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Congratulations to our Father’s Day Draw Winner

on Sunday, 20 June 2021 15:30

Trevor C. from Calgary won a 10oz silver coin courtesy of our friends at Border Gold. Thanks to all our Inside Edge subscribers, and a special welcome to all the new registrants.

For Dads & Grads

on Thursday, 3 June 2021 12:50

Assuming your recent high school or university grad already has their copy of Dr. Seuss’ Oh the Places You’ll Go, might we suggest a graduation gift that offers some more tangible benefits? Like a one year subscription to Michael Campbell’s Inside Edge Service.

The Inside Edge offers your kids and grandkids exclusive investing insights, recommendations and forecasts from some of the English-speaking world’s top financial analysts. New contributions appear regularly PLUS it includes access to an incredible archive of investing ideas. All for only $199 for the whole year. CLICK HERE for a sample.

And that’s not all. Michael has added even more exclusive content and access in 2021. Starting next month, Michael Campbell will host a quarterly series of Q & A sessions where subscribers can get answers to the issues most important to them, and their fellow Inside Edgers.

And still more. The Inside Edge will also include no-holds barred, exclusive, one-on-one conversations between Michael and select guests. The first one this summer – the “world’s highest paid financial analyst” Mr. Martin Armstrong.

And one last bonus. Our friends at Border Gold are providing a collectible, 10oz Silver coin to be won by a lucky Inside Edge subscriber in a draw held on Father’s Day. And if you haven’t already got your Dad a gift – get him a subscription too!!

CLICK HERE to order – and make it a graduation they will remember.

Norton antivirus adds Ethereum cryptocurrency mining

Posted by BBC News

on Thursday, 3 June 2021 6:34

 

In a surprise move, one of the world’s best-known anti-virus software makers is adding cryptocurrency mining to its products.

 

Norton 360 customers will have access to an Ethereum mining feature in the “coming weeks”, the company said.

 

Cryptocurrency “mining” works by using a computer’s hardware to do complex calculations in exchange for a reward.

 

It is not clear what the business model for Norton Crypto is, or if Norton will take a cut of earnings.

 

The company pitched the idea as a safe and easy way to get into mining, an “important part of our customers’ lives”.

 

In a press release, Norton LifeLock – once called Symantec – said: “For years, many coin miners have had to take risks in their quest for cryptocurrency, disabling their security in order to run coin mining.”

 

That is true, in so far as anti-virus software packages such as Norton itself often falsely identify widely used mining programs as dangerous, and the antivirus software often needs to be deactivated to continue the mining process.

 

  • Buying a pink NFT cat was a nightmare
  • Police raid cannabis farm, find Bitcoin mine
  • Nvidia limits crypto-mining on new graphics card

Norton also warns of “allowing unvetted code on their machines” and the danger of storing earnings on a hard drive which could fail.

 

But most keen miners use a small selection of well-regarded mining apps – some of which are little more than simple command-line scripts – and a digital wallet that is stored on the web or on a smartphone.

READ MORE

 

 

Oil Stages a Comeback

Posted by Sam Meredith

on Wednesday, 2 June 2021 7:29

KEY POINTS
  • OPEC and its non-OPEC partners agreed on Tuesday to gradually ease production cuts.
  • The group opted to stick to the plan agreed upon in April, whereby 2.1 million barrels per day of supply would be brought back to the market between May to July.
  • OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said Monday he did not believe higher Iranian supply would be a cause for concern.

LONDON — A group of some of the world’s most powerful oil producers agreed on Tuesday to continue gradually easing production cuts amid a rebound in oil prices.

OPEC and its oil-producing allies, known as OPEC+, will boost output in July, in accordance with the group’s April decision to return 2.1 million barrels per day to the market between May and July.

Production policy beyond July was not decided on, and the group will meet again on July 1.

International benchmark Brent crude futures traded at $71.17 a barrel on Tuesday, up around 2.7%, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures stood at $68.65, for a gain of more than 3% and the contract’s highest level in more than two years. Oil prices have climbed more than 30% this year.

The Middle East-dominated group, which is responsible for over one-third of global oil production, is seeking to balance an expected upswing in demand with the potential for an increase in Iranian output.

The alliance announced massive crude production cuts in 2020 in an effort to support prices when the coronavirus pandemic coincided with a historic demand shock.

 

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Are “Sell Signals” Useless In “Mania” Markets?

Posted by Lance Roberts

on Tuesday, 1 June 2021 7:43

 

A recent Bloomberg article made the case that since 2009 “sell signals” are useless during “mania” markets. To wit:

“If you bailed because of Bollinger Bands, ran away from relative strength or took direction from the directional market indicator in 2021, you paid for it.

It’s testament to the straight-up trajectory of stocks that virtually all signals that told investors to do anything but buy have done them a disservice this year. In fact, when applied to the S&P 500, 15 of 22 chart-based indicators tracked by Bloomberg have actually lost money, back-testing data show. And all are doing worse than a simple buy-and-hold strategy, which is up 11%.” – Bloomberg

Note: “Bloomberg’s back-testing model purchases the S&P 500 when an indicator signals a ‘buy’ and holds it until the system generates a ‘sell.’ The index gets sold, and a short position established, until a buy is triggered.”

See, you should “buy and hold” invest, right?

Investing Based On Hindsight

Bloomberg goes on the clarify essential points.

“Of course, few investors employ technical studies in isolation, and even when they do, they rarely rely on a single charting technique to inform decisions. But if anything, the exercise is a reminder of the futility of calling a market top in a year when the journey has basically been a one-way trip.” – Bloomberg

In the short term, which can even include a 12-year bull market cycle, there are periods where “buy and hold” investing outperforms any other form of asset management. The problem is that you only know for sure that “buy and hold” was the proper strategy in hindsight.

Most only have a limited amount of time to invest for retirement for investors, so “getting it right” largely depends on two factors.

  1. When you start your investing process; and
  2. Avoiding major drawdowns

With the vast amount of individuals already vastly under-saved, the current “bear market” cycle will reveal the full extent of the “retirement crisis” silently lurking in the shadows. The Fed, Government bailouts, and low interest rates can’t fix this problem.

Such isn’t just about the “baby boomers,” either. Millennials are haunted by the same problems as their prospects of “economic prosperity” get set back years.

But here is the real problem for “baby boomers.”

Crashes Matter

Financial advisors regularly tell clients that the market grew 6% annually since 1900. Therefore, that is what returns will be in the future. The chart below shows $100,000 invested at 6% annually from 2000 or 2007.

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