The Cartels - Real Life Matrix

Starting at 6 am each morning I look over my investing notes and the latest indicators from the VRA Trading and Investing System. This morning, my notes reminded me that 2015 is a “pre-election year” and that historically, this year is the strongest of all or the stock market. It’s just one of about ten primary reasons that I have been so bullish on stocks.

This also reminded me that yes…next year we have a Presidential election. While I’m a conservative at heart, I am also 100% independent. And yes…Republicans are every bit as messed up as Democrats.

THE CARTELS – Same Song Second Verse 

Sure, Republicans will "act" different from Dems…and they will parrot the conservative party line to a naïve public…but at the end of the day we have a government controlled by the most powerful of special interests, and whether Republican or Democrat, it is the Global Cartels of the world that rule (just about) everything.

Be it the Financial Cartel (the most sinister and powerful), the Military Cartel (always the most aggressive and deadly), the Energy Cartel (the source of massive, multi-decade, U.S. destroying wealth transfers), the Media Cartel (controlling/brainwashing the public) or the Drug Cartel (both legal and illegal), these cartels work hand-in-hand, functioning as a shadow government, to manipulate and control the masses. 

With this knowledge, we can view the events of the day entirely differently from the mainstream lemmings…helping us to make informed and correct decisions, based in the truth and outside of this real-life matrix. Understanding this is an important key to making great decisions.

No…it's not always easy being a member of the "informed minority", and in fact, can be more than just a little uncomfortable when putting your plans into place. However, once you begin to examine life by asking questions like; "Qui Bono?" (who benefits) and you begin to "Follow the Money" when looking for the truth, your search will become much simpler. I know mine has…. 

Make it a great day…

Kip Herriage

@kherriage (Twitter)

VRAletter.com

Given Up On the Stock Market? Most Have - And That's a BIG Retirement Mistake

While close to 70% of the public has sworn off investing in stocks, contrarians are riding stocks to record highs. My job is to show you how to beat Wall Street at its own game...and it's really not hard when you know the game better than they do.  

The question you need to ask yourself is; "will I be able to retire if I choose NOT to invest in stocks?"

From February 12, 2014 to today (2/18/15), the VRA has produced total gains of +1234% (net of losses).  This means that an investment of $10,000 would be worth roughly $123,400…in one years time…had you followed the VRA’s Buy and Sell Recommendations.

And yes, this makes the VRA the #1 Investment Newsletter in the country.

As good as this number may be…it’s also the past. And I know what you know…all that matters from this point on are the profits that we make in the future.

*AS A SERIOUS INVESTOR, READ, REMEMBER, AND SAVE THIS UPDATE – IT WILL SERVE AS YOUR ROADMAP TO FUTURE PROFITS WITH THE VRA

How Did We Achieve These Returns…and More Importantly, How Do We Repeat Them in 2015 and Beyond

Capitalizing on the VRA - A Breakdown of the Statistics: 

Since 2/12/14 there have been 22 trades in total, with 16 winners and 6 losers; for a success rate of 72% (this success rate “should” have been 82%...keep reading for the reason why) 

The 16 profitable trades produced a total return of 1526%, for an average profit of 95.37% per position.

Here’s the explanation of why the VRA success rate should have been 82% (instead of 72%), along with another 400% + in gains.

There were two truly frustrating trades during this time frame. Trades that turned major profits into losses – a situation that will never be allowed to take place again at the VRA.

For example, not once, but TWICE, we had gains of more than 100% in NUGT calls…only to have them expire when the miners fell like a knife through hot butter in the second half of 2014.

Frustrating trade #2. We had a gain of more than 280% in Yahoo Calls…then the stock market fell close to 10% in a month, taking tech stocks down hard with it. Our Yahoo calls expired as well.

I “re-learned” a most valuable lesson from these two nightmare trades…I only wish for all of our sake that I had adopted the following policy to begin with; when we achieve a 100% profit in a trade, we sell half of the position and lock in the gain. Then, we are investing with house money…and regardless of what happens, we cannot lose…as we have removed our initial investment.  The VRA will NEVER make this mistake again…as evidenced by our recent trades in RUSL (3 x Russia ETF) and RUSL Calls, where we booked 420% in total gains in under a month.

