Kirk Lindstrom's  Instablog

This article was originally posted at Kirk's Market Thoughts as GGR: GeoGlobal Resources Inc. - Technical Analysis: Golden Cross & Rounding Bottom Patterns

• Definition of Golden Cross pattern
  
  
• More GGR Charts

GeoGlobal Trading Success: This is a good money maker stock if you have the patience to buy when cheap and sell when very high. In my newsletter portfolio I have generated $18,276 cash, all pure profit from GGR plus I have 7,900 shares on "house money." GGR could drop to zero overnight and I'd still have profits of $18,276! I first started writing about and trading GeoGlobal about 10 years ago when it was Suite101.com/BOWG.

Disclaimer: I am locked and loaded with shares added to personal and newsletter portfolios at 80¢. I have long-term shares purchased as low as 12¢ in my personal portfolio. I have plans in place to sell shares at preset, but significantly higher prices listed in my newsletter. If my outlook changes, I may sell sooner and announce it to my subscribers.

This article was originally posted at Kirk's Market Thoughts as I-Bond Rates: November 2, 2009 through April 30, 2010.

The Bureau of the Public Debt today announced an earnings rate of 3.36% for Series I Savings Bonds issued from October 2, 2009 through April 30, 2010.  Press Release

The 3.36% earnings rate for I bonds bought from November 2, 2009 through April 30, 2010 will apply for their first six months after issue. The earnings rate combines a 0.30% fixed rate of return with the 3.06% annualized rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U). When the inflation rate is less than zero, a bond's earnings rate is less than its fixed rate (but the earnings rate is never less than zero).

• CPI-U Table

The fixed rate applies for the 30-year life of I bonds purchased during this six-month period.
Earnings rates for I bonds are set each May 1 and November 1. Interest accrues monthly and compounds semiannually. Bonds held less than five years are subject to a three-month interest penalty. I Bonds have an interest-bearing life of 30 years.

I Bond Earnings Rate 3.36%, Fixed Rate 0.30%

Minimum purchase:

• $50 for a $50 I Bond when purchasing paper bond certificates
• $25 for a $25 I bond when purchased electronically via TreasuryDirect

Maximum purchase(per calendar year):

• $5,000 in TreasuryDirect and $5,000 in paper bonds
• $10,000 total per social security number

Denominations:

• Paper bonds: $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, and $5,000
• Electronic bonds via TreasuryDirect: purchase to the penny for $25 or more

For more information, see:

• I Bonds Explained
   
• Current iBond Rates
   
• iBond Rate History

• I Bond Composite Rates (iBonds)

Disclaimer: I own Series I Bonds in my personal account. Due to the small amount of i-bonds you can buy now, I own far more TIPS and TIPS funds in my personal and newsletter (More Info) portfolios.

This article was originally posted at Kirk's Market Thoughts as CIT Group Bankruptcy Agreement; Common & Preferred Stock Canceled.

Yesterday CIT Group filed for bankruptcy protection with nearly 90% of their debt holders voting in favor of the agreement. The key provisions of the agreement are:




Disclosure: I have no position in CIT in either my personal account or my newsletter portfolios.

This article was originally posted at Kirk's Market Thoughts as Best CD Rates - Survey of Largest US Banks.

Bank	CD Rates - APY in % as of 10/02/09 for $10,000
	6- Mo	1-Yr	18-Mo	2-Yrs	3-Yrs	5-Yrs
Bank of America (BAC)	0.50	1.45	1.00	2.01	2.30	3.01
JP Morgan Chase (JPM)	0.75	1.25	1.50	2.00	2.25	3.00
Citibank (C)	0.75	1.49	1.73	1.98	2.23	3.44
Wells Fargo Bank (WFC)	0.35	0.50	0.90 16-mo	1.40 21-mo	1.90 27-mo	NA
HSBC Bank North America - Branch & Telephone Rates	0.25	0.55	0.55 15-mo	0.75	0.75	1.01
HSBC Online Rates	1.10	1.85	1.85 15-mo	1.60
US Treasury Rates	0.13	0.34	NA	0.86	1.35	2.20

• Best CD Rate Survey of the Top US Banks

Notes:

