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

Today’s sub-prime lending mess has many institutional investors wringing their hands. So, this month I give you updates on all the hedge funds that have been clobbered by the sub-prime fiasco. Plus, many investors are worrying about a possible recession, but if you’ve been following my advice and set up a counterbalanced portfolio, a recession is a nonevent for you. Check out why I why I don’t think a recession is in the cards. Also, I have two new additions to the Stock Monster Master List, and I give you some insight into why I’m taking a huge position in a utility fund that you should be investing in as well. And I also have updates on our Top Ten Common Stocks and a new preferred that you should add to your portfolio. Make it a good month.

Tags: AAUK, AL, Alcan, American Century Global Gold, Anglo American, BDJ, BGEIX, BHP, BHP Billiton, BlackRick Enhanced Dividend Achievers Trust, BlackRock Global Opportunities Equity trust, BNI, BOE, BTU, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Canadian Pacific Railway, coca-Cola, CP, DEO, DIA, Diageo, Dodge & Cox income, DODIX, Dow Diamonds Trust, Fed, Fidelity International real Estate, Fidelity Natural Gas, FIREX, FSNGX, GE, general electric, harley-davidson, hedge funds, HOG, ING Group, KO, Microsoft, MSFT, PCL, Peabody Energy, PEP, Pepsico, Plum Creek Timber, PRASX, PRJPX, Rayonier, Rio Tinto, RTP, RYN, T. Rowe Price Japan, T. rowe Price New Asia, UL, Unilver, United technologies, UTX, Vanguard GNMA, Vanguard Precious Metals & Mining, Vanguard Value Index, Vanguard Wellesley, VFIIX, VGPMX, VIVAX, volatility, VWINX, Wal-Mart, William Wrigley, WMT, WWY

Many successful capital management firms and hedge funds took a scalding bath in August. In fact, Jeremy Grantham believes that up to half of the hedge funds and many of the private equity firms “will cease to exist.” But taking investment risks isn’t our method. Rather, my consistent advice to you over the years has been to rely first and foremost on adding cash to your retirement account through interest and dividends. The more you focus on compounding, the better you will sleep. This month I have a bank stock and three other companies that I am adding to my Monster Master List for you to invest in, as well as updates on my Top Ten Common Stocks. Also this month, I cover a mutual fund with a large stake in big bank stocks and what they are doing to make sure that shareholders have a reliable source of income. Make it a good month!

Tags: American Century Global BGEIX, Andarko Petroleum, Anglo American AAUKF, Apache APA, APC, BA, BAC, Bank of America, BDJ, BDV, BlackRock Dividen Achievers Trust, BlackRock Enhanced Dividend Achievers Trust, BlackRock Global Opportunities Equity trust, BOE, Boeing, boton globe, butterfly effect, C, Chevron, citigroup, compound interest, Corp. SYY, CVX, DODBX, Dodge & Cox balanced, Dodge & Cox income, DODIX, EWJ, Garmin, GDX, general electric AAA-rated 6.45%, GRMN, iShares MSCI japan, JM Smucker, Long-Term Capital Management, Market Vectors Gold Miners Index, mutual funds, NEM, nestle, Newmont Mining, NSRGY, PBG, PEP, Pepsi Bottling, Pepsico, PG, PRJPX, Procter & Gamble, RGR, ruger, SJM, Sturm, Sysco, T-bills, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Japan, TROW, United technologies, UTX, Vanguard GNMA, Vanguard Precious Mining & Mtals, VFIIX, VGPMX, wall street journal

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

This month, I talk about the impact of terrorism on our economy and what that may mean for our economic outlook. The outlook looks great for our gold holdings
and I think you should add to them. There are other commodities that are cheap right now, which I think you should look into. Plus, I have some good ideas
for new money and a new addition to the Common Stocks Monster Master List. Also, since the issue went to print, one of my buy recommendations is no longer
a buy based on our updated charts. Don’t miss this update in the November issue. Make it a good month.

Tags: ABER, Aber Diamonds, agricultural commodities, AIPAC, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Anheuser Busch, BDJ, BOE, BUD, CAG, Clinton, coca-Cola, ConAgra Foods, Defense spending, Delta & Pine Land, Democrats, DIA, DLP, DODBX, Dodge & Cox balanced, Dodge & Cox income, DODIX, Dow Diamonds Trust, Enhanced Dividend Achievers Trust, Federated Investors, FII, Franklin Mutual Shares, GE, general electric, Global Opportunities Equity Trust, gold, hard-liners, harley-davidson, HOG, Hormel, Howard Dean, HRL, Iran, Israel, Jim Talent, JM Smucker, JNJ, Joe Lieberman, johnson & johnson, Kerry, KO, Lt. Col. Patterson, Massoud, mcCormick, MCD, McDonalds, MKC, MUTHX, NATO, Netanyahu, Patriot Act, PEP, Pepsico, Piedmont Natural gas, PII, PNY, Polaris, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, RGR, ruger, Salafi jihad, SJM, Sturm, TAREX, TAVFX, TAVIX, terrorism, Third Avenue International, third Avenue Real Estate, Third Avenue Value, TimberWest, TWF.UN, Vanguard Equity Income, Vanguard Precious Metals & Mining, Vanguard Value Index, VEIPX, VGPMX, VIVAX, VWELX, VWINX, Wellington, Wellsley, Wrigley, WWY, Yankee Candle, YCC

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