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

What’s up for 2007? The year before a presidential election is filled with many empty promises from aspiring candidates, always a plus for the stock market.
The goal of this month’s issue is to help you defeat inertia and take immediate action on your investments. I begin the issue with an overview
of one of the greatest companies in the world and why you should go out and buy it today! This issue is also filled with answers to many of your questions
in my annual Q&A special section.

Tags: 401k, 529, Alliance, Amelia, American Century Global Gold, answers, antibiotic, antioxidant, attack, Beaufort, Berkshire Hathaway, BlackRock, Charleston, citigroup, coca-Cola, Disney, Dorset, Dow, ETFs, exchange traded funds, Fernandina, Fidelity, forest City, GE, general electric, home, Hormel, Immelt, Inertia, IRA, iShares, Island, Jeff, Madarin Oriental, Mattapoisett, McDonalds, Partners, pepper, Plum Creek, Polaris Industries, questions, Resource, Retirement Compounders, ruger, S&P 1500, spray, Sturm, Swiss, T. Rowe Price, terrorist, theory, Third Avenue, Unilever, VAIO, Vanuard, Wellington, Woodstock, WSJ

I need to remind you of what I wrote last month — most of the unique mutual funds are closing. But this month I have another option for you to consider. Along with the fund updates, I give you a tool to help you become an insightful investor — a way to review a company’s cash flow and determine if it is a good investment. Also, I have four new stock offerings for you to consider — a few laggards that I believe are really good buys right now, along with a new layout for the newsletter. Make it a good month.

Tags: Alliance Resource Partners, American Express, AXP, BA, BlackRock, Boeing, C, citigroup, DIS, Dividend Achievers, dividends, Dow Diamonds Trust, Enhanced Dividend Achievers, ETF, Fiduciary Claymore MLP, GG, Global Opportunity, Goldcorp, HBC, Holland balanced Fund, HSBC, J.M. Smucker, Jardine Matheson, JMHLY, JNJ, johnson & johnson, Mutual fund, Mutual Series, PEP, Pepsico, PetroFund, PTF, SJM, Sysco, SYY, T. Rowe Price New Era, time warner, TWX, United technologies, UTX, Vanguard Precious Metals & Mining, Walt Disney