The importance of education, the current state of the stock markets and general economic conditions and their effects on these markets
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In this show Al discusses:
- Segment 1 and Segment 2 – The quality of a country’s educational system plays a big role in the ultimate investment potential of a country. Big Al and Steve Taylor opine on the quality of public education in the U.S.
- Segment 3 – Marshall Berol, co-portfolio manager of The Encompass Fund, discusses current topics affecting investing.
- Segment 4 – Jordan Roy-Byrne, of The Daily Gold, discusses silver and silver stocks.
- Segment 5 – Big Al and Trader Rog discuss why investing in hard assets and hard asset related investments is still such a good thing.
- Segment 6 – Prior to his European trip Keith Schaefer stopped by to discuss energy issues as they relate to investors.
- Segment 7 – Peter Grandich discusses stocks and the stock market.
- Segment 8 – Mickey Fulp talks about the summer doldrums in the resource stock market.
Click download link to listen on this device: Download Show
Click download link to listen on this device: Download Show
Click download link to listen on this device: Download Show
Click download link to listen on this device: Download Show
Click download link to listen on this device: Download Show
Click download link to listen on this device: Download Show
Click download link to listen on this device: Download Show
Click download link to listen on this device: Download Show
Re: Education.
I was very surprised that you did not mention the cheating that went on in the Atlanta school system, revealed this last week.
Hi David,
Kind of ran out of time. The Atlanta revelation was just another step in the downward direction of the system.
Unfortunately, I firmly believe everything that Steve and I discussed and that, my friend, makes me very sad.
Have a great weekend,
Big Al
Re: Atlanta schools. Note part of the problem was an affirmative action program generated by the then Governor of the State, Jimmy Carter; wherein people were hired by virtue of the color of their skins and not the content of their character.
google Atlanta school cheating scandal or go to:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/05/eveningnews/main20077025.shtml
http://www.ajc.com/news/investigation-into-aps-cheating-1001375.html
My German friends say there is a good chance that Switzerland will start minting a 0.1867 oz gold Franc again towards the end of this year.
England is already again producing a .2354 oz gold sovereign as well as half-sovereigns and 1 oz silver Britannias.
We are going towards gold and silver currencies again!
Rog; Do you have any thoughts about the Pan Asian Metal Exchange starting up and its effects on the precious metals, especially silver in China?
The UK has been issuing modern, overpriced sovereigns and inconveniently packaged Britannias for years. The Swiss proposal would actually make sense as it could help debunk the myth that the Swiss paper franc still is on some kind of gold standard.
Jim Richards talked about this over the weekend. Listen here:
http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2011/7/9_Jim_Rickards.html
Thank you for the link. Rickards mentioned that the coins would just get hoarded/collected. Of course they would. The proposal was politically aimed at small savers supposedly “disadvantaged” by high gold prices. Cutting the populist politician’s lingo, one would have to admit that there are still plenty of smallish, old 10 and 20 SFR gold coins around to collect, as well as recent Swiss commemorative silver coins.
The smaller of the proposed coins would merely contain 0.1 gram, the other, 1 gram of gold. I still think that the most beneficial effect of the discussion is making people think a bit longer about the safety of holding paper francs.
Al, do you still have a position in Passport Potash? Do you gave an opinion on the company? Thanks much
Hi Jerry,
I sold my stock at a bit of a loss. I am still very bullish on the company. My sell resulted from a slight liquidity situation. I will replace that position at some point in the next few weeks. I will let folks know a minimum of three days prior to my purchase.
I think that Josh and the rest of the crew at the company are working very hard and have a pretty good shot at making it work. No guarantees, but that is my personal feeling.
Best,
Big Al
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Re: Education in Inter cities
The failure of inter city schools is the direct result of the decimation of families. Most of these children are born to single teenagers especially in minority communities. They don’t get the level of care needed to develop healthy minds and a sense of well being. Recent studies have shown that children neglected during the first three years undergo harmful structural changes in their brains which makes it hard for them to learn and live productive lives.
I agree that public schools need to be revamped without intrusions from the Federal government. The public schools need more competition from charter and private schools. I would contend that a low budget system could be set up where where a class would have 3 or 4 loving and caring mothers running the classes which would be totally taught using quality videos such as those available from the Teaching Company. No occupation in the US needs more of an upgrade than public education.
Hi Dale,
Am visiting right now with a couple of old friends. We are discussing your comment and, you know what, none of us can disagree with you.
What is interesting is these folks are about as liberal politically as any person could possibly be.
Why don’t Americans, in mass, do something about this broken system?
Know why, because of everything you brought in your first paragraph.
Have a great rest of the weekend,
Big Al
Why do you go to all of the trouble to produce a multi-segment weekend show and then only post a few minutes of it on iTunes?
GREAT SHOW….
MORE ROGER WIEGAND PLEASE……
Hi Bruce,
I was under the impression that all of it was posted on iTunes.
I will have Sarah look into this.
Thanks for the comment,
Big Al
Just a quick follow up. Last weekend, 9 minutes and 50 seconds of your weekend show was posted to iTunes. This is the usual….the first segment only To get the full show, you have to go to the http://www.kereport.com, download the MP3 file, which comes down as “Music” not a pod cast, import it into iTunes, and convert it to a Podcast.
My bet is that many of your liTune listeners don’t know that 2 hours of discussion are available!
Me and this article, sitting in a tree, L-I-N-R-N-E-A-G!
There are many negative issues involving our education system. The main problem is the teachers union where schools are forced to keep incompetent teachers because of union rules. A combination of the unions and the inefficient government involvement and you have a failing education system. I think the only way to improve is to privatize all the schools and allow parents to select where they want to send their children. The best schools with survive.