*URGENT VRA STRATEGY POINTS*

POINT ONE: VRA Subscribers should take special note of the benefits of investing in stock options. Some of our biggest gains came from options trades, and going forward, this will likely continue to be the case. This is the personality of the stock market today, and smart money investors are taking this exact action.

If you have never invested using options…or if you have either failed at it, or simply don’t fully understand it, let me break it down for you as simply as I can. In today’s volatile and ever changing investment environment, options investing is a near requirement for achieving huge, market beating returns.

In addition, the VRA Trading and Investing System thrives in the exact investment environment that we are in now, making options a most powerful friend of ours. 

POINT TWO: I have written extensively about the VRA Trading and Investing System, and I encourage you to go back through the VRA Archived Updates (in your Members Section) to get a better idea of exactly what it is and how it works. Bottom line; over my 30 years as an investor and financial analyst I have fine-tuned everything that I have learned…both from fundamental and technical analysis…and combined this with the benefit of having actually done this for 30 years. There’s no replacement for the knowledge that comes from experience…three decades of it…especially when that experience comes from every side of the industry/profession (15 years ON Wall Street combined with 15 years OFF Wall Street). 

Make no mistake about it…the VRA Trading and Investing System is an extension of everything I’ve learned over my 30 years. I don’t issue a Buy Rec or a Sell Rec without using it, and maybe most importantly…as they say…the proofs in the pudding.

If you’ve been with the VRA for a while, you know the only thing that really matters…the VRA T&I System works. 

Now…let’s get back to investing using options. 

*THE SIMPLE KEYS TO OPTIONS INVESTING – VRA STYLE

First, know that when it comes to options, I keep things very, very simple.

I only use options in two ways. I either recommend “call options” or I recommend “put options”. That’s it…nothing elaborate or complicated. 

Options investing gives investors a great deal of leverage. For a much smaller amount of money than would normally be the case, we can invest in options and have the potential for much larger gains than from using stocks alone (assuming we invested the same amount of money in stocks). 

And, like stocks, you can only lose what you invest…and nothing more (don’t confuse “options” with “futures”…in futures, you can lose much more than you invest).

Investing using options (buying calls or puts) is really no different than investing in stocks. The mechanics are the same…buy low and sell high. 

Here’s EXACTLY how the VRA invests with options (calls and puts); 

Call Options: If I believe that a particular stock or ETF (exchange traded fund) is going to go UP in price, I may recommend that you buy Calls on that particular investment.  That’s it…I told you it was simple.

Again, just like stocks, we want to “buy low and sell high”, so our goal is to buy Calls low…and then sell them at a higher price…when its time to take profits.

That’s it…if you make it any more complicated than this, then you aren’t following the VRA method of options investing. 

Put Options: Puts are just the opposite of Calls. If I believe that a particular investment will go DOWN in price, I may recommend the purchase of Put Options. Again, our goal is to buy the Puts when they are cheap, and then sell them when we are ready to take profits.

And remember, with every VRA options recommendation, I will tell you exactly when to buy and exactly when to sell…along with the strategy behind the idea. 

Finally, opening an Options Account is a simple process. Simply login to your Brokerage Account…or pick up the phone and call them…and start the process. It’s painless and shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.

When opening your options account, remember this most important point. All you want to do is; Buy Calls and Buy Puts…and of course sell them when we are ready to take profits. There will be several different “options approvals” that your brokerage firm will offer you, and you only need to select the FIRST option they make available to you; this is a BASIC options account…and you will never need anything beyond this.

This last year provided VRA Subscribers with the opportunity for outstanding profits. This VRA Update…as much as any update I have issued…will help to ensure that you are perfectly positioned to repeat these gains going forward.

Until next time, thanks again for reading.

Kip

Vraletter.com

@kherriage

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Massive European Bailout On The Way & Dow 24,000??

Will Greece and Lehman Brothers Share the Same Fate??

