An Unlikely Patriot
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- Created on Friday, 14 June 2013 00:00
- Written by Aaron Gentzler, Editor, Unconventional Wealth
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Twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden is an American you should admire. He dropped out of school and took high school equivalency classes to achieve his GED. He nurtured an interest in and an aptitude for computers and information technology.
He joined the Army in 2003 because he wanted to do his part as an American to help the Iraqi people. He wanted to make a difference. He proceeded to break both of his legs during a training exercise and never became a Special Forces solider.
After discharge from the Army, Snowden took a job as a security guard at a National Security Agency office in College Park, Maryland. From that job, he worked his way up to IT security for the CIA and eventually landed at Booz Allen Hamilton, a major defense contractor. That job came with top-level security clearance and responsibility.
If the story ended here, CNN and USA Today would write about Snowden, claiming him a success story. He overcame adversity. He showed initiative and motivation, something we're conditioned to believe is missing from the millennial generation.
As of this writing, however, Snowden is in hiding. A few days ago, he was in Hong Kong. That's because he recently released details of the US government's PRISM surveillance program to reporters from The Guardian, including civil liberties writer Glenn Greenwald.
What the Papers Aren't Reporting About the NSA Scandal
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- Created on Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:00
- Written by Bill Bonner, Chairman, Bonner & Partners
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Behind every great fortune is a great crime, said French novelist Honoré de Balzac. What crime lies behind Booz Allen Hamilton?
Fraud, mostly.
More on that in a moment...
The Dow fell -116 points yesterday. Gold fell $9 an ounce. Still no clarity in the markets. Still no resolution. The unstoppable force of more and more credit is still bearing down on the immoveable object of excess debt.
Ben Bernanke is pushing for higher stock prices... higher consumer prices... and higher bond prices. Mr. Market still hasn't expressed himself clearly.
Read more: What the Papers Aren't Reporting About the NSA Scandal
If This Pattern Holds, the Rich Will Get Much Richer
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- Created on Wednesday, 12 June 2013 00:00
- Written by Justice Litle, Editor, Strategic Wealth Report
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F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are very different from you and me."
To which Ernest Hemingway scoffed, "Yes, they have more money."
They also own a lot more stocks. The following data, from The Economist, is eye-opening:
The most recent figures show that the top 10% of households own about 91.4% of outstanding stocks and mutual funds, up from 84.5% in 2001. The richest 1% own almost half of all stock and mutual funds...
To understand the markets, there are certain truths you must be aware of.
Read more: If This Pattern Holds, the Rich Will Get Much Richer
How to Lock in Exceptional Yields From the World's Best Top Dividend Growers
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- Created on Tuesday, 11 June 2013 00:00
- Written by Scott Schopman
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Over the last few months, I've been telling you about a strategy to play the recent rally in blue-chip dividend stocks. In fact, I laid it all out with two recommendations on the last day of April.
It can be summed up pretty easily.
First, make a short list of your favorite companies... ones you'd love to own but can't because they are currently too expensive.
I shared the example of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT). Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the US, with some 10,800 stores and a half of a trillion dollars in sales. That's larger than most of the world's economies.
It has been paying a steadily growing dividend dating back to 1974. As an income investor, I love to hear about that kind of market size and dividend track record. Unfortunately, WMT's dividend yield was never really worthy of mention. Even though it grows its payments like clockwork, its shares keep pace.
Read more: How to Lock in Exceptional Yields From the World's Best Top Dividend Growers