Permanent Home for Financial Links

As some of you have no doubt noticed, I am permanently putting the links to the financial websites off on the right side of this blog. This should make it much more convenient to access them. If you have not done so already, check out some of these links. They offer a wealth of information and may very well end up being frequently visited sites for your trading and investing endeavors.

A New Rant - People Asleep at the Wheel

Where were the Audit Committees, CFO's and Risk Managers at ALL of these companies at the start, and more importantly, before the mortgage-related security mess got started? Where were they at Bear Stearns, and every investment banking house for that matter? Where were they at the banks that have written off hundreds of billions of dollars, thus far? Where were they at the Rating Agencies? Where were they at EVERY institution that purchased any single mortgage-related security? And, where are they NOW at the corporations that have their cash balances invested in money market mutual funds that are just littered with mortgage-related securities THAT AREN'T CASH OR CASH EQUIVALENTS? That's a bomb just waiting to go off.

The biggest, baddest risk of them all and EVERY single Audit Committee, CFO and Risk Manager, and all of their minions ignored it. Forget the fact that the Rating Agencies never should have given the mortgage-related securities investment grade ratings. EVERY entity has the fiduciary obligation to examine what they are getting themselves into regardless of the rating. What does this say about the quality of individuals that comprise the Board of Director's Audit Committees, or about the quality of a firm's CFO (or the CEO that hired him) and what does it say about the entire profession of risk management? It says that too many entities subscribe to the notion that there's safety in numbers (i.e., the old everyone's doing it so it must be OK) and that there's a severe shortage of unique, critical thinking about items that the corporate fiduciaries should be looking at. It says that entities spend entirely too much time on feel good measures like Sarbanes-Oxley crap that is totally worthless (sure didn't help one iota here), but is costing billions and billions of dollars. If you have lost money in an institution because of this mess and get the opportunity, go to the Annual Meeting. And in the Q and A session, if they are brave enough to have one, ask the Board members and Officers these questions. Then watch them squirm and come up with excuses, if they don't ignore your question as being overtly hostile and not pertinent.

What Can Be Done To Help The Current Economic Condition

I have been saying for some time that the essentials that the government should be doing are: 1) instead of allowing companies to trade-in their mortgage related securities for Treasuries, guaranty a percentage of any "bundle's" (mortgage securities are bundled up into a variety of different instruments, but the form shouldn't matter) value - say 80%. This will: a) immediately start up the market for them to start trading again; b) it will put in a floor for the value of the securities; c) reduce the amount of write-offs that the holder's of the securities will need to make; and most importantly, d) allow the MARKET to work through this mess instead of having the government guaranty EVERYTHING on a piece meal basis. 2) Immediately cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. Ignore the populist rhetoric about this allowing the rich to get richer - it's wrong! We are in a global economy and the US tax rates are uncompetitive compared to the other major world powers - and several of them are socialistic and communistic. Lowering the corporate tax rates will: a) immediately strengthen the US dollar; b) jump-start our economy - this will allow corporations to: i) increase employees pay; ii) reduce product costs; and iii) increase capital investment; and c) be non-inflationary. Lowering interest rates has weakened the US dollar and is going to put us in a time of stagflation - where we have the economy weakening, but prices going up; 3) make permanent the Bush tax cuts that are due to expire. Increasing taxes now will absolutely put our economy in the crapper - for years; and 4) reduce government spending - the American people need to grow tired of the government always working on only one side of the tax and spend equation. Enough with dickering with tax policies, cut spending. There is absolutely no additional governmental program that is needed. Our problem IS that we have too many government programs now, that are little more than social experimentation. Let the politicians feed their egos and pander for votes some other way. I am tired of them constantly trying to interfere in my life. They are, and always have been the problem, never a solution. And for some new politician to come around and act like they will make things different makes me want to vomit.

