PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) has acquired RBC Bank for $3.45b, a $112m discount to tangible book value. PNC will likely start making money on this transaction sometime in early 2013. The stock presently trades at $56.80 with a fifty two week range of $49.43-$65.19.The transaction is to close in March, 2012.

One appreciates the long term potential of this deal. PNC has a track record of successful assimilation, notably the National City acquisition. By acquiring the well-placed branches of RBC Bank, PNC moves out southeast, primarily North Carolina, also Virgina, Washington D.C., South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida (where PNC already has assets from the National City transaction).The direct competitor appears to be BB&T (BBT), the North Carolina-based entrenched regional bank. If PNC employs the characteristics of it's operations elsewhere, BB&T is in for a tussle. BB&T is plagued with spotty customer service, many dated branches and technical problems,

Ignacio Galan, chief executive of the Spain-based energy group Iberdrola (IBDRY.PK), was quoted in the Financial Times on May 23 as stating that the rise in United States shale gas production has transformed the country's power-generating industry, driving down gas and electricity prices: "Shale gas makes the production of electricity from other sources not attractive enough."

This bodes poorly for investors hoping to profit from further wind power development in the United States, and perhaps elsewhere. Even U.S. government subsidies for wind farm construction is insufficient, he said: "It's hard to make an attractive return on investment on these [subsidized] prices."

Although some analysts and wind power industry executives are more optimistic than Mr. Galan, his viewpoint illustrates the realities of the competitive marketplace facing the U.S. wind industry. The wind power industry in the United States lost an estimated 10,000 jobs last year and now employs an

Yes, it is possible to run your portfolio sans stock. I have toyed with this notion on and off for a while. A recent article by Money Morning chief investment strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald addressed this concept quite well.

According to Fitz-Gerald, the allocation model looks like this:

• Bonds 45%
• Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) 25%
• Commodities 10%
• Gold 10%
• Preferred Stocks 10% (true, they are stocks but their performance is more bond-like)

Bonds should be split between high-yield corporate bonds and intermediate/short term investment-grade municipals. IShares IBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) is recommended, as is Vanguard's Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH). PIMCO's Municipal Income Bond Fund (PMF) is an appealing choice to round off this portion of the portfolio.

Gold hedges the principal value of bonds. This is especially true, according to Fitz-Gerald, in a stockless portfolio. A good choice is the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD).

Fitz-Gerald

The word "gridlock" has several peripheral definitions. Perhaps the best definition for this post is from Webster's New World Dictionary which defines gridlock as "a complete lack of movement or progress resulting in a backup or stagnation; any obstructed condition or impasse. "

Does this condition exist in your investment world? If the answer is yes, rest assured you are not alone. I have floated the investment gridlock condition to disparate individual investors over the past month. The admittedly unscientific result appears to indicated that investment gridlock is not uncommon.

I speculate that investment gridlock occurs when too many investment choices are accompanied by a gut feeling that the world is changing, with our (United States) government out of control both at home and abroad. Is "the full faith and credit of the United States" meaningless? Do adversaries - economic and other - view us as weak? Have we traveled

Credit Suisse (CS) released its March housing data yesterday, and the results are not promising. This survey rates the climate for single family home transactions in fifty major U.S. markets coast to coast. I have found this survey to be both timely and predictive.

Significantly, buyer traffic slipped in March from previous months, which were already low. The survey suggests that buyers lack confidence and are continuing to believe that home prices will continue to decline. The survey notes the "wide divide among potential buyers, with the most distressed markets finding significant investor interest whereas (traditional) buyers in other markets are still cautious and plan to wait for home prices to bottom." Investors are paying cash as they take advantage of homeowners caving in to low ball offers and investors who jumped in too early in the housing decline and are cash strapped. Home buyers planning to live in

Last May, I suggested that for safety a Permanent Portfolio be considered as investors continue to be held hostage to fickle politicians and unpredictable events here and abroad. I designed a Permanent Portfolio using low cost ETFs to closely replicate the portfolio of Michael Cuggino's 5-star Permanent Portfolio Fund. The goal of this ETF mix? To retain absolute value and rise approximately 2% more than the Citigroup 3-month U.S. Treasury Bill index, re-balanced semi-annually or annually.

As Michael Cuggino has massaged the Permanent Portfolio Fund from his predecessors, Harry Browne and Terry Coxon, to reflect different investment avenues and long term trends, I have done likewise for my current ETF Permanent Portfolio. This begs the question, why adjust the allocation and moving parts of a permanent portfolio when it is designed to be permanent?

The answer is that the world is changing at warp speed compared to fifty or even

Are you a dividend investor? For many of us the answer is yes. Most of the articles within Seeking Alpha pertaining to dividend-oriented investing have a tendency to look backwards, projecting an income stream through the assumption of what happened in the past to a company's fortunes (and the ability to pay dividends) will continue to occur. Most of us don't have a problem with that concept, especially if one's income portfolio is well diversified.

