The news may be that savings is down in the current economy, but if you talk to any of your friends or co-workers, you will find out that investing is up.

Consumers have discovered that putting money into a savings account that may pay less than 3% interest won’t keep your savings growing as fast as inflation. Today’s saavy saver is looking at investments that return much more than that.

Whether your goal for investing is to provide a good base for the business you plan to start, the house you plan to buy, the baby you plan to put through college or the dreams for your retirement, you want to find the best way to make your money grow…and a single digit interest savings account doesn’t fit those plans. Individual investments in the stock market are being pushed as a good long term hedge against inflation. Investments in mutual funds or individual stocks may just be the growth base you need for your future college or retirement funds.

If you are interested in getting into this area or learning more about the ups and downs of the bull and bear markets, you need access to unbiased, knowledgable experts. You want to find out about the latest news and rumors that may cause upswings and downturns. You may need a ticker or two to watch your investments… and all of this needs to be in a clear and simple format that you can understand. You need someplace that will explain that a small cap is not the headgear that you buy for a two year old and a hedge fund has nothing to do with gardening.

Which are the top sites that online investors visit to provide what they need to know to get excellent returns at minimum risk? Nielsen//NetRatings NetView took a look at their data and came out with a list of the most visited sites devoted to the subject of investing in stock, bonds, mutual funds and more for the beginner and seasoned investor…

The Reese Report (www.reesegroup.com) summarizes and tabulates investment recommendations from articles in leading financial magazines and Web sites, including Barron’s, Money, Kiplinger’s, Investor’s Business Daily and Microsoft Investor.

The site offers a number of other features, most of which require a subscription. But the Reese Report is free. It doesn’t have a direct link on the home page, so click on Research Wizard, then scroll down to Reese Report and enter your stock symbol.

The articles are listed in chronological order in one of two sections — Bullish Reasons or Bearish Reasons — depending on the nature of the guru’s comments. If an article has both bullish and bearish arguments, it is listed in both sections.

Each listing shows the publication date, the guru or gurus being quoted and a star rating for each guru.

The stars indicate the Reese Group’s opinion of the accuracy of the guru’s previous picks. A five-star rating is best.

According to Reese Group, if you had followed the advice of five-star gurus since October 1995, you would have outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, on average, by at least 20 percent for the three- month period following each recommendation. The listing includes a short summary of the article and a list of reasons why the guru is bullish or bearish about the stock.

The Reese Group does a terrific job of summarizing each article. Instead of spending time reading the entire article, you can get the gist of them in seconds.

ANALYSTS’ ADVICE

There are many places on the Internet to view summaries of analysts’ earnings forecasts and “buy,” “sell” or “hold” recommendations for a stock.

My favorite is Yahoo (finance.yahoo.com ). These summaries are compilations of many different brokers’ reports. You don’t know which recommendations were made by a specific broker.

Nordby International’s site (www.nordby.com) is where I go to find individual analysts’ recommendations and earnings forecasts. Nordby provides customized stock market information to professionals. Its site is unusual, everything is free and there is very little advertising.

Nordby summarizes reports from 45 brokers, including most of the majors.

Select Broker Reports and enter your stock’s symbol to see a list of brokers’ ratings or earnings forecasts going back one year.

Each listing includes the broker’s name, date of the report and a short summary. For instance, when I checked Microsoft on July 4, the most recent listing was from Goldman Sachs on July 1, reiterating its strong “buy” rating and increasing its earnings forecasts for 1999 and 2000.

The listings are in chronological order, and I find it interesting to review the ratings and comments from several months back to see who was right and who was wrong.

MOMENTUM INDICATOR

Each analyst covering a particular company writes reports that are forwarded by brokers to thousands of investors, creating awareness of the stock. Consequently, investor awareness often equates to the number of analysts following the company.

Ultimately, stock prices follow the law of supply and demand. Since the number of shares available for trading doesn’t change very often, increased demand drives share prices higher.

Nordby uses this relationship to create a momentum rank. The Nordby Momentum Rating is based on the number of “buy,” “sell” or “hold” ratings issued for a company. “Buy” ratings add to the score, while “hold” and “sell” ratings subtract.

You can look up the momentum rating for any stock or you can view the top 25 ranked stocks. Nordby says, “Any stock with a score of 20 or higher deserves a second look.”

The gurus covered by the Reese Report, and the analysts followed by Nordby are human beings, subject to potential conflicts of interest, biases and inconsistencies of thought. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a methodical stock evaluation system not subject to human quirks?

VECTOR VEST FORMULA

Vector Vest (www.vectorvest.com ) uses a computer program to analyze a combination of fundamental and technical factors to generate a “buy,” “hold” or “sell” recommendation for most listed stocks.