• Bank of America or BofA (BAC stock quotes and charts) was "Nations Bank" before it bought Bank of America and took the name. BofA also bought Merrill Lynch officially as of January 1, 2009.
• JP Morgan Chase (JPM stock quote and charts) bought Washington Mutual, fondly known as "WaMu"
• Citibank (C stock quote and charts) is also known as Citigroup & Citicorp
• Wells Fargo Bank (WFC stock quotes and charts) bought Wachovia Bank- that bought World Savings Bank)
• HSBC Bank North America is the American subsidiary of UK-based HSBC Holdings plc. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, also a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, acquired a 51% shareholding in Marine Midland Bank of New York in 1980 and extended to full ownership in 1987. The banks continued to operate under the Marine Midland name until 1998, when the branch offices were rebranded as HSBC Bank USA.
  

This article was originally posted at Kirk's Market Thoughts as Best CD Rates at the Largest Banks in the US.

CD rates (APY) at the largest US banks (Current Data) for a $10,000 deposit.

Bank	CD Rates - APY in % as of 9/24/09 for $10,000
	6- Mo	1-Yr	18-Mo	2-Yrs	3-Yrs	5-Yrs
Bank of America (BAC)	0.50	0.95	1.00	2.10	2.30	3.01
JP Morgan Chase (JPM) Bought WaMu -Washington Mutual	0.75	1.25	1.50	2.15	2.25	3.00
Citibank (C) aka Citigroup & Citicorp	0.75	1.49	1.73	1.98	2.23	3.44
Wells Fargo Bank (WFC) Bought Wachovia - World Savings	0.30	0.60	0.90 15-mo	1.40 20-mo	1.90 27-mo	NA
HSBC Bank North America - Branch & Telephone Rates	0.25	0.55	0.55 15-mo	0.75	0.75	1.01
HSBC Online Rates	1.10	1.85	1.85 15-mo	1.60
US Treasury Rate	0.19	0.38	NA	0.93	1.44	2.36

To see the table in full size with the current rates, click the

• Best CD Rate Survey of the Top US Banks

Product	Rate	Last week
30 yr fixed		5.25%	5.20%
15 yr fixed		4.67%	4.66%
5/1 ARM		4.29%	4.30%

• Bank of America or BofA (BAC stock quotes and charts) was "Nations Bank" before it bought Bank of America and took the name. BofA also bought Merrill Lynch officially as of January 1, 2009.
• JP Morgan Chase (JPM stock quote and charts) bought Washington Mutual, fondly known as "WaMu"
• Citibank (C stock quote and charts) is also known as Citigroup & Citicorp
• Wells Fargo Bank (WFC stock quotes and charts) bought Wachovia Bank- that bought World Savings Bank)
• HSBC Bank North America is the American subsidiary of UK-based HSBC Holdings plc. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, also a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, acquired a 51% shareholding in Marine Midland Bank of New York in 1980 and extended to full ownership in 1987. The banks continued to operate under the Marine Midland name until 1998, when the branch offices were rebranded as HSBC Bank USA.

Disclaimer: I own C (charts) and XLF (charts) in my personal account. I also cover  C and XLF in my investment letter where I trade them around a core position currently in the money for both. I could sell all shares at any time to lock in my profits if my opinion sours on the sector as a whole.

This article was originally posted at Kirk's Market Thoughts as DOW Gold Ratio at 9.66.

• Back in 1999, it took 45 ounces of gold to buy the DJIA.
   
• On Friday March 6 of 2009 the DOW-Gold ratio hit a low of 7.03
   
• As of Friday (September 11, 2009) it only took 9.66 ounces of gold to buy the DOW
   
• Gold quote and charts

 

The scary part is the DJIA-to-Gold ratio got down near 1 in the early 1980s and was just under 0.2 in the early 1800s.

Which way do you think the DOW-Gold ratio is headed?

This 200 Year Dow/Gold Chart shows the DOW/Gold ratio from 1800 through August 2008.

• Gold quote and charts
• US Treasury Rates at a Glance
• LIBOR Rates at a Glance

Disclaimer:  I have no position in Gold other than a few gold coins.  I get inflation protection via TIPS mutual funds (for example Vanguard's  VIPSX) and equities in my stock portfolio.