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Fidelity Investments said the average balance on customers' 401(k) retirement accounts has returned to September 2008 levels on contributions and third-quarter investment gains.
Account balances in plans for U.S. workers benefited from the 22 percent year-to-date gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index along with continuing employee contributions, the Boston-based firm said in a statement today, after reviewing 11 million accounts managed by Fidelity.
Average account balances rose 13 percent to $60,700 from June to September, Doshier said, and are up 28 percent from $47,500 at the end of March. The gains include investment returns, employee contributions and employer's matches. A typical 401(k) holds a mix of equities, bonds and cash.
The average balance was $58,400 at the end of September 2008. The S&P 500 Index lost 42 percent from Oct. 1, 2008, until touching a low on March 9. The latest figures are 12 percent below the average balance of $69,200 at the end of 2007, according to an earlier Fidelity survey.
Account balances in plans for U.S. workers benefited from the 22 percent year-to-date gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index along with continuing employee contributions, the Boston-based firm said in a statement today, after reviewing 11 million accounts managed by Fidelity.
Average account balances rose 13 percent to $60,700 from June to September, Doshier said, and are up 28 percent from $47,500 at the end of March. The gains include investment returns, employee contributions and employer's matches. A typical 401(k) holds a mix of equities, bonds and cash.
The average balance was $58,400 at the end of September 2008. The S&P 500 Index lost 42 percent from Oct. 1, 2008, until touching a low on March 9. The latest figures are 12 percent below the average balance of $69,200 at the end of 2007, according to an earlier Fidelity survey.
- Bloomberg
The UK Royal Mint, which produces gold and silver sovereigns and commemorative coins, said its gold coin production more than quadrupled in the third quarter to 32,736 ounces from 7,500 ounces a year before.
In the first nine months of the year its gold coin output rose to 100,391 ounces from 30,003 ounces, it added.
Meanwhile its production of silver coins climbed 56 percent to 94,343 ounces in the third quarter, and 31 percent to 270,383 ounces in the first nine months of the year.
In the first nine months of the year its gold coin output rose to 100,391 ounces from 30,003 ounces, it added.
Meanwhile its production of silver coins climbed 56 percent to 94,343 ounces in the third quarter, and 31 percent to 270,383 ounces in the first nine months of the year.
- Reuters
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Porter Stansberry Is My Patsy
By Tom DysonMonday, November 23, 2009
On Friday, I made a bet with my boss...
Porter Stansberry is my boss and a good friend. He's one of my favorite investment analysts in the world. An investor who is not reading his monthly newsletter is flying blind in a rainstorm.
But I have a disagreement with him right now. Porter says the United States government is broke. He says there's no way it'll be able to borrow enough money over the next 12 months to cover its obligations. There's going to be an enormous government cash crunch unless it "prints" the money.
By printing this money, the government is forcing our foreign creditors to make an impossible choice: Stay with the dollar and see 50% or more of your intrinsic value wiped out... or abandon the dollar completely and risk a global crisis.
Whatever happens, Porter says, gold soars hundreds of percent, the dollar spirals toward zero, and the price of government debt erodes.
Last week, I bet Porter he's wrong.
Specifically, I bet him the interest rate on the 10-year Treasury note would be below 4% at this time next year. The interest rate on the 10-year Treasury note is the price the United States government must pay to borrow money over 10 years. If the market thinks the government is broke and can't afford its debt, this interest rate will rise. Porter bet it'll rise above 4% in the next 12 months. I bet it will not.
Look at this chart of the dollar in terms of the Swiss franc. The Swiss franc is the most stable paper currency in the world. As you can see, the dollar has been falling against the Swiss franc for more than 40 years. That's Porter's big trend... and it's down.
But notice the long periods where the dollar rises... despite the big trend. There was a huge bull market from 1979 to 1985, for example, and another one from 1995 to 2001.
That's the thing about markets. They never move in straight lines. They overshoot in one direction and then overshoot on the way back. And the funny thing is, just at the moment when they are most stretched in one direction, investors feel the strongest desire to join the crowd.
Take 1979 as an example. It seemed as if the dollar was about to plummet. There were incredibly compelling arguments for selling the dollar and buying hard assets... as there are today. It just wasn't a good time for selling the dollar.
I actually agree with Porter's conclusions. I just think much of the worst-case conclusions have been "priced into" the market. The financial headlines are full of stories about gold and the dollar... billionaire John Paulson buying gold... the great money manager David Einhorn buying gold... India buying gold... Chinese housewives buying gold... Warren Buffett protecting himself against inflation.
It's a popular thing to do nowadays... nothing like in the early stages of the gold bull market in 2002.
The dollar's already been in a bear market for almost 10 years, and Porter's theory has as much traction as it did in 1979. It's an incredibly compelling argument... but my gut tells me if you bet on inflation now, you're walking into an ambush.
Now just isn't the right time to be placing bets on the end of the dollar. It's the easy trade that feels right. Any great trader will tell you the "hard trade" is always the right trade.
Unless you're a short-term trader or you still don't own any gold bullion, I recommend you avoid making any new investments based on inflation or the dollar's destruction. You'll make far more money on this sort of investment when the dollar is nearing the end of a multiyear bull market... like it was in 2000.
Again... this is a matter of timing. I'm still a gold bull. I still think people should keep 5%-10% of their assets in gold, for wealth insurance... for a way to own "real money."