The Vector Vest formula relies heavily on the stability and consistency of historical earnings, earnings growth and stock price performance to establish value and safety ratings for a stock.

Those factors are combined with earnings forecast trends and recent stock price performance to come up with “buy,” “sell” or “hold” recommendations.

Since Vector Vest’s business is selling programs using the same formula, free access is limited. Visitors can use the program at no charge to analyze up to three stocks each day.

To use it, click on Free Stock Analysis and enter the stock symbol. Vector Vest displays a lengthy computer-generated report on the stock, going into considerable detail on how it applies all factors involved in the analysis.

Vector Vest’s “buy,” “sell” or “hold” recommendation is buried smack in the middle of the report. Scroll down until you see the paragraph titled “Recommendation (REC).” That’s the bottom line.

If you want to read more, the second most significant paragraph is “RV (Relative Value)” near the top of the report. Relative Value reflects Vector Vest’s long-term view of the price appreciation potential of the stock. Third in importance is “RS (Relative Safety),” delineating Vector’s view of the risk in the investment.

These sites offer useful insights to help you analyze a company. However, they’re not intended to replace your own research. You still need to do that.

Can coins be considered a respectable asset class? The proof of the pudding is reflected in the dramatic long-term advances of the Krugerrand.

If Krugerrands, along with old coins enjoying a measure of rarity value, can validly be looked upon as an important asset class, investors should take them seriously and make it their business to explore all the relevant market nuances.

Perhaps the most glaring nuance is the scepticism with which so many South Africans view the coin market. It’s a scepticism rendered all the more remarkable on account of:

The extreme downside volatility has brought valuations to 

more attractive levels, but during times like these the 

pendulum usually swings to extremes.  Global equity 

valuations definitely look more appealing than a year ago 

when we suggested raising cash positions.  However, 

investors are just beginning to understand the 

complexity in the massive leveraged excesses over the 

majority of this decade.  The ripple effects of subprime 

are even far greater on a worldwide scale than we 

feared early last summer.  You will hear more and more 

talk about raising cash in the weeks to come, but the time 

to do it was one year ago when the S & P 500 hit a record 

high, or earlier in the summer of 2007 when there were 

plenty of warning signs that financial markets were 

heading out of control.  The reactive methods utilized to 

fix the credit problems will not only take much longer to 

take hold (because of the procrastination), but may in turn 

establish a new set of problems of which we are unaware.  

We are still seeing too many investors taking excess risk 

in emerging and international markets, and would 

recommend a significant under-exposure in the area, as 

many of their problems will take even longer than 

America’s to remedy.  For the first time in 16 months we 

are seeing some worthwhile upside in select equities, but 

that potential upside will take some time before investors 

will realize meaningful and sustained benefit. 

lower their risk.  This was obviously a much more 

difficult decision for us to make than it was one year ago 

when the S & P 500 was establishing new record highs, 

but even with passage of the bail-out (or rescue) package, 

there were still too many factors that concerned us.  We 

mentioned in the September 10, 2008 research piece from 

LanczGlobal.com that since Lehman Brothers and 

Washington Mutual were already on every investor’s 

radar, potential new problem areas that would likely rear 

their ugly heads would include dramatically slowing 

economies in the emerging markets and recessions in 

much of Europe.  Earlier this year, we stated several times 

that European banks will be yet another 

many of their financial institutions in worse shape than the 

U.S.  European banks average nearly $1.40 loaned for 

every $1.00 worth of deposits compared with the United 

States banks loaning approximately $0.96 of every $1.00.

I set out to determine just how much money I could lose by trusting SPAM.

What if I purchased 1000 shares of stock from EVERY stock tip mentioned in a SPAM email? Could we all really be missing out on a great opportunity?

Of course, I don’t have the money to actually waste on an experiment like this. I made this little web site to keep track of the value of those stocks… without my actually purchasing anything.

In other words I haven’t bought any of the stocks listed here. This is just pretend. BUT if I did actually buy them, this is how much money I could be making or losing as of today.

In no way am I suggesting that anyone actually spend money on these stocks, or any others. Instead I insist you spend it on good food, drink and friends.

These numbers are very nearly real time. Stop by whenever you like to see how my portfolio is doing.

Note: I have started a new round of data. My old data is now archived here. I lost nearly everything in 2005 and 2006. Lets see how well 2007/2008 will treat me.

Have you ever wondered why the stock market is called a market? Well, a market is a place where goods are bought and sold. The stock market is where people buy and sell one type of product. That unique product is shares of ownership in a company, which are also known as stocks. Potential investors get to choose from many companies that sell a variety of goods, from clothing to medicines to sports equipment to toys. When people buy and sell stock, it’s called trading.