I've been asked if I'm making any money in the current environment. My wife and my 401(k)'s are in all cash - every bit of them, and they are up 1 - 1.5%. My trading account is about 2/3 in cash and the rest I've been buying, shorting and what have you. My best purchase was gold and silver. Anyway, this market has been so volatile, both ways, that my investment account is flat - 0%. It just proves what I've said all along - in a bear market, both longs and shorts get killed. Were it not for the gold and silver, I'd be significantly down - probably 4 - 5%. Of course, this is a lot better than the broad market year-to-date averages - S&P (12.27%), Nasdaq Composite (16.58%), and Russell 2000 (13.46%). When we emerge from this, you are going to be in such better shape than those people not as fortunate to have went to cash. This is an example of when 20% for them will be 25% for you. Let me explain - you are Investor A and another party is Investor B. You both had $100,000 at the beginning of November 2007 before we went to cash. You have kept your $100,000 intact, but Investor B has lost 20% and now only has $80,000. Let's say that this is the end of the bear market, now and over this next year, the market goes up 20%. Investor B will get 20% on his $80,000 or $16,000 for a total of $96,000. You will get 20% on your $100,000 or $20,000 for a total of $120,000. You have made the equivalent of an extra 5% on your money ($20,000 compared to $16,000) because you were smart enough to get out of the way of the bear. And it just keeps being more lucrative for you as time goes on, because you kept your investment intact while everyone else got a big bite taken out of their money.

ETF Locater - All

Here are the ETF Locater Trees that I have been working on. ETFs are great instruments. They can give an investor instant access to a business sector and remove the volatility of an individual company within that sector. They allow investors to go short, long or 2x short and long positions - whether for a market sector or a market index. Because most of them are passively managed, their expense ratios are a fraction of that of an actively managed mutual fund. They are very useful at times of market extremes as an investor can also utilize them to place an immediate bet at market extremes without the guess-work involved in picking a company or companies that are going to bust loose.

There are 4 slides in the Power Point presentation. The first slide is the one page of all of the most common and actively traded domestic and foreign ETFs (and ETNs), and several that, although not necessarily very active, are needed to complete a category. Also included are the most common ETFs for domestic Fixed Income Instruments, REITS, Commodities, and Currencies. This first slide should be all that 95% of the people need.

The second slide is the comprehensive list of ETFs for the US financial sectors and indices, exclusive of any domestic ETF from Vanguard, ValueLine, Rydex, Claymore, Morningstar, Morgan Stanley and WisdomTree, or those using the FTSE RAFI and AlphaDEX indices. For the most part, when there are multiple ETFs in a given category, the first one listed is the most popular and therefore the most widely traded. Be careful about picking a fund that has a very small asset size. They will be subject to movements uncorrelated to actual market movements. Also included on the slide are the comprehensive ETFs for domestic Fixed Income Instruments, Municipal Bonds and REITS.

The third slide are those domestic ETFs that are from Vanguard (also includes their 5 international ETFs), ValueLine, Rydex, Claymore, Morningstar, Morgan Stanley and WisdomTree, or those using the FTSE RAFI and AlphaDEX indices. Some people just prefer to deal with a known entity for their ETFs. That, and there just wasn't enough room on the second slide to put all of this information on one slide!

The fourth and final slide has all of the International and Country Specific ETFs, in addition to those for Foreign Currencies, and all of the Commodities. The Commodity ETNs are broken out and a description of an ETN is provided.

I think that you will find these reference sheets to be vary valuable. I tried very hard to ensure that there were no errors and to be as comprehensive as I could, but if you find an error, please let me know so that I can correct it. One last thing - there were a couple of ETFs that just didn't have enough daily volume to be included here. They will probably be shut down and did not merit inclusion in this presentation.

To download the Power Point slides with this information that will print out more legibly, click on the title "ETF Locater" title or the ETF Locater picture to be redirected.