Hi Karen,
Haven’t heard from you in a while.
Your comment is, of course, absolutely correct.
I have heard negative comments about the NEA from an awful lot of our retired former educator friends.
My wife refused to take any part in the union she had to join during her years in that field.
If I were a part of the decision makers who put public education where it is today in the U.S. I would not be proud of what I had done all my working life.
Best,
Big Al
Hi Al,
Thanks for noticing my absence, I was on vacation. I am now back in the real world.
It is a shame that teachers are forced to join the union especially when some of the money goes to support politicians you might not agree with.
Hi Karen,
You have brought up one of my pet peeves. No one should be forced to join a union. Seems to me that if a union was actually helping its members, other workers would naturally want to join.
Big Al
All of my questions seeantd-thtlks!
Your atention is brought to:
in which the NEA may be beginning to change.
Hi David,
I really believe the NEA leaders are only interested in the amount of union dues they collect. These unions are much too powerful and must be removed from our education system. An example of their arrogance: YouTube “It’s Money & Power, Not Education’’
HI Karen,
I just watched the youtube video.
Holy Smokes!
If those are true, and not somehow doctored comments, those folks ought to be run out of town on a rail.
Thanks much for bringing this to our attention.
Best,
Big Al
Hiya! I know this is kinda off topic however , I’d fireugd I’d ask. Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa? My website discusses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I think we could greatly benefit from each other. If you are interested feel free to send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Awesome blog by the way!
I personally believe some kind of voucher system, bringing competition into education would rapidly bring change and improvement to the school system……That’s a change I could believe in. To use Obama’s own words.
Hi David,
I maintain that capitalism (in more of a pure sense) is what made this country great. It could remake our educational system into something that we could all be proud of instead of the crap that some of it is today.
That too, my friend, is a change I could believe in.
Best,
Big Al
Great weekend show. Especially enjoyed Peter Grandich comments about the market. Be interesting to see if QE3 happens. The precious metals ETF DBP was only up 1.06% from June 1 to July 8 2011 so it’s due for a huge rebound soon. Oil Services sector ETF IEZ was up 7.40% for same period.
QE3 has all ready happened.
Raised margin requirements on commodities, lowered margin requirements on bonds and equities and the releasing of SPOR. That was a QE.
Se puede utizilar el servicio de twitter para telefonos mobiles aca en Argentina? Tiene algun costo? Soy nuevo en este servicio y me surgieron estas dudas . graciasssss!
[…] View Segment 4 […]
Al & Rog,
Thanks for all the valuable insights. I fully agree with the 401K withdrawal. It is better to take out what you can while you still have something to take.
Hi Karen,
I feel just slightly different.
I am a big believer in diversification and we only have about 20% of our money in an IRA which we really don’t control to the degree I would like.
I have another, about 20%, in a defined benefit plan which I control completely.
The remaining 60% is in the market (both equity and real estate) in one form or another.
Best,
Big Al
Al,
I also believe in diversification. However I think the 401K and IRA’s are too vulnerable to a desperate government. I fear the government will tax the full pension as they are now doing in Ireland or force the funds into government bonds. Who else is going to buy them???
HI Karen,
The plan that I discussed (Defined Benefit) is taxed in that when I withdraw the “benefit” I have to pay personal income tax on it. My corporation funds the plan and then the corporation pays me when I withdraw the funds.
Best,
Big Al
You are all in the US……..I do not call that diversified enough
I think overseas real estate would be an interesting topic. It’s been covered a bit before when Al talked about Doug Casey’s development in Argentina, but there are a lot of good options out there. The idea that we all have to stay here and “suck it up” is nonsense. My parents got the heck out of Germany in the late 1920s, why should I stay here when I know things will get worse?!
Good idea Karl,
I will bring this concept up in a future segment.
Best,
Big Al
Greetings! Quick question that’s tolalty off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when browsing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve this issue. If you have any suggestions, please share. Cheers!
HI David,
You make an interesting point.
I personally disagree with a lot of things that are going on here, but I will not leave as long as I think that I can contribute to make it better.
Best,
Big Al
What does one do when the political system is totally corrupt?
Neither party does what is best for the country – only what will get them re-elected.
The lying and cheating is a symbol of a dying society, a dying country.
I do not think it can be saved short of a bloody revolution. And it will be very bloody, since the government will easily not give up power. You know deep down in your gut martial law will be declared and many people will be put into internment camps, and society will totally break down, before a new country or countries can rise from the ashes.
Hi David,
I still maintain hope in the voting booth concept.
Time will tell,
Big Al
Update on Kitco:
Faced with tax claims of more than $300 million from Revenu Quebec, embattled Montreal-based gold trader Kitco Metals Inc. now is officially in creditor protection, until July 27.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Kitco+moves+into+creditor+protection/5068303/story.html#ixzz1Rm7DtFIX
Hi Har,
Thanks, I read this earlier.
I am in contact with folks at Kitco and have been told that no wrong was done. Not being at all familiar with the situation, I will support Kitco until something to contradict that comes to light.
Big Al
al,
a little hard on teachers.
i agree the state should police itself.
don’y you think the nanny state is more to blame for the generational decline?
Hi Mike,
Here is a direct quote from a good friend who is a retired school district superintendent: “Yeah, who knows… Unions are always about power and money. They’re not interested in building a better widget. They’re interested in union “stuff”. The individual worker or members are interested in building better stuff or doing a good job of teaching or nursing, etc. ”
Maybe I was a little hard on teachers, but the whole system really needs an overhaul in my opinion.
Thanks for your comment,
Big Al
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