Who Am I If I Own Stock?
When a person buys stock in a company, that person becomes a shareholder in that company. (Stockholder is another name for a shareholder.) A shareholder is also called an investor in the company. When that company makes money, which can also be called earned income or profit, the value of the company’s stock often increases. That’s because more people may become interested in investing in the company. Sometimes, shareholders receive a dividend, which is part of the company’s earned income in the form of a cash payment.

Some people try to make money by buying and selling stocks. Stock prices can move up and down. Shareholders may make money or lose money by selling stocks that they own, depending on whether the price has gone up or down since they bought their shares. A company’s stock price may be affected by market or economic conditions. For example, let’s say that ABD Enterprises is a software company that has introduced a new video game into the market. If that game is a hit, sales of the video game could boost the company’s earnings. Because of the potential for ABD Enterprises to grow, its stock may be viewed as an attractive investment and its stock price may go up as more people buy shares. On the other hand, let’s say the video game that ABD Enterprises introduced is a flop. Or, it could be a good game, but ABD introduced it at a time when people started spending less on leisure products. So, the result is no one is buying the game, and it’s reported that ABD is losing money because of this new product. Then the stock price for ABD Enterprises may go down if a number of shareholders decide to sell their shares.

The hundreds or thousands of people who invest in a company’s stock also have an effect on the stock’s price. As more people want to buy shares, the stock’s price usually goes up because more people want to own it. On the other hand, if more people want to sell their shares and there is less demand for them, then the price of the stock may go down.
Are People the Only Ones Who Own Stock?
Just like an individual, a mutual fund can also buy or sell shares of a company’s stock. A mutual fund is a group of stocks and/or bonds that is owned by a group of people. A financial company is in charge of the mutual fund, which is managed by one or more portfolio managers. The people who invest in mutual funds are also known as shareholders because a unit of ownership in a mutual fund is called a share. A mutual fund uses the cash invested by its shareholders to purchase stocks, or in some case, bonds. The fund’s shareholders are indirect investors in thatportfolio of stocks or bonds. Since a mutual fund may contain the stocks of many companies in its portfolio, shareholders are often able to own a greater and more diverse number of stocks than if they invested directly in the stock market.

Two Measures of Market Performance
Stock market averages are often quoted in newspapers and on TV because they provide clues about overall movements in stock prices and whether most investors are trying to sell or buy shares. The most often-quoted market average is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was started by Charles Dow more than 100 years ago. He published it in a newspaper he owned with Edward Jones. The prices of a specially selected group of 30 industrial stocks (some of the largest companies in the United States) are averaged each day to determine the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500) tracks not just 30, but 500 different stocks! That’s why many people think this index gives a clearer picture of the stock market than other stock market averages or indices. In addition, a number of mutual funds compare fund performance against the S&P 500 because this index includes companies from a number of industries like utilities, health care and financial services. Since the S&P 500 includes so many companies and industries, it’s known as a broad-based index. Although a mutual fund may compare its performance to the S&P 500 or another broad-based index, this does not mean the fund’s portfolio has the same stocks that are tracked in the index.

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Many Putnam investors wanted out. The firm, which is for institutional investors, said in a statement that it will pay everyone at the same time to be “equitable” to all. Meanwhile, shares in State Street, Federated Investors and other investment firms slumped over concerns that their money market funds will suffer losses.

Unlike bank deposits, money market funds are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. They have long been considered to be safe because the money is invested in short-term Treasury bills and IOUs from sound corporations.

Investors grew concerned about money markets, though, on Monday after Lehman Bros., a major issuer of commercial paper, filed for bankruptcy court protection.

European investors are extraordinary creatures. Usually investors try to make money for themselves or their clients. But, when it comes to the US, European investors never tire of losing money. While this has benefits for those of us who live in the US, it is nonetheless hard to understand.

The penchant of Europeans to throw money away on hare-brained schemes dates from the early years of the nation. In the 1830s, Europeans lost millions of dollars investing in the big canal boom of the era. No doubt their bets would have paid off well if it had not been for railroad. Of course 20 years later they lost another fortune in railroad speculation.

The great thing about European investors is that they never learn. In the late 1990s they got caught up in the irrational exuberance of our tech bubble. And it wasn’t just small-time speculators who caught the fever. In 2001, Deutsche Telekom, the largest telephone company in Germany,bought Voicestream, a start-up wireless phone company, for $21bn. Five years later, it couldn’t find a buyer at one-third this price.

Even the staid Daimler-Benz got into the act, paying $38bn to buy Chrysler in 1998. The company produced almost nothing but losses for Daimler before it finally persuaded a private equity company to take Chrysler off its hands last year.

But these scams may prove to be small time compared to the mortgage-backed securities and various derivative instruments that US banks managed to peddle to European banks and investors. Somehow, they didn’t see the largest housing bubble in the history of the world.

