http://seekingalpha.com/article/1070641-tvix-a-reverse-split-of-shares-on-this-volatility-product-what-does-it-mean-for-you

Credit Suisse (CS), which offers a variety of ETF and ETNs, announced December 14, 2012 that it is going to conduct a reverse share split on VelocityShares Daily 2X VIX Short Term ETN (TVIX). The TVIX along with products such as the ProShares Ultra VIX Short Term Futures ETF (UVXY) and the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN (VXX) are popular products used to gain exposure to volatility, as measured by the CBOE VIX, which is not directly investable. Recently, the VXX underwent a 1 for 4 reverse split and the UVXY underwent a 1 for 10 reverse split. Now the third one of these products that seeks to offer exposure to VIX futures, the TVIX is facing....READ MORE

A Potential Gem For Investors As Vista Gold Is Now Far Undervalued

As many of my readers know, gold and silver have pulled back significantly from their recent highs hit on October 4th this year. Gold and silver rose significantly following global central bank actions in August and September. Traders are continuing to take profits as the fear of a capital gains tax hike rises from the stalled fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington. At the time of this writing, the most popular gold and silver ETFs, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) are down 4.4% and 6.9% in the last three months, respectively. The ETFs that track the miners of these metals such as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), are down even further in the last three months compared to the metals they produce, losing 14.1% and 14.3%, respectively. In contrast, the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) is down about the same as silver itself, losing 7.2% in the last three months. Given this selloff and the long term-tailwinds that gold and silver prices have due to central bank stimulus, I have opined that a buying opportunity has arisen for the long-term investor in silver and silver companies, as well as the best of breed gold stocks. In the present article, I highlight a

Why All That Glitters Is (Yamana) Gold And I'm A Buyer

Gold and silver have pulled back from their recent highs hit on Oct. 4 this year, after spiking significantly following global central bank actions in August and September. The most popular gold and silver ETFs, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV), are down 2.5% and 3.1%, respectively, in the last week alone. In contrast, the ETFs that track the miners of these metals -- such as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), and the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) -- are down slightly less in the last week at 1.7%, 2.9%, and 1.1%, respectively, but are down well over 10% each from the highs. When gold stocks hit lows at the end of July, I recommended them as buys. I reiterated these buys throughout the month of August, highlighting many companies along the way. As all of these ETFs and most gold stocks are off their highs, I believe now is a good time to consider establishing positions once again. I think they are still good buys at current levels for the long-term investor, as I see precious metal prices continuing to rise over time. Individual stocks, however, can offer substantially better returns relative to the ETFs if done carefully. A good combination to look for in a stock is one in which the underlying company offers growth, as well as a decent dividend. In this article, I highlight Yamana Gold (AUY) and its

10 Ways You Can Profit From The Fiscal Cliff

After the United States Presidential election, equity markets were hammered. Further, companies reporting third-quarter earnings delivered less than impressive results and many have been guiding lower for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013. Add to this the proverbial "fiscal cliff" on every investor's mind, which has the potential to negatively impact everyone in the United States simultaneously, and there is major cause for concern. The fear of going over this devastating fiscal cliff has exerted much pressure on markets that many believe were only propped up by central bank actions in the months leading up to the election. However, in this past two weeks of trading, the markets have rebounded a bit higher on some positive rhetoric out of Washington that both Democrats and Republicans want to avert the cliff and the hope that they will do so. I believe the markets will continue to trade on news out of Washington for the remainder of the year in addition to trading on major economic news. It is more than likely that markets will trade up on days where progress on a fiscal cliff resolution is seemingly made, and trade down when it seems negotiations are failing and move minimally or trade flat in between. Most investors, including this author, do not believe that markets will trade flat come the fiscal cliff deadline. If we go over the cliff, investors may want to consider taking some bearish action should market panic ensue. Bearish conditions could lead investors to consider selling stock, selling covered calls on their positions, shorting stocks, buying puts or investing in a bear fund. If we have a resolution, it will most likely (depending on the terms of the resolution of course) be one of the most significant risk-on events in the last few years. In this case, bullish investors will be buying stocks and ETFs, selling puts, buying call options etc. While each of these approaches in a bearish or bullish scenario has their respective benefits and risks, in this article, I want to ....READ MORE

A Not So Obvious Reason To Be Bullish On Copper

Housing has finally come off its bottom and may be entering a long-term bull market. A strong indication of this reality is that the homebuilding stocks have been among the market leaders in 2012, as the SPDR S&P 500 Homebuilder ETF (XHB) is up 45.4% year-to-date. While homebuilding stocks including XHB, which holds a basket of such home-building equities, is certainly a strong buy on a confirmed housing rebound, owning copper is another lesser known but potentially highly rewarding pin action play to consider. If housing is indeed picking up again, it may serve as another catalyst for the price of copper because the home and office building construction sectors use approximately 40% of the copper in the United States, with direct residential construction constituting approximately two-thirds of the market. There are approximately 200 pounds of copper electrical wire in the average new home constructed in 2011. This figure doesn't even include the amount of copper wiring that goes into additional home appliances, plumbing and air-conditioning systems. If housing has bottomed and new home construction continues then copper should have a tailwind leading to prices continuing to rise as the housing and homebuilding market improves. There is some evidence that things are improving. United States homebuilder confidence was up sharply in July, and hit a five-year high in August. In September it ticked even higher to hit the best reading since June 2006 and rose even further in October. Coupled with increasing property sales in China, a rapidly growing country for housing, I think we could see increased copper demand in the next few quarters. I recommend the following methods right now to play copper...READ MORE