Updated Financial Links

One of goals on this blog is to bring value to the readers. I plan on doing this by creating more reference materials like the ETF Locater tree and through my Financial Links. As I update my Financial Links with more sources, I will republish as I think it is a pain for the readers to constantly refer to the Blog Archives to see the changes. I will also denote any new additions by an asterisk (*) right before the description. To answer a couple of questions on my blog, I prefer the charting services of Stock Charts (http://stockcharts.com/index.html). This is one area that I will also recommend that, if you are a frequent trader, to upgrade from the free service and buy the Basic Charting package for $9.95/month.

What are the best technical indicators? There is no doubt at all about the best technical indicators - price and volume. That's it. It's fine to become educated about Bollinger Bands, money flow, MACD, and a few others, but consider them secondary indicators and don't let them obscure you from the primary indicators of price and volume. I will write more about these primary and secondary indicators in the future.

And now, my updated financial links:

CHARTING:
DJ SECTOR CHARTS - http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/industry/bigcharts-com/default.asp?bcind_compidx=&bcind_period=ytd
MARKET INDEX CHARTS - http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/Favorites.CServlet?obj=msummary&cmd=show,iday[Y]&disp=SXA
POINT & FIGURE CHARTING - http://www.dorseywright.com/

DAILY MARKET DATA:
BARCHART - http://www2.barchart.com/
BESPOKE INVEST - http://www.bespokeinvest.typepad.com/
BLOOMBERG - http://www.bloomberg.com/intro3.html
COMPANY SLEUTH - http://www.companysleuth.com/
COMPUSERVE - http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/pf/default.jsp
GLOBAL FINANCIAL DATA - http://www.globalfindata.com/ (global macro data - P/E ratios, div yields, market caps, etc.)
GOOGLE - http://finance.google.com/finance
INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE - http://www.iseoptions.com/
INVESTMENT HOUSE - http://www.investmenthouse.com/
INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY - http://www.investors.com/default.asp
MARKETWATCH - http://www.marketwatch.com/
MINYANVILLE - http://www.minyanville.com/ (alternative to thestreet.com)
MORNINGSTAR - http://www.morningstar.com/
*NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE - http://www.nyse.com/
QCHARTS - http://www.qcharts.com/ (cleaner data at a slight expense)
REUTERS - http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks
SEEKING ALPHA - http://www.seekingalpha.com/ (includes conference call links)
SMART MONEY - http://www.smartmoney.com/pf/?nav=dropTab
STANDARD & POORS - http://www2.standardandpoors.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=sp/Page/HomePg
THESTREET.COM - http://www.thestreet.com/
VALUE LINE - http://www.valueline.com/
WSJ-ONLINE - http://www.online.wsj.com/mdc/page/marketsdata.html?mod=2_3000 (updated every 2 minutes)
YAHOO - http://finance.yahoo.com/ (data adjusted or unadjusted for splits)

ECONOMIC DATA:
ANNUAL RETURNS - http://www.amateur-investor.net/Weekend_Market_Analysis12_28_02.htm (Dow)
*BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS - http://www.bea.gov/
*BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS - http://www.bls.gov/
DISCOUNT RATE - http://www.globalfindata.com/
http://www.lexisnexis.com/infopro/zimmerman/disp.aspx?z=1704 (reliable data from 1914 to 2003)
THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD STATISTICS - http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/ (Releases and Historical data)
*FED STATS - http://www.fedstats.gov/
FRED II DATABASE (ST. LOUIS FED) - http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/ (GDP components, pop. and employment data, exchange rates, inflation indices, etc…)
*“REAL” GOVERNMENT STATISTICS (ANALYSIS BEHIND AND BEYOND GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC REPORTING – http://www.shadowstats.com/
* THE STATISTICAL ABSTRACT OF THE UNITED STATES - http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

BUSINESS CYCLES:
THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH - http://www.nber.org/cycles.html (dates and duration of business cycles and expansions)