Alternatively, it may not have occurred to these investors that loans on houses that were losing 40-50% of their value might not be repaid. Or, even better, maybe these European investors believed the lines from the Wall Street investment bankers about how they had managed to contain risk. PT Barnum would be proud.

Remarkably, even after the collapse of the housing bubble, Europeans are still anxious to lose money in the US. According to many accounts,the real estate market in New York is now being largely supported by European investors who think that buying condos in the city is a great deal. Maybe news hasn’t reached Europe that Wall Street is laying off people by the tens of thousands and that those remaining are going to be collecting lower salaries in the years ahead. (See, fewer workers and lower salaries means less money to buy expensive condos – eh, what’s the point.)

But, the really great sucker story at the moment is the willingness of Europeans to buy dollar-denominated assets to take advantage of our very low interest rates. The euro has plummeted by more than 20% against the dollar compared with its peaks in the spring.

The logic of the drop in the euro is that people are supposed to buy dollars when the world is in turmoil. The folks who peddled the subprime mortgage-backed securities are undoubtedly telling people to buy dollars right now. However, unless someone is anxious to lose even more money, it is hard to understand why anyone would hold much of their wealth in dollar-denominated assets at the current exchange rates.

The US has a current account deficit of almost 5% of GDP. If the exchange rate stays near 1.25 euros to the dollar, the current account deficit will likely rise above 7% of GDP in the near future, and would almost certainly rise even higher if the dollar stays at this level. Such deficits are not sustainable, and inevitably the dollar will plummet in value. Of course, if European investors are still holding their dollars, then they can look forward to yet another big loss on their US investments.

The prospect of taking large losses on dollar holdings is especially hard to understand. When European investors took substantial losses on subprime mortgages, tech stocks and even the canals in the 19th century, they at least were investing in the hope of making large gains. However, the latest rush to dollars involves putting money in assets that may not even pay a 1% interest rate. That return will not go far toward compensating for large losses on the exchange rate.

But, the European investors rush lemming like into the dollar. It’s a good deal for those of us in the US. We’ll get some cheap imports and good investment opportunities in Europe. We are all very thankful for the generosity of European investors.

Securing initial investments for a new venture is an early hurdle for entrepreneurs. While most executives are delighted to receive a cash injection from any legitimate investor, a few executives have the privilege of receiving more than cash for equity. For them, the investor will bring not just money, but Smart Money.

When I first heard the term “Smart Money” used to distinguish venture capitalist, I chuckled incredulously at the terminology. Was this a term some in the venture capital community had coined in order to brand themselves and demand more favorable terms when making an equity investment? Perhaps some abuse it that way, but for others the moniker “Smart Money” designates real value for entrepreneurs.

Smart Money refers to an investor bringing more than money to the table, including a network of potential customers, strategic alliances, and potentially services and tools. Some investors have these connections and resources, others just have the cash.

Jeff Coney, Director of New Business Initiatives at the Northwestern University ITEC, provided a glimpse of the means by which outside sources can bring benefit to a new venture. In May of 2003, he stated that when he takes a new company into the Northwestern ITEC fold, he takes joy in opening his rolodex and providing introductions to potential customers. While ITEC is not a venture capital fund, a partnership with this outside source clearly aides in gaining early market traction and clarifying the value proposition.

Mr. Coney’s support is laudable, but it pails in comparison to that which can be provided by an industrial conglomerate. Investments from privately held industrial conglomerates such as The Marmon Group Inc. or Hunt Power L.P. can go far beyond cash and introductions to include customers, infrastructure, and branding.

For example, consider MeterSmart. According to Dan Price, President of MeterSmart, the company was born out of a project with Sharyland Utilities in South Texas, a Hunt Power affiliate. In conducting this project, executives at Hunt Power discovered the value proposition and uncovered the market potential for advanced AMR (automatic meter reading). To capture this opportunity, Hunt Power LP invested.

Hunt Power’s support for MeterSmart didn’t stop at handing them an initial investment; it extended to include their first customer and more. When MeterSmart required an accounting system, Hunt Power provided them with SAP which is far out of reach for most new businesses but only a small contract extension for Hunt Power. And, when MeterSmart addresses a new utility customer doubtful of the financial solvency of all new ventures, MeterSmart can refer to the brand reputation of Hunt Power as a testimony to their integrity and staying power.

Clearly, Hunt Power provided MeterSmart with far more than cash infusion for an equity stake. They, and other investors like them, provide “Smart Money” in the form of valuable benefits of initial customers, strategic relationships, infrastructure, services, and reputation. Perhaps entrepreneurs seeking investors should look for more than just cash sources and develop sources of “Smart Money”.