Emerald

Current Markets Picture

Thanks Richard for the wonderful update.

MLPs: Mid-Year Review

KMP, EPD, TPP and LINE have been mainstays of my portfolio over the last two years and provide great yields and cash flow in a very unstable investing world.

9 REITs That Had to Be Destroyed in Order to Survive

Better run apartment REIT's who have refinanced near term debt maturities are a great investment now, such as EQR and AVB. I would stay away from retail, hotels and office as these markets will continue to weaken thru 2010.

What Went Wrong with California, New York, and New Jersey?

These same illegal immigrants have lowered the cost of living for service oriented businesses as well as individuals who frequent restaurants and use lawn care companies. There is a cost to
illegal immigration but its not as one sided as you state. Our immigrtaion laws are rediculous and our native birth rate is very low. Most of these workers are looking for a decent days wage and not looking for handouts. Handouts are primarily reserved for poorly run companies with good lobbyists. Fear mongering never solved a problem, it just diverts attention from the more important issues.

On Jun 28 09:30 AM a. palmer jr. wrote:

> I'm one of the few people that will actually name the cause of a
> lot of these states financial problems so here goes again: ILLEGAL
> IMMIGRATION. I understand it's politically incorrect to actually
> call that a problem, but California and New York are being over-run
> with this problem. New York gets them from everywhere, California
> mostly from Mexico and maybe China. Legal immigration is one thing
> but illegals don't pay taxes, but rely heavily on handouts from those
> who are here legally. The hospitals are going broke because of non-payments
> of illegals, police are overwhelmed because of additional crimes
> committed by illegals. If we don't put an end to illegal immigration
> it will eventually put an end to us.

Which Way Are Markets Moving?

Great charts and trend lines. Thanks, as usual.

ETFs For Retirement

Vanguard has a decent number of ETF's.

Keeping Portfolios Simple

Excellent article and a great idea for the average investor.

Bogle: Investors 'Getting Killed' in ETFs

I would suggest that readers take a look at "the Lazy Portfolios" that offer a diversified mix of mutual funds (or ETF's) that you only tweak annually. Traders get killed over time. Another good source is the No Load Investor newsletter that offers different portfolios of mutual funds or ETF's from Fidelity, Vanguard, or T. Rowe Price. They rebalance every so often depending on the market ("noloadinvestor.com").

Thursday Outlook: Commodities, Global Markets

Dave, I continue to believe there is no decoupling. TheU.S. is the main consumer market and China needs to export to us. Many U.S.companies are effectively engaged in re-exporting goods that are manufactured in China for them. Without a vibrant U.S. consumer, China slows down.

Dr. Stephen Leeb on Commodities and Inflation - Is He a Genius or Alarmist?

Generally agree with Leeb. We will approach "peak oil" not from a supply issue but from a cost of extraction point. Oil will trade , on average, above $70 once we have a recovery. Current estimates say we have sufficient oil but new supply is in the deeper ocean or from shale rock. Countires will develop more fuel efficient engines and supplement with batteries, etc. but not replace oil in their economies over the next fifty or so years. Wind and solar have their practical limits. Canada's natural resource companies are excellent investments for Americans due to their stable government and symbiotic trading relationship with us. Foreign taxes are deductible and many dividends are qualified. Note: Long ECA, PVX, PWE. Also, BHP,CVX, COP, TOT, BP, PBR, Rig, OII.

Vanguard's Bogle: Buy and Hold Is Alive and Well

You repeat a commonly held error that equties always outperform bonds over the long term. Recent studies have refuted this so-called fact. Bogle is correct in that bonds should make up an age-related percentage of the average investors portfolio. Given the prospect of rising interest rates in the next few years, I would stick to average durations of six years or less. Note: Long bond mutual funds in GNMA, AGG and Vanguard short term bond with a little TIP in an IRA.

Has the Well of Merrill REIT Offerings Suddenly Run Dry?

Meaningless, non analysis.

Socialized Medicine Is Coming

Consumers forget that the U.S. is not a true, free market for prescription drugs as we pay the highest prices versus the rest of the world. This comes from those same U.S. pharma companies that pay the lobbyists to keep the government from using its purchasing power to lower prices. You are subsidizing multi million dollar pay packages to CEO's who don't give a damn if the poor suffer. Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross and United Healthcare have bloated and overpaid executives that fight a "free market" every chance they get. Their only concession is to the VA who can bargain for lower prices. (Fighting vets is bad PR.) They want to stop Americans from driving into Canada to buy the same drugs they manufacture. Let's have a true free market for a change. Canadians seem to be doing just fine and everyone else will continue to get their drugs from the same companies that will be forced to value engineer their businesses and cut out all the fat. Funny that all the major Pharma companies are now undregoing cost containment and revaluations across all business lins now that the pressure from proposed healthcare changes are on the horizon. It's about time. Note: I purchase my own high deductible health insurance on the open market.


On Jun 15 01:38 PM Steve in Greensboro wrote:

> If the U.S. nationalizes its healthcare, where will the Canadians
> get their medical treatment? Where will the rest of the world get
> their pharamceuticals?

IMN Real Estate Forum: Opportunities to Invest in Distressed Commercial Real Estate, Part 2

A few public apartment REIT's have refinanced debt and have extended maturities. As they are less leveraged than private companies, they have a much better chance of weathering the storm and producing decent returns overe the next five years. Both AvalonBay (AVB) and Equity Residential (EQR) are two that fit this scenario. I would stay away from office, retail and hotels for now. Note: Long EQR

The 'Bond Vigilantes' Are Back

My pick is a combination of investment grade corporates, high yield and muni's. Spreads will continue to narrow for corporates and high yield and tax rates will inch higher (for muni's). I am long accordingly.


On Jun 11 08:15 AM prairiedog555 wrote:

> But what is the pick going forward for fixed income?