BASIC MARKET EDUCATION:
MONEY CHIMP - http://www.moneychimp.com/
STOCKS - http://stocks.us/
INVESTOOLS - http://www.investools.com/
INVESTMENT TOOLS - http://www.investmenttools.com/
AMERICAN ASSN FOR INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS - http://www.aaii.com/

INFORMATION AND MARKET ANALYSIS:
ALAN M. NEWMAN'S STOCK MARKET CROSSCURRENTS - http://www.cross-currents.net/monthly.htm
BARRY RITHOLTZ'S THE BIG PICTURE - http://bigpicture.typepad.com/
BEN STEIN - http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/bio/yourlife/ben-stein
BRIEFING.COM - http://briefing.com/Investor/Index.htm
“THE COMING ECONOMIC UNRAVELING" - http://www.financialarmageddon.com/2008/02/still-at-the-fo.html
CROSSING WALL STREET - http://www.crossingwallstreet.com/
CYCLE FORECASTER - http://cycleforecaster.com/index.html
FINANCIAL SENSE - http://www.financialsense.com/
FORD EQUITY RESEARCH - http://www.fordequity.com/
JOHN MAULDIN'S THOUGHTS FROM THE FRONTLINE - http://www.2000wave.com/gateway.asp
LBR GROUP - https://www.lbrgroup.com/index.asp?page=Login&afterlogin=page%3DMembers
MERRIMAN MARKET ANALYST - http://www.mmacycles.com/index.php
SCHAEFFER RESEARCH - http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/Default.aspx
SHARK INVESTING - http://www.sharkinvesting.com/
STOCK MARKET MENTOR - http://www.stockmarketmentor.com/public/main.cfm
TRADING PSYCHOLOGY WEBLOG - http://www.brettsteenbarger.com/weblog.htm
WISER ADVISER - http://www.wiseradvisor.com/university-article~artId~699~title~covered-call-options.asp

BLOGS:
The 10Q Detective – http://www.10qdetective.blogspot.com/
24/7 Wall St. - http://www.247wallst.com/
AARON TASK - http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker
THE ALEPH BLOG - http://alephblog.com/?page_id=13
BILL CARA - http://www.billcara.com/
CHEAP STOCKS - http://stocksbelowncav.blogspot.com/2007/01/stretching-definition-of-netnet-wake-up.html
DAILY OPTIONS REPORT - http://adamsoptions.blogspot.com/
EVANESCENT RAMBLINGS - http://www.verylittlepicture.blogspot.com/
FUTUREPATH TRADING - http://www.futurepathtrading.com/LBRblog/default.aspxGARY SMITH - http://www.hedgefundmgr.blogspot.com/
JOHN LANSING - http://blog.trending123.com/2008/02/introduction_to_market_indicat.html
THE KIRK REPORT - http://www.thekirkreport.com
MARKET TALK WITH PIRAHNA - http://marketstockwatch.blogspot.com/
MAXOUT SAVINGS SHOW - http://www.maxoutsavings.com/the_next_phase.html
MICHAEL SHEDLOCK’S (MISH’S) - http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/
MODERNGRAHAM - http://www.moderngraham.com/
NAKED SHORTS - http://nakedshorts.typepad.com/nakedshorts/
THE OPTION CLUB - http://www.theoptionclub.com/
THE PERPLEXED INVESTOR - http://theperplexedinvestor.blogspot.com/
RANDOM ROGER - http://www.randomroger.blogspot.com
THE REAL RETURNS - http://www.therealreturns.blogspot.com/
REV SHARK'S AMAZON BLOG - http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A1KRIEWIJZLT01/ref=cm_blog_blog/102-6930566-9226503
ROGER EHRENBERG - http://informationarbitrage.com/
ROGER NUSBAUM - http://randomroger.blogspot.com/
STOCK BREAK-OUT BLOG - http://visualtrader.blogspot.com/
TECHNICAL INDICATORS FOR MOMENTUM STOCKS - http://alphatrends.blogspot.com/
TRADER FEED - http://www.traderfeed.blogspot.com/
TRADER MIKE - http://tradermike.net/
WORLD BETA - http://worldbeta.blogspot.com/

