This Is Something That Came In My Email Inbox...

[Cosima___J]

It's quite long, but very interesting food for thought about the state of the American dollar and therefore, the state of the American economy. If anybody takes the time to watch it, I'd like to hear your opinion. Is it alarmist or is it a truthful warning about things to come?

http://www.stansberryresearch.com/pro/1 ... PSILC92/PR

[John F]

This turkey spends so much time promoting himself, talking about what he's going to say without saying it, and predicting sensational and improbable catastrophes, that I stopped listening while he still hadn't gotten to the point, whatever it is. If he's put it in writing anywhere, I might bother to read it. Otherwise, he's wasted more than enough of my time.

[John F]

Who is Porter Stansberry?

Frank Porter Stansberry resides in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the editor of two of Agora's Internet financial newsletters: Porter Stansberry's Investment Advisory and PirateInvestor.com. Stansberry's compensation is based in part, on a percentage of the revenues realized by those on-line publications

Nov 2007 - U. S. JUDGE FINES AGORA SUBSIDIARY AND EDITOR $1.5 M FOR SECURITIES FRAUD
An investment newsletter's publisher and its editor have been hit with $1.5 million in financial penalties after a U. S. federal judge determined they defrauded their own subscribers in a securities scam.

In its complaint, the SEC describes Agora as a Maryland corporation that publishes "books, magazines, newsletters and operates at least 15 financial web sites in the United States and Europe. Agora's publications include The Cutting Edge, Penny Stock Advisory, The Red Zone, Taipan, Rogue Trader, The Flying V Lockup Trader, CSX Trader, Fleet Street Letter, Options Hotline, Outstanding Investments, Richebacher Letter, Daily Reckoning Investment Advisory, Carpathia Letter, Strategic Opportunities, Jim Davidson's Vantage Point Investing, and the Contrarian Speculator. Agora publications have well over 21,500 paid subscribers."

In 2007, Stansberry and Pirate Investor LLC (renamed Stansberry & Ass. Investment Research LLC in 2005,) but not Agora, Inc., were convicted of stock fraud by the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, (Civil Action No. MJG-03-1042; filed 08/03/2007).

Publisher and company appealed the sentence as a First Amendment issue, but judgment, maximum fines, and injunctions levied by the Circuit Court were upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th District in 2009. The defendants' appeal against the Appellate Court's judgment was not accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2010.

In fairness, it must be noted that in this case, no pump & dump, undisclosed ownership of stocks and options, or direct gain from the buying or selling of the respective securities ever was at issue. Stansberry still insists: "I had no incentive to lie, I gave my source a complete copy of my report, and the deal I was predicting did in fact materialize three weeks later, which helped the stock to nearly triple over the next three years. Knowing these facts makes it difficult to accept the government's case. As a fan of the newsletter industry, I'm surprised you're not more critical of the government's case and its attempts to regulate disinterested speech about securities."

(For the sake of balance, let us include Appellate Court's footnote 8 on that claim: "In the proceedings before the district court, Stansberry adhered to his claim that W. did, in fact, suggest that approval of the pricing agreement would be announced on May 22. The district court found, however, that W. made no such statements. Stansberry and Pirate do not challenge this particular factual finding on appeal.")

Overall, we hold that this case is too complex to be easily shoe boxed one way or the other. We recommend that readers interested in an accurate summation of the issues underlying this case carefully study both court documents before arriving at a conclusion. Green Laser Reviews provides direct links to them both above and below.

A good write-up of the Stansberry newsletter business can be found at http://greenlaserreviews.com/2010/12/03 ... ry-review/

[rwetmore]

This video is too long!

[rwetmore]

I just can't make it through this thing. Too damn long winded! Yes, I fear significant inflation and/or some kind of crisis - possibly even as big as he is warning about. Inevitably, all unfunded liabilities end in financial collapse.

[living_stradivarius]

alarmist

[Cosima___J]

Just maybe Stansberry knows what he's talking about. Foreign Policy magazine (Dec 2010) listed the "Top Global Thinkers" Coming in at #4 was Zhou Xiaochuan (Governor, People's Bank of China)

He was selected "for holding the world's economic fate in his hands."

"This August, Internet rumors that Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan had defected sent portfolio managers and currency traders the world over scrambling for cover. Although the rumors were later proved false, they still revealed just how important Zhou has become to global economic stability.

"It wasn't the first time Zhou has made waves on his way to becoming the most visible international symbol of China's new assertiveness. rLast year, he roiled markets by proposing a new international reserve currency to replace the U.S. dollar. This year, he hasn't stopped pressing Washington to recognize that the era when it could dictate the rules of the gloval economic order is over. Zhou's case was bolstered this August when China surpassed Japan to become the world's second-largest economy, a long-awaited milestone that immediately set market-watchers pondering how long until China takes the top spot from the United States.

"Batting away demands that China allow its currency to appreciate, Zhou recently described yuan revaluation as a Western-style fantasy cure, 'pills that solve your problem overnight,' as opposed to what's needed: a proper Chinese-style treatment of '10 herbs put together...that solve the problem not overnight, but maybe in one month or two months.' It's the kind of line you can get away with when you're sitting on $2.65 trillion in international currency reserves."

So you see CMGers, maybe Stansberry isn't so crazy after all! China is moving into the drivers seat. Just how long do you think that the U.S. dollar will remain the accepted reserve currency when China is calling the tune? Just alarmism??? Hmmmm. Maybe. Maybe not.

And although my original post contained a website that was indeed quite long, it might be well worth your time to hear it out.

[Werner]

I doubt it, Cosi. This is sensationalist, alarmist, and using volumes of skillful verbiage to snare you into his scheme - whatever that may be.

Like John, I listened to a lot of this, telling you how great he is, but the overture led to nothing concrete. I'd rather depend on people who have a track record of performance through the ups and downs of the economy we have experienced.

My suggestion concerning anyone using such promotional verbiage is to give him a WIDE berth.

[living_stradivarius]

The Yuan is still appreciating against the Dollar, despite vocal/political posturing. The balance of trade and market simply demand it. It may not be rising faster than it would have in an unrestricted market but it will rise regardless because a permanent peg is unsustainable.

All that said the US has lots of cool new technologies in the works. We should focus on our strengths to help us deal with our weaknesses.

[HoustonDavid]

Looking at Stansberry's Newsletter, there is one of their columnists promising a
12% return on your investment if only you invest with him. I believe even Bernie
Madoff only promised a "modest" 7%, a number far more believable than 12%.
If 12% were a reality, rather than a Ponzi scheme, the U.S. Treasury should invest
our Social Security trust fund and make our children and grandchildren wealthy.
Sometimes you've got to read more than just the headlines and the promises.