It’s a presidential election year here in the United States, and elsewhere in the world, there are some nasty conditions arising in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and China. Given all this, it’s very important that we stick to my core investment strategy — dividends, income and compound growth. And there are also some great international investments. This month I discuss one of my international favorites–it has become a world-class knowledge-based economy.

Tags: AA, Achievers Trust, AL, Alcoa, Alico, American Century Global Gold, American Express, Anadarko Petroleum, Apache, APC, Australlian dollar, avoid, AXP, Bank of Florida, Barron's, BDJ, BDV, BGEIX, BHP, BHP Billiton, BlackRock Dividend Achievers Trust, BlackRock Enhanced Dividend, BlackRock Global Opportunities, BlackRock World Investment Trust, BOE, BOFL, BWC, C, Canadian dollar, citigroup, Clinton, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, Cresud, CRESY, CVRD, DIA, Dodge & Cox International, Dow Diamonds Trust, Dow Jones, Dow Jones Iindustrials, DUK, Duke Energy, election, EWA, EWH, EWL, EWS, FDX, Federal Express, Federated Investors, FICDX, Fidelity Canada, Fidelity Select Natural Gas, Fidelity Select Natural Gas Fund, FII, Franklin Mutual Series Financial Services � -Z Class, FSNGX, general electric, Giuliani, GLD, harley-davidson, HBC, HOG, HSBC Holdings, Illinois Tool, Investment Trusts, iShares MSCI Australia, iShares MSCI Hong Kong, iShares MSCI Singapore, iShares MSCI Switzerland, ITW, JOE, McCain, NAREIT, National Association of Real Estate, Obama, PCL, PEP, Pepsico, PLD, Plum Creek Timber, PPP, PRJPX, ProLogis Trust, purchasing power parity, RDS.A, Rio Tinto, Romney, Royal Dutch Shell, RTP, Singapore dollar, St. Joe, streetTracks Gold Shares, Sysco Corp, SYY, T. Rowe Price Emerging Europe & Mediterranean, T. Rowe Price Japan, TAREX, TAVIX, TEFAX, the Wall Street Journal, Third Avenue International Value, Third Avenue Real Estate Value, Transports, UL, UNG, Unilever, United States Natural Gas ETF, Vanguard GNMA, Vanguard Value Index, Vanguard Wellesley Income, VFIIX, VIVAX, VNO, Vornado Realty Trust, VWINX, Xstrata, XTA.L, yuan

Oil and gold prices are skyrocketing. The housing slump, along with the sub-prime write-off mess, has nowhere near run its course. Manufacturing employment is falling. And all this is occurring in the ever-important election year. But despite my jaundiced view of the U.S. presidential candidates and the storm clouds advancing over the U.S. economy, there are still promising investment opportunities to ride out the turbulence — you just need to stay focused, patient, and objective. This month marks my annual Q&A issue, so along with discussing the economy and the potential for a recession, I answer a number of the questions weighing on your minds.

Tags: AA, AAUK, ALCO, Alcoa, Alico, Anglo American, BA, Bank of Florida, BHP, BHP Billiton, Boeing, BOFL, BTU, Cameco, CCJ, China, China Panda, coca-Cola, coins, Dodge & Cox income, DODIX, Enerplus Resources, ERF, FDG, Fording Canadian Coal, GE, general electric, GLD, global economy, gold, Harry Winston Diamond Co., inflation, JOE, KO, manufacturing employment, municipal bonds, natural gas, NEM, Newmont Mining, NILSY, Norfolk Southern, NSC, oil, PBG, PCL, Peabody Energy, Penn West Energy, PEP, Pepsi Bottling, Pepsico, PG, Plum Creek Timber, president, presidential cycle, PRJPX, PRNEX, Procter & Gamble, PWE, Rayonier, RDS.A, recession, Rio Tinto, Royal Dutch Petroleum, RTP, Russia, RYN, Southwest Water Company, St. Joe, streetTracks Gold Shares, SWWC, Sysco, SYY, T. Rowe Price Group, T. Rowe Price Japan, T. Rowe Price�New Era, TAVIX, Teck Cominco, TEK-SVB.TO, terrorism, Third Avenue International Value, TimberWest Forest Corp., TROW, TWF.UN, UL, Unilever, United Parcel Service, UPS, Vanguard GNMA, Vanguard Growth Index, Vanguard Precious Metals & Mining, Vanguard Precious Metals & Mining Fund, Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade, Vanguard Value Index's, Vanguard Wellesley Income, Very Light Jet, VFIIX, VFSTX, VGPMX, VIGIX, VIVAX, Vladimir Putin, VLJ, VWINX, W.M. Wrigley, WWY