NEWS:
BARRON’S - http://online.barrons.com/public/main
CNBC - http://www.cnbc.com/
DRUDGE REPORT - http://drudgereport.com/
*INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY - http://www.investors.com/
*WALL STREET JOURNAL - http://online.wsj.com/public/us

MAGAZINES:
*BUSINESS 2.0 - http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/
*BUSINESS WEEK - http://www.businessweek.com/
*CHIEF EXECUTIVE MAGAZINE - http://www.chiefexecutive.net/ME2/Default.asp
*CFO MAGAZINE - http://www.cfo.com/
*THE ENTREPRENEUR - http://www.entrepreneur.com/
*THE ECONOMIST - http://www.economist.com/
*FINANCIAL TIMES - http://www.ft.com/home/us/
*FORBES - http://www.forbes.com/
*FORTUNE - http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/
*INC. - http://www.inc.com/
*KIPLINGER – http://www.kiplinger.com/
*MONEY - http://money.cnn.com/
SFO - http://www.sfomag.com/homefeaturedetail.asp?ID=-1587695919&MonthNameID=May&YearID=2006
*SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES - http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/home
*SMART MONEY – http://www.smartmoney.com/
TICKER SENSE - http://tickersense.typepad.com/

INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES:
ANTI-INVESTMENT ADVISER - http://www.sanfran.com/content_areas/home/view_printable.php?story_id=1507
IRRATIONAL OPTIMISM - http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=476981

DOCUMENTS/NEWS/BLOGS/MESSAGE BOARDS RESOURCE CENTER LINKS:
ABNORMAL RETURNS - http://abnormalreturns.com/
*CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE - http://www.freepint.com/gary/crs.htm
*FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INFORMATION - http://www.usa.gov/
*FINANCIAL DATA FINDER - http://www.cob.ohio-state.edu/cgi-bin/DB_Search/db_search.cgi?setup_file=finance.setup.cgi
*FOREIGN GOVERNMENT’S AGENCIES LISTINGS - http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/foreign.html
INSTANT BULL - http://www.instantbull.com/
*LEGAL WEBSITE DIRECTORY - http://www.lexisone.com/legalresearch/legalguide/states/states_resources_index.htm (LexisNexis® Research for Small Firms
*MAGPORTAL - http://www.magportal.com/
*NEWS DIRECTORY - http://www.newsdirectory.com/
*UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN - http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/
*US GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LISTINGS - http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml
YAHOO! BOARDS - http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/mb3?s=%5EDJI