Jane Kim, in Banking on Bank Dividends in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, presents a well crafted article suggesting that dividend seekers should also look forward and seriously consider within a dividend portfolio securities that are apt to resume or significantly increase their quarterly payout. She focuses upon bank stocks.

Banks, out of federal coercion or corporate necessity, cut or suspended dividends due to the financial crisis. It appears that many of these institutions are

Most of us know coal as a dirty, black, smelly fossil fuel that has made investors some clean, green and sweet profits recently. I believe that investment in coal remains bullish,and here's why:

1. While the media focuses on new energy technologies, the truth is that only a small percentage of power produced worldwide is through solar and wind. While there is obviously growth potential, the cost outweighs the hype in our present economic environment.
2. Natural gas supplies only 20% of electricity globally.
3. Steel production uses over 10% of world coal production. $70 of the world's steel production requires coal as the primary energy source. It takes approximately 1300 lbs. of coal (coke) to produce one ton of steel.
4. Over 40% of the world's electricity comes from coal-fired plants.
5. China,the worlds largest consumer of coal, with even more coal-fired power plants coming online, is betting on fossil fuel even as it

Credit Suisse (CS) has issued its monthly Real Estate Survey. The data from over 50 major markets across the United States indicates that buyer traffic has increased and home prices continue to soften.

For the third straight month, buyer traffic has increased. The level for January was the highest since April 2010 (the last month of the homebuyer tax credit). However, the buyer remains focused on bargains. This creates trouble for new homes, as homebuilders have not reduced prices by as much as existing home prices have fallen.

This is in stark contrast to several months ago, when new homes were selling on par with existing homes; evidently home owners to a large degree are now throwing in the towel and selling at what the market dictates. It is noted that much of the increased homebuyer traffic is in warm weather locations such as Arizona, California and Florida.

In addition

As investors struggle selecting appropriate income streams for their portfolios, I believe that consideration should be dedicated to the under followed and under appreciated realm of inflation-protected preferred stock.

First, a basic explanation of preferred stocks:

A preferred stock is somewhat of a hybrid security instrument, with characteristics of both stocks and bonds. The investor is promised a stated and enticing yield (or terms as per the Prospectus) in lieu of not capturing a company's growth (as with common stock) and without the same guarantees of interest and certainty of principle as bonds.In some instances, the issuer of the preferred security can defer dividend payments at their discretion. Like bonds, preferred securities usually are blessed with a rating from a recognized rating agency.

There are three dominant types of preferred securities:

Fixed-Rate Preferred Stock is the most common type of preferred stock. If dividends are deferred

Credit Suisse (CS) has issued its time-tested monthly housing survey, which covers over 50 major real estate markets in the United States. Credit Suisse compiles survey results from boots-on-the-ground brokers who know their markets well. With this survey, after all data is put into the hopper, a score of 50 is historically average, with scores below 50 worse and over 50 better. The CS survey is my favorite housing tool. It is accurate, predictive and free of twisted jargon.

For December 2010, home buyer traffic was modestly higher -- still at a very weak level, but better than the previous few months. Brokers reported that buyers were brought into the market by a combination of negotiating a good deal and a fear that mortgage rates would continue to tick upwards (inflation tremors). On the downside, continued high stipulations for conventional mortgages have left even more buyers without a source to

Well, well. In early March, Cuba will commence with deep water drilling under contract with Repsol (YPF) and Statoil ASA (STO), using an older rig that was recently rehabbed by the Chinese. Reports indicate that it has fewer safety features than the BP's (BP) infamous Deepwater Horizon. The site is located a scant sixty miles southeast of Key West, Florida.

How can this be? Thank President Jimmy Carter, who etched a 1977 agreement essentially splitting the Straits of Florida 50/50 between the US and Cuba. Expect scores of deep water wells around Cuba's multi-billion barrel oil pool over the next few years. Eight companies are presently working to quickly expand Cuba's fossil fuel capacity, including Brazil's Petrobas (PBR) and Sherritt International (SHERF.PK).Venezuela, India and China oil interests have diminished Sherritt's originally large role, thanks to providing Cuba with goodies necessary to keep the Cuban economy afloat. Spain has done likewise,

Every investment has a season. For bonds, the season is "Fall". The vast majority of bond holders of almost all sorts have seen their values head south. What to do? Odds are, one should not take the bait of doubling down on bond holdings, but should rotate to a portfolio containing a hefty percentage of dividend-paying common stocks that hold hope of maintaining absolute value plus a capital gain.