As the month of July was coming to a close, the Dow fell by over 300 points in one day. On a day like this a fortress-like portfolio mix of 50% high-grade fixed income and 50% dividend-paying stocks, allows a prudent and astute investor to not only sleep well but perhaps even gloat a little. This month, I talk about what’s best for your portfolio if you’re about to retire in the next 5 to 10 years. Plus, I cover the six positions I am adding to that are in our portfolio. If you are looking to smooth out your portfolio, check out my fixed-income strategy. I discuss the potential of zeros and how my Young Research Valuation Indicator can point out buy signals for you. And I have one new stock for you and one stock to sell, plus a new list of blue-chip preferreds and an update on our Agricultural Commodities portfolio. Make it a good month!

Tags: Alcan, Alcoa, Alexander & Baldwin, Alico, American Express, BHP Billiton, BlackRock, Boeing, Cresud, DB Agricultural Commodities Fund, Deutsche Bank, Dodge & Cox International, Federated Investors, Fidelity Canada, general electric, harley-davidson, ING, iShares Singapore, johnson & johnson, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, New Era, Pepsico, Piedmont Natural gas, Plum Creek Timber, Powershares, retirement, Rio Tinto, ruger, Sturm, Syngenta, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Japan Fund, Tiffany, treasury, Vanguard GNMA, Vanguard Wellesley Income, Wal-Mart, withdrawal rate, Wrigley, Xstrata, Young Valuation Indicator, zeros

1967’s Monterey International Pop Festival was a catalyst for a financial tidal wave in the pop music industry that lasted an entire decade. My 2008-based Big Idea hitched to the luxury goods supercycle is much the same, if not a whole lot more. Read this month’s issue to find out more about the impact this will have on babyboomer retirements. Also this month, I have a special guide on high-yield investing, along with quite a few new Monster Master List stocks and an update on our agricultural commodities portfolio. Make it a good month.

Tags: 2008, Alcan, Alcoa, Alico, American Express, AMEX, aquarius, barclays, Barrick Gold, Big Idea, Black Army, Black Hills, Bombardier, catalyst, citigroup, Coke, Cresud, default, Dodge & Cox income, ExxonMobil, Federated Investors, Fidelity, First National Bank Shares, Garmin, General Dynamics, general electric, harley-davidson, high yield, iShares, Japan, jet, Newmont Mining, peaks, Pepsi Bottling, Polaris, pop music, Powershares, Retirement Compounders, Royal Bank, ruger, St. Joe, Sturm, supercycle, Syngenta, Tiffany, Unilever, vanguard, yield spread

Where do you put your money today? This month, I still have gold at the top of my list. In fact, there is a new offering from the U.S. government that I think you should buy. Also, the long-term increase trend in the Canadian dollar bodes well for our Canadian investments so I have two new funds from Canada that I want you to add to your equities positions as well. Plus, in my Monster List, I am bringing back one of my favorites, and I have breaking news that shows a strong future for this company’s new product line. Make it a good month.

Tags: AA, ABER, aber diamond, Al Qaeda, Al-Zaeqawi, Alcoa, ALEX, Alexander & Baldwin, Alpha Natural Resources, American Century Global Gold, ANR, Archstone-Smith, ASN, Bank of America Capital trust X11, BlackRock Enhanced Dividend Achievers Trust, BlackRock Global Opportunities Equities trust, BTU, CAG, Canadian General Investments, Cleveland-Cliffs, CLF, coca-Cola, ConAgra Foods, DD, DEL, Delta & Pine Land, Deltic timber, DLP, Dow Diamonds, DuPont, EQR, Equity residential, FAL, Falconbridge, FDG, Federated Investors, Fidelity Canada, FII, Florida rock, Fording Canadian Coal, FRK, harley-davidson, HDI, illinois tool works, Inco, Iraq, ITW, JOE, KO, Kurds, Marvel Enterprises, MVL, N, NOC, Norfolk Southern, Northrop Grumman, NSC, PD, Peabody Energy, Pentair, PEP, Pepsico, Phelps Dodge, Piedmont Natural gas, PII, PNR, PNY, Polaris Industries, Retirement Compounders, RFID, Smart Dust, Smart Rocks, St. Joe, streetTracks Gold Shares, Sysco, SYY, Teck Cominco, trinity Intustries, TRN, VNO, Vornado, Xstrata, XTA.L, Yankee Candle, YCC

“Walk, Don’t Run” as recorded by Johnny Smith and also by the Ventures was a seminal rock and roll classic, and it is a great approach to start out your lifetime financial plan. Take it slow and easy. I can get you started with this approach with some “retirement arithmetic.” It will help you sort out your financial options. Also, I review my reasons for continuing to invest in gold and why you should do the same. Along with those gems, I have two new preferreds for the fixed-income portions of your portfolios. And I give you updates on many of my Monster Master List Stocks. Make it a good month.