As I tweeted (@kherriage) last week, letting Greece leave the eurozone would be like the FED allowing Lehman Brothers to go bankrupt in September, 2008...oh wait...that actually happened (and we know the economic carnage that followed).

While recognizing that anything is possible, I've been on record for the last couple of years as saying that there is little to no chance that Greece will leave the eurozone...or what is being widely referred to as a "Grexit" (Greek exit).

I can list lots of incredibly important reasons why this could become a black swan event…like: Portugal would be the next country to leave (followed by Italy and Spain)...or the nightmare reality of a $350 billion Greek sovereign debt default (80% owned by other European banks), and yes, the memory of the global panic that followed Lehman's bankruptcy.

But there is one primary reason why Greece will remain one of 19 European members that commonly use one currency…the Euro.

That reason? If Greece were to leave the eurozone, it would equate to failure of the MUCH bigger picture...our global puppet masters primary goal of “one world government” and in conjunction of course, a single global currency. This is the long game...we're talking 10-20-30 years out...and the loss of Greece to the EZ would change that narrative a great deal. And yes, I know that this puts me in the minority. In fact, many of my best sources firmly believe that the Euro will fail, as both a currency and as a concept.

Here's a parallel that will explain my position further. It was June 2012, and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts...a Republican appointee no less (Bush 1)...was to cast the deciding vote on the legal legitimacy of Obamacare. Conservatives were beyond convinced that Roberts would vote in their favor, and that Obamacare would come to an end. Of course, we know the end result...

Here's what I said about Roberts vote at the time:

“As we listened to the media pundits and their educated guess that Obamacare would lose at the Supreme Court level today...because that is what the majority had predicted would happen...that little voice inside my head continued to scream "big government always wins in the end...the fix is in...Obamacare is here to stay...and it won't stop here."

Those "conspiracy theorists" that believe that the New World Order is taking over...and that this is part of their grand master plan...look pretty damn smart today. Trust me, the conspiracy theorists are not surprised...and you can count me among this group as well. Folks, we aren't becoming Europe...we ARE Europe!” 

I believe, even more strongly today, that the long term one-worlders have zero interest in deviating from their master plan...meaning they cannot afford to let Greece leave the EZ. A Grexit would easily set them back by a decade or longer (especially if Greece were to succeed economically after leaving)…just not an option in their eyes.

In addition, remember my update of February 2^nd. As first reported here at the VRA, an epic battle is now underway…one that Pres. Obama has since confirmed…and the full weight of his Administration and central banks globally is being brought to bear on the world’s top leaders. They now understand fully that they MUST embark on aggressive easy money policies, or there will be a very large price to pay.

Going forward, I fully expect to see that Greece (followed by other EZ countries) will receive both debt flexibility and debt forgiveness…whatever it takes in order to win the central banks financial war against “their version of deflation"…something that we know the truth about…banks require significant "monetary velocity" in order to continue with their ponzi scheme.

This is exactly how currency inflation eventually takes over…leading to what can only result in rampant hyperinflation. 

And remember this most important point; Greece needs just $60 billion or so in the short term…a drop in the bucket for a combined EZ GDP of nearly $13 trillion.

The VRA Core Portfolio has been recommending Greek investments and if we are given the opportunity we will be adding additional positions (both stocks and options). 

BTW, this new Greek Prime Minister has some big brass ones. Alexis Tsipras has been “telling” Germany that they will need to compensate Greece for Nazi war reparations…have fun with that one Germany. 

DOW 24,000?? IT MAY HAPPEN FASTER THAN YOU THINK 

As I’ve been saying, the size of the move higher…before this bull market is over…could be FAR greater than 99% of the investing public has any clue 

I make this prediction with a fair amount of trepidation…a major black swan event could easily knock the market 10-20% (or more) lower in the blink of an eye. But frankly, that’s one of the reasons for my optimism with stocks…the vast majority of people are nervous and out of the market.

