Rude Awakening: January 2005 - Present   

12/30/05 - Cerebral Striptease, Part II
Edited By Eric J Fry

"To judge from outward appearances, the American economy
still boasts an enviable physique. But perhaps this economic
supermodel is somewhat more feeble than appearances would
suggest."

12/29/05 - Cerebral Striptease, Part I
Edited By Eric J Fry

For more than three weeks, Chris Mayer (editor of Capital & Crisis),
Justice Litle (editor of Outstanding Investments), Dan
Denning (editor of Strategic Investments), Byron King
|(contributing editor of Whiskey and Gunpowder), William Bonner
(editor of the Daily Reckoning) and Addison Wiggin (co-editor of
the Daily Reckoning) have been debating the gravity and the
implications of America's titanic current account deficit.

12/27/05 - The Value of Debate
By Joel Bowman

History has seen the United States pull together in the
face of turmoil, both external and internal. Vigorous,
well-informed debate is the first step to determining what
direction is best for the country…your country, that is.

12/23/05 - Intellectually Honest, Ethical and Loyal
By Eric J. Fry

If you believe that war is simply the opposite of peace,
then you might also believe that short-selling is simply
the opposite of long-side investing. But, in fact, you
would be completely wrong on both counts. War has no
opposite and neither does short-selling.

12/22/05 - Squirrel Investing
By James Boric

For 26 years, the symbol for Ralph Wanger's small-cap Acorn
Fund - which averaged 17% from 1970 to 1996 - was a
squirrel. Seems odd at first. But after thinking about it,
it makes perfect sense.

12/20/05 - Golden Targets
By Eric J. Fry

We inquired…You replied.Last week, we asked you, the Rude Awakening
readers, to identify gold mining companies that you believed would be
attractive takeover candidates. You responded with a flood
of emails.

12/16/05 - Jumping on Bunge
By Eric J. Fry

Dan Denning likes Bunge Ltd., the largest oilseed processor
in the world. So does James Grant…and so do we. Yet,
despite this three-way love-fest for Bunge (NYSE: BG), the
stock has gone nowhere for more than a year. For all we
know, the stock will go nowhere in 2006. But it does not
lack for reasons to go up

12/15/05 - The Perils of Hyperactivity
By Eric J. Fry

Sometimes the very best trades are the ones you DON'T
make…especially in a bull market.

12/13/05 - Gold Crosses the Rhine
By Dan Denning

When Allied soldiers charged the beaches of Normandy on
June 6, 1944, victory seemed very uncertain and, at best,
very distant. Nine months later, the Allies crossed the
Rhine into Germany. Gold's recent charge through $500 an
ounce will lead to a similarly decisive and shocking
victory in the monetary realm.

12/09/05 - Protein-Powered Profits
By Dan Denning

"Ninety-five percent of the nitrogenous fertilizers used in
America are made out of natural gas," observes Jim Kunstler
in his book, The Long Emergency, "and so it has become
indispensable to U.S. agriculture."

What happens to global agricultural production, therefore,
when natural gas soars to an all-time high, like it did
yesterday? Let's query the experts…

12/08/05 - The Hazards of Familiarity
By Eric J. Fry

Familiarity breeds contempt…but not right away. In the
beginning, familiarity breeds desire, when then becomes
mere comfort, then only tolerance, then resignation…and
THEN contempt.

12/06/05 - A Golden Tan
By Eric J. Fry

"The bull market in gold is still young," declared Michael
Martin late last week. "I would be buying every dip on the
way up…just like tech stock investors did throughout the
1990s."

12/02/05 -Gold is the New "Gold"
By Dan Denning

How can the dollar strengthen, even while America's
monstrous deficits are growing? And how can the dollar
strengthen, even while gold is rallying? The readers of my
investment letter, Strategic Investments, have been asking
many questions like these over the last few weeks.

11/30/05 - Golden Nematodes and "Active Adults"
By Dan Ferris

As the largest consumer spending group - $900 billion a year,
boomers will control the vast majority of the nation's wealth
within the next 20 years."One likely beneficiary of all that
spending will be Levitt Corporation (NYSE: LEV), a builder of
"active-adult" communities.

11/29/05 - Million-Dollar Magic
By James Boric

Joel Greenblatt is not famous…He is merely rich.
Last week, I discovered why he is so rich. My discovery
could easily put a few extra dollar bills in your pocket as
well…Maybe even millions of dollar bills.

11/25/05 - Dead President Bounce, Redux

By Eric J Fry

"Eric, I'm about to do something stupid. Please talk me out
of it," one of your editor's colleagues pleaded recently,
"I'm thinking about selling my gold coins and buying a U.S.
dollar CD. What d'ya think?"

11/24/05 - Nothing About Turkey or Pumpkin Pie

By Eric J Fry

Today marks the 18th Thanksgiving of Alan Greenspan's reign
at the Federal Reserve. This day also coincides with an 18-
year high in the price of gold. Perhaps there's a
connection

Quack economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics do to numbers what guards
at Guantanamo did to prisoners. They rough them up so badly, they are ready to
say anything…This abuse of statistics is what allows Americans to deceive themselves
about their own economy.

11/22/05 - Eternal Sunshine of the Thoughtless Mind
By Bill Bonner & Addison Wiggin

Let us take a moment to stand back and gaze at America's great Empire of Debt.
It is the largest edifice of debt ever put up. It sustains the most magnificent world
economy ever assembled It supports more people in better style than any system
ever before devised…

11/18/05 - The Quest for 12%
By Craig Walters

Urea ammonium nitrate is not a chemical weapon…nor is it a homeopathic
dietary supplement. It is North America's most versatile nitrogen fertilizer…
and Terra Nitrogen Co. L.P., manufactures more of it than anyone else in the
world.

11/17/05 - Why Trust a Canadian
By Craig Walters

The 12% Letter's portfolio is made up of twelve income-generating stocks.
Some of them are real estate investment trusts (REITs), some are business
development/registered investment companies (BDC/RICs), and some are just
ordinary common stocks. There are two stocks in the portfolio that I think are
typically less understood than all of the rest.

11/16/05 - God Is, or He is Not
By Justice Litle

"The big oilmen recently gave testimony in Washington. Their multibillion-dollar
profits have ruffled feathers, and the dubious notion of a "windfall profits tax" has
risen on a current of hot air to top the agenda."

11/15/05 - Ka-Ching…Love That Sound!
By Chris Mayer

American consumers may be strapped for cash, but American corporations are
loaded. Just look at the companies in the S&P 500 Index (generally representative
of the market as a whole). Corporate coffers hold in excess of $2 trillion, a
staggering amount of dough, and an all time high. For perspective, it's 3.5 times
more than in 1993. This little-noticed fact could create great opportunities for
value investors like ourselves.

11/11/05 - Exxon's Shopping List
By Eric J Fry

"In boom times, oil companies are supposed to be out in the field, drilling for oil & gas.
But when oil companies actually make some money in the biz, the folks on Capitol Hill
believe that they should be drilling the oil companies. It is all politics, if not showmanship.
And you know the script. Haul the big-shot execs up to the long green table in some
dark-wooded chamber, and rip them apart for the benefit of the unblinking cameras. It's
the American way. So what is a prosperous oil man to do? Stash the cash, of course.
But first, we have to study a bit of history."

11/10/05 - Kissin' Cousins
By Eric J Fry

"For the last couple of years, the prospect of a housing bust seemed purely
theoretical. But now it seems all too real. Suddenly, the worst-case scenarios
seem uncomfortably plausible. And even the best-case scenarios don't look that
great."