SPECIALIZED INFORMATION:
*BANK RATE MONITOR – http://www.bankrate.com/brm/default.asp
BANKRUPTCY DATA - http://www.bankruptcydata.com/researchcenter2.htm
*BENCHMARK MARKET DATA – http://www.markit.com/information/home.html
CALENDAR RESEARCH - http://www.calendarresearch.com/
CANSLIM - http://www.canslim.net/what.htm
*THE CHICAGO BOARD OF OPTIONS - http://www.cboe.com/
*CNN MONEY.COM - http://money.cnn.com/data/markets/dow/
COMMITMENTS OF TRADERS - http://www.cftc.gov/marketreports/commitmentsoftraders/index.htm
COMMODITIES - http://www.globalfindata.com/
CORPORATE FINANCE - http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/ (data sets useful in corporate finance and valuation; Excel models for Financial Planning)
DAILY EVENT CALENDAR - http://thestreet.ccbn.com/earning.asp?client=thestreet
http://www.earnings.com/highlight.asp?client=cb
http://ccbn.compuserve.com/highlight.asp?client=compuserve
ETFs - http://www.proshares.com/ (ProShares ETFs (normal, inverse, double inverse, etc.))
http://www.proshares.com/funds?products=98616&fundType= (Pro Shares ETFs (short/ultra short))
http://www.indexuniverse.com/
http://www.etftrends.com/
ETF DISTRIBUTIONS - http://www.proshares.com/funds/distributions
FAIR VALUE PREMIUM DECOMPOSITION - http://www.indexarb.com/fairValueDecomposition.html
FUTURES DATA - http://www.turtletrader.com/hpd.html
http://www.qcharts.com/
http://www.globalfindata.com/
http://quotes.ino.com/
F/X - http://www.currencyshares.com/?gclid=CKal2rulspECFQMCkgodu1bsOQ
http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?e=FOREX
HEDGE FUND DATA - http://www.hedgeindex.com/hedgeindex/en/default.aspx?cy=USD
http://www.iasg.com
http://www.cogenthedge.com
HISTORICAL STOCK PRICES - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?a=03&b=6&c=1983&d=08&e=5&f=2005&g=d&s=%5Edji
HOT TRENDS AND STOCKS AT ALL-TIME HIGHS - http://www.wallstrip.com/
INDEX CHANGES - http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/nasdaq_100_changes.xls (Nasdaq 100)
http://www2.standardandpoors.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=sp/Page/IndicesIndexChangesPg&r=3&b=4&s=&ig=&i= (S&P)
http://www.russell.com/us/default.asp (Russell 2000)
INDEX SITES - http://www.cboe.com/micro/IndexSites.aspx (concentrated information on related CBOE products)
IPO DATA - http://www.iporesources.org/
*INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE - http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/
INVESTOR’S INTELLIGENCE - http://www.investorsintelligence.com/x/default.html# (pay site)
THE "LAST" STOCHASTIC TECHNIQUE - http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.php?id=chart_school:trading_strategies:the_last_stochastic
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT - http://www.hedgefolios.com/
PROGRAM TRADING - http://www.programtrading.com/
*SEC DATABASE - http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm
SHORT INTEREST - http://quotes.nasdaq.com/asp/MasterDataEntry.asp?page=ShortInterest
http://www.shortpicks.com/short_interest_01.asp
STOCK BASHERS PRIMER - http://messageboardfools.com/bashers.htm
STOCK BUYBACK INFORMATION - http://buybackletter.com/
STOCK LEMONS - http://www.stocklemon.com/
STOCK PATROL - http://www.stockpatrol.com/
STOCK SCANNER - http://tal.marketgauge.com/PHSFree/MktScans.asp?c=FND
TRADING HALTS - http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=TradeHalts
*TRADING TACTICS - http://www.hardrightedge.com/default.htm
WHISPER EARNINGS NUMBERS - http://www.whispernumber.com/signIn.jsp?source=quotes.jsp
WIKIPEDIA - http://www.wikinvest.com/

STOCK TECHNICAL ANALYSIS:
INDICATORS AND ANALYSIS - http://www.stockconsultant.com/consultnow/basicplus.cgi?ID=sample&symbol=CCRT&71318#ttop
http://www.stockta.com/cgi-bin/analysis.pl?symb=CCRT&num1=9&cobrand=&mode=stock
http://www.prophet.net/default.jsp
http://www.ivolatility.com/
OPTIONS CALCULATOR - http://www.cboe.com/framed/IVolframed.aspx?content=http%3a%2f%2fcboe.ivolatility.com%2fcalc%2findex.j%3fcontract%3d496D898D-D64B-42B5-9B72-2BE60648E7D1&sectionName=SEC_TRADING_TOOLS&title=CBOE%20-%20IVolatility%20Services
PIVOT POINT CALCULATOR - http://pitrading.com/pivot_points.htm
http://www.livecharts.co.uk/pivot_points/pivot_points.php?symbol=pot
STOCK PRICE CALCULATOR - http://www.smartmoney.com/pricecheck/index.cfm?story=worksheet