I believe that being flexible is superior than being locked into one strict index ETF as the world economy moans, groans and lurches forward. Asia should be overweight, Latin America should be underweight as history tells us that periodic confiscatory politics of our southern neighbors have often times destroyed the best-laid Latin American investment scheme. Europe as a stand-alone is also off limits, although investors know that there is a bleed-through of many Asian and North American companies with Euroland. Within

The November Credit-Suisse monthly housing survey of fifty U.S. markets was released yesterday. Although the sector is still a mess, there were a few bright spots, as illustrated below. Still, interested parties in my world are not celebrating yet. They see banks continuing to withhold foreclosures from the auction block, maddening tight policies on foreclosures, short sales, financing stips and the availability of amortized credit. The unemployment rate,job insecurity, the sum of all local/state/ federal taxes and a sense that property values will continue to drift lower adds further angst to the mix. On the plus side,a temporary taxation regimen may be emerging from the carnage of the Beltway and may propel some further positive movement in the housing sector.This, along with buyers sensing that current interest rates and home prices may be a close-to-final opportunity to execute real estate deals.

Here is some selected data from the exhaustive and

The monthly Credit Suisse Housing Survey was released for October. This dense, reliable document reports on each of the fifty largest real estate markets. Relying upon boots on the ground seasoned contributors, the monthly survey is considered essential for many real estate practitioners. The October results overall show continued snail's pace traffic and sales volume. With a score of fifty (50) being the norm, buyer traffic declined to 16.3 from September's 17.9 - a fresh multi-year low. This comes at a time when there are generally more homes on the market than in September.

Specifically, CS reports that the down tick in October prospective buyer traffic guarantees that the next several months will not foster any hope of a recovery in the non-commercial real estate market with seasonality factored in. Brokers cite buyer uncertainty, an anticipation of still lower price points and worries about the ramifications pertaining to the backlog

Investors are generally a creative lot. We yearn for our inner voice to approvingly utter the classic Indiana Jones line when the old knight tells Indiana Jones, upon selecting the correct chalice from the many pretenders, "You Have Chosen Wisely". But there is more to the passion for many. I enjoy reading old predictions from the likes of Barrons, Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal and Money print media - and in retrospect find humor in how most did not stand the test of time. I also enjoy a few bloggers and journalists such as Roger Nusbaum and Malcolm Berko, and brief moments of the talking heads on CNBC and the Fox Business Channel (much improved in recent months with the addition of Charles Gasparino). Financial opinions and chatter, for me, is therapeutic. Saturday,I read an article touting a long term retirement portfolio strategy. While I did not agree with

Amongst the first to release valuable data and forward-looking prognostications on a comprehensive roster of nationwide real estate markets is CSFB. I have followed this report and have found it to be long on facts and observations from those with boots on the ground and short on political spin.

September results were released late last week, and they vividly present a toxic brew of falling sales, prices and a malaise present in buyers, sellers and intermediaries that is too ingrained to be wished away.

Real estate agents noticed a marked decline in prices at the end of the summer. With a score of "50" being average, the scale stood at "22". CSFB anticipates a continuing drift downwards as builders attempt to capture as much business as possible before the winter months. An already high (and rising) inventory is apt to worsen the situation. Look for increasing incentives and a lowering

I have been a long time proponent of a two portfolio investment approach. Following in the footsteps of Harry Browne, who brought the idea to the fore in the 1970s, I assembled a Permanent Portfolio which was designed as an all-season capital preservation, modest appreciation vehicle, and a Speculative Portfolio which was designed to place bets on high risk securities that offered the possibility of high reward. Given the era in which we live, perhaps it is time to adjust the mindset of the concept and add a third leg to your investment scheme. You may want to consider an Income Portfolio which would be designed to obtain a current satisfactory yield using a mix of ETFs and stocks, with an awareness of the possibility of deflation, inflation and currency fluctuations.

If this piques your curiosity, examine the following twelve securities for starters in your search:

PIMCO Enhanced Short Term

The August Credit Suisse First Boston Survey of Real Estate was released today. The results of the comprehensive (fifty major residential markets), boots on the ground, reliable yardstick for residential home predictive behavior paints another gloomy picture for the housing market despite record low mortgage rates.

Home prices are declining across the country at a faster rate and are now at early 2009 levels, which correlates to the depths of the (first) recession plunge. Key factors are depressed buyer traffic which has forced sellers to become more realistic about their bottom line selling price,rising inventory, a sense amongst many buyers that prices will continue to slide, additional foreclosures and, anecdotal fears about government policies that may impact taxes and job prospects.

The lowest major market traffic readings were in Minneapolis, Chicago, Phoenix, Denver and Charlotte and in foreclosure-heavy markets such as the New York metro area

The planets are aligned for the entry of companies into Cuba. Yes, one of the worst places on earth to do business may well be open for business soon, and on terms to entice investment. True, this has been stated in previous years, but "this time it's different".

Think China and Richard Nixon's surprise detente that opened the communist giant to relations and profitable trade with the United States. The first inkling of a thaw was the arrival of a U.S. table tennis team, followed by an easing of student and professional travel, then a secret visit by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger followed by the big splash - Nixon, himself.

Now, Cuba. Last week, in a barely noticed news release, Cuba will allow foreigners to lease government-owned land on the island (which is almost the entire nation) for up to ninety-nine years. What are the initial plans for the