Sean Hyman's blog

I think this one may be a shocker to many…that gold is going to be much higher at the end of 2009 than it is right now. I think it will take out its highs just above $1,000 an ounce and will head for at least $1,250 an ounce. (Gold is presently trading around $853 an ounce.)

When I was a stock broker, I hated gold. To me it was the dumbest investment on the planet. Of course I worked as a broker when gold was in a multi-year bear market.

But the more that volatile booms and busts have caused the need for more government intervention, the more of a believer I’ve become in gold.

Today the Bank of Canada lowered its interest rate to 1% down from 1.5% formerly. It seems that every major central bank around the globe is inching closer and closer to a zero interest rate policy as they try to revive their economies along with the larger, global economy.

It used to be that currencies chased “high yields”. However, as central banks around the world are aggressively cutting rates, will there be such a thing as a major high yielding currency later on this year?

When one of my relatives was in their 30s, they read a book on weight loss that said if you want to get “skinny”, then do what “skinny people” do.

At the time, I was very skinny. So they followed me around for a month and ate when I ate, at the amount that I ate and stopped eating when I stopped eating.

Guess what? They started losing weight because they started picking up the habits of a “skinny person”.

Well, investing in the financial markets is much the same. Want to get rich over time? Follow what the rich do. After all, they have proven, undeniable track records.

Over the years, American’s have really gotten a “thirst” for Japanese products. Who hasn’t come in contact with Toyota (TM), Sony (SNE), Nissan (NSANY), Mazda (MZDAF.PK), Panasonic (PC), Fujitsu (FJTSY.PK), Casio (CSIOY.PK), Toshiba (TOSBF.PK) or Nintendo (NTDOY.PK)?

We use their cars, their electronics and don’t forget….their Wii’s. They’ve really seemed to get a feel for what we like…actually much better than many American companies.  Americans have “voted” with their dollars as they’ve increasingly bought up Japanese goods (especially their cars and electronics) and as a result it’s given these companies an “ever-increasing” market share against many of its American competitors.

Gone are the days where you can sit back…no nothing about the stock market and let your company and government take care of you in retirement.

No, corporate and state pension funds are getting entirely too risky with your “present” and your future. And guess who it costs? YOU!

State governments from coast to coast have run up estimated pension fund losses of $865 billion dollars (that’s right, with a “B” and not an “M). Yeah, assets for 109 state funds have declined an average of 37% over the last 14 months. Ouch! (Got a question for Sean? Email him here: shyman@mywealth.com)

You know, in every environment there is something that prospers….even in recessions. However, many times people just think of defensive stocks like make up companies or alcohol or cigarette companies, food companies, etc.

However, when stocks tank and corporate America slows down, the unemployment lines lengthen.

When this happens, education stocks shine. Why? Because everyone knows they are competing against a glut of people at that time more than ever. You see, when there’s “full employment” and the job market is tight, it’s not as hard to get a job. But when few corporations are hiring and there are tons of people fighting over the same handful of jobs, the best way to get an edge is to get an education.

Since there’s all of the bad news being pumped out there daily by the media…I thought it might be refreshing to talk about two of the bright spots that just came over the horizon.

If you are a regular reader of my blog (www.mywealth.com/blog), then you are aware of some of the signs of a strong company (even if you don’t know how to read balance sheets).

One of those signs was to look for companies that feel strongly enough about their own financial situation in this environment that they can purchase another company (at least partly with cash).

If you feel, as a company, that you can spare some cash for a purchase in this type of an environment then you obviously feel strongly about your financial future.

Rumors are flying around everywhere. Traders and investors alike are pondering tomorrow’s employment report. Some are looking for 600,000 to even 700,000 jobs to be lost. While others like Bloomberg’s economists are forecasting a more conservative 515,000 jobs lost (down from 533,000 the previous month).

Payrolls Accelerated Their Fall In 2008!

So why all of the huge speculation of even more job losses? Yesterday’s ADP (Automatic Data Processing’s) Non-Farm Employment report….that’s why.

Before trading in this market for the first time, these “Top 10” things come to mind that I’d like to share with you before you get started. Even if you just started trading forex, take these to heart and I think you will improve your chances of success considerably even if only 2-3 of these ring a bell with you.

So let’s get started…

2008 brought about mixed emotions. On one hand we had cheaper gasoline than we’ve seen in many, many years (the good). Then we had the economy sliding off the cliff (the bad) and finally the unemployment rate shooting through the roof (the ugly). Ouch!

So everyone was glad to see gas go down from $4 a gallon to a buck and change…however, everyone knows someone out of work now and that’s very scary!

Oil futures are predicting $60 oil by next December. I think it will at least hit that and could head even higher by then.

Some of the stimulus that the government has given to the economy will have an effect soon. However, economies are like slowly turning ships and not like speed boats. Therefore this will be a process and not as quickly as we all would like. But…it will turn the economy around.