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Nicholas Vardy

GLOBAL STOCK INVESTOR HOTLINE UPDATE 50

This was yet another solid week for your Global Stock Investor portfolio — with all of your positions up — including a 4.40% gain for your newest position in PowerShares DB Agriculture (DBA)

A Silver Lining in Global Markets

The Global Bull Market Alert slogan says: "There is always a bull market somewhere!" That’s true. It is just that the bull market may not necessarily be in stocks. This week’s Global Bull Market Alert pick — a bet on silver through the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) — continues the trend of diversifying your portfolio into asset classes that are in their own bull markets and largely uncorrelated to the performance of global stock markets. With silver’s price already up 14.25% in 2008, here’s why I think silver’s upward trend is set to continue.

GLOBAL STOCK INVESTOR HOTLINE UPDATE 49

Overall, it was a solid week for your Global Stock Investor portfolio. Both the Brazilian ETF, iShares MSCI Brazil Index ETF (EWZ), and Canada’s Potash (POT) jumped almost 7% this week, while the rest of your positions ended broadly flat. But before you breathe a sigh of relief, remember that bear markets are particularly treacherous in their see-saw behavior. You can expect sharp sell offs on every bit of bad news, followed by equally sharp gains on "relief rallies."

Doubling Up on The Agriculture Boom

Hedge fund manager George Soros once observed that the key to his success in running Quantum, one of the world’s most successful hedge funds, was his relentless focus on "the preservation of capital and hitting home runs."

GLOBAL STOCK INVESTOR HOTLINE UPDATE 48

After having its best week in five years at the end of January, the S&P 500 dropped 3.2% yesterday after reports that the U.S. service sector shrank last month for the first time since March 2003. That was its worst day since February 27, 2007, and brought its losses so far this year to nearly 9% — its worst start ever. Nor have global stocks been immune. The Eurofirst 300 — a broad European index — fell 3.15%, while the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 index lost 2.63% in yesterday’s trading. Asian markets also plunged overnight in sympathy.