Just over a week ago, investors were shook from their bullish sleep. The major indexes inexplicably plunged lower as panicked investors scrambled to dump stocks. The fear-gauge, or VIX index, spiked to 50 — a level not seen in nearly a decade — signaling extreme financial terror in the equity markets. Now, a week later, things have stabilized with the VIX retreating to the 18 zone. However, it is still 100% above its lows of this month. The severe moves have refocused stock investors on this somewhat obscure index/indicator. Not since the financial crisis of 2008 have so many investors… Read More

Just over a week ago, investors were shook from their bullish sleep. The major indexes inexplicably plunged lower as panicked investors scrambled to dump stocks. The fear-gauge, or VIX index, spiked to 50 — a level not seen in nearly a decade — signaling extreme financial terror in the equity markets. Now, a week later, things have stabilized with the VIX retreating to the 18 zone. However, it is still 100% above its lows of this month. The severe moves have refocused stock investors on this somewhat obscure index/indicator. Not since the financial crisis of 2008 have so many investors needed to understand what the VIX is all about. #-ad_banner-# What Is The VIX? The VIX, short for CBOE Volatility Index, was derived in 1993 by Professor Robert Whatley. Initially, the VIX was based on the OEX 100 index, but now it uses the S&P 500 as the base index. The VIX is created via a weighted mix of prices for a variety of options on the S&P 500. The options are priced on the expected volatility or price change over the next month. Therefore, the VIX is designed to predict volatility over the next 30 days. An excellent… Read More

Note From Jared: Before we get to today’s issue, I want to tell you about something happening in just a few days that you won’t want to miss…  I’ve been working on an exciting project with legendary stock picker Andy Obermueller — the same analyst who’s delivered 90 triple-digit winners for readers, including some picks that are now up by 1,242%, 1,110%… and 1,050%..  So here’s the deal… For the first time ever, I’m going to sit down with Andy for a one-on-one, live discussion about the four-point strategy he uses to find triple and quadruple-digit gainers. Andy will… Read More

Note From Jared: Before we get to today’s issue, I want to tell you about something happening in just a few days that you won’t want to miss…  I’ve been working on an exciting project with legendary stock picker Andy Obermueller — the same analyst who’s delivered 90 triple-digit winners for readers, including some picks that are now up by 1,242%, 1,110%… and 1,050%..  So here’s the deal… For the first time ever, I’m going to sit down with Andy for a one-on-one, live discussion about the four-point strategy he uses to find triple and quadruple-digit gainers. Andy will also reveal what he’s calling the biggest investment opportunity he’s ever seen. It’s all happening on Wednesday, February 28th, at 1:00 pm, Eastern Time.  A limited number of readers interested in watching this live event can do so for FREE — but guaranteed spots will go fast. All you have to do is sign up now and reserve your spot right here.  Stay Tuned, Jared Levy Profit Amplifier Short sellers get a bad rap. They are often villainized by the media for “ganging up” on troubled companies or even causing market crashes. There is little… Read More

More that 30 million Americans woke up one day late last year to find they weren’t quite as healthy as when they went to sleep.  That’s because the American Heart Association changed the guidelines for what is considered high blood pressure (hypertension) for the first time in 14 years. The new guidelines are meant to improve treatment options and start people on therapies sooner rather than waiting too late. Hypertension is the second-leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide, second only to smoking, with a market that already tops $84 billion in the U.S. alone.  #-ad_banner-#And that was before the new… Read More

More that 30 million Americans woke up one day late last year to find they weren’t quite as healthy as when they went to sleep.  That’s because the American Heart Association changed the guidelines for what is considered high blood pressure (hypertension) for the first time in 14 years. The new guidelines are meant to improve treatment options and start people on therapies sooner rather than waiting too late. Hypertension is the second-leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide, second only to smoking, with a market that already tops $84 billion in the U.S. alone.  #-ad_banner-#And that was before the new guidelines were released, potentially driving the market for treatments even higher. Tens Of Millions Of Americans Need To Visit The Doctor Trying to head off the growing list of cardiovascular problems in the United States, the American Heart Association has lowered the cutoff determining who should be treated for high blood pressure. It’s now recommended that Americans with blood pressure of 130/80 or higher be treated versus the previous cutoff of 140/90 established in 2003.  That means 46% of the U.S. adult population, an estimated 103 million, is now considered at-risk of hypertension compared to an estimated 72 million… Read More

As I write this, U.S. equity markets have pulled themselves out of correction territory, with both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising to a little better than 5% off their record highs. Only time will tell whether this is just a momentary pullback or the beginnings of something more sinister. What is certain is that market volatility has finally come out of hibernation, jangling the nerves of many investors who have become complacent during the recent rising tide. This isn’t always a bad thing. If anything, it reminds us to stay on our toes. #-ad_banner-#So, with… Read More

As I write this, U.S. equity markets have pulled themselves out of correction territory, with both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising to a little better than 5% off their record highs. Only time will tell whether this is just a momentary pullback or the beginnings of something more sinister. What is certain is that market volatility has finally come out of hibernation, jangling the nerves of many investors who have become complacent during the recent rising tide. This isn’t always a bad thing. If anything, it reminds us to stay on our toes. #-ad_banner-#So, with the reminder that markets can and do go down, it makes sense to do a little portfolio housekeeping. Here are three things I recommend doing in the current market environment. 1. Review Your Objectives Are you approaching your goal? Whether it’s retirement or paying for college, if that’s the case it may be time to step back, look over your portfolio, and asses the amount of risk you’re taking. If you’re running a balanced portfolio (stocks and bonds), the stocks allocation has probably pulled ahead of the bonds portion. If your plan requires dialing back some of your risk,… Read More