Here are the reasons I have been bullish…while 70% of the investing public has been bearish:

One: Bull markets don’t end until the public is fully invested. Then, once the majority believes that stocks cannot fall…that’s when the rug is pulled from beneath their feet. And right now, stock ownership by the public is much closer to the all time lows than vice versa…

Two: With global QE still very much in play, along with ZIRP (zero interest rate policy), and NIRP (negative interest rate policy), central banks around the world are essentially forcing investors to buy stocks…there’s nowhere else to put your money, in the hopes of making a decent return and the ability to EVER retire.

Three: As extensive VRA research/commentary has made clear, once the FED starts to raise interest rates, history tells us that instead of falling, stocks actually RISE in price (until the 3^rd rate increase…on average). And of course, we aren’t there yet…no rate increases.

Four: DON’T FIGHT THE TAPE AND DON’T FIGHT THE FED…the most important paradigm of investing. 

I see very few…if any…supposed Wall Street guru’s discussing the four points above. Again…the minority/contrarian view is almost always the correct view.

Finally, in every major bull market that I have seen or studied, the top is marked by what is referred to as the “blow-off stage”. This is the final leg higher, and is met with investor euphoria and ramping stock prices. Think back to 2000 and you’ll know what I am talking about. We are nowhere close to this environment…

Let me repeat…the world is full of black swan possibilities. But unless we see one rear its ugly head, the path of least resistance…just based on the four facts I’ve explained here, is higher…and potentially, quite a bit higher.

For the Dow to hit 24,000, it would mean a move higher of 33% from today’s levels (18,000 currently). You’ll see pretty much no one else discussing this possibility…another reason that it’s likely to happen.

Finally (for now), oil prices continue to stabilize and move higher. The volatility will continue to be crazy, but the trend higher should also be maintained. If we get another significant pullback we will look to add to our new position in energy…via stocks, options and ETF’s. 

As of now, my target for oil is $100+ in less than 14 months. We will make a fortune here 

Until next time, thanks again for reading.

Kip

Vraletter.com (est. 2003)

@kherriage

kip@vraletter.com

Financial Frankenstein is On the Prowl

The ECB just announced their own version of US style QE, and the news is big….USD $1.4 trillion in QE between now and September 2016.

As I’ve been predicting, “the ECB will surpass $1 trillion in QE before all is said and done”…and low and behold, they went big right out of the gate.

You know what this means, yes? Like the US FED, it is now a near certainty that the ECB’s QE program will surpass $2 trillion by the end of 2016…because once central banks start down this path, they ALWAYS play “go big or go home”.

Folks….central banks don’t like to lose…especially in today’s “I’m gonna get mine…hyper politically motivated banking world”. As I’ve been saying, this news will be big for stocks globally and it will drive stocks higher in the US as well.

Also, and its broken record time again, this news is INCREDIBLY bullish for precious metals and the miners…oil of course as well. Gold is trading through $1300/oz and silver is up even more…last trade now at $18.35.

With the world soon to be awash in fresh central bank fiat money (ECB QE), we can expect to see shadow investment groups plow investment capital back into oil…their new pseudo currency shortly. Will oil scream back to $100 barrel? Well, yes eventually...and likely much more (on the back of coming currency inflation). But in the short term, we are only interested in what happens over the next few weeks/months.

By the way, if my prediction for higher oil is wrong, it will tell us something very, very important. If oil ceases to move with hundreds of billions in fresh quantitative easing, it will be direct evidence that QE is in fact no longer working. Remember, according to central bankers and the worlds financial leaders, our biggest problem is “deflation” rather than “inflation”. This is hogwash of course…we see direct evidence of inflation all around us in the things that we are forced to buy on a daily basis (food, rent, electricity, etc).

Instead, when you hear the powers that be warn about the dangers of deflation, just know that they are actually talking about the velocity of money and more specifically, the velocity of debt. Without increasing levels of money supply (m1, m2 and m3) and fresh debt origination/liquidity, the banking/monetary system as we know it is doomed to implosion. This is why you will continue to hear “deflationary concerns” from our criminal cabal of bankers…all the while, fresh trillions in fiat currency are being printed and distributed globally…which is the very definition of “actual” inflation.

