available stocks of bullion ...