Short the Spammers Portfolio Update - December 12, 2007

With the markets bouncing all over the place, unsure what to make of the Fed’s recent less-than-hoped-for rate cut, we thought we’d take a moment to see how our short picks are doing. A quick look at the charts showed that we’re up 68.5% in just 5 months. Not a bad start. (Read Article).

The Dollar - Dead Cat Bounce? - December 21, 2007

The greenback and the loonie are bouncing back and forth at near parity. The greenback has has a recent little bounce after the Fed’s lower-than-expected rate cut. Read: The Fed printed a little less money than the market had priced into the exchange rates. Some analysts have cited this as a sign that the worst is over for our collapsing monetary system. They are wrong.

The staggering and ever-growing debt load of the U.S. government, corporations, and individuals can only have one effect in the end - inflation, and lots of it. As we have recommended time and time again, it’s critical to concentrate your investments in hard inflation-proof assets. Timberland, water infrastructre, commercial (not residential) real estate, and commodities.

This little bounce in the dollar won’t last, unless by some miracle we manage to elect Ron Paul as president. To that end, your editor is a proud contributor and volunteer for the Ron Paul Campaign. If you have not yet read up on Dr. Paul, we urge you for the sake of the future of this country to give him a fair hearing. Just listen to what he has to say, see what he stands for, and decide based on the issues, not whom the media considers a “viable” candidate.

As always, good investing.