As I’ve written since 2009, Central Bank easy money, fiat currency printing is merely a sugar high, and once they stop IV’ing it directly into the body, withdrawal symptoms kick in HARD. For the millionth time (it feels like), let me repeat this most important point: Until the world experiences a systemic financial collapse…complete with stagflation/hyperinflation and a global currency/equity/debt implosion…central banks globally will continue with their Frankenstein creation called Quantitative Easing.

But we aren’t there yet. Instead, central bankers throughout the world are gearing up for further rounds of massive and coordinated global QE. Soon, we will see announcements from Europe, Japan, China, Russia, etc…and yes…we will hear FED Chair Janet Yellen say the same thing; “unfortunately, the world’s economies are not yet to the point where we can cease QE and begin raising interest rates.” It’s coming…only a question of when, rather than if.

Of course, we know that in the long term, QE will fail...it’s phony, it’s manipulative and it’s Keynesian monetary policy at its core...meaning one thing...it's nothing more than a temporary sugar high, destined for total and complete failure.

But what if you're a committed liberal/progressive, Keynesian believer...you might say "But Kip, it sure seems to have worked so far. I mean, the US stock market has doubled since QE in the US began, so it must have done something right." 

To that I would say "to the naked eye this might be a fair point. Yes, QE has helped stock prices to move higher, but lets not forget that the pre-crash 2007 high in the Dow was just over 14,000. With trillions in QE from the FED (beginning in 2009), it took a full four years to simply reclaim those pre-crash levels. Sure, the Dow has tacked on another 3500 points in the past two years, but at what cost?

We know that the real unemployment numbers are at minimum 14%, based on a labor force participation rate that reveals more than 93 million Americans have left the labor force forever. And of course we know that the middle class is being destroyed, with the ranks of the poor exploding higher, as evidenced by the 50 million Americans on food stamps…our modern day soup kitchen/bread line….and disability claims that have swelled to levels never before seen…more than 11 million in the US that will never work again, but that will remain on taxpayers payrolls til death.

History will be the ultimate decider on this issue, as always. However, as history has shown time and again, Keynesian monetary policy has 100% of the time resulted in failure, with the largest failure (before now) being the decade long Great Depression…which ended only because of WWII…the savior for massively failed monetary policy (regardless of what FDR revisionist historians might try and tell you).

Folks, I tend to watch and read pretty much everything that is said or published about the markets, and have yet to see anyone make the case that I began making after QE ended in the US and oil started its collapse. The point I’ve been making is that in June 2014 the FED announced that their massive bond-buying program (QE), which was responsible for massive money printing and debt purchases (more than $3.5 trillion) would end in October ’14. And, when did oil prices start dropping like a rock?? You got it…in the same month they made the announcement that they would officially be ending QE…June.

From the beginning of QE (2009), oil had become a pseudo currency for the ultra elite…a place where the wealthiest shadow banks and hedge funds could park money, leverage it up 30-50 times and then invest in stocks, bonds, derivatives and real estate. This has been a massive component of THE investment theme for these past 5-6 years. But now of course, QE in the US is over (well, officially anyway), and oil has fallen a shocking 60%...since that exact announcement from our FED.

KNOW THIS: THE BIGGEST WINNER IS….

Precious metals have now started their bull market of bull markets. Question; why do you think gold/silver are ramping higher while oil is collapsing? During the entire cycle of the past decade or so, oil and gold/silver have moved in the same direction, whether up or down.

But take a look at what’s happened since November ’14, which is when the collapse in oil prices really kicked in. Since that time, gold has jumped 15% to $1300/oz, while oil has dumped more than 40%...all the way to $45/barrel, where it trades this morning. This is a monumental divergence! It’s also making gold/silver THE smart money trade of trades.

Keep this fact in mind: As the first “major” move higher in miners kicked in (December 2008), the miners jumped 141% in less than 18 months.

Now…with a return to stagflation/hyperinflation…which I see happening inside of 24 months in the US (it’s already starting in Europe, China, Russia, Venezuela…just to name a few), the corresponding move higher in gold/silver will shock most of the so-called experts….just not us. As gold rockets to $10,000/oz and silver screams past $150/oz, mining stocks will help many reading this right now to add millions to your investment accounts.