Carl Icahn began his Wall Street career in 1961, about 57 years ago. That year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at about 730… the S&P 500 was at 71… and the Nasdaq Composite Index wouldn’t even be created for another 20+ years. Throughout his career, Icahn has been involved in a number of takeovers and survived bull and bear markets. It seems as though he would have seen everything at this point, but recently he said he had never seen a market like the one we’ve seen this month. The problem, in his eyes, is volatility. —Sponsored Link—… Read More

Carl Icahn began his Wall Street career in 1961, about 57 years ago. That year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at about 730… the S&P 500 was at 71… and the Nasdaq Composite Index wouldn’t even be created for another 20+ years. Throughout his career, Icahn has been involved in a number of takeovers and survived bull and bear markets. It seems as though he would have seen everything at this point, but recently he said he had never seen a market like the one we’ve seen this month. The problem, in his eyes, is volatility. —Sponsored Link— Fidelity’s Top 20 Favorite Stocks For 2018 Discover the top 20 most widely held stocks by Fidelity’s savviest fund managers and how this vital information can play a critical role to locking in 201% greater profits today.  With this information in hand, you’ll be in position to own the Fidelity funds that are due to skyrocket in the year ahead.  So, if you have any money at Fidelity or are thinking about investing there, please grab your copy of this special report now. Click here to immediately download this exclusive report —… Read More

Relief. That’s what I feel right now regarding the markets after the recent pullback (even as it continues). In fact, I feel better about the markets now than I did just a couple of weeks ago. Does that mean I think the worst is behind us and the market will continue hitting new highs? Absolutely not. The truth is, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future any more than you do. But here’s what I do know. A market selloff was inevitable. And it wasn’t so much a market selloff that had me concerned… it was the… Read More

Relief. That’s what I feel right now regarding the markets after the recent pullback (even as it continues). In fact, I feel better about the markets now than I did just a couple of weeks ago. Does that mean I think the worst is behind us and the market will continue hitting new highs? Absolutely not. The truth is, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future any more than you do. But here’s what I do know. A market selloff was inevitable. And it wasn’t so much a market selloff that had me concerned… it was the relentless climb of the market without so much as a hiccup. The S&P 500 went 400-some trading days since its last decline of 5% or more — the longest such period in 20 years. And the market’s 4.1% plunge on Monday, February 5, was the biggest one-day drop since 2011. —Sponsored Link— Forget Social Security! Thousands of U.S. taxpayers are lining up for the chance to grab huge four- and five-digit checks starting March 1. Massive payouts from a new private program that make the average Social Security check look like mincemeat. Read More

They said it could not go down. In fact, some bitcoin evangelists claimed it was mathematically impossible for the price to drop. Other true believers were calling for $100,000 or even $1 million as the cost of the king of cryptocurrencies spiraled ever higher. At the same time, the lesser cryptocurrencies were carried along with the bullish fever. Ripple, ethereum, litecoin, and even joke cryptos like Dogecoin rocketed sky-high  as visions of Powerball lottery-like wealth gripped the public’s imagination. #-ad_banner-#During this heady timeframe, the bearish contingent compared the price surge to the Dutch tulip mania of the 1600s and searched… Read More

They said it could not go down. In fact, some bitcoin evangelists claimed it was mathematically impossible for the price to drop. Other true believers were calling for $100,000 or even $1 million as the cost of the king of cryptocurrencies spiraled ever higher. At the same time, the lesser cryptocurrencies were carried along with the bullish fever. Ripple, ethereum, litecoin, and even joke cryptos like Dogecoin rocketed sky-high  as visions of Powerball lottery-like wealth gripped the public’s imagination. #-ad_banner-#During this heady timeframe, the bearish contingent compared the price surge to the Dutch tulip mania of the 1600s and searched for ways to short the monster move. Unlike most other financial markets, there was no direct way to profit from the downside. Sensing the demand, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) launched futures in mid- December 2017 to much fanfare among institutions and professional traders. During the same month, Bitcoin and the other cryptos hit their all-time highs. But after striking a high price just over $19,000, Bitcoin did what was once said to be impossible: it started plunging in value. By December 22, the leading cryptocurrency had lost 1/3 of its value in just five days. January was not… Read More

Confusion, Contention, Curiosity. Those are just a few of the words I’d use to summarize the past couple weeks of trading, which began with the selloff on Feb. 2. Traders and investors are confused because the selloff seemed to come from nowhere. There wasn’t a particular event that sparked the violent move lower — just a slow selloff that accelerated into the biggest one-day drop the Dow had ever experienced… one that reverberated through global markets. —Sponsored Link— How To Profit From The Bitcoin Bloodbath As bitcoin plunges, the co-founder of Ethereum is on to… Read More

Confusion, Contention, Curiosity. Those are just a few of the words I’d use to summarize the past couple weeks of trading, which began with the selloff on Feb. 2. Traders and investors are confused because the selloff seemed to come from nowhere. There wasn’t a particular event that sparked the violent move lower — just a slow selloff that accelerated into the biggest one-day drop the Dow had ever experienced… one that reverberated through global markets. —Sponsored Link— How To Profit From The Bitcoin Bloodbath As bitcoin plunges, the co-founder of Ethereum is on to something new. Something much bigger than bitcoin. Going completely under the radar, he has worked for years to create the world’s first blockchain hedge fund. His partners? Not the 0,00001% elite, but you and me. The crash of bitcoin is the start of something much, much bigger. Get full details before it becomes mainstream news… Pundits have blamed the drop on everything from normal profit taking to interest rates and government deficits. What I know from my years of experience is that humans don’t panic and push prices that far that fast without a catastrophe or… Read More