But I'm making the "hard bet" that interest rates will not soar in the next year. I'm making the hard bet that the dollar with strengthen. And I'm not afraid to hold cash. It's going to grow in value over the next year. And I'm going to enjoy collecting more of it from my patsy, Porter Stansberry.
Good investing,
Tom
P.S. This year in my 12% Letter, I've recommended eight preferred stocks and bonds, plus two cash funds. I've also showed readers how to open an account with the Treasury to buy government bills. These ideas are the safest places in the world to preserve your wealth... and still earn a yield. To learn more about The 12% Letter, click here.
Porter Stansberry is my boss and a good friend. He's one of my favorite investment analysts in the world. An investor who is not reading his monthly newsletter is flying blind in a rainstorm.
But I have a disagreement with him right now. Porter says the United States government is broke. He says there's no way it'll be able to borrow enough money over the next 12 months to cover its obligations. There's going to be an enormous government cash crunch unless it "prints" the money.
By printing this money, the government is forcing our foreign creditors to make an impossible choice: Stay with the dollar and see 50% or more of your intrinsic value wiped out... or abandon the dollar completely and risk a global crisis.
Whatever happens, Porter says, gold soars hundreds of percent, the dollar spirals toward zero, and the price of government debt erodes.
Last week, I bet Porter he's wrong.
Specifically, I bet him the interest rate on the 10-year Treasury note would be below 4% at this time next year. The interest rate on the 10-year Treasury note is the price the United States government must pay to borrow money over 10 years. If the market thinks the government is broke and can't afford its debt, this interest rate will rise. Porter bet it'll rise above 4% in the next 12 months. I bet it will not.
Look at this chart of the dollar in terms of the Swiss franc. The Swiss franc is the most stable paper currency in the world. As you can see, the dollar has been falling against the Swiss franc for more than 40 years. That's Porter's big trend... and it's down.
But notice the long periods where the dollar rises... despite the big trend. There was a huge bull market from 1979 to 1985, for example, and another one from 1995 to 2001.
That's the thing about markets. They never move in straight lines. They overshoot in one direction and then overshoot on the way back. And the funny thing is, just at the moment when they are most stretched in one direction, investors feel the strongest desire to join the crowd.
Take 1979 as an example. It seemed as if the dollar was about to plummet. There were incredibly compelling arguments for selling the dollar and buying hard assets... as there are today. It just wasn't a good time for selling the dollar.
I actually agree with Porter's conclusions. I just think much of the worst-case conclusions have been "priced into" the market. The financial headlines are full of stories about gold and the dollar... billionaire John Paulson buying gold... the great money manager David Einhorn buying gold... India buying gold... Chinese housewives buying gold... Warren Buffett protecting himself against inflation.
It's a popular thing to do nowadays... nothing like in the early stages of the gold bull market in 2002.
The dollar's already been in a bear market for almost 10 years, and Porter's theory has as much traction as it did in 1979. It's an incredibly compelling argument... but my gut tells me if you bet on inflation now, you're walking into an ambush.
Now just isn't the right time to be placing bets on the end of the dollar. It's the easy trade that feels right. Any great trader will tell you the "hard trade" is always the right trade.
Unless you're a short-term trader or you still don't own any gold bullion, I recommend you avoid making any new investments based on inflation or the dollar's destruction. You'll make far more money on this sort of investment when the dollar is nearing the end of a multiyear bull market... like it was in 2000.
Again... this is a matter of timing. I'm still a gold bull. I still think people should keep 5%-10% of their assets in gold, for wealth insurance... for a way to own "real money."
But I'm making the "hard bet" that interest rates will not soar in the next year. I'm making the hard bet that the dollar with strengthen. And I'm not afraid to hold cash. It's going to grow in value over the next year. And I'm going to enjoy collecting more of it from my patsy, Porter Stansberry.
Good investing,
Tom
P.S. This year in my 12% Letter, I've recommended eight preferred stocks and bonds, plus two cash funds. I've also showed readers how to open an account with the Treasury to buy government bills. These ideas are the safest places in the world to preserve your wealth... and still earn a yield. To learn more about The 12% Letter, click here.
NEW HIGHS OF NOTE LAST WEEK
Goldcorp (GG)... gold
IAMGOLD (IAG)... gold
Randgold (GOLD)... gold
Barrick Gold (ABX)... gold
Royal Gold (RGLD)... gold
Yamana Gold (AUY)... gold
Allied Nevada (ANV)... gold
Eldorado Gold (EGO)... gold
Newmont Mining (NEM)... gold
Keegan Resources (KGN)... gold
Silvercorp (SVM)... silver
Silver Wheaton (SLW)... silver
Vale (VALE)... iron ore
BP (BP)... Big Oil
Statoil (STO)... Big Oil
Petrobras (PBR)... Big Oil
Peabody Energy (BTU)... coal
Massey Energy (MEE)... coal
Patriot Coal (PCX)... coal
Yanzhou Coal (YCZ)... coal
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX)... copper & gold
BHP Billiton (BHP)... world's largest mining company
Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM)... fertilizer & lithium giant
Microsoft (MSFT)... software
Google (GOOG)... search engine
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)... computers
Pfizer (PFE)... millions of new customers
Merck (MRK)... millions of new customers
Amazon (AMZN)... trading for 75 times earnings
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)... trading for 52 times earnings
NEW LOWS OF NOTE LAST WEEK
A bunch of small banks that made a bunch of dumb loans