The VRA Trading and Investing System will tell us exactly when to act on our new positions…keep some powder dry and be ready to act (both stocks and options). 

Until next time, thanks again for reading.

Kip

VRA Update: Just In Case You Needed a Reminder - Life Today VS Where Life SHOULD Be Today

Quick question: Where would the US economy be...growth/health wise...without the FED's Quantitative Easing (QE) of the last 5 years? In other words, without the more than $4 trillion in freshly printed fiat currency by the US Central Bank ($15 trillion + globally)...money that will soon come back to all of us as rampant inflation first, followed by hyperinflation...what kind of economic shape would the US be in today??

Answer: In 2009-2010, the initial hit to the economy, real estate, and to stock markets would have brutal....no question about it. Without the FED's interference, there is zero doubt in my mind that panic in the investment markets would have ensued...far worse than it was. MANY weak banks would have failed...same thing with many of Wall Street's gambling investment houses. Both groups used massive amounts of leverage... 30-100 to 1....which means THEY SHOULD HAVE FAILED. Instead, they were rewarded with taxpayer bailouts through the $700 billion TARP (troubled asset relief program). 

END RESULT: Each of the monied, criminalized financial groups that were at the time considered "Too Big to Fail", are now 100%+ LARGER than before 2008...and would have either failed completely or been forced into mergers with healthier companies. To steal a title from Little River Band, this would have been a very "Cool Change".  In addition, any honest investigation of the smarmy miscreants in each of these financial behemoths would have found unrivaled levels of financial criminality. And, just as Iceland acted to put their own banking criminals in jail for 10-30 year sentences, an "honest" US legal system would have done the same on our shores. Instead....there have been ZERO convictions...freaking ZERO! Just in case you had any doubts that the fix was in...now you know for certain. All made possible by your and my tax dollars...thank you very much.

Without the FED's ongoing manipulation, yes...US real estate prices would have dropped 30-60%. Oh wait...that's exactly what DID happen! So....there would have been ZERO difference in our real estate/housing situation throughout the US. In fact, this situation would have allowed "honest" buyers of real estate...you and me... to swoop in and buy phenomenal pieces of real estate/homes at true "value level prices". Instead, here's what HAS taken place. These same banking and Wall Street criminal masterminds took OUR taxpayer funded bailout money...combined with the FED's ZIRP (zero interest rate policy...as in ZERO percent interest rates for 5 years) and bought 90% of available real estate right at the very bottom. Sure...if you acted quickly, you could have also picked up some deals...but pretty much only if you were an expert at real estate already. If not....too late...the big boys took it all. Scam < Understatement.

Finally....what about the stock market and the jobs market? History is VERY clear on this subject...so this is a really simple answer. In past economic shocks, history shows time and again, that WITHOUT government/FED intervention,  economic shocks like these are OVER in 6-12 months...with an incredibly strong recovery following that lasts for years...in other words, a REAl recovery...not this crappy, negative growth (trust me, the real numbers are negative) economy we all face today. 

So...yes, the stock market may have dropped by more than 50% and the unemployment rate may have spiked to 20%. Wait....again, this is EXACTLY what did happen! 

But folks, jus think for a moment about the type of economy and overall US we would have had today...without all the trillions in new debt and fiat currency that we will be faced to deal with through the coming Greatest Global Depression. 

Dealt with honestly and with character (what we do when no one is looking) these same criminals would be in jail, where they belong. We would have seen an economic revival for the record books....with REAL jobs, rather than "money jobs" that create nothing, harm the world far more than any fictional global warming ever possibly could (another Wall Street creation by the way....I witnessed it first hand on Wall Street), and, best of all... the good people of the US would run things going forward.

Instead....well, we know what we are left with...the stench is beyond putrid.

Anyone with a Forest Gump IQ or higher knows deep down exactly where this is headed. 

GOT GOLD????

For those that are prepared....wow....talk about massive levels of never before seen opportunity. 

And folks....deep down...this is what the VRA has always been about. Always will be.

Until next time, thanks again for reading.

Kip