Agora Financial’s Rude Awakening

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Dubai, UAE

· Dow rises 260…then falls 250…then rises 270…
· Learning how to make volatility work FOR you,
· An unusual glimmer of hope for the poor homo-investorius and more…

Joel Bowman, reporting from Dubai in the Persian Gulf…

Before he took office, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke infamously promised to drop money from helicopters if the U.S. economy ever found itself in need of a quick-fix liquidity injection. What he neglected to mention, however, was that along with the heavenly outpour of freshly-inked banknotes, the emergency aid package would also contain enough wrenches to clog the works for the foreseeable future.

Understandably, investors are confused as to which financial projectile will have the most impact on the market; the wrenches or the cash. (Or are they really just two sides of the same note?)

Those who believe that the liquidity injection ought to free up the economy’s rusted cogs say the time to buy is at least near, if not nigh. “These bailouts just need time to seep into the gears,” they claim. “Then we’ll be back on track, bigger and better than before.”

Those who think that the ad hoc tools employed by the Fed will lead to little more than obfuscation of market mechanics say it’s time to sell. “Leave the machine alone,” they say. “Let the market work itself out. We won’t be back on track until prices are left alone long enough to truly revert to their mean.”

The recent bi-polar trading action illustrates the collective confusion of the homo-investorius species. For instance, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose some 260 points by lunchtime yesterday… then fell back to where it started within two hours…then climbed back 270 points at the close. The trajectories of indexes around the world have been similarly erratic ever since the sound of helicopters first arrived on the scene.

What’s an investor to do?

Further confusing matters is the incessant white noise emanating from policy wonks in the background.

“Paulson’s $700 Bailout Plan rejected in the House,” the headlines screamed on September 29. Investors scrambled for cover, unsure of what to do. Barely had the ink dried when the exact opposite headline made the front page.

“Bailout is law: President Bush signs historic $700 billion plan aimed at stemming credit crisis,” the wires announced on October 3.

And so it goes for the auto industry. At first Detroit’s big wigs were flatly knocked back, “Big Three Lashed, Denied,” read one paper. Scarcely had the public finished admonishing the company’s execs for their private jetting than they were back for “round two” of “negotiations.”

We wonder what if anything, has changed since the first panhandling effort was sent to the scrapheap? The Associated Press explains:

“Detroit’s Big Three auto executives have ditched their corporate jets for hybrid cars and replaced vague pleas for federal help with detailed requests for as much as $34 billion in their second crack at persuading Congress to throw their struggling companies a lifeline.”

Wait, wasn’t it originally $25 billion? Apparently kleptocracies don’t have the same appreciation for 9 billion hard-earned dollars that taxpayers do. Then again, why would they? It’s not their money!

And still, investorus lumps along with neither clue nor hope forthcoming from the powers that be. He is unsure whether his current habitat is more akin to capitalist America or Maoist China. Does the occasion call for flight?…or fight?…or more cowering fright? Again, forecasts remain about as clear as a politician’s conscience.

Thankfully, all is not lost. While America’s smartest financiers are busy getting their fannies paddled, America’s brightest scientists are busy doing other things…like finding cures to some of the most debilitating diseases known to man. Patrick Cox, editor of the Breakthrough Technology Report, has the unusually uplifting story, below…

— When Fear = Profit: A Special Volatility Report —

Bailouts…Deleverging…Government Shenanigans…Unprecedented Volatility…

Put simply, the markets are bucking and kicking like we’ve never seen before .

With such unpredictability, it is difficult to know where to invest, if at all.

There is, however, one man who has been relishing the recent whipsawing market conditions. Steve Sarnoff has been on an absolute tear lately. His last five picks have all more than doubled… and are sitting at cumulative highs of 1,222% .

Take a different approach and learn how to make fear in the markets work FOR you with Steve’s Options Hotline Service Right Here

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Some Good News…for a Change
By Patrick Cox

There’s never been a better time to invest in my lifetime. “Buy low and sell high” is, of course, unassailable logic. As you know, however, a significant percentage of investors do just the opposite. They buy at the top of bubbles and sell when prices plunge. Right now, millions of people are blowing the chance of a lifetime. Paralyzed by irrational fears, they are passing up historic bargain prices. Among the very greatest of these bargains right now are stem cell companies.

In the last few weeks alone, there has been so much stem cell (SC) news that I hardly know where to begin. Before I summarize a few of these remarkable breakthroughs, I want to tell you that I’ve finished next month’s issue. We are, in fact, adding to our stem cell portfolio.