Tags: AA, Alcoa, American Century Global Gold, American Express, Australia, AXP, BA, Berkshire Hathaway, BlackRock Enhanced Dividend Achievers, BlackRock Global Opportunities, Boeing, BRKb, C, China, citigroup, DIS, Disney, Dow Diamonds Trust, FAL, Falconbridge, GE, general electric, gold, Hong Kong, Inco, inflation, iShares, JNJ, JOE, johnson & johnson, Marvel, Microsoft, MSFT, MVL, N, purchasing power parity, Royal bank of Scotland, Singapore, St. Joe, streetTracks Gold Shares, Third Avenue Real Estate Value, Vanguard Precious Metals & Mining, Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade, Vangurad GNMA

In 1959, I started studying the stock market. Since then there has not been a single stock market downer in the year leading up to a presidential election. In fact, stocks usually make big gains-more so than in any other year of the election cycle. In this issue, I cover the impact of the presidential election cycle on the stock market, especially the year preceding the election. But the bulk of the issue is spent discussing my investment strategy. You need to read what I have to say about Japan versus South Korea. I also discuss fixed income and what you can expect in 2006 with regard to my Big Idea — the impending retirement of 76 million Americans. I have some new funds and some old for you to consider as well as some new stock offerings. Make sure to read this month’s issue; it will help you prepare for 2006.

Tags: AA, ABX, AL, Al Qaeda, Alcan, Alcoa, American Century Zero Cupon, Archstone-Smith, ASN, Barrick Gold, BHP, BHP Billiton, BlackRock Dividend Achievers Trust, BlackRock Global Energy & resources Trust, BP, Cameco, Canadialn General Investments, CCJ, China, Commodity Real Return, COST, Costco, Dodge & Cox income, election year cycle, ExxonMobil, FAL, Falconbridge, FCEa, Fidelity International real Estate, Fiduciary/Claymore MLP Opportunity Fund, forest City, GDP, General Jon Abizaid, Iraq, iShares MSCI Australia Index, iShares MSCI Singapre Index, jazz, Katrina, MCD, McDonalds, Microsoft, MSFT, Mutoual Series, NEM, Newmont Mining, Norfolk Southern, NSC, PCL, PDG, PEP, Pepsico, PIMCO, PIMCO All Asset, Placer Dome, PLD, Plum Creek, President Bush, PRJPX, Prologis, Rayonier, RD, Rio Tinto, Royal Dutch, RTP, RYN, streetTracks Gold Shares, T. Rowe Price Japan Fund, T. Rowe Price New Asia Fund, T. Rowe Price New Era, T. Rowe Price Teck cominco, Third Avenue International, Third Avenue International Value, third Avenue Real Estate, Third Avenue Small-Cap, Third Avenue Small-cap value, Third Avenue Value, Third Avenue Vanguard Precious metals & Mining, Union Pacific, UNP, Vanguard GNMA, Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities, Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury, Vanguard Precious Metals & Mining, Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade, Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund, Vanguard Wellington, VWELX, XOM

Harley Davidson is back in a big way! There are many facets to the Harley story, and this month I cover them all and give you an in-depth analysis of why I think Harley is a good buy now. In addition there are some other events taking place that will help make your investing decisions easier. For example, in October’s issue I told you to buy Placer Dome (NYSE: PDG) well, I hope you listened. Read the issue and find out why. There is another company takeover to consider and I give you both potential suitors. And do not forget preferred stocks (don’t worry I won’t let you). I have some quality new issues to add to your list now. These topics and many more are covered in this month’s issue. Remember you need to focus, and take immediate action, to continue to be successful. I am committed to helping you achieve your investment goals, and if you have followed my battle plan throughout 2005 you have a lot to cheer about.