PERSONAL:
ART INVESTING - http://web.artprice.com/start.aspx?l=en
"BEST" HOME PAGE - http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp
*CALCULATORS - http://www.martindalecenter.com/Calculators.html
CANCELING HOME-EQUITY LOAN - (23,435 different calculators!) http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt037.shtm
CANCELING PMI - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/pmialrt.pdf
CAR (USED) BUYING - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/usedcarc.htm
CAR LEASING - http://www.federalreserve.gov/regulations/cg/regmcg.htm
COOLING OFF RULE - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro03.pdf
CREDIT PRACTICES RULE - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/crdtrul.shtm
CREDIT RATING DISPUTE - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fcrasummary.pdf
CURRENT MORTGAGE RATES - http://mortgage.chase.com/pages/purchase/crq_p_landing.jsp
http://www.bankrate.com/
FAIR DEBT COLLECTION - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fdc.htm
FREEWARE - http://www.freewarefiles.com/
FINANCIAL CALCULATORS - http://finance.yahoo.com/calculator/index
http://www.choosetosave.org/calculators/
http://www.bankrate.com/
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
http://moneycentral.msn.com/Help/Tools.asp
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc_vml/refi/refi.asp
http://www.finaid.org/calculators/
http://www.letstalk.com/condor/home.htm
http://sites.stockpoint.com/aarp_rc/wm/Retirement/Retirement.asp?act=LOGIN
MORTGAGE DISCRIMINATION - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/homes/rea08.pdf
MORTGAGE MINUTE GUY - http://www.mortgageminuteguy.com/townhall/
NAT'L ASSN FOR PERSONAL FINANCIAL ADVISERS - http://www.napfa.org/
PORTFOLIO TRACKING - http://clearstation.etrade.com/
http://www.stockpickr.com/home/
http://marketocracy.com/
RETIREMENT ISSUES - http://www.aarp.org/money/financial_planning/
RIPOFF REPORT - http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?q1=50&q2=Texas&q3=&searchtype=1
RIPOFF REVENGE - http://www.ripoffrevenge.com/
TAX GUIDE FOR INVESTORS - http://www.fairmark.com/refrence/index.htm
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Are We There, Yet? Are We There, Yet? Are We There, Yet?

First, I'd like to apologize for not posting earlier. But I have an excuse! One, I've been getting my tax forms in order and have needed to correct 2 previous year's forms. And two, I've been working on getting the 2nd part of my ETF Locater/Tree completed, which I will post here as soon as I am finished. I think that it will be a VERY useful reference material and worth the wait. And three, not much has changed in the market and there just isn't a need to keep saying "Stay in Cash!". Yeah I know we just had an up 400 point day and that's nothing to sneeze at. But before it means anything, we need to have a follow-through day. The market today, although down was still very palatable given that digestion of yesterday's action was imperative. This move is definitely something to be watching. However, there are still some solid negatives out there - first and foremost of which is the fact that we have not had the fall-out news of the deterioration of money market accounts, and all that implies which I first wrote about in my Investment Letter sent out on November 12, 2007 (see Blog Archives). So for now, as far as I'm concerned, the bear is as big and bad as ever and there remains the potential for some terrible days and weeks ahead. DO NOT LET YOUR GUARD DOWN. You are better off by missing the first few days when we emerge from the bear market than to participate in every fake-out that the bear markets give. I am not comfortable advocating short selling either. Bear markets maul both longs and shorts (you don't think that there are some shorts hurting from that up 400 point day? Especially when people can now buy leveraged short ETFs, effectively getting exposure to 2x the market movement in a sector?). The best thing to do now is research some stocks that are potential leaders when we emerge from the bear market. These are NOT recommendations, but some stocks I am currently investigating that might fall into this group include: BOLT, CRDC, VDSI and ZOLT. One other stock that has huge potential as a special case is CHS, but I need to research a bit more. But it looks like a cash generating machine - they just need to temper their growth plans.

I will try to post more frequently, with shorter posts. Best of luck to you all.