If you’re following the financial press, you know how excited markets and analysts are about stem cell stocks. The reason is President-elect Obama’s vigorous support for stem cell research and therapies. It is widely, and correctly, thought that this dramatic policy change will drive stem cell stocks up. The trick, however, is that Obama’s reversal will actually destroy a number of high-profile SC companies.

I’ve seen almost no recognition of this in the press. Most of the people writing about SC companies are completely ignorant of the science behind them.

That’s fine with me, though. Until we’ve added our next stem cell company, I’m happy to see uninformed investors betting on the wrong SC stocks. It’s sort of sad to see people sinking money into SC companies that are actually doomed by the changes they’re celebrating. That, however, is not my problem. My job is to steer you to the right companies. And I’m confident that our next stock is going to be an enormous winner.

Needless to say, there is plenty to get excited about in this transformative technology space. Here are just a few examples of what’s coming down the pipeline.

Japanese Researchers Show Stem Cells Can Repair Stroke Damage

Scientists at Japan’s renowned research center Riken have demonstrated that stem cells can be induced to become functioning human brain cells. They did this in their Kobe lab using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Those stem cells came from adult skin cells, rather than embryonic stem cells. They were then potentiated using known factors to become brain cells.

I can’t say this surprises me, as this technique has been theoretically possible for some time. It is, though, an important demonstration for the few skeptics left in the scientific community.

Stem cells can, in fact, be used to repair damage caused by brain disease and trauma. We are on the verge — and I mean the verge — of repairing stroke and other brain damage for the first time in history. The brain is such an adaptive organism that new brain tissue from potentiated stem cells will be quickly integrated into the totality of brain function. If this doesn’t excite you, we’re made from different stuff.

The Japanese scientists say the cells they created were too few for transplantation into a stroke victim. Stem cells programmed to become brain cells can be easily cultivated in vitro, though. Riken plans to move now to that phase of research.

Stem Cells Used to Create Transplant Organ Without Immune Reaction

In what is being called a medical miracle, a 30-year-old Spanish woman has become the first patient to receive a transplant of a whole organ made from her own cells. One news story wrote, “Experts said the development opened a new era in surgery in which the repair of worn-out body parts would be carried out with personally customized replacements.”

Due to tuberculosis, Claudia Castillo’s trachea (lower windpipe) was destroyed. She was therefore unable to breathe without mechanical assistance.

Scientists started with a donor organ. They exposed that organ to her own somatic stem cells. Those cells replaced all of the original donor’s cells. In June, the organ was transplanted into Castillo. She has had absolutely no immune reaction. Today, she is able to go dancing. The results are being published in the medical journal The Lancet.

Australian Man’s Blindness Reversed

At the age of 35, Australian Martin Pitts had gone almost completely blind due to optic atrophy, probably due to diabetes. Though stem cell therapies are unapproved and, therefore, illegal in Australia, he sought out treatment.

India, which has embraced stem cell therapies and has little respect for Western regulations that prevent patient choice, is selling those treatments. After seven weeks of stem cell injections, at a cost of 45,000 Australian dollars, Pitts’ blindness has been nearly completely reversed. That’s a bargain, at about $30,000 U.S.

As I’ve said before, these types of stories are going to become more and more common. Stem cell therapies that work already exist. Moreover, the technology behind them is relatively inexpensive. The next administration has promised to reverse the current resistance to stem cell therapies. That doesn’t mean that the FDA will be instantly streamlined. Nor does it mean the overly burdensome approval process for new medical treatments will be quickly reformed. Nevertheless, political pressures are going to increase as the citizenry begins to understand it is being denied therapies that can reverse blindness and spinal cord injuries.

Obviously, the pace of SC sciences has reached a new high. It’s time to make sure we own the companies with controlling patents.

Patrick’s Note: A quick word of caution here. There is far more stem cell snake oil than legitimate therapies being sold offshore now. As is typical with emerging, but unapproved medical technologies, crooks are already taking advantage of the situation. If you’re looking for SC therapy, please be extremely cautious.

Soon, the legitimate American stem cell players are going to license their technologies offshore. Then you’ll not only be able to get their services if you need them; you’ll profit from owning a piece of their patents. You will not only make a fortune — you can take satisfaction knowing you helped capitalize these amazing cures.

I’ll be adding one of these key stem cell IP companies to add to our Breakthrough Technology Report portfolio very soon. To grab a spot on my mailing list, click here to see my latest report.

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[Rude Endnote: We’ve run a bit over time today, so we’ll leave it there for now. Remember, if you would like to send us your opinion on anything Rude-related, feel free to drop us a line at the address below.

Until next time…

Cheers,

Joel Bowman

The Rude Awakening
aussiejoel@the-rude-awakening.com