Tags: AA, ABX, Alcan AL, Alcoa, Barrick Gold, Barrick gold Corp, BHP, BHP Billiton, BlackRock Dividend Achievers Trust, Buell, CAG, CAT, Caterpillar, Chevron Texaco, China, coca-Cola, ConAgra, CVX, digital revolution, DIS, Disney, energy stocks, FAL, Falconbridge, FDG, FLEX, Flextronics, Fording Canadian Coal, harley-davidson, HDI, HSBC Holdings PLC, Inco, Inco Ltd, ING Group NV, JOE, KO, Marvel Enterprises, McCormic, Microsoft, MKC, MSFT, MVL, N, NEM, Newmont Mining, PDG, PII, Placer Dom, Polaris, RD, restaurants Brands New Zealand, RGR, Rio Tinto, Royal Dutch, ruger, St. Joe, Sturm, Sysco, SYY, Teck Cominco, time warner, TWX, Vanguard GNMA, Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade, Willmington trust, WL, Xstrata, XTA.L, Yankee Candle, YCC

High water is the theme of this month’s issue as I analyze hurricane-related issues and why they are vital for you when considering my Big Idea. You should also focus on the following points when considering the future: income, migration and leisure. I discuss each of these issues for you this month, as well as, what is working for us. While this has been a down year for most if you have followed our plan, you are having a darn nice year. All my balanced funds and fixed income funds are up for the year. And there are some I would consider cheap funds and stocks that I want you to focus on, especially Vanguard funds and commodities — gold, aluminum, nickel, and uranium. There is much to cover this month but if you remain focused and take immediate action, you will continue to be successful.

Tags: AA, ABN Amro capital V11, AL, Alcan, Alcoa, Bank of America, bear market, Cabco Goldman Sachs, Cameco, Canadian General Investments, CAT, Caterpillar, CCJ, China, DEL, Deltic Lumber, Dodge & cox, FAL, Falconbridge, harley-davidson, HDI, J.P. Morgan chase, JOE, Lehman Bros, Mandarin Oriental International, MCD, McDonalds, MOIL.SI, Mutual Series, New Era, Norfolk Southern, NSC, PCL, PDG, PEP, Pepsico, PII, Placer Dome, Plum Creek, Polaris Industries, Rayonier, RGR, ruger, RYN, St. Joe, Sturm, T. rowe Price New Asia, Third Avenue International Value, Third Avenue Value, Vanguard GNMA, Vanguard Precious Metals & Mining, Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade, Wells Fargo

In this month’s issue I focus on the effects of Hurricane Katrina and what it means for your investments and for the U.S. economy. No matter the outlook, your investment strategy need not be altered, as I have been guiding you in the direction of a fully counterbalanced portfolio capable of riding out even catastrophic events like Katrina. Remember a conservative approach to investing wins. I devote the bulk of this issue to review our portfolios and what kind of return you need to plan for. And as promised I’ve included my end-of-summer “Mostly Stocks” section, which provides intelligence on many of our Monster Master List names. You must act now to take care of your portfolio as I have been stressing for the past few months.

Tags: AA, AL, Alcan, Alcoa, ALEX, Alexander & Baldwin, artom Whitman values Fund, BHP, BHP Billiton, BPL, Buckeye Partners, CAG, CAT, Caterpillar, Cleveland-Cliffs, CLF, coca-Cola, ConAgra, ConocoPhillips, COP, Delta & Pine Land, DLP, Enerplus resources fund, ERF, ExxonMobil, FAL, Falconbridge, FDG, Fording Canadian Coal trust, harley-davidson, HBC, HDI, Hormel, HRL, HSBC Holdings, ITW, J.M. Smucker, JOE, JPM Chase Capital XIV, Katrina, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, KMP, KO, Legg Mason, LM, Mandarin Oriental International, McCormic, MCD, McDonalds, Microsoft, MKC, MOIL.SI, MSFT, Natural resource Partners, NRP, O;;onois tool Works, PCL, PDG, PEP, Pepsico, PFE, Pfizer, Piedmont Natural gas, PII, Placer Dom, Plum Creek, PNY, Polaris, Rayonier, RGR, Rio Tinto, RTP, ruger, RYN, SJM, St. Joe, Sturm, T. Rowe Price New Era, Teck Cominco, Third Avenue International Value, Third Avenue Real Estate Value, Third Avenue Small-cap value, Third Avenue Value, Third Avenue values, Valero LP, Vanguard GNMA, Vanguard Precious Metals & Mining, Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade, Vanguard Wellington, VLI, XOM